Uplifting Impact

Hira Ali is a leadership trainer, career coach, and Founder of Advancing Your Potential. She is passionate about empowering women and ethnic minorities, closing the gender gap, and advocating diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Telegraph, BBC, Harper's Bazaar, and Huff Post, and in 2019 she released her first book, Her Way To The Top: A Guide to Smashing the Glass Ceiling. Just recently she released her second companion book, Her Allies: A Practical Toolkit to Help Men Lead Through Advocacy.

In this episode, Hira and Justin talk about the role of men as allies in gender equality, particularly in the work place, and specific ways in which men can be helpful. They discuss the qualities of a successful workshop and ways to leave a lasting impact as a speaker or workshop leader. Hira also details her background, how she started doing diversity, equity, and inclusion work, and her passion for coaching. To connect with Hira, find her on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hira-ali-5972b91b/

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Debra Ruh is the founder and CEO of Ruh Global Impact to help empower clients to be global problem solvers and leaders of social change. Debra is also a global disability inclusion strategist, Keynote speaker, and a published author. She also is the host of The Human Potential At Work podcast, sharing inspirational stories and tips for bringing out the best in everyone.

Debra Ruh has faced disability in her life and within her family, and as such, it has become her personal mission to create more equity for those who face lived experiences with disabilities. In our conversation, we discuss the work she is doing to foster equity in the work place for those with disabilities, such as challenging leaders to rethink their strategies and recruitment in order to create a more inclusive environment. We also talk about the relationship between technology and people with disabilities, and the power of diversity for problem solving. To learn more about Billion Strong and how you can join the movement, go to: http://billion-strong.org/

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Jose Antonio Tijerino is a proud immigrant from Nicaragua, and is President and CEO of the Hispanic heritage foundation, a national nonprofit focused on education, workforce, social impact and culture through the lens of innovative leadership. He also serves as executive producer of the Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy center, and co-founded the leadership Institute with Trinity university, which connects graduating high school seniors with mentors throughout college and their careers. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards and through his leadership and inspiration, has created many programs to help in the area of social justice.

In our conversation, we talk about the importance of taking action as an activist, and Jose shares how he has built programs through inspiring and mobilizing members of his networks and communities. He also brings up the importance of DEI practitioners to work together and celebrate each other as allies. There can certainly be competition within the space for funding and resources, but Jose impresses on us that it is our responsibility to uplift and celebrate each other in order to make the biggest impact. To connect with Jose, find him on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-tijerino-9881847, or on social media, links below.

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Jenn Zephirin is the Vice President and Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Match Group, whose mission is to spark meaningful connections for every single person worldwide. In her role, she is responsible for developing and implementing programs to achieve Match Group’s diversity goals. Prior to her current position with Match Group, she worked as the diversity and inclusion business partner for technology at Uber technologies and served as a private DEI consultant for brands like Unilever and the Levo Institute.

Jenn shares the importance of allyship and connecting with your colleagues that may not feel engaged in the workplace. Even in 2021 some team members may be “the only one” in any number of demographics or categories. We discuss her book, Misunderstood Millennials, The Other 91%, focusing on the shifts that millennials have made on the work force, and challenging preconceived ideas of the effects of these shifts. To connect with Jenn, find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-zephirin-5967bb12

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-zephirin-5967bb12

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Sharon Harvey Davis is the VP of Diversity Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer for Ameren. In her role, she is responsible for leading all DEI strategic efforts, including diversity training, employee resource groups, diversity communications, and the executive diversity council. Under Sharon's leadership Amarin has been ranked as one of the nation's top utilities by diversity, Inc for 12 consecutive years.

Throughout her 19 years of experience with Ameren, Sharon has seen many changes within the diversity space. She shares some of the developments and progressions that have taken place, both within Ameren and with diversity work overall. We discuss some challenges she has faced, and some of the coming trends for DEI work as well. To connect with Sharon, you can find her on Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-harvey-davis-76234a5

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-harvey-davis-76234a5

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Kobena-Marcus J. Collins is the diversity and inclusion advisor for Kohl’s Corporate offices and serves as the diversity recruitment consultant for Bridge-Builder Professional Staffing. He has a passion for diversity and inclusion work, as well as helping candidates to get clear on what it is they are looking for, and to help them to find a great fit with an organization. His travels and multicultural background have given him personal insight into the importance of diversity and inclusion, and he brings that to the work he does every day.

In our conversation, Kobena-Marcus and I discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion within roles of recruitment. It is key for employees to see someone they identify with in leadership roles of an organization so that they feel included, which leads to belonging and higher retention rates. He also shares his 5 R’s of Human Resources and we talk about internal versus external hiring for an organization. To connect with Kobena-Marcus, you can find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmjcollins

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmjcollins

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Excited to share a recent conversation with Girish Ganesan, a strategic leader and innovative thinker with a passion for improving organizational performance. In his current role as the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at TD Bank Group, he is responsible for overseeing development, implementation of diversity and inclusion tactics, strategies, and programs for the customers, colleagues, and communities they serve.

In our conversation, he details the importance of travelling and how impactful it has been for him as a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner. We discuss the different DEI considerations for global communities, while also ensuring the implementation of fair, company-wide practices. We also talk abut DEI fatigue in the workplace, and strategies to help prevent it. To connect with Girish, you can go to his LinkedIn page here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/girish-ganesan

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• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/girish-ganesan

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Caroline Chambers is the senior director of diversity equity and inclusion at Graham Media Group, in her role, she leads all aspects of the DEI strategy to ensure intentional, measurable practices for building core talent, fostering workplace culture programs that promote equity as well as inclusivity. While she may be relatively new to the broadcast space, she is definitely not new to the work of being a DEI practitioner. Her background includes management roles in financial services, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations.

In our conversation, we talk about the changes and growth within the broadcast media industry with regards to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She shares some new approaches Graham Media Group has taken with respect to applying the DEI lens to all areas of the organization. We also talk about the importance of accountability, and even though it may be daunting, there are ways to make it positive and encouraging. To connect with Caroline, you can find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-chambers01cc

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-chambers01cc

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Sabrina Griffith is a consultant, trainer, and strategist who works to encourage inclusion and belonging in corporations, businesses, and organizations, as they strive to create equitable practices. She uses her experience over the last 15 years as a DEI practitioner to develop and facilitate engaging and comprehensive sessions on DEI topics, including gender sexuality, LGBTQ+ allyship, bias, race, colorism, and classism to name a few. In our conversation, we discuss how she got started in DEI work, what it’s like to start from scratch with people who are new to these conversations, and ways organizations can approach talent acquisition with intention for creating more diverse, equitable, and inclusive spaces. To learn more about and connect with Sabrina, find her on LinkedIn, or on her website, https://www.griffithconsultingservices.com/

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Heather Holland is the founder and Chief People Officer of Holland Energy Consulting, and in her role, she raises awareness around diversity, equity, and inclusion work within the energy, manufacturing, education, and transportation industries. In our conversation, we discuss the lack of diversity within these industries and we respond to the argument that a diverse workforce just isn’t out there for positions in these industries. We also talk about how companies should examine where they fall when it comes to whether they lead the pack with DEI, if they simply follow trends, or if they lag behind, and some tactics of how they can do better. To learn more about Holland Energy Consulting, go to: https://www.hollandenergyconsulting.com/

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