Leading With Empathy & Allyship

In Episode 112, Nick Alm, Founder and Godx of Mossier, joins Melinda in an informative discussion about the key trends that drive LGBTQIA+ workplace equity and inclusion. They look into challenges around policies and procedures for transgender and nonbinary inclusion. They discuss how companies can take action to improve their DEI initiatives through normalizing pronoun use, integrating self-identification into recruitment efforts, incentivizing ERG and DEI leadership, and more. They also touch on ways for managers to rethink how they approach political discussions at work.


About Nick Alm (they/them)

Nick Alm (they/them) was born in St. Paul and grew up in Stillwater, Minnesota. While pursuing a degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Minnesota, they co-founded The Carlson School’s first undergraduate LGBTQ student organization, Compass. It was through Compass that they developed a deep passion for advancing conversations about Queer employment equity. Today, Nick is the founder and CEO of Mossier, a social enterprise with a mission of employment equity for everyone LGBTQ. Mossier helps organizations of all sizes attract Queer talent while simultaneously developing workplace cultures and practices that actively dismantle systems of homophobia, transphobia and white supremacy.


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For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With Nick Alm On Social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasalm/

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YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Nick Alm, a White nonbinary person with short light brown hair, golden hoop earrings, eyeliner, sparkles, purplish-red lips, grey turtleneck, and plaid blue suit; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.]

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In Episode 111, Pabel Martinez, Founder and CEO of Plurawl, joins Melinda in a discussion on redefining professionalism so people can bring their authentic selves to the workplace. They explore how biases around professionalism move individuals to mask their identities and “code-switch”’ to assimilate into another culture. They look into the difference between uncomfortable and unprofessional and how we can mitigate the impact of biases around professionalism. They also discuss how managers can promote authenticity at work by building trust in teams and leading honest conversations.


About Pabel Martinez (he/him)

Pabel Martinez is a native New Yorker, storyteller, and former Tech executive.

Throughout his career, Pabel struggled balancing two jobs…Tech Employee and Actor. As an Actor, he would focus on assimilation because he was trained to believe that many parts of his identity were unprofessional.

Pabel would dedicate days out of the week to study “white popular American culture” and memorize scripts he would later use for work conversations. He knew that talking about Bad Bunny and shows like Insecure, would not make him relatable. Instead, he would binge-watch seasons of Riverdale since it would help him build relationships with colleagues and senior leaders.

The assimilation became overwhelming, and it was at the expense of his identity & mental health.

As a result, Pabel's mission in life became redefining professionalism by empowering authenticity. In 2020, he launched Plurawl to bring this mission to life.


Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!

For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With Pabel Martinez On Social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabelmartinez/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plurawl

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Pabel Martinez, an Afro-Latino with a low black haircut, thick black facial hair, and grey crew neck t-shirt with the word “plurawl” printed in bright orange, and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.]

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In Episode 110, Donald Thompson, CEO and Co-Founder of The Diversity Movement, joins Melinda in an enriching conversation about how underestimated leaders can pave a pathway to success. Donald shares his successful journey overcoming adversities as an underestimated leader and how his path can help leaders create access and opportunity for marginalized people in their workplaces. He shares his strategies for implementing inclusive leadership across large organizations and growing companies by maximizing everyone’s unique talents and evaluating team performance. He also provides practical ways for underrepresented entrepreneurs to gain access to funding by knowing how to approach the right VC firms.


About Donald Thompson (he/him)

Donald Thompson is CEO and co-founder of The Diversity Movement. He is the author of Underestimated: A CEO's Unlikely Path to Success. Thompson is an entrepreneur, public speaker, author, podcaster, Certified Diversity Executive (CDE), and executive coach. He serves as a board member for Easterseals UCP, Vidant Medical Center, Raleigh Chamber, TowneBank Raleigh, and several other organizations in the fields of technology, marketing, sports, and entertainment. Visit him at donaldthompson.com.


Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!

