Here Comes Everyone by The Conference Bard

Discover the intricate tapestry of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) that's shaping North America with "Here Comes Everyone." Experts Peter Trevor Wilson and Rodney Patterson join us for an enlightening journey through DEI's past, present, and future. We tackle the tough issues—legislative hurdles, societal resistance, and the complex realities of fostering equity within t...

For the latest episode in our occasional series featuring poets my awesome co-host Kate Jenkinson and I are joined by Shane Schick. I've known Shane for many years both through his excellent writing on Customer Experience, IT and Men's Fashion as well as his work designing and emceeing business conferences.  Given what an accomplished writer he is it should have come as no surprise that...

I first came across Tucker and his poetry at the start of the pandemic and was blown away by the power of his imagery and the way his delivery of his words take you to whole different realm.  His words create worlds. It was great to sit down with him and my co-host Kate to discuss his work - as a poet, keynote speaker and leadership guide.  It's wonderful to hear about how he create work that...

Forpartu this second episode my wonderful co-host Kate Jenkinson and I are joined by Phil Isherwood who is a Hospice Poet.  In this role he spends time with patients and their families and helps them navigate their illness and final journey through writing poetry. Phil demonstrates the power of poetry in this particularly challenging environment.  He speaks about the comfort his work brings and th...

For this first proper episode of Poetry Not Powerpoint, my co-host Kate of Next Step HR are delighted to have and our guest Rashad Rayford aka Rashad Tha Poet. This is a fitting place to start our exploration of poetry and business as I first met Rashad when he opened The Conference Board's DEI event back in June 2020.  It was the first time I'd included a poet/spoken word artist on a co...

POETRY NOT POWERPOINT is a new series of conversations published as part of the podcast Here Comes Everyone. Co-hosted by Kate Jenkinson who is an executive coach and poet, each episode will feature a guest poet.  The guest will share a piece of their work as well as a poem that has inspired and influenced them. Together we will explore their approach to verse and spoken word and talk about the va...

One of Canada's most respected experts in the field of Diversity and author of The Human Equity Advantage, Peter Trevor Wilson joins us to discuss his upcoming article in Profiles in Diversity Journal. Our conversation begins with his encounter with Desmond Tutu over 20 years ago and how the Archbishop inspired a journey for Peter that continues to this day.  We quickly move on to discuss Pet...

Since before he developed the concept of Human Equity and wrote the book The Human Equity Advantage: Beyond Diversity to Talent Optimization in 2013, Peter Trevor Wilson has focussed on making lasting fundamental change in organizations. Having discussed the murder of George Floyd and the trial of his murderer in previous episodes, Peter is the ideal final guest of 2021 as he reflects on how to ma...

Having been inspired to host this podcast by the response I received at work to tragic loss (and by my friendship with my awesome co-host Sarah Hines), I urge you to listen to this important conversation with Sam Lillemoen. Sam lost his husband Brad suddenly two years ago.  While leadership and many colleagues at work were very supportive, Sam still found himself struggling with grief while at the...

Marilyn Johnson is Senior Director Sustainability at Clarivate and was recently named by The American Energy Society as one of the top 500 Global Sustainability Thought Leaders. Marilyn and her work are great examples of how DEI is increasingly influencing thought and action in other functions across the organization.  While the impact of DEI is perhaps most obvious in HR related areas such as Tal...

Six years ago Mike Cameron's girlfriend was murdered by her ex-boyfriend who then took his own life. In this raw conversation we discuss this event and its aftermath and how Mike found the strength of purpose to carry on.  He shares his memories of Carissa and the day when everything changed. Mike's journey is testament to the power of gratitude and grace in the face of grief and his con...

The last two eighteen months have seen an explosion of interest in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in employers across North America.  This has often been characterized by bold statements by corporations committing to creating greater equity both for employees and for the communities they operate in. But you can't do diversity by declaration - it requires concrete action by leaders and collea...

