The Will to Change: Where Leadership Meets the Courage to Evolve

As 2021 comes to a close, Jennifer Brown shares her thoughts on lessons learned in 2021 and what leaders need to think about for 2022.

Dr. Rohini Anand, Founder and CEO of Rohini Anand LLC, joins the program to discuss her new book, Leading Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations and what it takes for organizations to ensure that their cultures are diverse, inclusive and equitable in a sustained way. Rohini also reveals how individuals in organizations who may be limited by organizational structures and positional power can still work to create positive change.

This episode was originally recorded on the Leading with Empathy and Allyship podcast with host Melinda Briana Epler. In the episode Jennifer and Rohit Bhargava, discuss their new book Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways To Build A More Inclusive World. Jennifer and Rohit share their personal experiences and perspectives on creating a more inclusive world; present key learnings from their book on storytelling, retail, and leadership; and reveal their own educational moments from writing the book and how those moments helped them grow as allies. To order your copy of Beyond Diversity, or get the audiobook or ebook, visit: https://www.nonobviousdiversity.com/

This episode was originally recorded as a DEI Community Call and features a year-end conversation between Jennifer Brown and JBC Consultants La Mikia Castillo, Elfi Martinez and Gearah Goldstein, for a panel conversation about top diversity, equity, and inclusion trends from 2021 and what we can expect in 2022.

This episode was originally recorded as a webinar, sponsored by SmartBrief and moderated by Becky Robinson, Founder and CEO of Weaving Influence. Tune in as Jennifer Brown and Celeste Warren, Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion, Center of Excellence at Merck, discuss what it means for a leader to be inclusive, and how to determine if your organization and leaders are inclusive. You'll also discover the behaviors that leaders need to exhibit to create an inclusive organization and how to incorporate those behaviors into your organization and weave them into your practices.

Speaker and strategist Erin Weed does a takeover of the podcast and interviews Jennifer Brown on a variety of topics, including Jennifer's new book "Beyond Diversity," the importance of self-care, and the need for allyship. Jennifer also reveals what has shifted in her work over the years, the increasing awareness of various diversity dimensions at work, and shares her thoughts about the future of DEI work. To learn more about Erin and her work visit: https://www.erinweed.com

This episode features a conversation with Susan McPherson, Founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, and author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships. Susan shares tips for how we can revitalize our professional relationships and networks post-pandemic, and reveals the Gather, Ask, Do Method for building meaningful business and personal connections. Discover why asking "how can I help?" is the optimum way to build your network- even virtually.

This episode features a conversation between Adrienne Lawrence, JBC Sr. Consultant, and Jennifer Brown, as they discuss why is there such a disconnect between how white women view their support and how black women are experiencing it. Discover why white women are often afraid of stepping up to be an ally, and what white women can do to bridge the allyship gap by 2031.

From the Best of The Will to Change: Anti-aging activist and author, Ashton Applewhite, joins the program to discuss the importance of confronting ageism and how to create an inclusive culture for people of all ages. Ashton discusses the role of intersectionality in the aging process, and how we can change the way we think about what it means to get older. She also debunks some of the most common myths about aging.

In this minisode Jennifer Brown shares her thoughts about how executives need to pivot and how to create a safe container for leaders. Discover the link between psychological safety and performance and the challenge of leading without having all the answers.

In this episode, originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, Tarrance Frierson and Sabrina Kent join Jennifer Brown for a conversation focused on cultivating supplier diversity and particularly how businesses can advocate and champion for the inclusion of diverse business enterprises that include LGBTQ owned businesses into their supply chain.

From the best of The Will To Change: Diversability founder Tiffany Yu joins the program to reveal her own origin story, and shares her thoughts about the challenges and opportunities that still exist in the 30 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Discover how designing for disability benefits everyone and the intersection of social justice movements. This episode was originally recording as a DEI Community Call.

Melinda Briana Epler, CEO of Change Catalyst and author of How to Be an Ally: Actions You Can Take for a Stronger, Happier Workplace joins the program to discuss what people want and need from allies, why allyship is vital for business, and how people become better allies in our workplaces. To read Melinda's "The State of Allyship Report: The Key to Workplace Inclusion" visit https://ally.cc/report

This episode features an interview with Minal Bopaiah, author of Equity: How to Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives and founder of Brevity & Wit, a strategy + design firm that combines human-centered design, behavior change science and the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility to help organizations transform themselves and the world. Discover how human-centered design relates to diversity, equity and inclusion, what leaders can do to design a more equitable organization and what communicators need to know about addressing DEI issues.

