Awkward Turtle At Work

On this special Trans Remembrance Day, we are thrilled to bring you our final episode for now, featuring the remarkable Schuyler Bailar. In this conversation, we dive deep into Schuyler's newly released book, 'he/she/they,' a powerful exploration of their personal journey and experiences as a transgender individual. 'he/she/they' serves as a catalyst for meaningful convers...

Thrilled to have Brian on the show, Founder of Whole Business Wellness! Brian shares his wealth of knowledge on creating thriving cultures in the workplace through applied mindfulness, resilience building, and experiential learning. As the co-founding Chair of the Male Allies initiative and a board member of The Women's Foundation, Brian emphasizes the importance of inclusion, belonging, and...

ADHD Awareness week is here. So I have Dr. Kristie Craigen on the show today, explaining how her work helps with the neurodivergent community.   Dr. Kristie Craigen is the founder of CRAIGEN EVALUATIONS. She is a psychometric testing specialist and expert witness with almost two decades of assessment experience in clinical, educational, and organisational contexts. Since attaining her doctoral deg...

T his week I had the pleasure of having Amanda Fok - founder of Let’s talk ADHD. Amanda is organising the ADHD Awareness Week in HK from October 22 - 28th!  Undiagnosed ADHD can be the root cause of poor mental health such as anxiety and depression. Just like other so call ‘underrepresented’ groups, ADHD holds a strong stigma and misconception. Amanda is here to debunk all of that and share the MA...

I love having products that exists to break taboos and brings social change, introducing Luüna - a natural period care!  This week we discussed: - Why talking about menstruation is key in the gender equity conversation. - Repositioning the product as a healthcare product rather than consumer product, and rightly so!  - Reframing how we percieve menstrual cycle. - How inclusion may be designed to h...

Back with the wonderful Joanna Hotung, in Part 2, we talked about:  Everyone is talking about safe spaces, but how do we actually create them? The schools need them, the workplace needs them, and frankly in society. As always we chat about these topics from the Asian perspective: The holistic approach to work  Developing better listeners  The Hong Kong education systems  Joanna is the Director of...

One of the best conversations I’ve had so far on the show & I will be splitting this up into 2 episodes!  Everyone is talking about safe spaces, but how do we actually create them? The schools need them, the workplace need them, and frankly in society. As always we chat about these topics with the Asian perspective: Failure and the power of ‘I don’t know!’  The intergenerational gap in the wor...

In this episode with we discussed: -What is the landscape for Disability in HK & around the world  -Why is understanding Disability diversity so important  -& Walter’s love for Wing Chun!  Walter Tsui is the Co-Founder and CEO of CareER. CareER supports highly educated people with disabilities or special education needs in Hong Kong. CareER was recognised by the Vienna-based Zero Project A...

Here is part 2 of the episode with Steph from Body Banter. Continuing the theme of Mental Health x Summer in HK, we talked about how this may also play out with other identities we hold, more importantly how this affects EVERYONE.  We also discussed how the traditional binary mindset can be harmful in these conversations, and how it can further reinforce negative associations and ideas we tell our...

WE DID IT! With your help, this podcast is now in the Top 80 Hong Kong Podcasts! Truly thank you to every single human that has been listening, supporting and sharing with their circles.  See more: https://blog.feedspot.com/hong_kong_podcasts/   ☀️Summer is here, which can be stress-free for some, but high anxiety for others.  So I want to introduce Steph to chat about this and what we can all wor...

Continuing on the theme of Allyship, but this time, Allyship within the LGBT+ Community!  Allyship is not a role exclusive to non-LGBT+ folks, anyone can be an ally. Allyship within the community is what really started the ‘LGBT+’ history. The LGBT+ Community is full of diverse identities and it’s about time that we do a better job of advocating for each other!   Allyship is fundamental within the...

PRIDE month is here! 🌈🏳️‍⚧️ This month is all about celebration - but not just the community. We also need to celebrate the allies that have supported us and helped us to change perception, really our very best cheerleaders!  Fern Ngai is an incredible ally, one of the best we can ever ask for. Her work at Community Business still has a huge legacy today, and even know she is now retired, there i...

