Leading With Empathy & Allyship

In Episode 62, Leila McKenzie-Delis, Founder and CEO of DIAL Global, Author, Activist, Speaker and Podcast Host shows how research is driving transformative change across industries and how data can enrich an organization's decision-making processes around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Leila and Melinda also look into some key findings from the McKenzie Delis Packer Review 2020 study conducted in the UK workforce where a disconnect is observed between the company’s claimed priorities and the execution and strategy of said priorities.

About Leila

Leila has a proven track record of recruiting Director, C-suite Executive and Board level positions throughout the UK and Internationally. Passion, tenacity and personal service is at the heart of all the work carried out and each individual search mandate is managed personally by Leila with the backing of a highly skilled and dedicated research function; ensuring that consistency, personal service and continuity are achieved and that each assignment is nurtured to a successful conclusion.

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

For more about Empovia, and to join us for our monthly live event, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.

Connect 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

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

Creative Director @ Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Leila McKenzie-Delis; an Asian woman with long black hair and a navy and white sleeveless top; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]

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In Episode 61, Melinda Briana Epler is joined by an incredible panel of experts and catalysts for anti-burnout in the workplace: Erayna Sargent, Anthony Ware, and Al Dea. They examine the common drivers of burnout, how to spot its symptoms and take action for yourself and your team, and what managers can do to prevent burnout at work. They also share some tips on how to support teams through the emotional impact of an acquisition.

About Erayna

Erayna is a contributing writer for Well+Good and has guest appeared on podcasts including NPR Life Kit, Dribble Overtime, Balanced Black Girl and featured publications for Ozy Media, Hour Detroit, and Architectural Digest. Originally from Detroit, she currently lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and their two cats.

About Anthony

A latchkey kid from Indianapolis. He and his two younger brothers were raised by his dad. Anthony’s first job was cleaning toilets for his dad's janitorial business. After going the traditional route of getting a degree and a job, he jumped from the corporate ladder to launch multiple startups. Ignoring his scarcity mentality and trauma from childhood, he broke down mentally in November 2010 after his third startup failed. It was a pivotal moment in his life that shaped the focus on his business and life mission. As a result, he now focuses his business and research on the mental wealth of the global community of underestimated entrepreneurs and business professionals.

About Al

Al is the Founder of Betterwork Labs, an organization focused on helping companies create cultures where their people can thrive. He is an author, speaker, podcast host, and researcher on workplace trends and talent development. Al is passionate about helping individuals and organizations flourish in the changing world of work, and in unlocking individual purpose and potential to achieve organizational performance.

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

For more about Empovia, and to join us for our monthly live event, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.

Connect 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

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

Creative Director @ Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth

This episode is sponsored by First Tech Federal Credit Union, a member-owned financial institution that is powered by a people-before-profit philosophy. Learn more at https://www.firsttechfed.com/.

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Erayna Sargent; a Black woman in a yellow cardigan and white printed t-shirt; Anthony Ware; a Black man, African-American, bald, wearing glasses; Al Dea; an Asian man in a light blue plaid shirt; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, a

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In Episode 60, J. Kelly Hoey, author of Build Your Dream Network, shows us how networking can be critical for women's success and allyship. Kelly and Melinda discuss the strategies to diversifying your network, building a community that will help you reach your fullest potential, and cultivating relationships with people in the era of hybrid work environments.

About Kelly

Networking expert, Kelly Hoey is the author of Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships In A Hyper-Connected World (Penguin Random House). She’s working on her second book which focuses on the unique networks women need for career success. A speaker sought out for her networking insights, Kelly has been lauded from Forbes (“1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship”) to Business Insider (“1 of the 100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter”) and Inc. (1 of “10 Most Well-Connected People in New York City's Startup Scene”). Not bad for a former corporate lawyer from Toronto.

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

For more about Empovia, and to join us for our monthly live event, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.

Connect 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

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

Creative Director @ Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Kelly Hoey; a White female with dirty blonde hair in white blouse; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]

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In Episode 59, Emily Ladau, Disability Rights Activist, Author, and Communications Consultant at Words I Wheel By, introduces the topic of disability through an insightful discussion with Melinda on systemic ableism, disability history, representation, and rights. Emily explains why it's alright to use the term 'disabled', how accommodation and inclusion should be viewed upon, and how we can build allyship within the disability community.

