Category Archives: Podcasts

Podcast interviews with movers & shakers and diverse innovators.

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Joseph James Podcast: Mainstream Musical Journey

Joseph JamesJoseph James is an award-winning mainstream singer-song writer/ producer from New York, and the founder of AP Music Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Joseph has performed, produced and toured with major acts all over the world. Some notable acts include Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta) and Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple).

“Valentine” is Joseph’s debut single released worldwide in January, 2023, followed by 10 more powerhouse tracks on his debut album, ’55.’ With Joseph’s record label, studio and performance experience, Joseph is setting out to be the next big act in the mainstream commercial music business in 2023.

Hear Joseph talk about his experiences of working with SuperStars:

  • Fun / wild experiences of being on the road with Richie Blackmore
  • How he met Lady Gaga
  • Working with Dolly Parton
  • His decision on finally releasing his first solo album

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Transformation Podcasts

Patrick Donaldson & Kimberly Rollins Podcast: Good Works in Financing

PrimericaPatrick Donaldson is a church Elder, husband and father. He has worked in the financial services industry for over 20 years, focusing on retirement benefits and financial literacy. In addition to his Bachelor of Science degree, he has a Masters of Human Resources, holds a Tennessee insurance license and is a FINRA Securities Registered Representative with Primerica Financial Services. He has volunteered his expertise to the Chattanooga community with hands-on education workshops at numerous local churches and recreation centers, as well as actively working with the Citizen Safety Coalition.

PrimericaKimberly Rollins is the wife of Pastor Donald Rollins Sr.  of Chattanooga’s Born Again Christian Church. She worked for 23 years for the City of Chattanooga, acquiring the leadership skills that she taught co-workers and the women of her church. Then 7 years ago, she expanded her calling to help others by working in finance, helping as many people possible to accomplish their goals and dreams with the knowledge that she’s acquired over the years.

. What Financial Concepts do you teach?

2. What is your passion & motivations?

3. What do you do for fun?

We don’t always have the time we think we have (I have a personal story) 2 Get your affairs together while you have time
Name 3 issues that the audience should continue to discuss.  1. Transparency about where they are emotionally, spiritually, and financially. 2. What small consistent changes are they willing to make to be better? 3. Take the time and care to prepare for the inevitable.

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Generational, Podcasts

Bea Franklin Podcast – Her Historic Journey

Bea Franklin Bea Franklin is a 98 year ‘young’ inspirational woman who is the daughter of The Pep Boys ‘Jack’ and wife of a World War II photographer. Bea is a breast cancer survivor & is still quite busy going on cruises, attending Broadway shows & UpScale NYC restaurants.

 

 

Hear Bea discuss her historic journey with memories of family, famous icons, WW II, and keys to a fulfilling life:

Franklin

  • Her World War II photographer husband.
  • World War II iconic photos: President FDR with Generals Eisenhower & Patton.

 

  • Liberation of the Dachau death camp.
  • Photos of Humphrey Bogart, Mickey Rooney & others.
  • House-guests including champion boxer/TV celebrity Rocky Graziano, hockey stars & even a former US President.
  • Attending a NYC Rooftop concert that featured Frank Sinatra.

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Arts & Culture Podcasts

Jacqueline Schwab Podcast: Music and Culture

Schwab Pianist Jacqueline Schwab spins musical stories out of the myriad strands in the American quilt and with community music making at their heart. Her signature playing features in over a dozen of Ken Burns’ documentaries, including his Grammy-winning Civil War, as well as in The Irish in America and other PBS documentaries. She has performed at the White House for President Clinton, on PBS with the American Pops Orchestra and in almost every state of the Union. Her latest album I Lift My Lamp—Illuminations from Immigrant America celebrates music from American immigrants. Jacqueline Schwab grew up in Pittsburgh and has since lived in Boston and on Cape Cod.

Hear Jacqueline talk about musicians who perform music from other cultures and her new album, “I Lift My Lamp.”

Learn how musicians explore with respect music of other cultures, weigh in on the diversity problems confronting the world and promote cross-cultural healing.

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Podcasts, Transformation Podcasts

Christopher Johnson Podcast: Financial DEI

Christopher JohnsonChristopher Johnson is President of Global Financial Services at Pitney Bowes, where he manages the financing and lending businesses, as well as the consumer and merchant payments and risk management functions across the company. Christopher also holds leadership responsibility for Pitney Bowes Bank, a state chartered industrial loan company.

Hear Christopher discuss how this is the time to make changes to ensure inclusion in the future. The pandemic, super high inflation, and high interest rates are changing the dynamics of our economy. Economic prosperity will need leaders committed long term to their communities, customers and employees, including actionable DEI.

  1. Difficulties accessing capital continues to mount for SMBs, but especially with Black and minority owned businesses. How can we make access to capital more equitable? Is this possible to achieve?
  2. How do we use diversity to adjust to the changes in generations currently in the workplace and the growth of small businesses?
  3. How can we begin increasing participation for minorities in industries like financial services? What’s one thing business leaders can implement today?

