As a Certified Diversity Professional and Scholar-Practitioner, Shawna Gann successfully marries business psychology, learning theory, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles to support organizations as they advance DEI practices in the workplace and in everyday social situations. Though she works with employees at all levels of an organization supporting the many dimensions of diversity, she specializes in racial ambiguity, authenticity, and belonging. Through her world travels, S...
Sep 06, 2022•30 min
Julianna Rose (she/they) is an illustrator and magic tool maker. They have studied world building, time traveling, and tarot at the Cecilia Weston Spiritual Academy. They have created artwork for children's books, ad agencies, grocery stores, and apparel. Julianna enjoys smoking weed and snacking, gardening, pulling tarot cards, having deep conversations, hiking, swimming, and magic making. They are mixed race (Korean and white) and currently live in the desert with their partner and dog, Shimmy...
Aug 30, 2022•27 min
Nancy Torres is an Author, Childhood Educator, and Meditation Guide. She loves inspiring and supporting children in their academic and social-emotional development. Nancy received a B.A. in Corporate Communications from Baruch College, City University of New York, and received an M.A. in Childhood Education and Special Education from New York University. Nancy speaks both English and Spanish, and lives in New York with her husband and two sons whom they are raising bilingual. In the conversation...
Aug 23, 2022•25 min
* Content Warning: topics include abuse, anorexia and suicidal ideation* Nōn Wels is a writer, doggo lover, creator of the You, Me, Empathy podcast, and founder of The Feely Human Collective, a space to grow and grapple with the wonders of empathy, vulnerability, and emotional curiosity. In the conversation today, we hear the backstory to the You, Me, Empathy podcast, and what brave safety means to Nōn. We speak about using our privilege, uplifting others, leading by example, and what keeps Nōn ...
Aug 16, 2022•32 min
Sonali Fiske is a woman-identified, Sri Lankan-born, California-grown leadership mentor, radio talk show host, spoken word artist, writer, international speaker, and mama to one teenaged-son. Her everyday work is to fortify and amplify revolutionary BIPoC voices in a collapsing white-dominant, colonized landscape. Sonali specifically mentors trans and cis womxn and non-binary and gender nonconforming people who are open to being in femme centered space. Her other devotions are centering racial j...
Aug 09, 2022•29 min
Jess Bird is a self taught artist + illustrator, making magic in her hometown of Rochester, NY. She started her instagram and shop Bless the Messy in 2014, in an effort to connect back to herself and others during the darkness of depression. Exposing herself as a messy, in-process human figuring it out, she uses her illustrations to convey what she’s learning, how she’s feeling, and how she moves through the world around her. Her hope is that people feel seen, validated, and less alone. She star...
Aug 02, 2022•29 min
Rosa Lowinger is a writer and art conservator most well-known for Tropicana Nights: the Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub, the definitive book on Havana’s pre-Castro nightclub era. Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Rosa has an M.A. in art history and conservation from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, and she is a fellow of every major international conservation organization. She lives in Los Angeles, where she is chief conservator at RLA Conservation, LLC, a firm she founded that spec...
Jul 26, 2022•30 min
Asha Frost is an Indigenous Medicine Woman and a member of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation. She is the best selling author of You are the Medicine, and has guided thousands of people through profound and lasting transformation. Asha is from the Crane Clan, the totem of leadership, and believes in holding space from vision and heart. As an energy healer, homeopath, and mentor, Asha has blended her life experience with her innate gifts and the wisdom of her Ancestors. She loves sharing her Me...
Jul 19, 2022•24 min
Daniel J. O’Brien is a Trinidad-born author and illustrator currently residing in New York with his fantastic partner, Ashleigh, and their loyal but nervous dog, Obbie. He holds a BFA in Illustration from The School of Visual Arts. With that and his love of everything folklore, nature, and science, he is continually fueling his passion for illustration. He uses his honed ability to bring forth exuberant and whimsical illustrations full of life, and vibrant color. Daniel has written, illustrated,...
Jul 12, 2022•32 min
Rawiyah Tariq is a Black, gender non-binary, fat, disabled and neurodivergent artist and kink aware professional. Their roots are in queer, poly-amorous, fat community. Their tone is reflective of these roots and their work is informed by how these intersect with their Blackness. Magic, massage, storytelling and performance art are tools they use to liberate, heal and reclaim space for marginalized communities. They believe in cohesive and somatic healing and holding practices that align body, m...