Join Jennifer Brown and her co-author Rohit Bhargava as they take you on a behind-the-scenes conversation about their new book Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways to Build a More Inclusive World. Discover why Jennifer and Rohit decided to write this book, what differentiates it from other books on diversity and inclusion, their vision for the book, and more! To join the Beyond Diversity Book Insider Family and get early access to exclusive updates and invitations to launch events, visit https://jenniferbrownspeaks.com/beyond-diversity/

This episode, originally recorded at APA 2021, is hosted by Dr. Maysa Akbar, Chief Diversity Officer for the APA, as she speaks with Jennifer Brown, Dr. Derrick Gordon from the Yale School of Medicine and Eduardo Placer, CEO and Founder of Fearless Communicators. Discover how dismantling racism benefits us all, the necessary steps to have courageous conversations about race, and how to move from words to antiracist action. This program originally aired as part of APA 2021, the American Psychological Association's annual convention. It is being used with permission from the American Psychological Association. For more information about APA, visit www.apa.org.

In this episode, originally recorded for the Elearning Podcast, Jennifer Brown joins host Stephen Ladek to discuss the importance of bringing your full self to work and why even privileged leaders can benefit from more open ways to communicate and collaborate. Discover how you can reinvent as a person, a professional or an educator without losing your identity, but actually evolving it; and why crises are often fantastic catalyzers for personal growth.

This episode was originally recorded as a partnership between JBC and Women Employed, a non-profit devoted to improving the economic status of women and removing barriers to economic equity. Near the close of the month on August 26th, we observe change that was had over a century ago, in hopes of advancing change today. This day of observance is reserved for Women's Equality Day—the day in 1920 when our nation granted women the right to vote by passing the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Although it has been more than 100 years since women's suffrage was achieved, the fight for gender equality is still ongoing as discrimination and disparities persist. Tune in for a riveting and insightful conversation about closing the wealth gap at the intersection of wealth and gender and how to radically shift the way we think about we distribute resources and forge pathways to economic security.

Chad Moses, Director of Outreach and Experience at TWLOHA Inc., joins the program to discuss his journey and how he came to the work that he does collaborating with musicians, festivals, and entertainment companies to cultivate conversations about mental health. Discover the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in when it comes to mental health, and a different way to think about suicide prevention. To learn more, visit https://twloha.com/

This episode, originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, features a conversation with Cherise Bernard, PhD, Director of Diversity, Engagement and Inclusion at McCann New York and Founder of Modern Work Consultancy, and Amri Johnson, CEO and Founder of Inclusion Wins. Discover how leaders can help drive an inclusive and equitable culture from the top down, and how leaders can hold themselves accountable to this work, and create more accountability within each part of their business to ensure impact. You'll also discover practical ways for leaders to flex their cultural competencies. ·

This episode features a conversation between Adrienne Lawrence, Principal Consultant at Jennifer Brown Consulting, and Chad Moses, Director of Outreach at To Write Love on Her Arms as they discuss the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on mental health, as well as guidance on how to support each other's mental well-being in professional spaces. In honor of World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10), TWLOHA is creating conversations that move people from hopelessness to help, encouraging solutions that support people through their darkest moments, and working to help fight for more time—so that healing and recovery can happen. Their campaign launches on August 9, and you can stay in the know by signing up for email updates or by texting "WSPD" to (321) 204-0578.

Arthur Woods, Co-Founder of Mathison, a venture-backed technology platform equipping employers with everything they need to manage their diversity hiring efforts, joins the program to share his own diversity story and the lessons that he has learned over the last year when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Discover how and why we need to rethink our outlook and how leaders have been showing up differently since the pandemic. Arthur also shares his thoughts on how to create a workforce that is truly representative of society.

Teresa Y. Hodge, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of two nationally recognized criminal justice innovation companies, R3 Score Technologies, Inc. and Mission: Launch, Inc., joins the program to share her own journey of securing employment after prison. Discover what it will take for corporations for meet their DEI goals when it comes to hiring untapped talent that has an arrest and/or conviction record.

Wayne Sutton, serial entrepreneur and founder of the Icon Project, joins the program to discuss the importance of focusing on the mental health of black and brown men, and why he created the Icon Summit. Wayne shares his own story and how working on diversity and inclusion in tech impacted his mental health. Discover the intersections of DE&I and mental health. To learn more about the Icon Summit, visit: https://theiconproject.org/summit/

Jason Ve, music and tech executive and Vice President at 88rising, the leading music company of the most influential Asian artists in the world, joins the program to discuss the intersectionality of being Asian and LGBTQ+. He expands upon an article he wrote in Men's Health about how "No Asians" is a phrase still used in the LGBTQ+ community and how it goes mostly unchallenged. To read Jason's article in Men's Health, visit: https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a36555932/jason-ve-confronting-no-asians/

Joanne Lipman joins the program to discuss the ways in which the workplace is broken, and how we might reinvent the workplace that so that it works for everyone. Discover some of the challenges that come along with managing a remote workforce and what leaders will need to be mindful of in the new world of work. Joanne also shares her thoughts about the impact that the pandemic has had on women in the workplace. About Joanne: Joanne Lipman served as Editor-in-Chief at USA Today, USA Today Network, Nast, and The Wall Street Journal's Weekend Journal, leading those organizations to six Pulitzer Prizes. She is an on-air CNBC contributor and Yale University journalism lecturer. She is also author of the bestseller, THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID: What Men and Women Need to Know About Working Together.