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Leadership Tips Podcasts, Transformation Podcasts, Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Daphne Jones Podcast: Win When They Say You Won’t

Daphne Jones Daphne Jones serves on the Boards of three public companies—AMN Healthcare, the Barnes Group, and Masonite International—where she offers critical business savvy, cyber security expertise, and digital insights. Previously, she enjoyed a 30+-year corporate career at some of the world’s most recognizable companies, such as GE, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, and Hospira (now Pfizer).
Daphne has presented strategies to CEOs, boards of directors, and corporate officers, led global teams, and generated hundreds of millions of dollars of value. At GE Healthcare, she became the highest-ranking African American woman in GE IT. She was the first woman and person of color to report to the Chairman of the Board and CEO, shattering the glass ceiling at Hospira.

Daphne Jones

Daphne shares her insights and experiences in her book, “Win When They Say You Won’t,” launching in Fall 2022 from McGraw-Hill. It equips  women leaders to take ownership of their careers and overcome critics to win.

Questions Daphne Jones will answer:

  • When you started your career as a secretary, did you ever imagine that you would someday become a CIO and a board member at major global companies?
  • Why did you title your book Win When They Say You Won’t?
  • What was the hardest part of rising up the ladder as a black woman in STEM.

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Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Ash Beckham Podcast: Breaking Through Barriers

leadership educatorAsh Beckham is an inclusion activist, inclusive leadership expert, professional trainer, workshop facilitator, motivational speaker, business leader and author of Step Up: How to Live with Courage and Become an Everyday Leader.  Known for her unique voice, intrepid, relatable and intrinsically comic style, and powerful guidance, her TEDx Talk “Coming Out of Your Closet” became a fast viral sensation.

A popular speaker and leadership educator, she frequently addresses topics including embracing a different vision of leadership to create change in our workplaces, schools, places of worship, communities and more.  Ash has presented keynotes and workshops for more than 200 corporate, government and collegiate events and conferences including The Boeing Company, Bank of America, Microsoft, the Out and Equal Summit.  For more information, see her website.

leadership Hear Ash discuss…

  • What role does empathy play in inclusion?
  • Where do we educate ourselves about inclusion and engage more in inclusive leadership?
  •  What does allyship actually look like and how do allies engage inclusively?

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International Podcasts

Manu Smadja Podcast: International Student Support

ManuManu Smadja is CEO and Co-founder at MPOWER Financing. Manu is a former Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on Global Financial Inclusion and U.S. mass-market banking. He has worked with top financial institutions in the U.S., Europe, and Africa. Prior to McKinsey he worked in marketing strategy and operations at CapitalOne and Vistaprint. Manu holds an M.B.A. from INSEAD, as well as an M.S. in Systems & Information Engineering and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Virginia.

Hear Manu discuss:

  • What is the significance of international student enrollment in US universities?
  • How diverse is their enrollment in terms of gender, majors, and ethnicity?
  • What are the challenges international students experience in their journey on studying abroad?
  • The impact international students have on the economy, universities, and the workforce, especially as there is more diversity in the STEM fields on the horizon.

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Arts & Culture Podcasts

Tonya Todd Podcast: Diversity in the Entertainment Industry

Tonya ToddTonya Todd is a Las Vegas author, actress, and activist. Invested in fair representation, her continued involvement in the literary, theatre, and filmmaking communities provides a platform to champion marginalized artists and contributes toward an environment that embraces a variety of voices.

Hear Tonya discuss her biracial journey and ….

  • The importance of pushing yourself to make people feel included even when it feels awkward or uncomfortable.
  • The damage caused by dismissing projects as Black or Gay or Asian as if they don’t have universal appeal.
  • Why it’s important to consume media that is centered on people whose identity is different from ours.
  • How allies can contribute to an inclusive environment and assist marginalized artists.

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Being Diverse, Transformation Podcasts

Sandra Moore Podcast: Advantage Capital

SSandra Mooreandra M. Moore is managing director and chief impact officer at Advantage Capital. The firm focuses on high growth and high wage business investing in communities where access to investment capital has historically been hard to find.

Businesses in the United States owned by Black and Brown entrepreneurs typically begin with just one-third the capital of the typical White entrepreneur-owned startup, and as a result, receive far fewer investment dollars because they lack collateral. How can entrepreneurs of color gain greater access to capital and resources to grow and build their businesses, and ultimately have a greater impact on the local communities where they live. *What are the measurable outputs and outcomes of impact investing in businesses located in distressed areas, and how are we pushing the envelope of what’s possible to set the industry standard? *What is the power and potential of public-private partnerships that can help fund minority owned businesses that often lack equitable access to capital; how are we advancing the legislative landscape for local economic development?

The fact that minority-owned businesses traditionally face highly uneven access to investment capital, therefore start out with a significant disadvantage in many cases. *Through leveraging government incentives, there are alternative investment dollar alternatives for small businesses that lack collateral or are deemed higher risk because they are located in distressed or rural areas. *Impact investing in distressed and rural communities can have profound effects on people’s lives, including the creation of higher paying jobs, more wealth opportunities and benefits for workers, and career training.

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