Highly Visible & A Little Misunderstood

What if joy isn’t a destination but something already living inside you?In this heartfelt and deeply grounding conversation, Jonathan sits down with tech leader, DEIB advocate, and proud mom Tamara Wall to explore joy through the lens of motherhood, legacy, and healing.   This is one of the conversations that never made it out during the Joy season—so bringing it to you now feels especially meaningful.   Tamara opens up about: • Motherhood as both healing ground and harvest • Breaking cycles and creating a different future for her children • Embracing Black joy as resistance • Finding joy even when grief or isolation try to take the lead • Teaching her kids that joy isn’t earned—it’s deserved   Jonathan reflects on his own upbringing, the legacy of joy passed down through his family, and the power of small moments that stay with us. There’s even a special moment featuring a voicemail from Jonathan’s mom that captures the heart of the entire episode: joy, love, and the quiet reminders that carry us forward.   If you’ve ever struggled to hold joy in a heavy season…If you’re a parent trying to raise kids with intention…If you’re healing your inner child…Or if you’ve simply forgotten that joy belongs to you—this conversation will meet you right where you are.   Joy is your birthright. Let this episode remind you of that.   💬 Join the Conversation!Finish the sentence: “Joy is…”Drop a comment or send a voice note → https://form.smartsuite.com/sszxz4mn/sxwLOAg7ur   🤝🏾 Connect with Tamara Wall • LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamarawall/ • Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/theerealtam    📚 Resources & LinksGet Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us by Anna Malaika Tubbs → https://bookshop.org/a/79820/9781250876690 Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey → https://bookshop.org/a/79820/9780316365215   📬 Stay Connected: Join us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HighlyVisiblePod  Get updates, behind-the-scenes content, and first access to the upcoming newsletter: https://highlyvisiblepod.ck.page/684e1e911f Buy me Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/highlyvisiblepod Instagram: @HighlyVisiblePod All links → https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod   🎛️ Production: Produced & Edited by: Jonathan Dumas (@highlyvisiblepod) Co-produced & Additional Editing by: Reggie Hall Email: [email protected]

📺 HELP US HIT OUR SEPTEMBER SUB GOAL ON YOUTUBE → https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod  What is joy really—and how do we keep returning to it, even when life feels heavy? In this season finale of Highly Visible & A Little Misunderstood, Jonathan Dumas reflects on a whole season of On Joy—pulling together the most honest takeaways, tender moments, and practical tools from every guest. No fluff. No toxic positivity. Just real-life ways to practice joy in the middle of struggle, work, community, and everyday life. We revisit conversations with Brandon Howard on joy in the body, Amani Roberts on creativity as muscle, Abe Medoff on somatics, Mimi Gonzalez on grief and creativity, Jennice Chewlin on joy as strategy at work, Ashmi Patel on joy guilt, Tiffany LeNoir on belonging, Louis Byrd on solution-oriented peace, and Shauntelle Carnegie on “joy-stacking” when life feels heavy. Jonathan also shares his own confession—how he accidentally turned joy into a KPI—and what it took to re-learn joy as a practice, not a performance. ✨ What you’ll take away: The body-first question that helps joy stop hiding Why joy ≠ happiness (and how to tell the difference) Simple micro-practices to return to joy at home, at work, and in community A reframe: joy and struggle can coexist without guilt If you’re new here—start with these fan favorites: Tiffany: Quitting Wasn’t the Risk–Staying Was → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-talk-with-dumas-podcast/id1501526441?i=1000718924815  Abe: The Hidden Practice That Makes Joy Sustainable → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-talk-with-dumas-podcast/id1501526441?i=1000721049878  We revisit conversations with: Brandon Howard → Ep 91 | What If Joy Has Nothing to Do With the Scale? Ashmi Patel → Ep 92 | Joy Without Guilt: Unlearning Perfectionism & Generational Pressure Amani Roberts → Ep 93 | Fighting Fear, Doubt & Worry—And Creating Anyway Mimi Gonzalez, @griefsense → Ep 94 | Grief Isn’t the End—It’s the Remix Louis Byrd → Ep 97 | Finding Joy in the Mess and Fixing Problems That Shouldn’t Exist Shauntelle Carnegie → Ep 98 | “What If You’re Not Stuck—Just Scared?” Jennice Chewlin → Ep 99 | Joy at Work Isn’t a Perk—It’s a Strategy 💬 Join the ConversationWhat’s one small way joy has found you this season? Send a voice note → https://form.smartsuite.com/sszxz4mn/sxwLOAg7ur 🚨 Help us hit our YouTube sub goal (125 by end of September)! Tap the Linktree and subscribe on YouTube → https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod 📬 Click to Join our community + get free stickers → https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod ☕️ Click to Support the show on Ko-fi → https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod Follow us for more: 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @HighlyVisiblePod 🎙️ All platforms: https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod   🎛️ Production Credits Produced & Edited by: Jonathan Dumas Co-Produced & Additional Editing: Reggie Hall Contact: [email protected] 

