She+ Geeks Out Podcast

Contributors to this episode are:

• Anna Whitlock, People Strategy & Culture at LabCentral
• CA Webb, Former President of Kendall Square Association
• Charis Loveland, Global Program Manager at Amazon
• David Tedeschi, Consultant at World Bank Group
• Fatima Dainkeh, Staff DEI Programs & Training Manager at She+ Geeks Out
• Grey Elam, Director of New York City Programs, Institute for Urban Parks, Central Park Conservancy
• Naomi Seddon, Author and International Lawyer
• Reem Papageorgiou, CoFounder of MomUp

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

Contributors to this episode are:

• Belma McCaffrey, CEO & Founder at WorkBigger
• Grey Elam, Director of New York City Programs, Institute for Urban Parks at Central Park Conservancy
• Dr. Erika Powell, DEI and Leadership Consultant and Coach
• Dr. Huong Diep, Psychologist and Author
• Dr. Victoria Verlezza, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Elba Lizardi, Site Director at BASF
• Erin Learoyd, DEI Program Manager at New Balance
• Fatima Dainkeh, Staff DEI Programs & Training Manager at She+ Geeks Out
• Naomi Seddon, Author and International Lawyer

Learn more about how to create a more equitable workplace at shegeeksout.com!

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

Contributors to this episode are:

• Amaia Arrubarrena, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ezCater
• Becca Shansky, Associate Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University
• Belma McCaffrey, CEO & Founder at WorkBigger
• Charis Loveland, Global Program Manager at Amazon
• Dr. Victoria Verlezza, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Elisa Campos-Praetor, Sr. Recruiter at Scott’s Cheap Flights
• Karina Becerra, Director, Customer Advocacy at Podium
• Ginny Cheng, Global Head of Talent at ÖURA
• Jason Fooks, Senior Director of Learning and Development at Essex Property & Trust 
• Kia Rivera, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Melanie Ho, Author, Speaker and Facilitator

For more about creating an equitable workplace, visit us at shegeeksout.com!

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

Contributors to this episode are:

• Amaia Arrubarrena, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ezCater
• CA Webb, Former President of Kendall Square Association
• Elba Lizardi, Site Director at BASF
• Elisa Campos-Praetor, Sr. Recruiter at Scott’s Cheap Flights
• Ginny Cheng, Global Head of Talent at ÖURA
• Jason Fooks, Senior Director of Learning and Development at Essex Property & Trust
• Karina Becerra, Director, Customer Advocacy at Podium
• Kia Rivera, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Reem Papageorgiou, CoFounder of MomUp

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

Looking for more support in having uncomfortable conversations? Join us for our upcoming program on Leading DEI Conversations!

Welcome to She+ Geeks Out, the podcast bringing you the voices of women+ from all walks of life to share with you what they geek out about-- their passions, talents, struggles, and successes. In each episode, hosts Rachel Murray and Felicia Jadczak will feature different guests and discussions about topics including health, psychology, art, music, learning, and more. Episodes are fun, engaging, and provide some nuggets of information that you can take away. Oh, and yeah, they might be awkward sometimes. That's just how we roll.

This season of She+ Geeks Out is unlike any other so far. Together, we will be unpacking what the future of work looks like for different groups of people in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to our special guests, listeners will also get to hear snippets from our facilitation team on what DEI really looks like in the workplace from a practical, actionable standpoint.

Last week we talked about what it looks like to build a DEI program in an organization, and this week we’ll look at what it looks like when these initiatives are up and running. The truth is, in many cases, it’s going to mean more open dialogue and the potential for having uncomfortable conversations. To begin, DEI and Leadership Consultant and Coach Dr. Erika Powell talks about performative DEI. When someone is accused of this, it usually means that they are not engaging with psychological safety. Often, it is the silence of those of uncommon identities that we should be paying attention to. Somatics starts to help people to have difficult conversations. Dr. Victoria Verlezza, DEI Facilitator at SGO, joins to tell us more. Difficult conversations, she believes, stem from 2 places: wanting to have them but not knowing how, or being fearful of having them. However, it is important to think about identity and realizing that is more than being offensive, but being harmful. Research suggests that people don’t feel confident having harder conversations at work in an open setting.