About Emily

Emily Ladau is a passionate disability rights activist, writer, storyteller, and digital communications consultant whose career began at the age of 10 when she appeared on several episodes of Sesame Street to educate children about her life with a physical disability. She serves as the Editor in Chief of the Rooted in Rights Blog, a platform dedicated to amplifying authentic narratives on the disability experience through an intersectional lens.

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

For more about Empovia, and to join us for our monthly live event, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.

Connect 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

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

Creative Director @ Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Emily Ladau; a White woman who is wearing glasses and has curly brown hair pulled back halfway, with the rest framing her face. She is wearing a black dress dotted with red flowers and green leaves. She is sitting in a power wheelchair, facing the camera, and smiling. One of her hands is resting in her lap and the other hand is resting on the joystick of her wheelchair, turned so that a tattoo of a peacock feather is visible on her inner arm; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]

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In Episode 58, Ulysses Smith, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Blend, joins Melinda in a conversation that focuses on the approach to rebuilding structures that are equitable across different organizations. Ulysses shares his take on collaborating with various business entities to develop the DEI vision, using the lens of DEI in product design and development to impact consumers, and how business leaders can contribute to creating structural change in the workplace.

About Ulysses

As a leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion, Ulysses builds organization-wide DEI functions that drive social impact through products. Much of his work has been centered around participatory governance structures and creating access to institutions and decision-making processes for under-served and underrepresented groups. In his role as the Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Blend, he drives leaders to think critically about the impact of diversity in their business functions, and develops strategies to create a more equitable consumer banking ecosystem. He is a graduate of Cornell University earning concurrent degrees in Urban and Regional Studies and Government.

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 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 

Producer: Juliette Roy 

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos 

Director of Marketing: Ariyah April

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Ulysses Smith, a Black man with curly black hair, navy shirt, and gray cardigan; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]

Support the show

In Episode 57, Melinda Briana Epler is joined by four inspiring DEI experts: Ritu Bhasin, Wayne Sutton, Rachel Williams, and Tiffany Yu. They explore what allyship means to each of them, specific examples of how allies have impacted them, and how they think about being allies for others. This conversation was originally recorded during the launch event for How to Be an Ally, Melinda’s book. 

About the Panelists

Ritu Bhasin, LL.B. MBA, President of bhasin consulting inc., is an award-winning speaker, author, and expert in diversity and inclusion, women’s advancement, and authentic leadership. Her Amazon bestselling book, The Authenticity Principle: Resist Conformity, Embrace Differences, and Transform How You Live, Work, and Lead, was released in Fall 2017.

Wayne Sutton is a serial entrepreneur and founder of the Icon Project. The Icon Project mission is to address Black and Brown Men’s mental health and professional development needs in tech. Wayne is also the Co-Founder and CTO of Change Catalyst. In addition to mentoring and advising entrepreneurs, Wayne’s life goal is to advocate for the awareness of humans to address their mental health.

Rachel Williams is a Bay Area native with more than 20 years of experience in Silicon Valley. Her experience spans human resources – recruiting, strategic employee relations and engagement, organizational change, culture & learning development, inclusion programming and implementation. Rachel is currently the Head of Equity Inclusion & Diversity Talent Acquisition for X – the moonshot factory.

Tiffany Yu is the CEO & Founder of Diversability, an award-winning social enterprise to rebrand disability through the power of community and the Founder of the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, a monthly micro-grant for disability projects that has awarded $37.5k to 38 projects in 8 countries. She was appointed to the San Francisco Mayor’s Disability Council by San Francisco Mayor London Breed in 2019. 

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 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 

Producer: Juliette Roy 

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos 

Director of Marketing: Ariyah April

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of  Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop; Ritu Basin, a Punjabi Indian-Canadian woman with long black hair and beaded necklace; Wayne Sutton, a Black man with a goatee, glasses, and a dark grey button-down; and Tiffany Yu, an Asian woman with brown hair and beige shawl.]

Support the show

In Episode 56, Melinda brings in her husband, Co-Founder of Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), and greatest ally, Wayne Sutton, for an honest conversation about addressing the mental health of Black and Brown men. Find out about Wayne's motorcycle trip and learn about how Wayne and Melinda show up for each other in their interracial relationship. 

About Wayne 

Wayne Sutton is a serial entrepreneur and founder of the Icon Project. The Icon Project mission is to address Black and Brown Men’s mental health and professional development needs in tech. Wayne is also the Co-Founder and CTO of Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst). In addition to mentoring and advising entrepreneurs, Wayne’s life goal is to advocate for the awareness of humans to address their mental health.

