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Cultivating Empathy As A Skill With Corey Ponder

Join Change Catalyst Founder & CEO Melinda Briana Epler with Corey Ponder, Empathy Practitioner & Facilitator at em|PACT Strategies, in conversation about Cultivating Empathy as a Skill.

We talk about Corey’s story, and how he started emPACT Strategies after the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. Then we dive into three types of empathy, and ways to build empathy inside organizations by using design thinking frameworks. We talk about allies as being the “trusted sidekick” in a super hero movie, and how to show up as an ally in this crucial moment – to ensure we are moving racial equity forward. And we discuss ways that we can facilitate difficult conversations so that people with widely different backgrounds find common ground to move toward solutions. We end with a conversation with the audience about what barriers they face as allies, and talk through some solutions.

Learn more about Corey’s work at www.empactstrategies.com/
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We talk about Corey’s story, and how he started emPACT Strategies after the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. Then we dive into three types of empathy, and ways to build empathy inside organizations by using design thinking frameworks. We talk about allies as being the “trusted sidekick” in a super hero movie, and how to show up as an ally in this crucial moment – to ensure we are moving racial equity forward. And we discuss ways that we can facilitate difficult conversations so that people with widely different backgrounds find common ground to move toward solutions. We end with a conversation with the audience about what barriers they face as allies, and talk through some solutions.

Corey Ponder is an empathy practitioner and educator who works with innovative companies and individuals to build safe spaces for inclusive and diverse experiences.

Corey believes in the power of human connection and how that drives real impact. Over his 10 years of professional experience as a policy analyst in the public sector and a program manager and policy professional in the private sector, Corey knows that an emphasis on emotional intelligence—self-awareness, empathy, and interpersonal skills—leads to a more committed, productive, and engaged workforce creating a real impact in the workplace and spaces they occupy.

Corey has scaled diversity initiatives across several companies, including with CIA and Facebook, and has spoken on allyship and empathy for several organizations, including Chan Zuckerberg initiative, Fitbit, MomWarrior, and Expedia. He has also developed and facilitated over 60 workshops on allyship, bias, privilege, and building empathy across the tech industry. He continues to publish on these topics as well — essays, podcasts, and articles — most recently being featured in Fortune Magazine’s raceAhead newsletter.

Corey holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Vanderbilt University.c

Learn more about the host and creator of Leading With Empathy & Allyship, Melinda Briana Epler.

Transcript

Transcript coming soon.