Coach and author Kristoffer ("KC") Carter joins the program to discuss his 4 permissions for leaders. Discover how to get hard-driving leaders to slow down and pay more attention to their feelings. You'll also hear about the benefits of a spiritual approach to leadership, and the connections between yoga and leadership.

This episode was originally recorded as a webinar with JBC Sr. Consultant Adrienne Lawrence, and Black Facts founders Dale A. Dowdie and Ken Granderson, for an enlightening one-hour conversation on Juneteenth through today. Discover key historical aspects of what's also known as Emancipation Day and get a better look at the hurdles that have been instituted over the years to hinder true emancipation and a better idea of what you can do to make change.

Tune in for a special takeover episode of the Will To Change. Jenn T. Grace, Founder and Publisher of Publish Your Purpose Press, hosts the episode. Jenn discusses the release of Publish Your Purpose Press's first anthology, The Real Lives of Transgender and Nonbinary Humans. Joining her are several of the contributors as they discuss their lived experiences and why they decided to share their story in this anthology.

This episode was originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, and features a conversation with Kathleen West-Evans, Director of Business Relations, The National Employment Team (NET), Council of State Administrators of VR. Learn more about this diverse talent pool, and the intersections of race, culture and disabilities and what the impact will be post-COVID on retaining and returning the "long haulers" to the workplace.

This episode was previously released on The Will To Change. Note: Join Desiree for Whiteness at Work, beginning on June 15th, 2021, to explore ways organizations have successfully pushed back on the norms of white dominant culture in the last year. Register for the free training at http://whitenessatwork.com Desiree Adaway, DEI consultant, trainer, coach and speaker, joins the program to discuss why anti-racism efforts ultimately benefit everyone in an organization. Discover how to move beyond performative allyship and the need to pay attention to power dynamics. Desiree also shares her thoughts about the recent executive order regarding DEI training.

This episode was originally a Toolkit Conversation at the Better Man Conference, and features a conversation with Jennifer Brown, as well as Mita Mallick, Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta and Tony DeGruy, Technical Systems Engineering Leader for Cisco's Workforce Experience team. Moderating the event was Eduardo Placer, CEO of Fearless Communicators.

This episode, originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, features Susan Mason, Teresa Hodge and former NFL player Jordan Babineaux, the managing partners of the Bank on 100 Million Network as they discuss how corporations operationalize their DEI commitments to hiring FIT (formerly incarcerated talent). Discover the startling statistics about overcriminalization, why the current system continues to punish and marginalize formerly incarcerated talent, and how that is negatively impacting not just that talent, but DEI and talent strategies for organizations.

Rosalind Wiseman, parenting educator and author, joins the program to discuss how to foster civil dialogue and inspire communities to build strength, courage and purpose. Discover how to create physical and emotional wellbeing by working in close partnership with the experts of various communities–including young people and business leaders.

From the Best of The Will To Change: Dr. Maysa Akbar, groundbreaking psychologist, author, and Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale University, joins the program to share her own diversity story, including overcoming childhood trauma. Discover a new identity model of allyship, and how to engage well-intentioned, but misguided allies.

This episode, originally recorded as a DEI call, features an interview with Joze Piranian, Global TEDx Speaker and a lifelong stutterer turned transformational speaker on inclusion and resilience. Joze also shared information about stuttering, and revealed what he has learned from his own journey.

New York Times bestselling author Charlene Li joins the program to discuss what we can learn from disruption and the connection between disruption and DEI work. Discover the characteristics of a disruptive leader and the one thing that leaders can do to help make their organizations more disruptive.

Rana Reeves, Executive Creative Director and Founder of communications agency RanaVerse, returns to the program to discuss the work that he is doing to connect brands with popular and contemporary culture for commerce, utilizing the lens of diversity and equity to tell stories and highlight experiences to the mainstream.

This episode was originally recorded on the Resiliency Theory Podcast, and features a conversation between Jennifer and host Ashley Carson as they discuss what it takes for us to be brave, speak our truths, and be our authentic selves. Discover how authenticity supports building your resiliency muscle.

In this episode originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, guest moderator Elfi Martinez, Senior Director at Jennifer Brown Consulting, spoke with Martina Winston, Vice President & Senior HR Partner at Protective Life Corporation, and Wendy Evesque, Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Protective Life Corporation, about the ways in which executive leadership and allyship intersect. Elfi Martinez succinctly captured one of the key takeaways from this discussion: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. When it comes to DEI, the more allies we have on our side, the more impactful change we can enact.

