Inclusion Junkie

There is nothing more powerful than learning someone's life experiences. In this episode, one of our colleagues shares his very personal story about what it is like to grow up and live in America. 

We communicate everyday, but how often do we take time to ensure our communication is effective, or even better, inclusive and effective? In this episode we discuss what it means to communicate inclusively, how to determine what language to use and not use, and when inclusive communication matters most. We'll give you a hint - it ALWAYS matters! 

In this episode we discuss what it really means when someone says they want to "hire the best person for the job". We discuss how this practice reinforces the inequities in hiring practices that already exist. 

When pro-Trump protestors stormed the capital in Jan 2021, the behaviors and responses of police, politicians, and other authorities was strikingly different than during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Examining the specific environments that support this is the first step to changing it. Using the science of behavior, the hosts examine the reasons behind this, why we observe such differences, and why others interpret these events differently. 

Why is it that narratives about powerful and accomplished are sometimes developed to undermine their accomplishments? Should we highlight women for accomplishments just because they are women? We dive into these topics and more on this episode. 

Some argue that the Black Lives Matter movement is exclusionary. We examine these arguments and discuss why the movement is really about inclusion. 

Our special guest Dr. Amoy Hugh-Pennie engages in a passionate and engaging discussion about the intersectionality of educational and medical diagnoses with the biases of labels, symptomology, race, gender, and socio-economic status. This in depth conversation shines a light on why certain groups of individuals are diagnosed with specific disorders later in life than other groups, how labels can increase negative bias against an individual, and how inclusion can sometimes be misconstrued to mean conform. Dr. Hugh-Pennie shares potential solutions that address how we educate our youth and address the inequities of diagnosis and bias within the educational and medical systems.

Ever wonder what it's like to sell a business? More importantly, ever wonder what differences arise when you are a Black woman selling your business? Our special guests Beverly Kirby and Landria Seals discuss their personal journeys through business ownership and selling their businesses as successful Black women. 

From the politics to pandemics and everything in between, we discuss how to make education more equitable. Our special guest, Dr. Sharonica Hardin-Bartley, superintendent of the School District of University City in St. Louis, MO, shares with us her journey as a Black woman and the many things she has done to Reimagine Learning for her students. 

Triggers are stimuli in our environment that result in behavior occurring. They can be anything from an alarm clock to waking us up to seeing current events on television. The triggers that are unproductive, unconscious, and unexpected are most dangerous and can lead to behaviors that result in harm and detriment to others. The hosts dive into these and how we can identify when these triggers occur and how to manage our own behavior, bringing us closer to inclusion.