A Dog Called Diversity

Sean Grima gets to do exactly what he is good at. He’s a Learning and Development specialist for Gen U an Australian organisation that builds inclusive communities to support and empower people with disabilities, the ageing and those disadvantaged to reach their full potential Sean was born with Cerebral palsy (CP), a term that refers to a group of disorders affecting a person’s ability to move. I...

I met Agi a few years ago in Singapore and feel very lucky to know her. She is an Executive Coach at Westbourne Associates , and is now an author having written a book called Generation Panic . I think people who write books are the cleverest people. Her book has all the tools and techniques to combat panic attacks and anxiety. She decided to write it after having her own panic attacks in 2014. I...

I love learning people’s career stories, particularly those that work in diversity and inclusion. I think because this area is somewhat emerging and there is no clear career path. Although I’m not sure there are too many clear career paths anymore anyway.... From dreaming of being an astronaut to wanting to work in diplomacy, Bianca Stringuini somewhat fell into or maybe was coaxed into working in...

Dorine Kuo advocates for people with invisible disabilities. So much so she recently organised Future Cities: Ensuring Inclusion for Invisible Disabilities , for the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore .  I was honoured to  facilitate the event and learn from the amazing panel, on how cities can future-proof their ecosystems to ensure the inclusion of invisible disabilities on their planning age...

So yes you might be wondering what I’m doing with a woman in this series.....after all it was supposed to be all men! I actually had planned a pretty special and personal episode planned for the last episode of this series with men, but after I heard this persons story I wanted them to go away and think about what they want to share and maybe what they don’t want to share. I know this sounds myste...

Sudesh Thevasenabathy is the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Asia at Manulife based in Hong Kong. He is a true believer and advocate of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and with customers, and has been actively works and speaks in supporting inclusion of all forms be it disability, race, gender, sexuality and multigenerational employees.  In 2019 he won the Hong Kong LGBT+ Ally...

I had the most fun speaking with Jaco van der Merwe . I wished I could meet him in person and share a bottle of wine with him and his husband. Both from South Africa, they decided a few years ago they wanted to move countries for a better life and more opportunities. But to where? From that point they worked up the criteria, set up a spreadsheet and got to reviewing countries for their next home....

2020 taught us a lot of things. Predominantly I think we learnt how important health is and what we need to prioritise in life. In fact while Covid-19 was a serious physical health issue, it was our mental health that truly came into the spotlight as being under threat.  My guest this episode Nicholas Patrick has his own successful podcast where he talks to all sorts of people about what it takes...

Sometimes your career takes you to places you never expected, like Uganda, where Ross Burrage found himself visiting often as the Finance and Sustainability Manager at the Cotton On Foundation. Based from Australia the Cotton On Foundation funds projects to empower youth globally through the delivery of quality educational projects. If you have ever been in a Cotton On store (or one of their other...

So I’m going to be honest. I kinda stalked Andee Chua late in 2020 to be a guest on my podcast. There aren’t too many “out” gay men in Singapore and I saw him as a bit of an activist* due to a joyous photo of Andee and his boyfriend.  The photo was for a campaign for the W hotel to promote staycations and support the queer community in September 2020. The campaign went viral on social media and we...

Many people have said to me, Black Lives Matter is just a US thing . It doesn’t affect me . The thing is that racism is a global problem for many people, no matter where they live or what their race or ethnicity is. Michael Lints grew up in the Netherlands, was educated in the US and lives in Singapore. He has not been immune to the racism targeted at Black people.  In 2020 Michael wrote a blog po...

I had the best time chatting to Scott Stuart . His energy and enthusiasm for his work is infectious and this comes through in our discussion. It’s rare to meet a man who has immersed himself so fully into the  world of gender stereotypes and helping kids, especially boys, to be confident to be themselves. It all started when he took his son Colin to see Frozen II (the movie), both wearing Elsa dre...

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did recording it. I met Toni Catton a little while ago, actually back in 2006 when we both worked at Coca-Cola Amatil. We have kept in touch through Facebook, which is how I knew that last year, on the 27th September, Toni’s youngest daughter Alana passed away from mitochondrial disease, at 7 years of age. I have recorded a unique introduction so I could...

Melindah Bush has had such an interesting upbringing and career. Her life has been heavily influenced by her Malaysian father, and in a more gentle way her Canadian mother. Growing up she lived between these two countries and is such a great example of how different experiences can inform an infinitely interesting life and family.  Melindah studied in the US and built a successful law career. She...

Carolyn Milligan and I have known each other for a few years. We met when I first moved to Singapore and our kids were at the same school. The school kept getting us mixed up because our surnames are so similar - Milligan and Mulligan.  It seems as good as any reason to become friends, so we did. Carolyn spoke at an International Women’s Day event I ran four years ago and told her story about how...

Anne Rayner and I had a great chat about all sorts of things related to diversity and inclusion that are pushing stereotypes. She and her husband take turns in their career. Their latest move to Singapore was for Anne’s career so she could accept the role of CEO for Cambodia, Myanmar and Malaysia as well as the Regional Chief Solutions Officer for Kantar . They have both taken parental leave after...

Ibukun  Olajide was a delight to speak to, perhaps because her name means “blessing”.  She has experienced being the only woman in the room and also the only Black woman in the room, in her university classes and at first job as a chemical engineer.  She was born in the UK and grew up in Nigeria. She completed her tertiary study and met her husband in the UK where she now lives with her family. We...

I just loved my conversation with Nancy Kwon . I didn’t know Nancy before this conversation. I learnt about her through a feature article in an Expat Living Magazine . In the article she was described as spunky, passionate and genuine as well as an outspoken advocate for cultural inclusion and female empowerment. I knew I just had to meet her.  In this episode We talked about being an immigrant to...

The Black Lives Matter movement had a huge impact during 2020. The death of George Floyd in May sparked unprecedented protests and attention on the lives and experiences of black people and the enduring racism they live with, not just in the US but around the world. My two guests on this week’s episode, Sarah Hempstead and Megan Karigambe are white women married to Black men. They have become curi...

In the very first episode of  A Dog called Diversity, Lisa speakers to Marie-Liesse Calmejane about her son Ulysses. Marie-Liesse’s fourth son Ulysses was born with Achondroplasia , a genetic condition and the most common form of dwarfism . He is 7 years old now but we go back to the start, before he was born to understand the diagnosis, his challenges and delights and how being a Mum to a child w...