Michael Thomas, Principal in the Los Angeles, California office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and Michelle Phillips, a Principal in the White Plains office of Jackson Lewis P.C, join the program to discuss how to promote psychological safety in a socially distant work environment. Discover how to improve the lived experience in the workplace, how to create an inclusive and equitable work environment, and why enforcing safety protocols isn't enough to create a culture of belonging.

This episode was originally recorded on the Power Shift Podcast, hosted by Dr. Sharon Melnick. Discover how your upbringing and identity can shape your unique voice, and where power is really found in organizations. Jennifer also reveals the conversations that happen on executive teams that enable transformation and how to get through difficult conversations without blame. To learn more about Dr. Sharon Melnick, visit https://www.sharonmelnick.com/

In this episode, originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, Adrienne Lawrence, Diversity + Legal Commentator and Senior Consultant, Jennifer Brown Consulting, welcomed Co-Founder of Hate Is A Virus, Michelle K. Hanabusa, to discuss the recent rise of anti-Asian violence and rhetoric in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can activate as allies during this time. Hate IsA Virus is a nonprofit community of mobilizers and amplifiers dedicated to dismantling hate and racism. Their latest initiative is the commUNITY Action Fund, an effort to raise $1 million to give back to local and national community organizations providing pivotal services and programs for the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community. To register for the upcoming events, visit bit.ly/dismantlebias

Susan Mason, Executive Director and Co-Founder of What's Next Washington, joins the program to discuss how organizations can recruit, hire and retain formerly incarcerated talent. Susan reveals some startling statistics about overcriminalization, including the fact that by 2030 100 million people will be convicted of a crime in the US. Discover what needs to change from a policy standpoint, and why without policy changes, organizations will miss out on hiring one in two working age adults, with an overrepresentation of people of BIPOC, women, and LGBTQI communities.

This episode was originally recorded for the Moody's Women Empowerment Video Series where DK Bartley is leading a DE&I Evolution at Moody's that has created a culture focused on Authentic DE&I and incorporate DE&I in all Aspects of the Moody's Business globally. Tune in as Jennifer discusses the concept of the "iceberg" and what employees typically struggle to bury deep or cover up in the workplace.

In this episode, originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, JBC Senior Consultant Jeffery Smith moderated a conversation with Martina Winston, VP & Senior HR Partner/Diversity & Inclusion Leader at Protective Life. Discover how the huge shifts of 2020 have impacted Protective Life's consistent and ongoing DEI efforts that reach back several years. You'll also hear about how the company's sustained work made a difference in the navigation of this chaotic year, and when it makes sense to "go slow to go fast" for a company like Protective Life

In this episode, originally recorded as a TONE Talk, Julie Lythcott-Haims joins Jennifer Brown for a conversation about 3 "superpowers" that everyone possesses and how to unleash them. Julie is the New York Times bestselling author of the anti-helicopter parenting manifesto How to Raise an Adult. Her TED Talk on the subject has more than 5 million views, and in 2020 she became a regular contributor with CBS This Morning on parenting. Her second book is the critically-acclaimed and award-winning prose poetry memoir Real American, which illustrates her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces. A third book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult, will be out in April 2021. To learn more about TONE Networks, visit https://www.tonenetworks.com/

What does it mean to be a "good guy" in 2021? As gender norms continue to be dismantled in popular culture, the household, the workplace, and society at large, men are faced with higher expectations around allyship. This episode, originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, is all about that idea of modern male allyship. Josh Stewart (Vice President and Director of Talent Programs & Accessibility at PNC) moderates a lively discussion between Brad Johnson (Professor of Psychology at the US Naval Academy & Faculty Associate at John Hopkins University) and David G. Smith (Associate Professor of Sociology at the US Naval War College). They discuss their recent book, "Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace," and what men can do today to make a more equitable tomorrow.

Author, speaker, and entrepreneur Michael Bungay Stanier joins the program to discuss the importance of curiosity and why leaders should decenter themselves. Discover how to embrace power in an authentic way, and what trees can teach us about decision making.

In this episode, originally recorded as a DEI Community Call, Farah Bala, the Founder & CEO at FARSIGHT led a discussion alongside Jannie Kamara, a fourth year student studying Black World Studies and Diversity in Leadership at Miami University, and Gentle Ramirez, a Bronx Native majoring in Africana Studies, and minoring in Creative Writing and Computer Science at New York University. Topics discussed include how to bridge generational divides in organizational structures, how to responsibly push socially conscious messaging on various social media platforms, and how to apply mutual aid, transformative justice, and social capital redistribution theories to the workplace. ·