State of Inclusion

Our work of Equity and Inclusion requires us to think multi-dimensionally, to think about ourselves, but also about those with whom we interact and about the structures in our environment, whether those are systems or physical spaces. My guest, Lori Weitzner, helps us explore the importance of our physical spaces on both a personal and a group level. Lori shares how we can use color and a multi-sensory approach to the design of our spaces and events to help make people feel more welcome, more included, and more grounded. Lori will also discuss how each of us can use color and design in our personal spaces to help us recharge, recenter, and energize for the work ahead. While we're going to talk a lot about color, Lori and I will not talk about colorism. That is an important subject, a separate and significant subject, but one for another day.

Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.

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If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

This conversation reminds us that the current systems that keep us from achieving equity and inclusion weren’t just an accident of evolution. They were designed—intentionally designed. These past designs and their artifacts also persist in our everyday lives, even when we have stopped many of the harmful practices. Today's guest, Braden Cooks of Designing the We, will share how we can undesign our current systems of inequity and separation and imagine new ways for our communities to design and build a more equitable future.

Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.

Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.

If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

Today's guest is Tawanna Black, founder of the Center for Economic Inclusion. Tawanna makes a clear and compelling case for community leaders to work together with a focus on building a thriving, growing economy that works for everyone in their community. Tawanna also shares how her team has worked directly with communities to help inform, guide, and facilitate that kind of broad cross-sector collaboration. You'll hear her describe how their work gives businesses and governments the tools to do drastically different work, get drastically different results, and do so in shared accountability. If you feel your community could benefit from this kind of cross-sector collaboration, this episode is for you. 

Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.

Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.

If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

In this episode, we take a moment to reflect on the State of Inclusion Podcast for 2023 and look ahead to 2024. While DEI may be under assault on many fronts, I'll share why I remain optimistic about this work of equity and inclusion. We'll also listen to and reflect on a few pearls of wisdom from our 2023 interviews.

See full transcript HERE.

Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.

Our guest, Nick Cotter, has dedicated his life to educating others on the causes and reality of persistent racial and economic segregation and working to address its consequences in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While Nick's work is clearly focused on Pittsburgh, the insights and lessons reach much farther. In our discussion with Nick, we'll come to understand that many of the keys to building a more inclusive and equitable community can be found in our neighborhoods.

Access the full transcript and show notes HERE

Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.

If you want to discover how to become a better listener and learn techniques to help you listen with greater respect and love, this episode is for you. In this episode, Victoria Chance and Mary Anne Inglis of My Neighbor's Voice offer an approach to strengthen our listening skills and, at the same time, build community with our neighbors. 

Access the full transcript and show notes HERE

Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community, to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.

Newsletter GIVEAWAY ALERT!!  

Anyone who is signed up for our newsletter on or before November 30, 2023, will be entered for a chance to win a free book.  A winner will be randomly selected from all subscribers and will win one book of their choice from our State of Inclusion bookshop.

Current subscribers are already entered. 

As part of this work of equity and inclusion, we are each on our own journey of growth. Sometimes, a moment of growth is structured and intentional, but sometimes, it catches us completely unaware. After it happens, we’re never the same. In today’s episode, I asked three more of my previous guests to share about a moment they grew in their own journey of equity and inclusion. We hear from Paul McCormack, Director of the South Carolina State Parks System, Janeen Bryant, Executive Director of the Community Building Initiative, and Chris Sparrow, adaptive athlete, disability advocate, and Program Director with the Barbara Stone Foundation. Listening to their responses can inspire a moment of growth and learning for us all. I really want you to be able to hear each guest as they speak from their heart. As a result, you'll hear me refer to this as "our unplugged series." Their responses are only lightly edited. You’ll hear more pauses and ums, and the sound may not be quite as polished. These episodes will be shorter as well to give you a little more room to sit with and reflect on each of the stories you hear.

Link to Full Transcript and Show Notes

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As part of this work of equity and inclusion, we are each on our own journey of growth. Sometimes, a moment of growth is structured and intentional, but sometimes, it catches us completely unaware. After it happens, we’re never the same.

In today’s episode, I asked three of my previous guests to share about a moment they grew in their own journey of equity and inclusion. We hear from Rose Lane of Conserving Carolina, Jerry Hawkins from Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation, and Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Listening to their responses can inspire a moment of growth and learning for us all.

I really want you to be able to hear each guest as they speak from their heart. As a result, you'll hear me refer to this as "our unplugged series." Their responses are only lightly edited. You’ll hear more pauses and ums, and the sound may not be quite as polished. These episodes will be shorter as well to give you a little more room to sit with and reflect on each of the stories you hear. 

Link to Full Transcript and Show Notes

Signup for The Inclusive Community Newsletter 

In this episode we learn about using the power of community truth-telling as a springboard for systemic change and equity in Cincinnati, Ohio. We talk with Kim Rodgers from the Center for Community Resilience at George Washington University and learn how they provide on-the-ground support to communities, like Cincinnati, to advance progress toward resilience and equity.

Link to Full Transcript and Show Notes

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In this episode, we hear from an organization that has come to realize equity and inclusion are integral to its mission. As we talk with Rose Lane of Conserving Carolina, she shares how her organization adapted its strategic plan and value statements and how they formally ensure social justice, equity, and inclusion are part of their everyday work. As Rose tells us, "Conservation is part of social justice, and social justice is a part of preservation." 

Link to Full Transcript and Show Notes

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