Next, we talk to Becca Shanksy, Associate Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, about the conversations she is having to move beyond biases in academia. Translation neuroscience, she explains, is really about understanding what the brain is capable of translated to people of any gender or sex. Anna Whitlock, Director of People Strategy & Culture at LabCentral, joins to discuss the lack of awareness across the board that, for most, DEI practices are a learning experience. We are all just trying to do the right thing while accommodating everybody’s life experiences, but we aren’t always going to get it perfectly right. This work is a daily struggle and she hopes other people find comfort in her vulnerability.

We hear again from Dr. Victoria Verlezza on the key of talking across differences. We all have either  dominant or oppressed identity that inevitably plays out in the workplace. When thinking of how to be inclusive leaders, it comes down to how we show up in these types of conversations. So much of professional life has been traditionally set up for people to put aside what makes them unique, but we need to feel comfortable embracing our identities and acknowledging the injustices which exist in our world. Then, she shares her usual reaction items when witnessing someone in the workplace express bias, unconscious or not. Next, SGO facilitator Fatima Dainkeh shares what it means to be an ally. Language supports us in our actions and behaviors and helps us in our mindset. However, it is possible to co-opt certain terminology based on how we perceive them. For her, the term ally means practicing something in your day to day life to support someone else who may not have the same social power you do. She explains the difference in calling in vs. calling out when giving feedback to colleagues who might say something inappropriate. When it comes to topics related to DEI, it is very important to know how to give effective feedback. She also notes that we should consider our relationship to a person before giving feedback to them. Part of doing this work is giving grace to everybody.

We also talked to Melanie Ho, author of Beyond Leaning In and Naomi Seddon, author of Milk and Margaritas, about the conversations they’re taking part in. Weaponizing competence is a popular topic that has just recently gotten traction in the last year. For Melanie, she is noticing much more of a shift towards having these difficult discussions with others rather than brushing things under the rug. Naomi adds that this is not just an issue relevant to the workplace, but something we need to be practicing within our homes as well. Conversations without male family members should be taking place about how to better support the women in their lives and workplaces. DEI Facilitator Kia Rivera believes that these conversations can’t be had without acknowledging power, privilege and marginalization.

Thanks so much for listening. Please don’t forget to rate, share, subscribe and tune in next week when we talk about recruiting and hiring inclusive teams.

Timestamps:

1:35 - Introducing today’s episode.

2:13 - Dr. Erika Powell on performative DEI, somatics and psychological safety.

13:44 - Dr. Victoria Verlezza on how to have difficult conversations.

18:10 - Dr. Becca Shanksy on moving beyond biases in academia.

23:55 - The role of sex and gender in translation neuroscience.

25:25 - Anna Whitlock on the shared learning experience of DEI. 

31:21 - Dr. Victoria Verlezza on talking across difference and acknowledging identity as a strong leader.

43:05 - Fatima Dainkeh unpacks allyship and giving feedback.

53:57 - Melanie Ho and Naomi Seddon the conversations they’re taking part in.

58:41 - Kia Rivera on acknowledging power, privilege and marginalization.

1:01:54 - Thanks for joining us for today’s episode!

Contributors to this episode are:

• Anna Whitlock, People Strategy & Culture at LabCentral
• Becca Shansky, Associate Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University
• Dr. Erika Powell, DEI and Leadership Consultant and Coach
• Dr. Victoria Verlezza, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Fatima Dainkeh, Staff DEI Programs & Training Manager at She+ Geeks Out
• Kia Rivera, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Melanie Ho, Author, Speaker and Facilitator
• Naomi Seddon, Author and International Lawyer

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

Welcome to She+ Geeks Out, the podcast bringing you the voices of women+ from all walks of life to share with you what they geek out about-- their passions, talents, struggles, and successes. In each episode, hosts Rachel Murray and Felicia Jadczak will feature different guests and discussions about topics including health, psychology, art, music, learning, and more. Episodes are fun, engaging, and provide some nuggets of information that you can take away. Oh, and yeah, they might be awkward sometimes. That's just how we roll.

This season of She+ Geeks Out is unlike any other so far. Together, we will be unpacking what the future of work looks like for different groups of people in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to our special guests, listeners will also get to hear snippets from our facilitation team on what DEI really looks like in the workplace from a practical, actionable standpoint.