Last of the mini-series from our sponsor, Ernst & Young (EY). This week, we have Claudia & Henry sharing sharing their lived experiences as Trans Activists, and how it differs in the East and West.   On top of that, we also hear about how the sentiment has changed over the years.   🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Please remember to give us a rating on the pod, it will help other humans to find this show!  Want...

Coming back with a BANG 💥 Ernst & Young (EY) has sponsored a mini-series on a topic I am personally very passionate about - Transgender Inclusion 🏳️‍⚧️ This week, Terri McDowell from the trans community and Mia who is a parent of a transgender child - a perspective you don't hear often.   This sparked conversations about: How intergenerational, intercultural trans experience plays out  W...

After a year of hiatus, AWKWARD TURTLE AT WORK IS BACK!!  The Trailer explains where I've been, and what I've been doing this past year, including on where this podcast will be headed!  Sooo tune in from next Monday, to hear more amazing human stories!    🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Please remember to give us a rating on the pod, it will help other humans to find this show!  Want to share your story? Her...

Final episode of the series, I had to leave the best till last. Sonalie aka the Green Queen is on the podcast to share her story of starting the Green Queen. We spoke on some of the harsh reality women faces through education, the workplace and the general society. All these experiences nudged her toward taking a risk into starting her own business.  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Please remember to give us a rating...

No doubt Gen Z has a very different perspective on the world, let alone the workplace. Anushka is in her Final Year and is the CEO and Co-founder of many social-driven businesses. Her university experience was coupled with the madness of COVID and various world-changing events in this period.  It is only right to hear what their thoughts are on the world of business and work.  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Please re...

Storytelling is really the basis of this podcast, I wanted to bring real life stories to share with lovely humans in the world and what better way to get someone who is an expert at this! Imogen is a story ninja and award-winning writer. She co-founded Three Wise Sheep Productions to create film and television content that puts women at the front and centre of the story - which got her to attend s...

Pursuing art as a career is tough wherever you are in the world. How about being in a city like Hong Kong where Finance is at the heart of everything, and corporates careers are the most sought after? I met Jonathan Jay Lee last year at my TEDx talk and it was incredible to hear his story, the way he sees Hong Kong and his perspective on work and education is admirable.  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Please remember...

Having a lifestyle media platform online seems to be everywhere nowadays, but what was it like 13 years ago when this format of online media was almost unheard of?! Listen to the story on how she founded The Honeycombers!  Chris is now ready to take it to the next level, lifting other Entrepreneur up by starting a community over at Launchpad - essentially giving us what she wished she had when she...

It does seem like the future of work will look a lot like working from home. It now seems silly that we don’t invest in our home office!  This week I want to bring a real-life example on how ‘finding your passion’ really works. Kei Kei is a Certified Office Ergonomic Specialist, the Founder of EKOBOR – a company specialised in ergonomic furniture.  Her passion came suffering from severe back pain...

Picture this. You wake up tired and you are late. It’s a Monday morning and you have a presentation with your boss. You feel groggy and down. You just had to sprint to make the train. On your way out, someone bumps into you and someone’s card was stuck in the ticket machine. Your day is now ruined, in fact, this is going to be a bad week until Friday night.  I am sure we’ve all been here so many t...

Singing and making music is one of the top skills I wish I had! I have always been so envious of people who can do both - so this week we have Jodie Chan on the show, who is an independent Singer-Songwriter in Hong Kong. We talked about how music came to her life, why she decided to pursue it now after entering the world of tech in her day job, how she expresses herself through music and what she...

WE ARE BACK! After a short break over Christmas and New Years - the Awkward Turtle pod is back!  Let’s kick off the show for 2022 with yet another amazing human who I had the pleasure to meet to through sport. Shannon is an ex-spurs (I know, this is painful for me) player in the UK and she’s now out here in Hong Kong as the AIA Ambassador and Global Football Development Coach for Spurs.  We of-cou...

Todayyyy! I am going to sing my own praises for a few minutes if I may. This is going to be the last pod of the year and I want to recap on where this podcast has taken me and all the amazing experiences I had. Obvs will be talking about the Tedx experience too if you are interested!  Anyways, wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2022!  ❤️🐢 Emery x  Instagram_ @Efung94 http...