In a world where resilience is often touted as a defining trait of success, it's essential to delve deeper into its nuances and applications. In this insightful episode of the Two Piers Podcast, host Erica D'Eramo engages in a candid conversation with Professional Coach LaToia Burkley. Together, they offer diverse perspectives on resilience, endurance, impostor syndrome (or phenomenon), and self-advocacy. Let's explore the highlights and key takeaways from their discussion.
In the rich tapestry of history, there exist threads often overlooked. This engaging conversation between host Erica and Maya Rook, a passionate historian, unravels the layers of women's history. Explore the influence of the Haudenosaunee, the dynamics of the suffrage movement, and the remarkable experiences of women like Anna Murray Douglas and Matilda Joslyn Gage.
In a recent podcast episode, our host, Erica D'Eramo engages in a rich conversation with Kirsty Bashforth, a seasoned professional with extensive experience in cultural transformation within organizations. They explore the intricacies of cultural change, shedding light on challenges, debunking misconceptions, and unveiling key insights. You can access a full transcript here, or dive into the highlights of their conversation below.
Embarking on a journey of business transformation can be both thrilling and challenging. In this podcast episode, host Erica D'Eramo engages in a conversation with Lisa Carlin, a seasoned strategy execution specialist, to unravel the intricacies of successful business transformation. The discussion spans topics from change management to the pitfalls organizations often encounter and strategies for overcoming them.
Let’s dive into a recent chat between Erica D'Eramo and Thea Charles, unraveling the fascinating connection between coaching and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In this post, we'll explore how these two disciplines compliment each other to cultivate authenticity, growth, and inclusivity in the workplace.
Today marks the winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. As the darkness envelops us, it prompts introspection and invites us to embrace rest and restoration. In a world that often emphasizes constant activity, finding a balance between restfulness and productivity can be challenging.
This episode we’re joined by Angela Parker, who shares her journey as a veteran and as a business leader.
Angela Parker, a seasoned finance executive and former Army officer, boasts diverse industry experience, spanning technology, security, consulting, aviation, energy, healthcare, and finance. Her strengths include mergers, restructuring, turnarounds, high-growth initiatives, and performance improvement.
She's set to take on a new CFO role, focusing on Mergers & Acquisitions and transforming finance with cutting-edge technology and processes.
As former CFO of Allied Universal Technology Services, Angela led teams across 50 locations, integrating seven new entities and implementing vital automation. In the energy sector, she drove business strategy and marketing for Halliburton and Baker Hughes, leveraging global trends for success. At American Airlines, Angela guided strategy, managed capital projects, and led merger teams.
A former Army officer, Angela holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor's degree in Literature and Computer Science Engineering from West Point. Her passions include travel, volunteering, running, yoga, and quality time with her grown children.
Angela shares with us the challenges and successes that she’s navigated first in the Army, and then in the corporate world, reflecting on how those experiences have shaped her journey as a leader and sharing her insights and words of wisdom along the way.
Join us for a captivating exploration of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace with two distinguished experts, Darius Johnson and Leland Jourdan of FTI Consulting.
Darius Johnson, a visionary DEI practitioner, and Leland Jourdan, former Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Chevron, offer unique perspectives on the future of DEI.
In this episode, we uncover the journey of these two thought leaders and their invaluable insights. We delve into the evolving DEI landscape, touching on the challenges posed by societal shifts and polarized discourse. We also highlight the importance of genuine commitment and impactful actions to address systemic inequality.
Our expert guests emphasize integrating DEI into every facet of an organization and the crucial role of curiosity in problem-solving. They discuss metrics, sponsorship programs, and inclusive leadership as vital components of successful DEI initiatives.
Discover how DEI dynamics impact a company's success and how leaders can strategically incorporate DEI into core business practices.
Join us on this enlightening journey into the Future of DEI, where we unravel insights, strategies, and the path forward in building more inclusive and equitable workplaces.
Tune in now to be part of the conversation shaping the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion!
Nicte Cuevas is an award-winning bilingual brand strategist and designer, as well as the owner of Nicte Creative Design. She connects color, cultura, and design into a purpose-driven brand strategy for visionary companies. Through empathy-driven methodology, Nicte evolves, invigorates, and amplifies businesses’ unique brand positions. Her roots from Venezuela, Mexico, and Colombia deepen her love and commitment to cultural diversity in her work. Nicte has taught over 120,000 worldwide with courses on branding, color psychology, and design as a LinkedIn Learning instructor.
She joins us this episode to discuss the ways that culture and color can come together to support a brand's voice, strategy and impact. Nicte shares how her own personal journey and multicultural Latina heritage have shaped the way she uses the power of color to help people and brands tell their stories and connect with their audiences. Whether you're developing your own personal brand or contributing to the brand of an organization, this episode speaks to the art of communication and how the methods and media that we use can impact how our voice is heard.