Jul 05, 2022•29 min
Louiza Doran, known and referred to as Weeze, is a cis-het Amazigh* female-identifying human who uses she/her/they/them pronouns. She’s known as a coach, podcast host, advocate, agent of change, speaker, strategist, healing-centered educator, and guide (to name a few) but is ultimately a compassionate provocateur who is out to help folks uncover their path of possibility through liberation by way of decolonization, justice, and anti-oppression work. In the conversation today, we start with some ...
Jun 28, 2022•37 min
*CW: Jamal is a sexual assault survivor, and experienced suicidal thoughts, which are mentioned early in the conversation. Jamal is an educator and activist that grounds his work in the cannons of Love on Purpose! Jamal believes that hate has no place in the creation of changing the world. We must find our best selves if we wish to elevate the change we want to see. In the conversation today, Jamal shares his perspectives on how important it is to see the best in people in the worst of situation...
Jun 21, 2022•29 min
Tiffany Townsend is a Certified Professional Midwife, connected to her ancestral land and roots. Her early experiences with her Abuela, an OBGYN in the Dominican, had her involved with birth early in her life. As a young Mom herself, she saw first hand how many misconceptions and misunderstandings there were in the birth world, and committed herself to educating herself through the birth and raising of her first four children. Through the misconceptions, myths and pure ignorance about Black peop...
Jun 14, 2022•29 min
Dra. Rocío Rosales Meza, is a Xicana/Mexicana Indigenous woman. She is a Seer, initiated medicine woman in the Q’ero Inca lineage, and is a Counseling Psychology Ph.D. She is also an unschooling mama to a 5 year old child who holds supernatural gifts. Dra. Rocío comes from a long line of healers on both her maternal and paternal lineages and was born with psychic, channeling, and mediumship gifts. Dra. Rocío’s work is at the intersections of decolonizing, spirituality, and wellness. Her work is ...
Mar 29, 2022•31 min
Tiffany Hammond is the creator and voice behind Fidgets and Fries. She is Black woman with Autism, a mother to two boys with autism, an advocate, and a storyteller. Tiffany uses her personal experiences with Autism and parenting her two boys to guide others on their journey. Her activism is rooted in challenging the current perception of Autism as a lifelong burden, cultivating a community that explores the concept of Intersectionality, challenges dominant culture thinking on matters of race, an...
Mar 22, 2022•35 min
Mary Fashik is a Lebanese-born, Queer Disability Rights Activist, author, public speaker and workshop facilitator. In 2019, Mary founded Upgrade Accessibility, a movement designed to challenge today’s accessibility standards. The movement has grown to include disability rights, intersectionality, disability justice, equity and unequivocally supports Black Lives Matter / Black Disabled Lives Matter. In the conversation today, Mary shares the backstory to Upgrade Accessibility and where and why th...
Mar 15, 2022•35 min
Kristen McGuiness is the Vice President of Row House. She’s the founder of Storyboxing, providing content, coaching and courses for people looking to sell their book, launch their brand or grow their non-profit. She’s also the bestselling author of 51/50: the Magical Adventures of a Single Life, and has recently finished her debut novel Live Through This. She has over twenty years’ experience in book development, writing and editorial work. In the conversation today, you’ll hear about so many th...
Mar 08, 2022•39 min
Marcie Alvis-Walker is a writer and the creator of the blog and Instagram feed, Black Coffee with White Friends and Mockingbird History Lessons. She is passionate about what it means to embrace intersectionality, diversity and inclusion in our daily lives. As a history enthusiast, she believes that learning our comprehensive history from diverse narratives is not only racially healing but also radically anti- racist. She recently moved to Chicago, Illinois with her husband, daughter, and their d...
Mar 01, 2022•37 min
Lindo Jones is a Spoken Word Artist, Creator of LindoYes! Clothing Line, and an Event Host who was born and raised in Uptown Philadelphia, PA. He is an unapologetically Black fusion of theatrical poetics and visual art, whose work addresses the constructs of love, masculinity and social injustice. Lindo builds curriculum to help youth express themselves through creative writing, visual arts, and performing arts, centered around social activism and personal development. In the conversation today,...
Feb 22, 2022•33 min
Kina Reed is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practitioner. She is also the creator and curator behind the social media platforms, The AntiBlackness Reader Project and Divesting From Whiteness. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies and is a published researcher, conference presenter and public speaker. Her public advocacy is largely inspired by her academic research relating to social power and its intersections with race and gender identity constructions. She formerly held...
