Simma Lieberman remembers bits and pieces from that iconic day in Washington, D.C. She was young, and faintly recalls Martin Luther King giving his world-famous speech, “I Have a Dream”. But what she remembers most about that day are the people. People from different families, different backgrounds, all united by the shared belief that equality is integral to a better life for all people. She knew then that she wanted to devote her life to this cause.

Starting her work in New York, Simma was first trained in facilitating dialogue between diverse cultural groups. Eventually she parlayed the knowledge she gained there into work as a “diversity and inclusion/culture change consultant”. In the time since, she has worked as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies and written several books on the topic.

Despite her decades of experience, Simma still remains curious. “The best thing for me is when I learn something I didn’t know,” Simma says of conversations with her pocast guests.

While Simma has always enjoyed the work she does to increase diversity and cultural understanding, she lamented the fact that she was not reaching a wider audience. Creating a podcast has given her the platform to reach listeners on a global level. It has also given her the chance to get to know local podcasters in her community, where she goes to meet up groups to stay up to date on the best practices in podcasting.

One of her strengths, she says of her work, is the gift of getting people to open up, which is key if you’re going to get two people to see eye to eye. “We’re not just one identity, but we’re so many different identities, and that’s really where we find a lot of the connections. And after we find the connections, it’s easier to talk about differences.”

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See the show notes at https://www.causepods.org/podcast/connection-intersection-with-simma-lieberman-everyday-conversations-race-podcast

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