Demystifying Diversity

The On Being Biracial Podcast is available NOW! To listen to stories of people of a variety of racial and cultural backgrounds speaking about their experiences living in a racially binary world, visit the On Being Biracial Podcast anywhere you get your podcasts. On Being Biracial includes the voices of so many incredible people, thought-leaders, actors, writers, activists, the list is endless... You're likely to recognize some of the voices, including our very own Azaria Keys and comedian and documentary filmmaker W. Kamau Bell. For more information, visit

In this final Q&A episode of season three of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast, host Daralyse Lyons is joined by co-hosts Zack James and Azaria Keys as they share their lessons and takeaways from last week's episode: Expanding Beyond the Workplace: Creating a Better World. In this deeper dive into the overall impacts of DEAIB work on our society, the trio also reflects on the highlights of the season and discusses their plans to continue to take committed actions towards making the world more inclusive. This episode also incorporates Daralyse's interview with Temple University's Drew Allmond, who shares his ideas regarding how people can begin to work in their local communities, as well as ways to shift our interpretations of society to not allow the news and social media to negatively impact our values and psyches. In this episode, you will learn about: * How to begin making a difference in our communities, beyond the workplace. * How our impact does not need to be large in order to be noticed and effective. * The importance of challenging ourselves to seek and listen to opinions different from our own, to expose ourselves to a variety or perspectives and viewpoints. * How social media can be used as a tool to educate and share DEIAB material, and not just be a vehicle for misinformation and hate. * How to create self-care and not become overwhelmed, even while acknowledging that there is still much work to be done. Our guest expert this episode is: Dr. Drew Allmond - Dr. Allmond is a Philadelphia resident and citizen of the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe in King William, Virginia. In 2022, he became a project director for the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium, VTEC, the official tribal education agency, representing and jointly serving all seven of the Commonwealth's federally recognized tribes. In his role, he oversees the Native Youth Community Project, which uses federal grant funds to provide college and career preparation for indigenous students. Before his work with VTEC, he spent more than a decade as a faculty member at Temple University specializing in professional skills development courses for bachelor's and master's students and consulting on assurance of learning initiatives for various programs. During this time, Drew also became a faculty fellow for the University Center for Ethics, Diversity and Workplace Culture, also known as CEDWC, and served on the Fox School of Businesses, diversity, equity and Inclusion Council. He completed a doctorate in educational leadership in 2020. Episode hosts:Azaria Keys - Azaria is the Assistant Director of the Fox School of Business' Center for Ethics, Diversity and Workplace Culture (CEDWC). Her work is driven by her passion to advocate for others and transform workplaces to be more inclusive and equitable. Zack James - Zack is the marketing arm of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast and is a graduate of Temple University's School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM). Zack is a self-described go-giver and DEI advocate with a passion for service and making a difference across organizations. Daralyse Lyons - Daralyse is the host of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast as well as the author of Demystifying Diversity: Embracing Our Shared Humanity. She is a speaker, a consultant, a journalist, and a full-time DEI strategist. Additional resources based on this episode: To contact Dr. Drew Allmond, email him at: for a full transcript of this episode. VitaSupreme Supplements: To get 10% off your first order, go to .