In this episode, we’re joined by Two Piers Advisory Board member, LaToya Stallworth who shares her insights on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). LaToya is an Operations leader within the energy industry. As an alumna of both Florida A&M, a Historically Black University, as well as Harvard Business School, a predominantly white institution (or PWI), LaToya has a unique perspective into the different campus and educational experiences. She also shares a glimpse into her experience as a Black woman in a corporate environment and the ways that her education prepared her for success.
We’re wrapping up our four-part June Pride series this week with a short and sweet episode as we close out the month’s festivities and celebration.
We’re joined by Liz Kovarsky, Director of the Working Communities Challenge Initiative with the Midcoast Youth Center. She discusses her efforts in organizing the first annual Pride celebration in the bucolic shipbuilding town Bath, Maine. From ideation to reality - it’s a heartwarming story of community collaboration, engagement, and support.
We're back for part-two of our two-part episode about Pride. Two Piers Advisory Board members Gene Valentin and Jason Gray rejoin us to discuss Pride in terms of intersectionality, identity, labels, and “cancel culture.” We also touch on some recent developments that have occurred in between recording part-one and part-two.
This is a two-part episode as part of our Pride Series this month. If you didn’t catch part-one, you can find it here.
We're joined by two of our Advisory Board members: Gene Valentin and Jason Gray, who share their lived experiences and insights regarding Pride: what it means to them, where Pride has lost its shine, and how individuals and companies can be more effective allies. This is a fairly unusual episode for us. It's more of a panel discussion than an interview, and it's pretty raw and unfiltered.
This is a two-part episode as part of our Pride Series this month, so stay tuned for part-two next week!
We're kicking off our June 2023 Pride series with Dr. Steve Yacovelli, aka The Gay Leadership Dude. Steve is an expert in diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership both in and outside of the workplace whose not-so-hidden agenda is to make the world a bit more inclusive for us all.
He’s worked internally for folks like The Walt Disney Company, IBM, Tupperware Brands, and several universities before starting his own consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group in 2008.
In this episode, Steve talks about ways that leaders, (and by leaders, he means all of us), can be more inclusive, and he explores the benefits of inclusion and the costs of organizations not getting it right. Steve also shares an actionable framework for tackling silent collusion.
In this bonus episode to close out Asian Heritage Month, we're joined by Senior Scientist, Noushin Mir, Ph.D., who discusses her personal and professional journey with us and shares her insights and experiences along the way.
Noushin's story begins in Iran where she was an Associate Professor of Chemistry, and continues in the US where she now works in the private sector and continues to publish research. In this episode, we delve into the world of identity and authenticity, and what happens when our options for living authentically are narrowed. Noushin shares with us the internal and external challenges she faced both before and after moving to the US and her vision for a society in which individuals can express themselves authentically and feel included in their community. She discusses her Persian heritage and common misconceptions about what is included in the term "Asian." We also explore how workplace groups such as BRGs/ERGs can be effective.
Thank you to Noushin for sharing her deeply personal story with openness, candor, and authenticity.
Leadership coach Laura Jack joins us to discuss compassionate communication and how it relates to leadership as well as diversity, equity and inclusion. As a keynote speaker and trainer, compassionate communication and leadership coach, international best-selling author and founder of the Compassion Code Academy, Laura equips conscious leaders with compassionate communication and coaching skills so they can lead from the heart without losing their authority, efficiency, or effectiveness. She provides in-depth training for individuals and organizations who want to create a culture of compassion and leave a legacy of love for future generations.
This episode delves deep and explores weighty topics such as grief, loss, and trauma - topics that make many of us uneasy, especially when wearing our leadership hats. We discuss some of the myths around grief and healing, and how we can show up for those in our lives who are struggling, whether in our teams, our families, or ourselves.
We're joined by guest Erik Schwartz - CEO of PeopleSERVE, Inc., an IT placement firm, and Hirelytics, Inc., a recruitment analytics firm. Erik is passionate about leveraging technology to further diversity, equity and inclusion in the recruitment and hiring processes. He shares his professional insights with us, as well as his personal story of challenge and growth as an autistic leader and entrepreneur. This episode is both inspirational and practical. It is full of useful information about how teams and organizations can remove barriers between diverse talent pools and their employment opportunities, as well as the importance of Autism Acceptance and embracing the vibrant neurodiversity of our modern workforce.
In this episode, a friend of Two Piers, Robbie Leigh, joins us. Robbie is an empowerment coach who helps introverted, highly sensitives own their strengths and step into their power. Together, we explore the concept of adaptability. This trait, so often revered as a strength and skill, can also present its challenges in terms of identity and sustainability. Join us to explore this fascinating concept and determine how you plan to engage with adaptability.
It's that time of year! Women's History Month and International Women's Day are upon us. This episode, our founder and host, Erica, discusses the tension between image and impact as companies lean into Women's History Month marketing. She also discusses her personal reflections on female-centered community in light of a recent visit to Texas and the work that Two Piers has been doing. While this episode tackles some weighty systemic issues, it's also a candid and earnest account of the personal challenges, reflections and growth of our founder.