When organizations are building out their initiatives around DE&I, the biggest mistake is when companies view it as a check the box approach. DEI work is deep, lifelong work which is most impactful when it is built into every aspect of an organization as early as possible. This week, we’ll take notes from leaders who have successfully brought intentional and fully integrated DEI programs into their organizations. We begin by talking to CA Webb, Former President of Kendall Square Association, about how she worked with She+ Geeks Out to build the organizations’ new DEI program which ended up becoming Diversity Drives Inclusion. They began with a learning journey, out of which came the realization that there was a huge need for a different approach to DEI education in companies. She also shares her observation that while many people now claim to be anti-racist, they don’t actually know how to put it in practice. 

Next, we hear from Fatima Dainkeh, SGO staff DEI programs and training manager, about doing the work. When facilitating workshops, Fatima always repeatedly reminds participants that the work is not the workshop. While having a workshop can be great for organizations to plant the seed of DEI, it is important that the workshop is part of a bigger plan to pursue DEI goals. Afterwards, Jason Fook, Senior Director of Learning and Development at Essex Property & Trust, talks about taking a DEI leadership committee to the next level. He shares that Essex had actually been thinking about launching their own DEI committee before the pandemic.  Now, they are at the point of questioning how they can make the initiative even bigger and take it to the next level. Though Jason was nervous that nobody would come, their classes have actually begun to sell out.

To further discuss the role of formal training and workshops is Dr. Erika Powell, a DEI and Leadership Consultant and Coach. When facilitating a class or an experience, she says that each one is a flight because participants go higher and wider in their consciousness. She also shares about her shifting views of unconscious bias in the workplace. We also hear from Amaia Arruabarrena, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ezCater, about the need for organizations to define what DEI means to them. It is important to hold each of the 3 pillars of DEI to the same importance to be successful at making people feel welcome and included. After defining what DEI meant to them, the team then worked out a dedicated budget for the efforts. Every organization will face their own unique challenges based on size, age, location, budget, and resources. Elisa Campos-Prato, Sr. Recruiter at Scott’s Cheap Flights, elaborates on approaching efforts creatively. She also touches on the fact that money is not a necessity, but rather a pathway for DEI. Anna Whitlock, Director of People, Strategy, and Culture at LabCentral, shares about the company’s various DEI initiatives. Biotech is not traditionally a space where most people of color feel welcomed to, but LabCentral is doing everything they can to change that. 

Elba Lizardi, site director at BASF, shares how she initially got involved in the DEI space via a DEI task force. Prior to being nominated, Elba isn’t sure she was really being loud enough about DEI issues. Before reaching out to customers and suppliers, the organization funded an employee research group. Then, Naomi Seddon talks about a few of the initiatives at  Megaport  where she sits on the board. Their focus was to hear about diverse employee experiences and figure out a way to be accommodating for everybody. Finally, CA Webb returns to unpack the idea that you can’t drive change alone.

Thanks so much for listening. Please don’t forget to rate, share, subscribe and tune in next week when we talk about building inclusive cultures.

Timestamps:

1:35 - Introducing today’s episode.

2:45 - CA Webb shares about partnering with She+ Geeks Out in her company’s new DEI program.

14:26 - The importance of establishing a concise action plan.

18:18 - Fatima Dainkeh shares more thoughts on doing the work.

21:15 - Jason Fook talks about taking a DEI leadership committee to the next level.

29:43 -  Dr. Erika Powell discusses the role of formal training and workshops.

31:37 - How Erika views biases at work and how these views have shifted over time.

39:44 - Amaia Arruabarrena on the need for companies to define what DEI means for them.

44:05 - Elisa Campos-Prato on approaching DEI efforts creatively.

48:53 - Anna Whitlock on LabCentral’s DEI initiatives.

58:18 -  Elba Lizard shares how she got involved in the DEI space

1:00:26 - Naomi Seddon on Megaport’s initiatives.

1:01:59 - CA Webb on driving change as a community-wide effort. 