In this episode of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast, host Daralyse Lyons examines the role of diversity beyond the workplace and takes a deep dive into how issues of DEIAB impact our abilities to achieve what we want and need. Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a framework, Daralyse and her guest experts extrapolate about the importance of the different levels of human need and fulfillment, and share how factors like intersectionality of identity, bias, and socioeconomics either enable or limit people's ability to create happiness in their lives. In this episode, you will learn about: * Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, and how need-fulfillment is innately important to the human experience, regardless of identity. * How the intersectionality of one's identity and lived experiences help dictate their ability to realize their needs within Maslow's Hierarchy. * How our fears get in the way of us realizing our needs, let alone our desires. * How past experiences are informative, but do not ultimately dictate future outcomes when it comes to getting our needs met. * The role that individuals can play in supporting others in ascending the levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. * The difference between wants and needs, and how most people ultimately want to be happy. Our guests experts this episode include: Damon West - Damon is a college professor, internationally known keynote speaker and Wall Street Journal best selling author of The Coffee Bean, A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change, which Forbes listed in the Top 20 Books You Need to Read to Crush 2020. Deborah Atella - Deb is the author of the international best selling book, Is This Job My Jam? The Guide for Grown-Ups Who Still Don't Know What They Want to Be. She's also a certified life coach, Reiki master and meditation guide. I'm the host of the Atella Like It Is podcast. Timothy Welbeck - Timothy is the Director for the Center of Anti-Racism Research, and an Assistant Professor of Instruction at Temple University, a civil rights attorney, a scholar of law, race and culture, a writer and a hip-hop artist. Tomar Pierson-Brown -Tomar is the Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusive Excellence and a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She's also the director of the Health Law Clinic, which operates as a medical legal partnership with UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Chair Charlotte Burrows - Chair Burrows was designated by President Biden as Chair of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC on January 20th, 2021. She has served as a commissioner of the EEOC for multiple terms, and previously served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, as well as General Counsel for Civil and Constitutional Rights to Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Jolly Good Ginger - Jolly is on the board of directors for two nonprofit organizations, Families United and Justice Reform Group. As a national level activist, Jolly travels the country and attends rallies, marches and protests, gives speeches at various venues and has garnered a social media following of over 1 million subscribers. As he points out, racism is embedded into every aspect of our society, and deeply entrenched in the American legal system. Stew Kraintz - Stew is a mindset, success and relationship coach who works with people individually and in groups to empower them into ownership of their lives. Before stepping into coaching, Stew had a successful career in sales and marketing within professional baseball, having the opportunity to work for the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves, as well as several affiliated minor league clubs. He is also the production and development assistant for the Demystifying Diversity podcast. AC Fowlkes - AC is the Executive Officer of Fowlkes Consulting, an LGBTQ+ sensitivity and transgender inclusion consulting firm. AC is also recognized as a Top Voice on LinkedIn for his thought leadership on LGBTQ+ issues. Emma Bloksberg-Fireovid - known as Emma B-F, Emma is a speaker, trainer and leadership coach for women and non-binary folks in the technology industry. Emma has worked with hundreds of leaders to accelerate their careers, maximize their confidence, and amplify their impact. Alida Miranda Wolf - Alida is the author of Cultures of Belonging, Building Inclusive Organizations that Last and CEO and Founder of Ethos, a diversity equity, inclusion and belonging firm dedicated to closing the opportunity gap for underrepresented and underserved groups. Anel Duarte - Anel specializes in facilitating one-on-one and group practices under the trauma-sensitive and trauma-informed lenses. A trauma survivor herself. She holds safe space for participants to explore their internal experiences through yoga, body movement, meditation, the use of rituals and breathing techniques. Cameron Footman - Cameron is the first voice of Indigipedia.ca, a lifelong entrepreneur and technology advocate, and the founder of Woodcrest Construction, a contracting company which specializes in welding and steel fabrication with a focus on heated furniture and art metal works. Tre'vell Anderson - Tre'vell an award-winning journalist, social curator, and world changer who has dedicated their career to centering the stories of those in the margins, gray spaces, and the intersections of life, and who was named to the Roots 2020 list of the 100 Most Influential African-Americans Christina Glickman - Christina is the founder of the Extra Love Army. She's a TEDx speaker, podcaster, and author of the bestselling book, Extra, The Art of Being. Rachel Lyons - Rachel is the executive director at Space for Humanity, a nonprofit organization which aims to make space flight available as a way to expand human perspectives. She's the former vice chair of the board of directors of Students for the Exploration of Development of Space USA, and she's also Daralyse's cousin. Will Bubenik - Will is the founder and CEO of Nebula Media Group, whose mission it is to ensure that websites are accessible so that people with disabilities can access them from audits and fixes to training and coaching. Nebula Media Group provides customized accessibility solutions so companies can attain, maintain, and sustain a true accessibility and compliance program at their organization. Jeff Mayner - Jeff is a financial services professional and full-time entrepreneur who, prior to his transition to entrepreneurship, worked in IT telecommunications. And prior to that, he served eight and a half years in the United States Navy. Shanna Hocking - Shanna is a thought leader, keynote speaker and writer with 20 years experience working in leadership development, and she's the author of One Bold Move a Day and the host of The One Bold Move a Day podcast. for a full transcript of this episode. VitaSupreme Supplements: To get 10% off your first order, go to .