For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With Donald Thompson On Social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldthompsonjr/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonaldThompsonJrOfficial/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonThompson_Jr

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Donald Thompson,a Black CEO with salt and pepper buzzed facial hair, white/blue striped button-down shirt, and navy blue suit; beside him is a black book cover of UNDERESTIMATED: A CEO’S UNLIKELY PATH TO SUCCESS; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.]

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In Episode 109, Sunday Parker, Access Technology Program Manager at Microsoft, joins Melinda in a conversation about everyone’s role in creating accessible and inclusive communities for people with disabilities. Sunday describes what physical and digital accessibility look like and the importance of continuing to incorporate digital accessibility into social media platforms, particularly as they evolve and change. She shares the value of interdependence in communities and how allies can amplify the voices of disability advocates. She also talks about her work in providing non-profits with the resources they need to better support their disability constituents.


About Sunday Parker (she/her)

Sunday leads the Access Technology Program as part of Microsoft’s commitment to bridge the disability divide through access to technology and connectivity that is accessible to people with disabilities. As part of the Strategic Partnership and Policy team, she aims to create connections between the disability community and accessible technology through collaboration with organizations and the Microsoft ecosystem. Recently, she launched the Accessibility Nonprofit Tech Accelerator, aimed to support disability nonprofits with access to resources, grants, and software to accelerate their mission.

Diagnosed with a rare neurological disease at the age of 2, she has had a lifelong journey of advocacy and applies her lived experience navigating the world as a wheelchair user to better support the disability community as a whole and the organizations that serve them. With access to technology, she excelled in her career in tech over the last 9 years as she found that the advancement opportunities at work didn’t carry the same complex barriers that she experienced in the day-to-day physical environment. This realization led to a passion for digital accessibility and enabling more people with disabilities, including those who use assistive technology, access to hardware and software along with the workplace and social advancement opportunities that technology creates.

She is a new resident living in downtown Austin, Texas with her dog Charlie and many plants where she hopes to continue to advocate locally in her community on accessibility.


For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With Sunday On Social

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sundayparker/
Twitter: twitter.com/sundaytakesbart
Instagram: instagram.com/sundayparker/

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with photos of Sunday Parker, a White female with medium-length blonde hair and cream sleeveless blouse; and host Melinda

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In Episode 108, our final episode of Season 8, Dax-Devlon Ross, Founder / Principal of Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, joins Melinda in a reflective conversation about the changing landscape of DEI work over the years. They look into systemic shifts in communities and organizations, including the pushback to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. They explore what Dax-Devlon calls the BIPOC savior syndrome, an issue that incoming BIPOC leaders often face. Dax-Devlon also shares his experience navigating the DEI space as a Black cis man and how we can reflect and set goals to support DEI initiatives moving into 2023 and beyond.


About Dax-Devlon Ross (he/him)

Dax-Devlon Ross is the author of six books and his journalism has been featured in Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, Nonprofit Quarterly, The Washington Post Magazine and other national publications. He won the National Association of Black Journalists’ Investigative Reporting Award for his coverage of jury exclusion in North Carolina courts and is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at Type Media Center.

His most recent book Letters to My White Male Friends, published by St. Martin’s Press in June 2021, is a call to action and a reflection on race. Dax details how racism has harmed Black people for generations but has also hurt White people by robbing their lives of fullness and meaningful relationships.

A New York City teaching fellow turned non-profit executive, Dax is now a principal at the social impact consultancies, Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, both of which focus on designing disruptive strategies to generate equity in workplaces and education spaces alike. His clients have included The National Urban League, UnidosUS, Amnesty International, Results for America, iMentor, Fund II Foundation, Vera Institute of Justice, the ACLU of New Hampshire, and many others.

Dax received his Juris Doctorate from George Washington University. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Alana, and their young children.


Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!

