Work. Shouldnt. Suck.

In episode eleven of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men & the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Ted Castle (Founder & President) and Rooney Castle (Vice President) of Rhino Foods, the birthplace of the iconic cookie dough that goes into Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”

Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:

• Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) & Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMG
• Ron Carucci, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Navalent
• David Devan, General Director & President, Opera Philadelphia
• Jared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation Lab
• Jay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21
• Kit Hughes, Co-Founder and CEO of Look Listen
• Marc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools
• John Orr, Executive Director, Art-Reach
• David Reuter, Partner, LLR
• Sydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair & Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts & Performance Studies Department, Brown University

Want to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.

TED CASTLE is the owner and President of Rhino Foods, a certified B Corporation located in Burlington VT. Rhino employs 250+ employees and manufactures bakery style inclusions for ice cream manufacturers, and a variety of frozen desserts and snacks that are distributed in North America and Europe. Rhino Food’s Purpose is to “Impact the Manner in Which Business is Done” through its Financial, Customer and Supplier, Employee, and Community Principles. Rhino Foods and Ted have been recognized for their efforts with the Hal Taussig B the Change Award from B Lab, Beta Gamma Sigma Entrepreneurial Award. Vermont Small Businessperson of the Year, by the SBA, the Terry Ahrich Award for Socially Responsible Business by Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Forbes Magazine’s List of Small Giants. Optimas award for vision in the workplace (past winners include UPS, Coors and 3M), Inc Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Special Recognition Award from the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. In 2018 the Rhino Foods Foundation was formed with the mission to "Spread Innovative Workplace Practices that Champion Employee Financial Stability and Make Good Business Sense" with an initial focus is to spread the Income Advance Program Rhino nationwide. Ted lives in Charlotte, Vermont with his wife Anne. Their two sons Ned and Rooney are presently living in Vermont.

ROONEY CASTLE Growing up, Rooney was continuously asked if he ever planned to join the family business. Time and time again, he would answer with a definitive “no”, as it would have impeded his plans to become the next Wayne Gretzky. However, as time went by and his hopes of becoming the next “Great One” slipped away, he began to learn more about Rhino Foods. As a child, Rooney only knew it was the home of the locally famous Chessters ice cream sandwich and the birthplace of the iconic cookie dough that goes into Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough Ice Cream. As he began to invest both time and interest in the business his parents had created, Rooney discovered there was more to Rhino Foods than just delicious treats. His father’s passion for doing things the right way and understanding how a conscientious employer can impact employees’ lives outside of work is something to admire and emulate. It is this “do right” mentality, spread across all aspects of the business that attracted his to becoming a full-time rhino. In 2011, he started working at Rhino Foods on the production floor as a batter maker. The most important byproduct of his 8 months batter making was undoubtedly the relationships he developed with other rhinos and the knowledge he gained about what it takes to make their products. Rooney moved on to other roles giving him broad experience in other aspects of the business. This flexibility and exposure to a variety of learning opportunities is what makes him an engaged, versatile and happy rhino. Now the question he’s most frequently asked has become “when do you plan on taking over the reins of the family business?” to which he most politely responds, “I’m in no hurry.”

TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode ten of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men & the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Kit Hughes, Co-Founder and CEO of Look Listen, a consulting company working at the intersection of creativity, data, and technology.

This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”

Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:

• Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) & Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMG
• Ted Castle (Founder & President) & Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino Foods
• Ron Carucci, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Navalent
• David Devan, General Director & President, Opera Philadelphia
• Jared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation Lab
• Jay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21
• Marc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools
• John Orr, Executive Director, Art-Reach
• David Reuter, Partner, LLR
• Sydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair & Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts & Performance Studies Department, Brown University

Want to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.

KIT HUGHES is a typical technology entrepreneur. He dropped out of college to start a company (it failed), spent a period of time homeless (by choice), and became an overnight success (slowly). Eventually, Kit returned to school as a two-time research fellow at the University of Georgia leading experimental technology research projects exploring mobile computing and connected devices. He credits his business smarts to his studies in strategy and innovation at MIT Sloan. Kit co-founded Look Listen in 2007 as a mash-up of a digital studio and a consulting company working at the intersection of creativity, data, and technology. Look Listen grew to have offices in Atlanta, Denver, and Portland with three centers of excellence: Brand Experience, Performance Media, and Marketing Automation. He has worked with a variety of B2B and B2C brands across multiple touchpoints: Anheuser-Busch, Arrow, BP, Char-Broil, Coca-Cola, Flextronics, GE, NCR, Philips, and Steve Harvey. Under Kit’s leadership as CEO, Look Listen was recognized as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the US by hitting #408 on the Inc 500 in 2015—staying on the list three years in a row—and has been in the top 100 fastest growing companies in Atlanta three years in a row, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle Pacesetter Awards. Find out more about Kit here.

TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode nine of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men & the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews David Reuter, Partner at LLR, a private equity firm based in Philadelphia investing in technology and healthcare businesses.