In this Q&A episode of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast, host Daralyse Lyons is joined by co-hosts Zack James and Azaria Keys as they share their lessons and takeaways from last week's episode: DEIAB, an $8 Billion Industry. In this expanded, in-depth conversation, they discuss how employees and organizations can continue to make workplaces more inclusive. This episode also incorporates Daralyse's interview with Temple University's Timothy Welbeck, who shares his perspectives on how to make DEIAB work effective within workplaces, as well as the current barriers that prevent companies from effectively implementing positive changes. In this episode, you will learn about: * How workplace inclusivity can include non-obvious identifiers, such as education-level, and how layers of intersectionality create challenges when trying to promote more inclusive practices. * The difficulties posed when attempting to make companies more inclusive. * How DEIAB trainings must be geared towards their audiences, and how practitioners ought to develop their trainings based on the needs and proficiency levels of those in attendance. * How conducting DEIAB trainings during a specified month (Black History, Pride, etc.) is not enough and can even send the wrong message to employees identifying within these groups. * Why it is incumbent upon an organization's leadership to set the tone and example for what diversity and inclusion looks like in the workplace, including representation amongst senior executives. * Why smaller companies, without a defined DEIAB budget, can and should still strive to create healthy and inclusive workplace cultures. Our guest expert this episode is: Timothy Welbeck - Timothy is the Director of the Center for Anti-Racism Research and an Assistant Professor of Instruction at Temple University. He is a civil rights attorney by training. Timothy is also a scholar of law, race, and cultural studies. He earned his JD from Villanova University, Charles Widger School of Law, and his BA for Morehouse College, where he graduated cum laude and was awarded the Corella and Bertrand Bonner Scholarship. He's also an incredible hip-hop artist and musician. Episode hosts:Azaria Keys - Azaria is the Assistant Director of the Fox School of Business' Center for Ethics, Diversity and Workplace Culture (CEDWC). Her work is driven by her passion to advocate for others and transform workplaces to be more inclusive and equitable. Zack James - Zack is the marketing arm of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast and is a graduate of Temple University's School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM). Zack is a self-described go-giver and DEI advocate with a passion for service and making a difference across organizations. Daralyse Lyons - Daralyse is the host of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast as well as the author of Demystifying Diversity: Embracing Our Shared Humanity. She is a speaker, a consultant, a journalist, and a full-time DEI strategist. Additional resources based on this episode: Forbes - NY Times - Demystifying Diversity Podcast - Season 2, Episode 12: BBC Worklife - Timothy Welbeck's work and music - for a full transcript of this episode. VitaSupreme Supplements: To get 10% off your first order, go to .

In this episode of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast, host Daralyse Lyons explores diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging (DEIAB) as an industry. She delves into the ways in which DEIAB initiatives have shaped and been shaped by various business needs and consumer demands, especially following the racial reckoning that took place following the murder of George Floyd, during the upsurge of BLM protests and visibility. Her guests speak openly about the ways in which DEIAB training and compliance are being used and misused in the modern workplace. In this episode, you will learn about: * How workplace inclusivity can include non-obvious identifiers such as education level, and how these layers of intersectionality create challenges in creating inclusion. * The challenges posed when attempting to make companies more inclusive. * The role that employee resource groups (ERGs) play in promoting inclusive work environments. * The difference between actual and performative allyship in the workplace. * How DEIAB training during a specified month (Black History, Pride, etc.) is not enough and sends the wrong message to employees identifying within these groups. * Why it is incumbent upon an organization's leadership to set the tone and example for what diversity and inclusion looks like in the workplace, including representation amongst senior executives. Our guests experts this episode include: Tomar Pierson-Brown -Tomar is the Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusive Excellence and a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She's also the director of the Health Law Clinic, which operates as a medical legal partnership with UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Leora Eisenstadt - Leora is an associate professor in the Department of Legal Studies, a Murray Schusterman Research Fellow, and the Director of the Center for Ethics Diversity and Workplace Culture, CEDWC. Leora is also an assistant producer and consultant for the Demystifying Diversity Podcast. Natalie Pederson - Natalite is an associate professor of legal studies at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business, Vice President of the Employment Law Section of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and the Secretary of the