For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With Dax-Devlon Ross On Social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dax-devlon-ross-69b3749/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/daxdev

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Dax-Devlon Ross, an African-American man with black hair and facial hair, white button down, and grey suit; his black and white image has a photo credits to Doug Segars; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and

Support the show

In Episode 107, Melinda Briana Epler, Founder & CEO of Empovia, shares a short talk based on her Out & Equal Workplace Summit session with our friends at Qualcomm on “Interrupting Microaggressions: Workplace Interventions for Calling People In.” In this workshop, Melinda shares how we can call each other in to interrupt microaggressions experienced by LGBTQIA+ folks in the workplace. She guides us through microintervention processes and scripts we can use to address common verbal, nonverbal, and environmental microaggressions. She also shares how managers and team members can take action to create a call-in culture together.


About Melinda Briana Epler (she/her)

Melinda Briana Epler has more than 25 years of experience elevating brands and developing business innovation strategies for startups, Fortune 500 companies, and global NGOs.

As CEO of Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), Melinda is a strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion advisor for executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and activists around the world. As part of her changemaking work, she is an inclusive leadership coach, trains executive and management teams, and builds learning and development solutions for clients.

Melinda is the author of How to Be an Ally (McGraw-Hill) and the host of the popular "Leading With Empathy & Allyship" podcast. She is also a TED speaker, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and former marketing and culture executive. She speaks, mentors, and writes about diversity and inclusion, empathy, and entrepreneurship.


Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!

For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With  Melinda Briana Epler On Social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindaepler
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melindabrianaepler
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbrianaepler
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changecatalysts

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and a photo of host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and a black shirt; beside her is the orange book cover of How to Be an Ally (McGraw-Hill).]

Support the show

In Episode 106, Lisa Gelobter, CEO of tEQuitable, joins Melinda in a discussion on ways to address interpersonal conflict in the workplace. They discuss the true costs and consequences of interpersonal conflicts for an organization. Lisa shares an open-ended question framework tEQuitable uses in their process that can help us all create constructive conversations at work and shift team cultures. They also look into the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for managing workplace conflict to improve business outcomes.


About Lisa Gelobter (she/her)

Lisa Gelobter is the CEO and Founder of tEQuitable. Using technology to make workplaces more equitable, tEQuitable provides a confidential platform to address bias, discrimination, and harassment.

Lisa has worked on products that have been used by billions of people and pioneered several Internet technologies, including Shockwave, Hulu, and the ascent of online video.

Previously, at the Obama White House, Lisa was the Chief Digital Service Officer for the Department of Education, and prior to that, she served as the Chief Digital Officer for BET Networks at Viacom.

Lisa has been named one of Inc.'s 100 Women Building America's Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses, Fast Company’s Most Creative People, and serves on the boards for: the Obama Foundation, Times Up, and The Education Trust.

Lisa is one of the first 40 Black women ever to have raised over $1 million in VC funding.

She is also proud to be a Black woman with a Computer Science degree. Go STEM!


Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!

For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With Lisa Gelobter On Social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisagelobter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaGelobter

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Lisa Gelobter, a Black woman with long salt and pepper hair, glasses, yellow/orange beaded earrings, and coral shirt; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.]

Support the show

In Episode 105, Lily Zheng, Consultant at Zheng Consulting, joins Melinda in a discussion on how we can use our power to create real systemic change around diversity, equity, and inclusion. They explore different types of power and practical ways we can build movements that address inequities in the workplace. They also discuss the importance of trust in creating change and how managers can earn their team members’ trust by understanding and utilizing the currency of trust when making decisions.


About Lily Zheng (they/them)

Lily Zheng (they/them) is a sought-after Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion speaker, strategist, and organizational consultant who specializes in hands-on systemic change to turn positive intentions into positive outcomes for workplaces and everyone in them. A dedicated change-maker and advocate named a Forbes D&I Trailblazer, 2021 DEI Influencer, and LinkedIn Top Voice on Racial Equity, Lily's work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and NPR. Their most recent book, DEI Deconstructed, centers on accountable and effective practices to achieve DEI outcomes in organizations.


Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!

For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With Lily Zheng On Social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilyzheng308/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilyzheng308
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilyzheng308

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Lily Zheng, a Chinese American nonbinary person with dark brown assymetric hair that is half shaved, glasses, black shirt, and black jacket; beside them is the off-white book cover of DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.]

Lily’s headshot credit: Richard DeVaul

Connect with Richard: https://twitter.com/rdevaul | https://www.richarddevaul.com/

Support the show

In Episode 104, Rahimeh Ramezany, DEI Practitioner & Founder of Rahimeh Ramezany Consulting, joins Melinda in a discussion on how to be better allies for Muslim colleagues. They dive into the importance of addressing intersectionality in the workplace when building religious inclusion and how managers can use an intersectional approach to establish policies & procedures for religious accommodations and inclusion. They also explore meaningful ways to support Muslim colleagues, such as learning to navigate religious differences during the winter holidays and promoting policies to address the impact of religious discrimination.


About Rahimeh Ramezany (she/her)

Rahimeh Ramezany is a multiethnic, neurodiverse, visibly identifiable Muslim American woman, and a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Intercultural Practitioner. She founded her DEI business in order to help organizations incorporate Muslims and considerations of marginalized religious identity into their existing DEI programs, comprehensively spanning the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and systemic implications of the work. Rahimeh leverages her lived experiences at the intersection of multiple marginalized and privileged identities, a master’s degree in intercultural communication, and years of professional DEI experience to address the often deeply uncomfortable but nonetheless essential work of making our spaces inclusive and equitable for all.


Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!

For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.


Connect With Rahimeh Ramezany On Social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahimeh-ramezany/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RahimehRamezany
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rahimehramezany/

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Rahimeh Ramezany, a pale-skinned Muslim woman wearing a multi-colored religious headscarf with pinks, blues, and purples and a fuchsia blouse; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.]

Support the show

In Episode 103 (recorded live), Melinda Briana Epler, Founder & CEO of Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), joins Paula Quintana, Senior Analyst, for High Alpha Innovation’s Satellite Series event on “How to Be an Ally.” In this fireside chat, Melinda shares how we can start our journey as allies to drive a more inclusive and equitable culture in a startup ecosystem. She introduces small steps anyone can take to intervene and counter the impact of microaggressions across teams. She also discusses how startups can set tangible goals and develop strategies to achieve measurable progress for diversity, equity, and inclusion.


About Melinda Briana Epler (she/her)

Melinda Briana Epler has more than 25 years of experience elevating brands and developing business innovation strategies for startups, Fortune 500 companies, and global NGOs.

As CEO of  Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), Melinda is a strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion advisor for executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and activists around the world. As part of her changemaking work, she is an inclusive leadership coach, trains executive and management teams, and builds learning and development solutions for clients.

Melinda is the author of How to Be an Ally (McGraw-Hill) and the host of the popular "Leading With Empathy & Allyship" podcast. She is also a TED speaker, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and former marketing and culture executive. She speaks, mentors, and writes about diversity and inclusion, empathy, and entrepreneurship.


About Paula Quintana (she/her)

As a Senior Analyst at High Alpha Innovation, Paula works to launch new startups with partners through business model design, assumption validation, and market research. Her passion to leverage innovation to create positive change and improve lives is evident in her work spearheading DEI initiatives within the High Alpha Innovation community. Paula was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.


For more about Empovia, and to find educational resources and highlights from this episode, visit https://ally.cc.


Connect With Melinda Briana Epler On Social

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/melindaepler
Facebook: facebook.com/melindabrianaepler
Twitter: twitter.com/mbrianaepler
Instagram: instagram.com/changecatalysts

Connect With Paula Quintana On Social

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paula-quintana/

Connect With Us On Social

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team

Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles


[Image description: LEA promo and photos of Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and black shirt; beside her is the orange book cove

Support the show