In this episode, I speak with John Steele. Though in the early stages of his professional life, John profoundly articulates his sense of purpose as the process of growing into oneself. John supports this by paying rigorous attention to his inner life, attempting to strike a balance between his desire to push forward and allowing things to unfold organically.

John Steele is a founding member and senior associate at The Diversity Quotient™, a firm that seeks to empower organizations and communities through facilitating courageous conversations about what diversity, equity, and inclusion means to them, and by partnering with clients to clarify what changes they can make in their spheres of influence to advance their DEI vision. There he conducts culture assessments, coaches individuals, and facilitates workshops on topics such as understanding social identity, privilege and marginalization, whiteness, and more. 

John is also pursuing a master’s in Organizational Change Management at The New School. The program combines the study of psychology and sociology in an organizational context with experiential learning through client-based work. Through the program he has worked with clients in the for-profit and non-profit space on projects such as diagnosing breakdowns in communication norms, assessing a multi-center volunteer program, and conducting a stakeholder analysis on how a leadership transition affected the organization to name a few. 

In his spare time, he enjoys getting to know other people who are wrestling with the complexities of being a human on this planet, whether that is by listening to a podcast, seeing a performance, or just sharing some time with a good friend. He is also a former collegiate squash player who likes to stay physically active through dance and step aerobics. 

He can be found on LinkedInand can be contacted through The Diversity Quotient website

Although Kasey Bergh spent the early years of her life paralyzed by shyness, by the time she reached her twenties, she was determined make a shift. She spent the better part of the next 30 years boosting her self-awareness through therapy and reading, listening to powerful speakers and aligning herself with dynamic people.

Throughout her life, Kasey has met with multiple challenges, and found unexpected delights. She faced a diagnosis of kidney disease at 28, a kidney transplant at 35 and an unexpected divorce at 46. 

But, in 2012 Kasey found new love when she sent a text to the wrong number. On the receiving end was the man who would ultimately marry her, despite their big age difference. Henry also became her next kidney donor in April 2019 after Kasey spent 2 years in dialysis. 

Throughout all of these experiences, Kasey practices and hones her principles to help her grapple with the ambiguities of life and all the feelings they bring. She embraces living in the present, come what may. 

 Kasey Bergh tells her story through speaking engagements, her upcoming podcast and Facebook. Learn more about her at https://www.facebook.com/kaseyandhenry/

Patrick Paul Garlinger is a writer on spirituality and human consciousness.  He is a former professor of Spanish literature who specialized in gender and queer theory.  After teaching as a professor at Northwestern University, he embarked on a career in the law. In 2009, he graduated magna cum laude from NYU School of Law, and began to practice law at a litigation boutique in Manhattan.  In 2010, he experienced a powerful spiritual awakening that led him to his teacher, Mirabai Devi, the renowned international healer, with whom he apprenticed for many years.  During that apprenticeship, Patrick’s kundalini was awakened and he began to channel works of spiritual wisdom.  Patrick has published 3 works of spiritual wisdom, When Thought Turns to Light: A Practical Guide for Spiritual Transformation, Seeds of Light: Channeled Transmissions on the Christ Consciousness and Bending Time: The Power to Live in the Now.  His next channeled book, A World Without Identity: The Sacred Task of Uniting Humanity, is forthcoming later this year.  He lives in NYC, where he teaches meditation, leads workshops on a variety of spiritual topics, and works with individual clients to heal their inner child and connect with their true self. Visit www.patrickpaulgarlinger.com

Deborah Madelaine - “I am a prototype.”

Deborah worked for over ten years as a packaging scientist in FMCG but she somehow always knew it wasn’t her calling. She had ambitions to have a positive impact on those around her, but like many of us felt too small, paralyzed to take action.

An unexpected gift provoked a journey of self-exploration that led to surprising results including a collaboration with the former prison guard of Nelson Mandela, writing a personal development book, dying her hair pink and an ambition to create her own job, to move the empathy needle in her workplace.

Luckily, Deborah works for Mars, a family owned global business with a gold standard reputation for innovation, an ironclad commitment to employee development and an award-winning company culture. In a few short months Deborah was spearheading Mars’ global movement - User Centricity - promoting empathy and human-centered design throughout Mars’ 115,000 employees.

Deborah’s story perfectly parallels the movement she and the Mars family want to share with the business world; that through empowering people - by giving them permission to innovate - incredible leaps can occur. Deborah now guides her fellow Mars associates, customers and consumers within the people centered collaborative framework that is User Centricity, all the while acknowledging the vast untapped potential in the idea that we are all, at the end of the day, prototypes. Find Deb on LinkedIn as Deborah Madelaine and on Instagram as magic.deb