Mid-Atlantic Academy of Legal Studies in Business. Lily Zheng - Lily is a diversity, equity and inclusion strategist and consultant, and the author of three books, the most recent of which is DEI Deconstructed: Your No Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right. Lily works with organizations around the world to create the equitable, inclusive, and just organizations of the future. Juan Otero - Juan serves as Senior Vice President of Diversity, equity and inclusion for Comcast Corporation, where he oversees operational management of the company's D, E and I efforts across the corporate enterprise. He previously served as Vice President for Comcast Corporation's federal government affairs team, where he was responsible for federal legislative advocacy with members of Congress and the administration. In addition, he sits on several national nonprofit boards, including Easter Seals, the Hispanic Federation, and the Smithsonians Latino Center. Kelli Clark - Kelli is Chief Culture Officer at Aon United. She directs the firm strategies for inclusive People, leadership and culture initiatives, and she played a pivotal role in scaling Aon's signature cultural workshop Leading Aon United to reach more than 8,000 colleagues virtually while maintaining more than 98% positive feedback. Alida Miranda Wolf - Alida is the author of Cultures of Belonging, Building Inclusive Organizations that Last and CEO and Founder of Ethos, a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging firm dedicated to closing the opportunity gap for underrepresented and underserved groups. LaTonya Wilkins - LaTonya is the founder of the Change Coaches, LLC, an organization dedicated to creating revolutionary leadership development, culture change, and extraordinary personal growth. And the author of Leading Below the Surface, How to Build Real and Psychologically Safe Relationships with People Who are Different from You. LaTonya seeks to reduce the opportunity gap by focusing on cultivating what she describes as below the surface leadership. And she told me that the presence of caring, compassionate leadership is what enables people to thrive, whereas the absence of it does the opposite. Skye Kowaleski - Skye is a writer, director, facilitator, speaker, consultant, and therapeutic breathwork practitioner who uses a multidisciplinary approach to cultivate internal awareness while simultaneously building their capacity for constructive communication with others. James Barnes - James is a corporate trainer, coach, and public speaker whose own transition has equipped him to teach companies, schools, hospitals, and other organizations to create safe, uplifting, and empowering environments for LGBTQ+ individuals. In his work, James places a special emphasis on serving transgender adults and youth, something that enables him to show up as his authentic self as a trainer, facilitator, speaker, and coach, and he's found that his capacity to reach people is only possible because of his investment in authenticity. Amanda Arias - Amanda is the Director of People and Culture at Jubilee Media. Prior to her current position, she accumulated more than 10 years of experience helping growth-centric startups build high performing teams, and in her work she operates from the motto, treat people like people. Amanda shared an example of how the growth mindset at Jubilee fosters an environment that enables people to realize their potential while also enabling the company to benefit from employee growth and development. AC Fowlkes - AC is the Executive Director of Fowlkes Consulting an LGBTQ+ sensitivity and transgender inclusion consulting firm. AC also works as the director of a psychiatric care clinic, and is a Top Voice on LinkedIn. Armando X Estrada - Armando, who everyone calls AXE, is an associate professor in the Department of Policy, organizational and Leadership Studies at Temple University. He previously served as a program manager and senior research psychologist with the Foundational Science Research Unit of the United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Prior to that, he served in the US Marine Corp from 1987 to 1995, and AXE continues to be actively involved in the Society for Military Psychology. Joyce Jelks - known personally and professionally as JJ, Joyce is the head of people and Culture at Wieden and Kennedy, New York, an Army major. The Chief founding Member, relationship Engagement Manager for Sean Johnson and founder of Ottawa Park HR Advisory. JJ owns her own consulting company and works in-house to cultivate a culture of belonging at Wieden and Kennedy, New York. Tanner Gers - Tanner is the President and Founder of Accessibility Officer, a data-driven disability inclusion firm that helps companies drive Ability, D & I, and maximize ROI. Tanner also serves as a board member for Menus for All and recently co-authored Foresight Augmented Reality's Solution Proposal for the US Department of Transportation's Inclusive Design Challenge. He's also a US Paralympian World Championship team member. Will Bubenik - Will is the founder and CEO of Nebula Media Group, whose mission it is to ensure that websites are accessible so that people with disabilities can access them from audits and fixes to training and coaching. Nebula Media Group provides customized accessibility solutions so companies can attain, maintain, and sustain a true accessibility and compliance program at their organization. Additional resources based on this episode: YouTube: Bing Video: Workable: Forbes: for a full transcript of this episode. VitaSupreme Supplements: To get 10% off your first order, go to .