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

For more about Empovia, and to join us for a live recording, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.

Connect 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 

Producer: Juliette Roy 

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos 

Director of Marketing: Ariyah April

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Wayne Sutton; a Black man with a goatee, glasses, and a dark grey button-down; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]

Support the show

In Episode 55, Cynthia Overton, Senior Director of Tech Workplace Initiatives at the Kapor Center, dives into conversation with Melinda about the impact of storytelling. They discuss important ways storytelling can change our perception, whether that is by advocating through storytelling, interrupting our own stories to create internal change, or using stories to build empathy and trust.

About Cynthia Overton 

Cynthia Overton, Ph.D., serves as Senior Director of Tech Workplace Initiatives at the Kapor Center, a racial justice organization dedicated to leveling the playing field in tech. In this role, she leads Diversity Advocates, a professional learning community dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce throughout the tech industry and Our Collective, a group of tech professionals working to advance inclusion for Black and Latinx talent through employee resource groups. Cynthia also serves as co-principal investigator for a research study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that seeks to expand the evidence-based understanding of HBCU STEM learning environments in which undergraduate students are most likely to thrive and subsequently go on to attain doctoral degrees in science and engineering. 

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

For more about Empovia, and to join us for a live recording, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.

Connect 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 

Producer: Juliette Roy 

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos 

Director of Marketing: Ariyah April

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Cynthia Overton; a Black woman with natural, curly hair swept up wearing a black turtleneck; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]

Support the show

In episode 54, Ritu Bhasin, Founder & President of bhasin consulting inc. and author of The Authenticity Principle, joins in discussion with Melinda Briana Epler — the human behind Leading With Empathy & Allyship, CEO of Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), and new author of How to Be an Ally. We flip the script: Ritu hosts this episode in an intimate interview with Melinda as her new book launches! They explore Melinda’s journey to allyship, the process of writing How to Be an Ally, and why allyship matters. 

About Ritu Bhasin 

Ritu Bhasin, LL.B. MBA, President of bhasin consulting inc., is an award-winning speaker, author, and expert in diversity and inclusion, women’s advancement, and authentic leadership. Her Amazon bestselling book, The Authenticity Principle: Resist Conformity, Embrace Differences, and Transform How You Live, Work, and Lead, was released in Fall 2017.

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

For more about Empovia, and to join us for a live recording, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.

Connect 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 

Producer: Juliette Roy 

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos 

Director of Marketing: Ariyah April

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Ritu Bhasin; a Punjabi Indian-Canadian woman with long, wavy black hair and a navy and pink floral dress; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt laughing.]

Support the show

For the first episode of Season 5, Melinda is joined by Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst) team members Renzo Santos and Merve Bulgurcu to discuss key insights from the newly released State of Allyship Report: The Key to Workplace Inclusion. Melinda, Renzo, and Merve take you through the important findings the team has uncovered about what people want and need from allies, why allyship is important for business, and how people become better allies. Download the State of Allyship Report at ally.cc/report.

About Renzo Santos

As the Finance & Operations Analyst at Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), Renzo oversees the company’s finances across the planning, tracking, and evaluation stages. He also provides in-depth technical and data analysis support for research projects on diversity and inclusion. He is passionate about supporting communities, especially underrepresented groups, to create safe spaces to pursue excellence.. Growing up in the Philippines, Renzo’s values were honed by his parents’ humble beginnings in the Northern provinces of the country.

About Merve Bulgurcu

Merve is a Data Analyst at Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), leading data analysis and visualization mainly for the State of Allyship Report and Leading With Empathy & Allyship. With a background in Brand Management for more than 6 years, she holds an MBA and a Master’s in Business Analytics from Hult International Business School. Originally from Turkey, Merve is fueled by her passion to promote a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion and delivering data-driven impact at the personal, team, and organizational level.

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

For more about Empovia, and to join us for a live recording, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.

Connect 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 

Producer: Juliette Roy 

Project Manager: Emilie Maas

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos 

Director of Marketing: Ariyah April

Marketing Communications Coordinator: Christina Swindlehurst Chan

Data Analyst Intern: Merve Bulgurcu

[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and red shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop; Renzo Santos, a Filipino man with black hair and a white/gray striped shirt; and Merve Bulgurcu, a Turkish woman with long brown hair and a cream shirt.]

Support the show