Grief is not just about when you lose a loved one.  We experience grief whenever we face loss, something many have experienced during the pandemic - whether this be loss of job, status, financial security, routine, human connection, or loss of health. In this episode we explore grief as an aspect of living with a serious health diagnosis with Jennifer Hollington as our guide.  Many people came to...

One of the great privileges of working in the field of DEI is the sheer variety of people I get to meet and know - Case in point the opening panel of my most recent DEI event featured an Irishman who grew up during the Troubles, a Zimbabwean poet and a DEI leader from Mexico who now leads that function at a leading US tech company. That event was also where I first met Ashley - Advocate, Author, V...

For this first episode of our bi-weekly series Grief, Gratitude, Grace, my co-host Sarah Hines and I are joined by Chandra Ramamurthy from Mumbai. Chandra was familiar with grief through her work as a psychologist working with AIDS patients before she suffered the most profound loss of her only child Naman to suicide. Sarah and I had the privilege of sitting down with Chandra for this wide ranging...

Peter Trevor was a guest on the podcast shortly after the killing of George Floyd and he is joining me again to talk about his the recent Chauvin verdict. We discuss his reaction to the verdict. He shares why though there is a lot of work to be done before we can achieve genuine inclusion, equity and justice in society he has faith that real progress is being made.  He points to the wide recogniti...

Ten years ago Suzanne's then daughter Aviva announced that she was transitioning to become male and would henceforth be known as Skyler.  A decade later Suzanne is sharing that moment and the journey that began that day as a mother.  In doing so she has told an authentic tale of how this change impacted her and provided an essential guide for anyone close to a transgender person - whether par...

Lots of great advice in this episode from Addie Greco-Sanchez as I interview her about her book The Five Minute Recharge. If like me you are currently suffering from a bad case of pandemic fatigue this is for you.  In the book Addie shares 31 proven strategies to help boost your energy, increase your focus and get back on track - for this discussion we focus on five. With the end of Covid19 in sig...

As 2020 draws to close,  many of us turn our thoughts to 2021 and reflect on our goals and aims for the coming year.  Which makes it the perfect time to revisit that resume you may not have updated for quite some while. Because the fact is that despite all the changes in the workplace in recent years and increasing digitization of recruitment, your resume remains the foundation of your search for...

Few industries have been hit as hard by Covid19 as the event business.  And few organizations have been able to pivot to virtual events more successfully than Proof Experiences. As someone who has designed and hosted business conferences for over 20 years I was keen to hear what Kelly Power, SVP at Proof Experiences had learned along the way.  I'd seen the posts on LinkedIn about the successf...

Religion, or faith at work, is a critical dimension of Diversity and Inclusion but one that too often doesn't get the attention it deserves.  Founded in 1992, The Tanenbaum Centre works to foster greater understanding between people of different faiths and is a great resource for those looking to incoporporate religion or faith into their DEI practice. For this episode of Here Comes Everyone...

When I first met La'Wana she was a DEI leader at a major Pharma company - she was speaking at a diversity conference about how employers can engage more actively in social issues that reflect their internal commitment to inclusion.  It was a great session well received by the audience but there was a sense that organizations were not doing nearly enough in this area, or even feeling that they...

In the time of Covid, with he blurring of boundaries between work and life, the increased stresses caused by the virus and social isolation, and the dire predictions about the impact all this is having on our mental health, we all need the wisdom of Dr Jamie Gruman. While Dr Gruman's work spans the gamut of HR and business I asked him to join me specificallly to share some of the insights fro...

In this episode Antoine Mindjimba, Associate Partner, Culture, Diversity and Inclusion and Transformative Leadership, EY shares his perspective on leadership in the light of the two most pressing challenges facing organizations today - Covid 19 and the reckoning with race in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. Building on the a previous conversation with Peter Trevor Wilson, Author of Th...

The June 22 episode featuring Peter Trevor Wilson was both the longest and the most popular episode to date.  This episode allows you to hear the highlights of this conversation. As the President of TWI International and the author of two books, the latest of which was The Human Equity Advantage: Beyond Diversity to Talent Optimization, Peter has been a tireless and inspirational advocate for grea...