All posts by Editor-in-Chief

Deborah Levine founded the American Diversity Report in 2006. She is a Forbes Magazine top "Trailblazer" and award-winning author of 20 books. Her published articles span decades including: American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, The Bermudian Magazine, The Harvard Divinity School Bulletin.
Wellness Podcasts

Laverne McKinnon: Managing Stress

Dealing with Stress & Anxiety During the Holidays and Every Day

Laverne McKinnon

Laverne’s mission is to help people manage stress & anxiety and cross their finish lines. She is a champion of underdog and underserved stories, and the people behind them. As a film and television producer, a leadership and personal coach, a certified grief counselor, and a professor at Northwestern’s MS Leadership for Creative Enterprises program, Laverne is dedicated to showing us how to find and use values to overcome stress and live a fulfilling life. See  her website for more information: LaverneMcKinnon.com

CLICK to hear Laverne’s podcast

Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Yanique Woodall: Promoting D&I in the PR Industry

Yanique Woodall
Yanique Woodall

Yanique Woodall is the Head of Brand Communications, Product Innovation PR, and Social Impact Communications at Home Depot. Additionally, she serves as Treasurer for the PRSA Foundation, an independent, charitable organization committed to promoting diversity within the PR industry. Woodall graduated with her masters in corporate & public communications from Seton Hall University and serves as an adjunct professor at George Washington University.

CLICK to hear Yanique Woodall’s interview

DL Opinion columns

Don’t Underestimate Putin’s Threat – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Ukrainian-born Comedian Yakov Smirnoff jokingly said Russia’s secret police, the KGB, stood for Kiss Goodbye Your Butt. That was decades before another comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, became Ukraine’s president. But Zelensky knows there’s nothing funny about Russia’s annexation of the eastern part of his country. Fortunately, we have helped guard against further Russian encroachment. So what was Trump thinking in using our aid as a pawn in this political chess game?

The Russians have never been muted in their aggressive global reach. From Vietnam to Cuba, the United States and the former Soviet Union wrestled in a Cold War. As the Soviet Union, Russian invasions included Poland, Ukraine, Latvia and what became the communist republic of Eastern Germany. A relentless dictatorship from czarist times to the present, the number of people who tried to escape Russian rule are legendary.

Continue reading Don’t Underestimate Putin’s Threat – by Deborah Levine →

Arts & Culture Podcasts, Music, theater, TV, dance

Carol Potter: From Screen & Stage to Therapist

Carol Potter: From Screen & Stage to Therapist With a screen & stage career spanning over 40 years,  therapist Carol Potter is best known for her role as Cindy Walsh in Aaron Spelling’s Beverly Hills 90210, among many other Hollywood credits.  She has also been seen on stages in New York, including the original Broadway production of Gemini, Los Angeles, and regional theater.

A Harvard graduate, she became a Licensed Marriage and Family therapist in 2001.

Click to hear Carol’s podcast

Levine articles, Religious Diversity Kit, Social Issues

Living and Dying – by Deborah Levine

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When an anniversary falls on Yom Kippur, the most solemn holy day of the Jewish calendar, thoughts of living and dying take on cosmic proportions.  Fortunately, it’s rare for the two milestones to collide given the differences between the secular and Jewish calendars. Both are celebrations, but Yom Kippur which ends the New Year’s ten Days of Awe, is a sacred time when the celebration of life is combined with contemplation its finite nature. This year, I have a double dose of introspection and my mind sought the path separating living from dying and wandered from wonder and gratitude to mourning and humility.

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Levine articles, Religious Diversity Kit

Policies, Faith, and Calendars – by Deborah Levine

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When the Jewish New Year arrived, I got many questions about faith and calendars from Human Resource departments. They wanted to know why the holiday occurs on a different day each year according to our secular calendar. And they asked about food associated with the holiday. Offering the traditional apples and honey for a sweet New Year was the easy part. Explaining the timing was the real challenge.

What should I write about religion and religious calendars in these contentious times? I know that many organizations and companies would prefer that the issue of religious diversity would disappear. But every year, thousands of religion-based lawsuits claiming a “hostile or offensive work environment” are registered with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).

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Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Trends and Challenges: Systemic Diversity Panel

What’s Next for Inclusion?

Systemic Diversity Panels share ideas, articles, research and resources that reinforce our quest for diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice. The Systemic Diversity and Inclusion Linked group allow participants to share their work and encourage them to do so in a manner that is consistent with the group’s vision for peace, equity and social justice for all.

CLICK for Systemic Diversity Panel Podcast

This group is committed to sharing ideas on effective policies and practices to eradicate misconceptions and biases in diverse workplaces, and thus promote positive work environments for all people. We also profile members and their work that aligns with our  vision. See interviews at Systemic Diversity and inclusion Group.

Deborah LevineDeborah Levine (Moderator)

Award-winning Author (14 books), including Un-Bias Guide for Leaders and Religious Diversity at Work | Speaker/Trainer & Coach | Founder/Editor: American Diversity Report |
Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA (See her Bio)

Joseph NwoyeJoseph Nwoye, Ed.D (Partner)

Diversity & Inclusion Consultant with Unique Ability to Address Unconscious Bias, Inclusive Leadership @ Work & Beyond | Author of three books, including the most recent, Cultivating a Belief System for All (See his latest interview)
Montgomery Village, Maryland, USA

Colonel ReginaldColonel Reginald Hairston

Proven Senior Level Leader | Multiple Years Experience Setting Strategic Direction and Managing Change | Innovator | Author of Simple Man’s Leadership Guide
Chesapeake, Virginia, USA

AtenaAtena Hensch

Inclusive Diversity and belonging Specialist | Unconscious Bias | Gender | Cultural Intelligence | Certified Trainer
Geneva Area, Switzerland

 

LouiseLouise Duffield

VP @GatedTalent | SEO | Executive Search | Social Media | Branding | LinkedIn Optimization | LinkedIn Profile Writer
United Kingdom

Editor-in-Chief, Uncategorized

Aid in Peril and So are We – by Deborah Levine

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Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

DEBORAH LEVINEWhen President Trump threatened to cut off $4 billion in foreign aid, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition emailed how cuts could limit the response to outbreaks of the deadly ebola virus. Concerned, I immediately thought of John Germ, past president of Rotary International, who spoke at Glynn Hodges’ recent Mastermind meeting. Yes, we were inspired by his story of being the first in his family to graduate college. And we were speechless at his stories of navigating outdated military planes on the verge of crashing. We empathized with his struggles to finish college while marrying and having his first child. But it was his dedication to eradicating polio world-wide, his ability to see the challenge as an invitation, that held us in awe.   

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About Deborah Levine, Interviewing Deborah, Levine articles

The Art of Perseverance & Endurance

Deborah LevineHear Deborah Levine’s interview with Rabbi Tzvi and learn about the art of perseverance and endurance. She shares her personal stories that are captured in her memoir, The Magic Marble Tree.  In this interview Deborah talks about her journey through pain and incapacitation and why she decided to  write the book.

Click below to hear true stories that will inspire you to Never Give Up!

Levine articles, Teams & Leaders

Nurturing and Humility in Leadership – by Deborah Levine

I have been puzzled by colleagues congratulating me on my humility. What are these folks talking about? People who knew me years ago would definitely be amused by that. At best, I was described as “Sweet but Stern.” At my boldest, I was told that I could terrorize entire cities. Community leaders had a white-knuckled grasp on their chairs when I tersely announce my intention to speak off-the-record. Not even a voice from the back of the room calling out, “Oh ho, this should be good!” slowed me down.

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