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Category: Systemic Workplace Equity

Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Marissa Andrada, an Asian Mixed Race Woman with long brown hair, tortoiseshell glasses, gold blouse, and white blazer, and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.

| 53 min

Changing Workplace Cultures: From Planning To Execution With Marissa Andrada

When is cultural transformation crucial for teams and organizations? What can leaders do to empower people in times of change? 

In Episode 124, Marissa Andrada, Culture Master & Kindness Catalyst, joins Melinda in a solution-focused discussion on transforming workplace cultures. Marissa draws from her experience in planning and executing culture change across different industries. She shares insights on how we can harness the transformative power of kindness through transparency, empowerment, collaboration, and co-creation. She also explores the importance of building leadership capability and developing incentive programs to encourage people across organizations to meet their goals for transformation.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Cory Ervin-Stewart, a Black indigenous woman with short, curly black hair, brown glasses, and white long-sleeved shirt; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.

| 44 min

Doing Equity Work As A Marginalized Changemaker With Cory Ervin-Stewart

What does it take to maintain confidence and resilience while engaging in equity work? How can self-grace and allyship help underrepresented changemakers? 

In Episode 122, Cory Ervin-Stewart, Founder and CEO of Stewart Consulting and Management, LLC, joins Melinda in a candid conversation on navigating the challenges of equity work as a marginalized changemaker. They share personal insights from their experiences in interracial relationships and discuss the importance of self-reflection and self-care practices to address the harmful effects of marginalization. They also explore ways allies can support and advocate for individuals engaged in equity work.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Toby Mildon, a White man sitting in an electric wheelchair with low haircut, salt and pepper beard, and navy blue long-sleeve shirt; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.

| 42 min

Managing Cultural Change In The Workplace With Toby Mildon

What are the strategies for managing cultural change? How can we measure the impact? And what are the emerging trends that may have an influence? In Episode 121, Toby Mildon, founder & director of Mildon, joins Melinda in an action-oriented discussion on creating organizational culture change. They explore various change management models and strategic frameworks leaders can implement to drive DEI initiatives and measure their impact across teams. They tackle the importance of DEI practitioners taking a human-centered approach to problem-solving and using data to identify and address significant issues in the workplace. They also share insights on emerging DEI trends and the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion in business.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Dax-Devlon Ross, an African-American man with black hair and facial hair, white button down, and grey suit; his black and white image has a photo credits to Doug Segars; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.

| 50 min

Understanding The Changing Landscape Of DEI Work With Dax-Devlon Ross

In Episode 108, Dax-Devlon Ross, Founder / Principal of Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, joins Melinda in a reflective conversation about the changing landscape of DEI work over the years. They look into systemic shifts in communities and organizations, including the pushback to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. They explore what Dax-Devlon calls the BIPOC savior syndrome, an issue that incoming BIPOC leaders often face. Dax-Devlon also shares his experience navigating the DEI space as a Black cis man and how we can reflect and set goals to support DEI initiatives moving into 2023 and beyond.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Lily Zheng, a Chinese American nonbinary person with dark brown assymetric hair that is half shaved, glasses, black shirt, and black jacket; beside them is the off-white book cover of DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.

Finding Your Power To Create Systemic Change With Lily Zheng

In Episode 105, Lily Zheng, Consultant at Zheng Consulting, joins Melinda in a discussion on how we can use our power to create real systemic change around diversity, equity, and inclusion. They explore different types of power and practical ways we can build movements that address inequities in the workplace. They also discuss the importance of trust in creating change and how managers can earn their team members’ trust by understanding and utilizing the currency of trust when making decisions.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Dr. Victor Pineda, a man sitting in an electric wheelchair with dark hair, a white button-down, and black suit jacket; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.

How To Create Disability Inclusion, Accessibility, & Equity Through Policy

In Episode 98, Dr. Victor Pineda, President & Founder of The Victor Pineda Foundation / World ENABLED, joins Melinda in a discussion on his work to create disability inclusion, accessibility, and equity through a comprehensive and integrated approach to policy. They discuss the importance of thought leadership, culture change, and training programs to address the barriers to inclusive innovation in communities and organizations. They also explore top strategies for companies and individuals to build a disability-inclusive workplace.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Lydia X. Z. Brown, an East Asian person with short black and teal hair, glasses, a dark blue suit, light blue button-down, a diamond-patterned tie, and a square pin on their suit that reads: THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO HAVE A BODY, and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.

The Impact Of Surveillance Tech On Marginalized Populations With Lydia X. Z. Brown

In Episode 92, Lydia X. Z. Brown, Policy Counsel for Privacy & Data at the Center for Democracy & Technology, joins Melinda in an enlightening discussion around the impact of surveillance tech on marginalized populations. They address the importance of understanding the threats of surveillance in our daily lives brought on by algorithmic technologies used in education, policing, healthcare, and the workplace, and they discuss how this tech can be disproportionately damaging to people of color and people with disabilities. Lydia also shares what actions are needed to protect health data following the overturning of Roe v. Wade and how individuals and organizations should approach data privacy to protect everyone’s rights and advocate for marginalized communities who are harmed by surveillance technologies.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Katelin Holloway, a White Mom with long blonde hair and black blouse, and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.

How Venture Capital Impacts Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion In Tech With Katelin Holloway

In Episode 90, Katelin Holloway, Founding Partner at Seven Seven Six, joins Melinda in an extensive conversation over the role of venture capital in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across the tech industry. They explore how the venture ecosystem can evolve to empower a talented and diverse workforce, create new opportunities and access to wealth for underrepresented founders, increase representation at senior levels within VC firms, and invest in companies that positively shape the future of work. Katelin also shares about their firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion across all investor roles to address the wealth gap in VC and how investors can build accountability for inclusion and sustainability in Web3.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of Ulysses Smith; a Black man with curly black hair, navy shirt, and gray cardigan; and host Melinda Briana Epler; a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.

Rebuilding Equitable Structures In The Workplace With Ulysses Smith

In Episode 58, Ulysses Smith, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Blend, joins Melinda in a conversation that focuses on the approach to rebuilding structures that are equitable across different organizations. Ulysses shares his take on collaborating with various business entities to develop the DEI vision, using the lens of DEI in product design and development to impact consumers, and how business leaders can contribute to creating structural change in the workplace.

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Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo with the Empovia logo and photos of host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair and glasses, and Aubrey Blanche, a Latina with pink hair, glasses, and yellow shirt.

Shifting Our Work From Diversity To Equitable Design With Aubrey Blanche

Melinda Briana Epler, Founder & CEO of Change Catalyst, and Aubrey Blanche, Director of Equitable Design & Impact at Culture Amp, talk about why it’s critical to think beyond diversity and representation. With a shift to equitable design, we build equity, right the power dynamics, and create greater access and support for people in our workplaces and communities who are most marginalized. The conversation covers how to build our capacity to create and lead this change. 

Learn more about Aubrey’s work on:

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