This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”

Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:

• Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) & Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMG
• Ted Castle (Founder & President) & Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino Foods
• Ron Carucci, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Navalent
• David Devan, General Director & President, Opera Philadelphia
• Jared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation Lab
• Jay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21
• Kit Hughes, Co-Founder & CEO, Look Listen
• Marc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools
• John Orr, Executive Director, Art-Reach
• Sydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair & Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts & Performance Studies Department, Brown University

Want to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.

DAVID REUTER is a senior private equity investment professional combining strong financial and strategic analysis skills, extensive transaction experience, and proven leadership and business development capabilities. He possesses an analytical mind that quickly adapts to new environments and situations, and is self-motivated and dynamic with natural business decision skills. David is a Partner with LLR Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm investing in technology and healthcare businesses. LLR collaborates with its portfolio companies to define high-impact growth initiatives, turn them into action and create long-term value. Founded in 1999 and with more than $5 billion raised, LLR is a flexible provider of equity capital for growth, recapitalizations and buyouts. Find out more about David here.

TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode eight of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men & the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Marc Mannella formerly CEO of KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools and currently a consultant working with clients that range from professional sports teams, to charter schools, to non-profits.

This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”

Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:

• Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) & Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMG
• Ted Castle (Founder & President) & Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino Foods
• Ron Carucci, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Navalent
• David Devan, General Director & President, Opera Philadelphia
• Jared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation Lab
• Jay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21
• Kit Hughes, Co-Founder & CEO, Look Listen
• John Orr, Executive Director, Art-Reach
• David Reuter, Partner, LLR
• Sydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair & Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts & Performance Studies Department, Brown University

Want to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.

Bios

MARC MANNELLA is the President of Mannella Consulting Services, specializing in leadership coaching, and optimizing learning environments in schools, non-profits, and sport. Prior to his work consulting, Mannella had a 20-year career in education; first as a science teacher, then as founder and Principal of KIPP Philadelphia Charter School, a college preparatory middle school in North Philadelphia. After five years at KIPP as principal, he led KIPP Philadelphia’s expansion to a five-school network serving nearly 2000 students in grades K-12, overseeing all aspects of school and network operations as KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools’ CEO. He holds a B.A. in Psychology and Biology from the University of Rochester, and an M.Ed. in Education Leadership from National Louis University. Find out more about Marc here.

TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode seven of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men & the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) and Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer) of BBMG, a branding and social impact consultancy.

This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”

Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:

• Ted Castle (Founder & President) & Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino Foods
• Ron Carucci, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Navalent
• David Devan, General Director & President, Opera Philadelphia
• Jared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation Lab
• Jay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21
• Kit Hughes, Co-Founder & CEO, Look Listen
• Marc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools
• John Orr, Executive Director, Art-Reach
• David Reuter, Partner, LLR
• Sydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair & Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts & Performance Studies Department, Brown University

Want to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films. Read Rha Goddess's "An Open Letter To My Beloved White Male Allies," mentioned in this episode.

Bios

RAPHAEL BEMPORAD As Founding Partner of BBMG, Raphael unites branding, sustainability and innovation to help organizations create sustainable growth and positive impact in the world. An expert in brand strategy, public affairs and social innovation, Raphael is a passionate champion for a new approach to branding that’s driven by empathy, collaboration, shared values and mutual relationships.

“I’m a passionate champion for a new approach to branding that places our humanity at the center. At BBMG, we help clients unlock the human truths in their brands and unleash the humanity in their businesses so they win hand in hand with the people they serve,” Bemporad says. “We believe the imperative of our generation is to unite the power of business with the meaning and influence of brands to shape our aspirations, behaviors and relationships for a more just and sustainable future.” 

He has directed recent branding and marketing programs for clients such as Adidas, CLIF Bar, Disney, Earthbound Farm, Eileen Fisher, Estée Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal Paris, NBC Universal, Nespresso, Target, The North Face and Walmart. He has also worked with many leading nonprofits including ASPCA, Giffords, Greenpeace, OceanX, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Rainforest Alliance and Urban Teachers, as well as the Case Foundation, Ford Foundation, Kresge Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

Raphael also has an extensive background in political communications, getting his start as a press aide to Texas Governor Ann W. Richards. He also served as communications director for the Texas Democratic Party, as communications director for Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston), and as press secretary for U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas).

Raphael received his BA in Philosophy with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of marketing and communications at the NYU Stern School of Business, and he sits on the advisory boards of Sustainable Brands and the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business.

BRYAN MILLER spent twelve years on Wall Street, navigating between theory, strategy, and execution as well as the ever-present unknown. He’s our go-to problem solver and helps us all to thrive, as people and professionals. Bryan is also BBMG’s main ambassador to the B Corp community, and a Founding Board Member of B Local NYC. Superpower: Radical transparency and empathy.

TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode six of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men & the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Sydney Skybetter choreographer and founder of the Center for Research on Choreographic Interfaces that convenes experts in dance, performance, computer science, kinesiology, anthropology, social justice, and design to explore the relationship between bodies, movement, and emerging technologies.