📺 HELP US HIT OUR SUB GOAL BY SUBSCRIBING TO OUR YOUTUBE PAGE!  Joy isn’t a perk you earn at the end of your to-do list—it’s a practice you build in the middle of real life.  In this episode of Highly Visible & A Little Misunderstood, Jonathan sits down with Jennice Chewlin—Latina mom, workplace wellbeing strategist, and founder of Chewlin Group—to unpack why joy at work is not “toxic positivity,” but a strategy for connection, trust, and sustainable impact. We get into: how to stop confusing joy with happiness, why “design for joy, not just efficiency” changes meetings and morale, and what happens when leaders start small (think: human openers, meaningful celebrations, and collaborative “show & tell” lunches). Jennice shares the story of her dad biking across the border to med school—a masterclass in how struggle and joy can coexist—and we talk “mudita” (the joy we feel for someone else’s win), sport-as-reset (soccer/basketball), and how joy fuels collective healing and liberation without ignoring pain. If you’re a people leader, culture-builder, or just a burnt-out human trying to feel human again at work, this one’s for you. 💬 Join the Conversation📝 Finish this: “Joy at work looks like ______.” Keep it concrete (who, where, when). Bonus points if you share the song you’ll play to kick it off. Drop a voice note if that’s easier → https://form.smartsuite.com/sszxz4mn/sxwLOAg7ur 🤝🏾 Connect with Jennice Chewlin LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennicechewlin  Website → https://www.chewlingroup.com/  Email → [email protected]  📚 Resources & Links Get Your Copy of The Lightmaker’s Manifesto   Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey   📺 Watch & Subscribe on Youtube → Hit subscribe for full video episodes, clips, and live chats. 📬 Click to Join our community + get free stickers ☕️ Click to Support the show on Ko-fi Follow us for more: 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @HighlyVisiblePod 🎙️ All platforms: https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod 🎛️ Production Credits Produced & Edited by: Jonathan Dumas Co-Produced & Additional Editing: Reggie Hall Contact: [email protected] 

📺 HELP US HIT OUR SUB GOAL BY SUBSCRIBING TO OUR YOUTUBE PAGE!  What if you’re not stuck—just scared? In this episode of Highly Visible & A Little Misunderstood, I sit down with Shauntelle Carnegie—multi-creative, employee experience strategist, and founder of Black Girl Season—to talk about the role of joy when life feels heavy. Shauntelle opens up about navigating grief, breaking out of old narratives, and discovering that sometimes we’re not stuck at all—we’re just afraid to move. Together, we explore how humor, levity, and the small daily practices of care can create space for joy, even in the hardest seasons. We ask: ✨ What if joy isn’t linear—but layered, like survival itself? ✨ How do we find joy without guilt when life feels like too much? ✨ And how can humor become a form of healing? This conversation is tender, real, and a reminder that joy isn’t just a fleeting feeling—it’s a practice that sustains us. 🤝🏾 Connect with Shauntelle Carnegie Connect with Shauntelle on LinkedIn  Looking for a supportive community of Black women? Check out Black Girl Season on LinkedIn  📚 Resources & Links Check out Spill See where your favorite apples rank on Apple Rankings  Follow us for more:📸 Instagram & TikTok: @HighlyVisiblePod🎙️ All platforms: https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod   🎛️ Production CreditsProduced & Edited by: Jonathan DumasCo-Produced & Additional Editing: Reggie HallContact: [email protected]

📺 HELP US HIT OUR SUB GOAL BY SUBSCRIBING TO OUR YOUTUBE PAGE!  What does it mean to find joy in the middle of problems that should never have existed in the first place? In this episode of Highly Visible & A Little Misunderstood, I sit down with Louis Byrd, Chief Architect of Responsible Innovation at Zanago Design, to talk about how doing the hard, often frustrating work of fixing broken systems can still be a source of joy and purpose. Louis shares how he stays grounded while working on solutions to issues that overwhelm most people, the surprising ways joy shows up in that process, and why influence isn’t always about the loudest voice in the room. We get into: 🌍 Impact without burnout — why joy is a renewable fuel for long-haul work 🧩 The “sphere of influence” mindset — and how to use it when change feels impossible 🤝 The quiet power of presence — influencing others without having to push or persuade Whether you’re a changemaker, a problem-solver, or someone wrestling with the weight of the world’s mess, this conversation is a reminder that joy isn’t a distraction from the work — it’s what keeps us in it. 📺 Watch Previous Episode on Youtube   💬 Join the ConversationHow have you found joy in work that feels heavy or frustrating? Drop a comment or send a voice note → Submit your bit of joy ✨ 🤝🏾 Connect with Louis Byrd Connect with Louis on LinkedIn  Responsible innovation & products on Zanago  Homeowner? Stay organized & Financially ready with Kataba  📚 Resources & Links To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other by Viet Thanh Nguyen WATCH: Surviving For Closure: Documentary 📬 Join our community + get free stickers ☕️  Support the show on Ko-fi (one-time donation) Follow us for more: 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @HighlyVisiblePod 🎙️ All platforms: https://linktr.ee/highlyvisiblepod 🎛️ Production Credits Produced & Edited by: Jonathan Dumas Co-Produced & Additional Editing: Reggie Hall Contact: [email protected]    #Podcast #BlackJoy #HighlyVisiblePodcast #Joy #ResponsibleInnovation #Housing #HousingJustice #RealEstateTransparency #DesignThinking #ProblemSolving #EthicalTech #AIEthics #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Community #Creativity #Midwest #Fatherhood #BlackPodcasts #BlackPodcaster #BlackPodcast