Contributors to this episode are:

• Anna Whitlock, People Strategy & Culture at LabCentral
• Amaia Arrubarrena, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ezCater
• CA Webb, Former President of Kendall Square Association
• Dr. Erika Powell, DEI and Leadership Consultant and Coach
• Fatima Dainkeh, Staff DEI Programs & Training Manager at She+ Geeks Out
• Dr. Victoria Verlezza, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Melanie Ho, Author, Speaker and Facilitator
• Naomi Seddon, Author and International Lawyer
• Elba Lizardi, Site Director at BASF
• Elisa Campos-Praetor, Sr. Recruiter at Scott’s Cheap Flights
• Jason Fooks, Senior Director of Learning and Development at Essex Property & Trust
• Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe, Founder and President of Women's Institute for Science, Equity and Race

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

Welcome to She+ Geeks Out, the podcast bringing you the voices of women+ from all walks of life to share with you what they geek out about-- their passions, talents, struggles, and successes. In each episode, hosts Rachel Murray and Felicia Jadczak will feature different guests and discussions about topics including health, psychology, art, music, learning, and more. Episodes are fun, engaging, and provide some nuggets of information that you can take away. Oh, and yeah, they might be awkward sometimes. That's just how we roll.

This season of She+ Geeks Out is unlike any other so far. Together, we will be unpacking what the future of work looks like for different groups of people in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to our special guests, listeners will also get to hear snippets from our facilitation team on what DEI really looks like in the workplace from a practical, actionable standpoint. 

When we think about work and the current hustle culture climate, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.  Today, we spoke with some of our favorite experts, leaders and facilitators about workplace trauma, psychological safety, somatics and emotional intelligence. To begin, we hear from Belma McCaffrey, Founder and CEO of Workbigger, about what it looks like to work from a healthy place. She shares that finding our sense of purpose within ourselves is key to feeling clarity and satisfaction in our jobs. Additionally, we should recognize that we have the power to decide what work should fulfill for ourselves rather than letting society make the decision for us. She also breaks down the concept of the 3 selves: the healthy, wounded and survivor self. 

SGO’s Fatima Dainkeh defines somatics as a technique, theory, movement or method which helps us think about our body and the things we may be processing internally but are unaware of. The idea that things like trauma, joy and pain live within our bodies is traditional among ancient cultures. Then, SGO’s Rachel Sadler defines psychological safety as the belief that you will not be punished for speaking up. It is an important component of employee satisfaction and retention, and can help ensure that people are willing to take the intellectual steps necessary for innovation. We live in a fear-based society to the point that a resting state feels unnatural for many people. Dr. Huong Diep elaborates on the concept of intergenerational trauma and offers advice for how we can show up to work in a supportive and authentic way. 

Next, we hear from Dr. Becca Shanksy, Associate Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, about the research her team is working on at the university’s Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Behavior. The research focuses on what happens to the brain when a person experiences a traumatic event. They are also aiming to understand the neural circuits that cause darting to happen in certain subsects of female animals. Then, Karina Becerra, Director of Customer Advocacy at Podium, shares about modeling healthy team boundaries and supporting individuals with different backgrounds from her own. She finds that when people are happy and maintain work and life balance, it shows in the work that they do. 

We also hear from Melanie Ho, author of Beyond Leaning In, on the common psychological and emotional abuse which frequently occurs in the workplace. This is also what has driven much of the great resignation. As we see more young people entering the workforce, we need to be sure that we do not continue to perpetuate these behaviors. If there are no people in power who will hear these concerns and respond with empathy, then an organization will never really make progress in this area. Naomi Seddon joins to share about work life boundaries for women and how she began to implement them for herself. She acknowledges that we all do hold certain biases whether we realize it or not. The first step is to recognize these biases, and then start to work on implementing change on how we perceive others. 

Dr. Victoria Verlezza, DEI Facilitator at SGO, speaks about how we can show up to support a healthy work environment. When we’re supporting a healthy work environment, we want to consider how the systems (ableism, sexism, racism, etc) are playing into our daily interactions and how we think of productivity. As leaders, we need to embrace flexibility and model that same behavior ourselves to show the people we’re supervising that it’s okay to take time off. In closing, we hear from Elisa Campos-Pratorof Scott’s Cheap Flights about addressing psychological safety during the onboarding process of hiring. It is top of mind for everything to be documented and communication to happen asynchronously. It is a major priority of hers to allow new employees to showcase their own style of working rather than giving them specific guidelines to adhere to. 