This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”

Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:

• Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) & Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMG
• Ted Castle (Founder & President) & Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino Foods
• Ron Carucci, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Navalent
• David Devan, General Director & President, Opera Philadelphia
• Jared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation Lab
• Jay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21
• Kit Hughes, Co-Founder & CEO, Look Listen
• Marc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools
• John Orr, Executive Director, Art-Reach
• David Reuter, Partner, LLR

Want to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films. Read "Reflections From a Token Black Friend," mentioned in this episode.

Bios

SYDNEY SKYBETTER is a choreographer. Hailed by the Financial Times as “One of the world’s foremost thinkers on the intersection of dance and emerging technologies,” Sydney’s choreography has been performed at such venues as The Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow and The Joyce Theater. A sought-after speaker, he has lectured at SXSW, Yale, Mozilla, and Stanford, and consulted for The National Ballet of Canada, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Hasbro, New York University and The University of Southern California, among others. He is a Public Humanities Fellow, Senior Lecturer and the Associate Chair of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies at Brown University, and an affiliate of metaLAB at Harvard University and Dark Laboratory at Cornell University. He is a regular contributor to WIRED and Dance Magazine, has served as a Grant Panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts, is a founding member of the Guild of Future Architects, and is the Founder of the Conference for Research on Choreographic Interfaces.

TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In this episode, we dive into re-imagining the hiring process, in particular, how it might be designed if we dusted off executive search to co-create a process that centers our values of equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and anti-oppression.

Find out more about Work Shouldn't Suck's hiring-based offerings here, including full-service executive search, our hiring process consultation, and our brand new values-based hiring course launching this April.

JAMIE GAMBLE (Guest Host) Jamie Gamble is the Principal Consultant of New Brunswick based Imprint Consulting, and since 2002 has served organizations involved in the arts, climate change, environmental protection, economic development, public health, youth leadership, citizen engagement, and sport with consulting in strategy, evaluation, and organizational change. Jamie’s specialization is developmental evaluation, and he has authored several publications on evaluation including A Developmental Evaluation Primer and A Developmental Evaluation Companion.

KATRINA DONALD (she/her): Based in Treaty 7 Territory, Katrina is the Principal Consultant at ever-so-curious, and believes that listening and sensemaking practices bring us into community, reveal pathways forward, encourage and embolden us, and allow for greater impact. Her approach is relational and developmental; she works in partnership with people and organizations to co-design inclusive, collaborative, and continuously emerging evaluation and HR strategies. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba and a Masters Certificate in Organization Development and Change from the Canadian Organization Development Institute (CODI) and the Schulich Executive and Education Centre (SEEC) at York University. She is a mother, wife, daughter, sister, systems thinker, developmental evaluator, program designer, and a Registered Professional Recruiter (RPR). She’s committed to showing up for her own ongoing learning and to building workplaces that are actively anti-racist, praxis-centered, and humble as they work through the prickly bramble of change.

TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode five of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men & the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Ron Carucci, an author and Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Navalent, a firm that works with CEOs and executives who are pursuing transformational change for their organizations and industries.

This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”

Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:

• Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) & Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMG
• Ted Castle (Founder & President) & Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino Foods
• David Devan, General Director & President, Opera Philadelphia
• Jared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation Lab
• Jay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21
• Kit Hughes, Co-Founder & CEO, Look Listen
• Marc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools
• John Orr, Executive Director, Art-Reach
• David Reuter, Partner, LLR
• Sydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair & Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts & Performance Studies Department, Brown University

Want to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films. Read "Reflections From a Token Black Friend," mentioned in this episode.

Bios

RON CARUCCI is co-founder and managing partner at Navalent, working with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change for their organizations, leaders, and industries. He has a thirty-year track record helping executives tackle challenges of strategy, organization and leadership. From start-ups to Fortune 10’s, non-profits to heads-of-state, turn-arounds to new markets and strategies, overhauling leadership and culture to re-designing for growth. He has helped organizations articulate strategies that lead to accelerated growth, and design organizations that can execute those strategies. He has worked in more than 25 countries on 4 continents. He is the author of 9 books, including the Amazon #1 Rising to Power and the recently released To Be Honest, Lead with the Power of Truth, Justice & Purpose. He is a popular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, where Navalent’s work on leadership was named one of 2016’s management ideas that mattered most. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes, and a two-time TEDx speaker. His work’s been featured in Fortune, CEO Magazine, Inc., BusinessInsider, MSNBC, Business Week, Inc., Fast Company, Smart Business, and thought leaders. 

The Whole Me

He lives in the New York City area with his wife. On weekends, you’ll find him on his bike, on the tennis court, on his skis, at the movies, or cheering for the Seattle Seahawks. His greatest joy is seeing leader’s thrive by having the impact on the lives of those they lead. Helping leaders find their voice, and use it to serve their organization’s greater good is what gets him up every morning. In his office, Ron has a collection of antique door knobs, door knockers and skeleton keys. Every day, they remind him that life is about finding and pursuing the open doors in front of you, and making sure those doors open for others. In the morning, one of his favorite routines is picking the coffee mug in the conference room from among his collection. Each mug hails from a difference experience and person in his life, and helps him begin his day remembering to be grateful for all those in his life who’ve been part of his story.

TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art & Design, the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.