Uplifting Impact

Uplifting Impact

By Deanna SinghSociety & CultureBusinessEducationSelf-Improvement
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Uplifting Impact episodes

  • Inclusion is Invisible-So How Do We Measure It?

    I am so excited to be here with my friend Paolo Gaudiano. He’s the CEO of Aleria, President of Aleria research, and the Executive Director of Quantitative Studies of Diversity and Inclusion at the City College of New York. He has decades of experience in business, technology, and academia to transform how people think about diversity and what to do about it, with the ultimate goal to make our society more inclusive and equitable. He’s a public speaker and contributor to Forbes, and today we have the great joy of having him on Uplifting Impact. In our conversation, he shares his journey to DEI work as a white male, the research he does, how he shows up in spaces as someone committed to doing DEI work, and how other white people can start doing it on an individual level.

    Topics in this episode

    • The relationship between what happens to an individual within an organization, and what happens to the organization as a whole
    • Just focusing on data has a lot of flaws.It doesn’t represent what has happened in the past
    • You’re only seeing things at the population level. It doesn’t provide details on the experience of individuals
    • Diversity takes years of change before it can be reflected in the data
    • Inclusion is invisible. You don’t notice it until you are excluded from something.
    • Categories through which inclusivity is measured:Workplace interactions
    • Promotion and career advancement
    • The ability to access information within your company
    • Recognition
    • Ways to naturally add diversity and inclusion to your life: Attending cultural events
    • Literature
    • Social media
    • What you do outside of the office translates to what happens at the office
    • Learning to appreciate the differences without trying to integrate and assimilate.

      • Paolo’s Literature Recommendations

      • Kindred by Octavia Butler
      • Fledgling by Octavia Butler
      • Toni Morrison
      • The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
      • Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

        Contact Info

        Email: [email protected]

        Paolo’s articles on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/search/?q=gaudiano#6dcdab60279f

        I am so glad to have Paolo on the show and to be able to connect with him and share the work he’s doing. I can’t wait to see how it continues to evolve and the impact it’s going to have on the entire sector. If we work together we can have a much more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world. We just have to do it. So let’s do it! 

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        24 min
      • The Importance of Sitting at the Leadership Table with Confidence

        Minda Harts is someone I’ve been dying to have a conversation with, so I’m excited to have her on and talk with her, and to share this with you. Minda is the CEO of The Memo LLC, a career-development platform for women of color. She’s the bestselling author of The Memo; What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table. She frequently speaks on topics such as leadership, managing diverse teams, and self-advocacy. She also hosts a weekly podcast called Secure the Seat. In our conversation she shares some important insights about how to make the most of it once you get to the table, creating a legacy, and some of the important things allies can do to be helpful in the workplace, and beyond.

        Topics in this episode

        • You’re not alone. There are other people experiencing what you’re experiencing.
        • If you care about your workplace, then it starts with understanding how each of our colleagues is bringing themselves to work.
        • Creating a better work environment with awareness
        • Having to lean into your own courage throughout the publishing process. If not me, then who?
        • Success is not a solo sport. It’s bigger than the individual.
        • Using your voice. Securing your seat at the table, and creating space for others to be able to join.
        • We can’t fully secure any seat if we’re constantly wondering why we’re there, and what others are thinking of us.

          • Resources

          • The Memo on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VNTPN49/
          • Secure the Seat podcast: http://mindaharts.com/podcast/

            • Contact Info

            Website: http://mindaharts.com/

            Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindaHarts

            Thank you again to Minda Harts for coming on Uplifting Impact. We talked about acts of courage both big and small. I encourage you all to take a step outside your comfort zone and to help ensure that we all are getting the opportunity to come to the table. And as always, make sure that you are moving in this world in a way that allows us to create more diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

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            23 min
          • The DEI Details in the Content

            Welcome back to Uplifting Impact, and I’m so excited because we have Kevin Clark with us today. Kevin is a professor of learning technologies and the Founding Director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity at George Mason University. His research focuses on diversity in children’s media and technology and includes a national study that’s really looking at the digital lives of African American tweens, teens, and parents.

            In addition to his academic career, Kevin has extensive experience as a children’s media advisor and consultant. He’s provided diversity and inclusion expertise on scripts, character design, storylines, animations, games, and helped clients move into a space where they can be more inclusive with the young people they are hoping to share their content with. In our conversation, we discuss the importance of including diverse voices throughout the decision-making process when creating content, getting feedback for children, and what it’s like to be inclusive and create content for children.

            Topics in this episode

            • Children’s shows, books, and movies could potentially be watched by thousands or millions of people, so it’s important to get it right
            • The process of DEI consultative work
            • What it looks like to update a book or piece of work, while maintaining what keeps it endearing
            • Recognizing the historical context of what they’re composing
            • A story that works now may not work 10 years from now
            • What aspect of a group are you actually trying to make a part of your campaign? When we do this work, we have to help people understand how to be authentic
            • Authenticity can be revealed by the target audience that was chosen for something
            • If you incorporate the DEI work at the beginning of the project, you won’t have to figure out how to add it to the project later

              • Contact Info

              • Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinClarkPhD
              • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinclarkphd/
              • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinclarkphd/

                •  It was lovely to talk to Kevin today and I can’t wait to see the Snowy Day project, available on Amazon. If more people are thinking about how to connect their leadership with the diversity, equity, and inclusion wonderful work that is going on out there, like what Kevin is doing, then we can fundamentally change the way that people show up in this world and the way that they are able to thrive in this world.

                 To see Snowy Day, you can find it here, on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M29SIU2/

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                25 min
              • The Power of Planting DEI Seeds

                Angela Russell is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at CUNA Mutual Group. Angela is responsible for leading the development, direction, and implementation of short and long-term strategies and programs that support diversity, equity and inclusion. She shares her journey and how she began doing public health work, her transition to the financial services industry, and how interconnected those are.

                In our conversation, Angela details the why and how of making lasting change for both the individual-level and the systems-level within an organization and she provides helpful insight on how others can take up this work as well.

                Topics in this episode

                • The connection between public health, politics, and financial services.
                • Having clarity on your purpose.
                • Being intentional with diversity, inequity, and inclusion
                • The importance of executive-level buy-in of the work, and how that makes a difference
                • Individual change and systems change. Are you trying to change hearts and minds? Or are you trying to change policy? It can be “both, and”
                • How to start the process of looking at and changing policies: Who is this policy benefiting, and who is it unintentionally hurting?
                • Being compliant versus being inclusive and what ally-ship looks like
                • The role of vulnerability in this work, and how it impacts your emotional intelligence

                  • Contact Info

                  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelarrussell

                  I’m so glad you got the chance to hear her and learn from her. We would love for you to share this episode and make sure you stay connected by going to http://www.deannasingh.com/. It’s only by staying connected and learning together that we can make the change we want to see.

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                  24 min
                • Uplifting Impact Trailer

                  We look at the intersection of Leadership and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. There are a lot of people who will discuss the challenges in the DEI space, but not how to solve them. Leaders who want to break the status quo, come here. We will build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world together.

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                  2 min

                About Uplifting Impact

                From the publisher's feed

                We explore the intersection of leadership and meaningful change. While many highlight the challenges that divide us, few focus on how to bridge the gaps. This podcast is for leaders ready to break the…