Feb 15, 2022•41 min
Layla F. Saad is an author, speaker, and teacher on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation and social change. She is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of the groundbreaking book Me and White Supremacy , the host of the Good Ancestor Podcast, and the founder of The Good Ancestor Book Club. In the conversation today, we hear about Layla’s latest reads, and what reading rituals look like between reading for work and reading for the podcast. Layla shar...
Feb 08, 2022•38 min
Juliet Diaz is a Bruja, Seer, and Spiritual activist. She's an Indigenous Taino Cubana from a long line of curanderos (Healers) and Brujas on both sides of her parents' lineages. She believes Magic lives within us all and feels passionately about inspiring others to step into their truth and waking to their remembrance. Juliet has devoted her life to helping people come back to their Divine Self and liberate themselves from the oppressor within. In this conversation, Juliet shares the backstory ...
Feb 01, 2022•32 min
Content Warning - Traumatic Experiences that Induce PTSD and Stress Tamela J. Gordon is a New York-bred, Miami revitalized, New Orleans lustin' Black writer, book critic, self-care coach, and performer. Her platforms are dedicated to providing content and resources for marginalized people in need of self-care. Online, she's the founder of Black Lit Book Club , a virtual book café that centers, promotes, and critiques Black literature. In the conversation today, Tamela shares the backstory to Hoo...
Jan 25, 2022•35 min
Trudi Lebr ó n is a business coach who helps entrepreneurs build businesses that change lives without compromising their values, their money, or their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. She stands behind this practice of equity centered coaching and leadership that focuses on frameworks that support social impact business models. In this conversation, Trudi shares her own journey with coaching, and a backstory and brief history of the coaching industry. She offers insights on the di...
Jan 18, 2022•35 min
Leslie Priscilla is a first generation non-Black Chicana mother to three bicultural children. She founded this bilingual organization and movement intentionally rooted in children's rights, social and racial justice, the individual and collective practice of nonviolence and reparenting, intergenerational and ancestral healing, cultural sustenance, and the active decolonization of oppressive practices in our families. In this conversation, Leslie talks about feeling really angry and experiencing ...
Jan 11, 2022•36 min
Leesa Renée Hall is a mental wellness advocate with a deep interest in humanity and psychology. She helps highly sensitive people and deep feelers explore unconscious biases so they can become better ancestors while protecting their own energy. In this conversation, Leesa shares about her journey decolonizing herself - and her bookshelf, exploring social, biological and ethnic identities. Her work dives into meeting and understanding our Inner Oppressor, venturing into Inner Field Trips and expl...
Jan 04, 2022•30 min
*Content Warning: Pregnancy Loss* Brittany Carmona-Holt is a full spectrum doula, Tarot reader, birth and life photographer, artist, reproductive justice advocate, and author of the forthcoming book called Tarot for Pregnancy: A Companion for Radical, Magical Birthing Folks. In this conversation, Brittany starts by sharing her journey into writing and the importance of writing from a place of passion and understanding our divine assignments. She tells us about her upcoming book and about the cre...
Dec 21, 2021•49 min
*Content Warning: sexual assault and disordered eating* James Rose is a non-binary, genderfluid actor, Health at Every size Personal Trainer, trauma-informed yoga teacher, and DEI consultant in NYC/Lennapehoking. They write about gender, eating disorder recovery, sex, their feelings, and their exes on their Instagram, where they hope to leave the internet a little better than they found it. In this candid conversation today, James shares their excitement about the future of theater and witnessin...
Dec 14, 2021•49 min
Rebekah Bruesehoff is a passionate, outspoken, and heart-driven teen with her heart set on change and the greater good. Between the numerous projects she’s a part of and the visions she has, Rebekah is changing the world one conversation at a time. In our chat today, Rebekah shares the coolest gift idea for the holidays, as well as how impactful it’s been for her - and others - to have a reverse mentorship role working with large companies in order to educate the workforce for upcoming generatio...
Dec 07, 2021•29 min
Tasha Hunter is a Licensed Clinical Social worker, an author, and a podcast host. She’s a heart forward friend and leader who is open and honest about her own healing journey in order to help others feel more connected and less alone. In this conversation, Tasha opens up about realizing the ways she silenced her own voice - primarily after having read Women Who Run With The Wolves. We talk about the importance of turning inward, and the fact that it is okay to do so. We talk about naming and ack...
Nov 30, 2021•33 min
