Through her traumatic and abusive childhood, Sheena Mason found her safe haven in school and literature. Her thirst for knowledge and escape led her down the path of consuming all she could on race, liberation, resistance, African-American history, psychology, and more. Ultimately, she came up with the Theory of Racelessness.

Dr. Sheena Mason is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Oneonta, keynote speaker, and founder of Theory of Racelessness.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  

For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

Today we continue our WAY Beyond the Checkbox series with fads, fatigue, and the "Did you really just say that?!?" WTF moments DEI professionals  experience.  Recorded after hours with drinks in hand, we're joined by VP of Products and Innovation Kurt Merriweather, Senior DEI Consultant and Strategist Susie Silver, and Head of Client Services Jamie Ousterout. 

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  

For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

Today we share our first episode in a new series, WAY Beyond the Checkbox. On episode 1, Jackie is joined by three other members of The Diversity Movement team: CEO Donald Thompson, Director of Business Intelligence Bob Batchelor, and Senior Content Strategist Roxanne Bellamy. This was recorded after hours, and everyone had a drink in their hands. So no summary, just enjoy. :)

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  

For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

In this special bonus episode of Diversity Beyond the Checkbox, The Diversity Movement CEO Donald Thompson chats with Lenovo Chief Diversity Officer Calvin Crosslin about his rude introduction to being Black and looking for a job, microaggressions, his journey to becoming Lenovo CDO, product diversity, and the Lenovo Foundation.

Watch the full video of Don's interview with Calvin.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, (usually) hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  

For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

Omar L. Harris has worked and lived all over the world - Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, and the United States. So he's experienced a variety of cultures and has the experiences to know what works in business and what doesn't - especially in leadership.

Be a J.E.D.I. Leader, Not a Boss: Leadership in the Era of Corporate Social Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, by Omar L. Harris

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  

For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

A career is never a straight line, and Denice Torres' is no exception. After years of working as a janitor, she knew that she wanted to start her big career adventure. She studied psychology, attended law school and worked for United Way before she realized a job might not be the key to her pursuit of making a difference. Hear about the rest of her journey and what she's learned from it in this episode.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  

For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

When Chelsea C. Williams first stepped foot on Spelman College's campus, she started to understand diversity. As an HBCU, Spelman is (mostly) racially homogenous, so that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Except that Chelsea could see other types of diversity, such as regional differences and differences of upbringing.  Her curiosity for how we can better understand differences in people led her down the HR and DEI paths, where she eventually formed College Code, a fast-growing consultancy and training firm, providing the critical link between the development and retention of early-stage professionals and helping organizations build equitable and inclusive workplaces.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

Shailvi Wakhlu was in technology from the beginning. At two, her mom brought home a computer that she would play with. At eight, she started coding and found her passion. But as she got older, she started to realize that most of the coders didn't look like her, and she was working in a very homogenous field. Now she's on a mission to change that.

Shailvi Wakhlu is the Senior Director of Data at Strava.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

Growing up in rural North Carolina, people would always ask Jess Jolley, "What are you?" or "What are you mixed with?"  In the South, you were either white, Black, or other, and as a light-skinned Black person, that wasn't always easy. And as Jess would discover by looking into historical records, race is not a binary construct.

Jess Jolley is the Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Pendo.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.

When Elaine Montilla came to the United States from the Dominican Republic to attend college, she barely understood English and struggled to fit in. Today, she's the CIO of The Graduate Center at City University of New York, Founder of 5xminority, and member of the Forbes Technology Council. Tune in to hear how she forged her path to technology leader and what advice she has for other underrepresented people who want to get into tech.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email info@earfluence.com.