We're joined by two of our Advisory Board members: Gene Valentin and Jason Gray, who share their lived experiences and insights regarding Pride: what it means to them, where Pride has lost its shine, and how individuals and companies can be more effective allies. This is a fairly unusual episode for us. It's more of a panel discussion than an interview, and it's pretty raw and unfiltered. 

This is a two-part episode as part of our Pride Series this month, so stay tuned for part-two next week!

We're kicking off our June 2023 Pride series with Dr. Steve Yacovelli, aka The Gay Leadership Dude. Steve is an expert in diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership both in and outside of the workplace whose not-so-hidden agenda is to make the world a bit more inclusive for us all.

He’s worked internally for folks like The Walt Disney Company, IBM, Tupperware Brands, and several universities before starting his own consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group in 2008.

In this episode, Steve talks about ways that leaders, (and by leaders, he means all of us), can be more inclusive, and he explores the benefits of inclusion and the costs of organizations not getting it right. Steve also shares an actionable framework for tackling silent collusion. 

Link to free resource on combating Silent Collusion (MOP+SAM)

In this bonus episode to close out Asian Heritage Month, we're joined by Senior Scientist, Noushin Mir, Ph.D., who discusses her personal and professional journey with us and shares her insights and experiences along the way. 

Noushin's story begins in Iran where she was an Associate Professor of Chemistry, and continues in the US where she now works in the private sector and continues to publish research. In this episode, we delve into the world of identity and authenticity, and what happens when our options for living authentically are narrowed. Noushin shares with us the internal and external challenges she faced both before and after moving to the US and her vision for a society in which individuals can express themselves authentically and feel included in their community. She discusses her Persian heritage and common misconceptions about what is included in the term "Asian." We also explore how workplace groups such as BRGs/ERGs can be effective. 

Thank you to Noushin for sharing her deeply personal story with openness, candor, and authenticity. 

Leadership coach Laura Jack joins us to discuss compassionate communication and how it relates to leadership as well as diversity, equity and inclusion. As a keynote speaker and trainer, compassionate communication and leadership coach, international best-selling author and founder of the Compassion Code Academy, Laura equips conscious leaders with compassionate communication and coaching skills so they can lead from the heart without losing their authority, efficiency, or effectiveness. She provides in-depth training for individuals and organizations who want to create a culture of compassion and leave a legacy of love for future generations.

This episode delves deep and explores weighty topics such as grief, loss, and trauma - topics that make many of us uneasy, especially when wearing our leadership hats. We discuss some of the myths around grief and healing, and how we can show up for those in our lives who are struggling, whether in our teams, our families, or ourselves.

To find out more about Laura and her offerings, or to learn more about her book The Compassion Code, you can check out her website at www.laurajack.com. 

We're joined by guest Erik Schwartz - CEO of PeopleSERVE, Inc., an IT placement firm, and Hirelytics, Inc.,  a recruitment analytics firm. Erik is passionate about leveraging technology to further diversity, equity and inclusion in the recruitment and hiring processes. He shares his professional insights with us, as well as his personal story of challenge and growth as an autistic leader and entrepreneur. This episode is both inspirational and practical. It is full of useful information about how teams and organizations can remove barriers between diverse talent pools and their employment opportunities, as well as the importance of Autism Acceptance and embracing the vibrant neurodiversity of our modern workforce. 

You can contact Erik by email at [email protected] or find out more about his companies at www.peopleserveinc.com.

In this episode, a friend of Two Piers, Robbie Leigh, joins us. Robbie is an empowerment coach who helps introverted, highly sensitives own their strengths and step into their power. Together, we explore the concept of adaptability. This trait, so often revered as a strength and skill, can also present its challenges in terms of identity and sustainability.

For more info on how to work with Robbie, check out her website at https://www.robbieleigh.com/.

Join us to explore this fascinating concept and determine how you plan to engage with adaptability. 

It's that time of year! Women's History Month and International Women's Day are upon us. This episode, our founder and host, Erica, discusses the tension between image and impact as companies lean into Women's History Month marketing. She also discusses her personal reflections on female-centered community in light of a recent visit to Texas and the work that Two Piers has been doing. While this episode tackles some weighty systemic issues, it's also a candid and earnest account of the personal challenges, reflections and growth of our founder. 

This episode, we’re joined by Brooke Taylor, a Transformational Career Coach for female leaders, organizational consultant and speaker, and former Marketing Lead at Google.

Brooke discusses the phenomenon of the "Success Wound," a concept she identified and coined, which is the pain high-achievers experience when they mistake their success for their self-worth. We talk about what success means to us, how to recognize and heal the success wound, and how to live within our purpose and our passion. It’s a great episode filled with candor, humility and lots of incredible insights. 

Brooke was named a “Top Career Coach to Watch” by the Australian Business Journal in 2021. She has served as an in-house Coach for female executives at Google, Uber and McKinsey. Her transformational workshops have changed the lives of over 5,000 women globally. 

You can download a free worksheet from Brooke’s website to help you get unstuck and plot your next career move.

This episode, we're joined by author, creative coach and facilitator GG Renee Hill, who shares with us the power of journaling. In this conversation with GG, we explore how journaling can be incorporated into our lives and what types of benefits it brings, from self awareness to productivity to healing. This powerful practice can help us connect to our inner values, or navigate challenging situations. It can also help us develop our skills in communicating and relating to others. GG shares a variety of resources including the following:

All The Many Layers - GG's platform for writing workshops, coaching and community
The Writer's Center - hosting seminars, classes and opportunities to connect and grow your writing or journaling skills
The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron's book on healing the inner writer
Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg's book about daily writing practice including prompts
Writing As A Way of Healing - Louise DeSalvo's book on the transformative power of writing

We're joined this episode by a distinguished guest and global expert: Senior Vice President Health, Safety, Environment & Carbon at bp, Dr Fawaz K Bitar, known to many as "Fuzzy." Together, we explore the supportive relationship between a culture of inclusion and belonging and safety performance. 

Fuzzy has been with bp for over 30 years and worked in the UK, US, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Egypt and Indonesia. More recently, he held the position of Head of the Upstream Executive Office and prior to this he was bp’s Head of Global Operations, Upstream for eight years. In March 2020 he was appointed Senior Vice President for HSE & carbon. Fuzzy has a Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Aberdeen and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Newcastle University. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Chairman of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) and is an Honorary Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Aberdeen. He also serves as a member of the McKinsey Crisis Advisory Board.

Along with these many accomplishments, he has also championed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as part of the fabric of his organizations and has seen first-hand the interconnected relationship between trust and safety. This is a special that is quite dear to our hearts, chock full of lessons for leadership and life.