Thanks so much for listening. Please don’t forget to rate, share, subscribe and tune in next week when we talk about building out a DEI program!

Timestamps: 

1:38 - Introducing today’s episode. 

2:01 - Belma McCaffrey shares her perspective on what working from a healthy place looks like. 

9:22 - Helping people address workplace trauma. 

13:40 - Discussing somatics with SGO’s Fatima Dainkeh. 

17:44 - Discussing psychological safety. 

24:22 - The shifting discussion around the body experience from Dr, . 

27:15 - Advice for people struggling to show up to work in a supportive and authentic way. 

29:37 - Dr. Becca Shansky on the research being conducted in the Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Behavior at Northeastern University. 

32:19 - Karina Becerra on modeling healthy team boundaries and supporting people from different backgrounds. 

39:00 - The difficulty in leaving abusive job situations. 

42:02 - Naomi Seddon speaks against the mindset of “pushing through”. 

58:55 - Elisa Campos-Prator on supporting new team members. 

1:02:12 - Thanks for joining us for this episode of She+ Geeks Out. 

Contributors to this episode are:

• Belma McCaffrey, CEO & Founder at WorkBigger
• Becca Shansky, Associate Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University
• Fatima Dainkeh, Staff DEI Programs & Training Manager at She+ Geeks Out
• Dr. Huong Diep, Psychologist and Author
• Dr. Victoria Verlezza, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Elisa Campos-Praetor, Sr. Recruiter at Scott’s Cheap Flights
• Karina Becerra, Director, Customer Advocacy at Podium
• Melanie Ho, Author, Speaker and Facilitator
• Naomi Seddon, Author and International Lawyer
• Rachel Sadler, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

Contributors to this episode are:

• Amaia Arrubarrena, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ezCater
• Anna Whitlock, People Strategy & Culture at LabCentral
• David Tedeschi, Consultant at World Bank Group
• Dr. Erika Powell, DEI and Leadership Consultant and Coach
• Dr. Victoria Verlezza, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Elisa Campos-Praetor, Sr. Recruiter at Scott’s Cheap Flights
• Erin Learoyd, DEI Program Manager at New Balance
• Fatima Dainkeh, Staff DEI Programs & Training Manager at She+ Geeks OUt
• Karina Becerra, Director, Customer Advocacy at Podium
• Kia Rivera, DEI Facilitator at She+ Geeks Out
• Snaedis Valsdottir, Product Manager at SparkPost

02:07: Amaia Arrubarrena talks about her journey to becoming director of diversity, equity and inclusion at ezCater.

15:21: Dr. Erika Powell shares her unique arc to becoming a DEI consultant and how it’s different for everybody

22:20: Fatima Dainkeh asks those who are interested in getting involved in this work to ask yourself some questions - why, what, and who?

27:37: Elisa Campos-Praetor reflects on how she started down this work, particularly in tech, an industry she wasn’t initially familiar with

29:58: David Tedeschi shares his experience growing up in a homogeneous environment to gaining more awareness and understanding of difference through his lived experiences

33:08: Anna Whitlock discusses how her genuine interest in people, how they operate, and what their drivers are brought her to focusing on DEI as a core part of her work

38:05: Karina Becerra talks about her experience as a remotely located manager for a company based in Utah and how she’s bringing an equitable lens to her hiring and managing practices

41:04: Snaedis Valsdottir shares how she became passionate about and an advocate for accessibility best practices at work

47:52: Dr. Victoria Verlezza on what DEI is and things to consider when considering a career in DEI

51:22: Kia Rivera also discusses what DEI is, as well as intersectionality

53:48: Erin Learoyd on ways being a DEI practitioner can be challenging while focusing on the tangible aspects that show movement toward a more equitable workplace

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

Rachel Murray and Felicia Jadczak sat down in early December to recap the insanity of 2021 and make predictions for 2022. They get dark at times (when looking at the past year, who could help it?), and attempt to pull each other out of their panic spirals- to varying levels of success. We're covering politics, attempted coups, Animal Crossing, alien overlords, annoying beauty standards, what's next for She+ Geeks Out, and a whole lot more. Listen to the end for some special goodies.

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.