Work. Shouldnt. Suck.

Most hiring processes were built in a different era, carried forward by inertia without much consideration, and optimized for the organization’s convenience rather than a candidate’s experience.This episode is about what happens when a team decides to proactively reimagine that dynamic.WSS host Tim Cynova is joined by Katrina Donald (Ever-so-curious), Julie Mae Lopez (People Power Solutions), and guest host for the episode, Jodi Cobalt (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts). The four of them collaborated on a search at YBCA in 2022-23 for an executive-level Head of External Relations role. This episode is a detailed reflection of what they and the organization tried, what surprised them, and what they’d do again.It’s a behind-the-scenes account of what intentional hiring looks like in practice, with enough specifics that you can take ideas directly into your next search.In this conversation:Why the typical playbook fails → information flows one way, candidates are kept in the dark for weeks, and “culture fit” bias goes completely unchecked.“Dot connector” screening calls built around one prompt: Connect the dots between where you’ve been and this role. Those calls can reshuffle the entire candidate list.Treating the job posting like a marketing campaign: multiple formats, audio and video assets, detailed comp and benefits information, distributed through the varied networks and channels where candidates are located.Why a $250 honorarium Venmo’d the moment a finalist leaves the room might matter more than the dollar amount suggests.Redesigning reference checks to ask “what advice would you give this candidate’s future supervisor?” instead of “was this person a team player?”Accessibility built into the process from the start: contrast ratios, audio versions of postings, empathy mapping for sourcing, feedback loops through the process.Building the case story bank: a practical tool for candidates navigating searches in the age of AI-generated everything.Plus: using Critical Response Process for final interviews, giving care packages to finalists, sending search committee bios to candidates in advance, starting interviews with an ice breaker question, asking candidates to predict their own reference feedback, designing the search to feed directly into onboarding, calibrating the ask of candidates to where they are in the process, and how to not ghost people when the answer is no.Want to go deeper on navigating your own search? Career Camp — the online program Katrina and Tim created — is designed to help you get unstuck, map your next move, and build a job search strategy that reflects how hiring actually works.Links & ResourcesOnline CoursesInclusive Hiring: Building a Search Process from Job Description to Onboarding [FREE]Building a Core Curriculum [FREE]Career Camp “Prepare for Your Next Career Move” [$99]ToolsDownload the 100-page Search Playbook for this searchTemplate for Executive Search Process | 130-item Project Management ChartYBCA Search | Social Sharing KitLiberating StructuresThe Behavior DashboardCritical Response ProcessRelated Podcast EpisodesInside the Search: What Executive Hiring Actually Looks Like (EP.91)Hiring in the Age of A.I. (EP.90)Hiring as Improv: Embracing the Unscripted in Job Searches (EP.85)Values-Based Hiring: Re-Imagining the Search Process (EP.58)Inclusive Hiring Practices (EP.45)About the GuestsJodi Cobalt (she/her), a Co-Founder of Thought Partner, is a seasoned theater manager with over two decades of experience in the industry. Her unique blend of leadership, hands-on knowledge, and a thorough understanding of theater give her a wealth of insight from which to draw on. After earning her BFA in Theater at Emerson College she moved to the Bay Area, finding work in a variety of venues as a Lighting Designer, Performer, Educator and Production Manager. At Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Jodi has held the roles of Director of Production and Chief of Operations and was the General Manager of The Shalleck Collaborative where she contributed to the operational, communications and management side of the business. More at heythoughtpartner.Katrina Donald (she/her) is a regenerative systems designer, developmental strategist, thriving workplace practitioner, and both a certified recruiter and coach. She has become a trusted guide for individuals, teams, and organizations facilitating pivotal developmental moments, sparking curiosity in service of innovation, and supporting emergent change. With two decades of experience working across sectors, Katrina has helped folks develop their capacity to lead through complex challenges, embrace experimentation, make informed decisions, and design adaptive strategies that flow with the ever-changing dynamics of their work. She’s worked with community foundations and other non-profits, health agencies, post secondaries, arts and culture organizations, start-ups, social enterprises, family businesses, and more. This work spans everything from organizational design and learning, people and culture processes (including hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, and leadership development), to strategic evaluation, R&D, and system change and mission impact initiatives. Through her own consulting and coaching company, Ever-so-curious, and her collaboration with great partners like Shift Consulting and WSS HR Labs, Katrina works with the brave and the curious — those who are daring to bring forth what is new, what is next, and address what needs to change. More at Ever-so-curious.Julie Mae Lopez (she/her) is a human resources leader and consultant with 15+ years of experience working with small to mid-sized for-profit and non-profit mission-driven organizations. Early in her career, Julie Mae managed people and culture operations for non-profits in the education and arts sectors. In 2018, she earned a Senior HR Professional certification from SHRM, and in 2023, a workplace certification in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion from USF, fueling her passion for designing people programs that foster inclusive workplaces. She specializes in building human-centered practices where inclusive values are integrated into the entire employee lifecycle—from recruitment and performance management to professional development and offboarding. Through her consultancy, People Power Solutions, she provides expert guidance to help companies build environments where every individual is empowered to thrive and contribute meaningfully to their organization's success. Julie Mae received a BS in Sociology from University of California, Santa Cruz. A proud Oakland resident and Bay Area native, she is an avid thrifter and enjoys Saturday mornings at the park with her dog, Sampa. More at People Power Solutions.Tim Cynova (he/him) is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in...

What happens when the people an organization exists to serve are also the ones designing it? On this episode, host Tim Cynova is in conversation with Lu Zhang, Gregory Sale, and Diya Vij of A Blade of Grass to discuss what it looks like to approach your organization as a living experiment.A Blade of Grass supports socially engaged artists through a grants program, an in-fellowship cohort, and a digital publication called Landscapes. But their work goes well beyond their program design. They're actively questioning whether competition-based, project-focused philanthropy actually serves artists. They pay their board members. They use a randomized selection process for small grants. They talk openly about sunsetting the organization in the same breath they discuss 100-year plans. These are not things most organizations do.This conversation explores practitioner-led governance, the gap between what socially engaged artists need and what traditional arts infrastructure delivers, how to build for responsiveness and long-term strategy at the same time, and what it means to make an organization that doesn't require artists to check their creativity at the door.If you're a leader questioning default organizational norms, a funder trying to align your grantmaking practices with what artists need, or anyone building infrastructure in a sector that keeps treating creativity as something that happens somewhere else, this one is worth your time.In this conversation:What "practitioner-led" really means when it extends from staff to boardThe case for randomized grant-makingWhy A Blade of Grass paused programming for a full year to do field researchBuilding a paid, working board and what that changes about governanceHow socially engaged artists think about entering and exiting community work and what organizations can learn from thatHolding grief, iteration, and ambition without getting precious about any of itLinks &amp; ResourcesA Blade of Grass — Website, Newsletter, Instagram, Facebook, Landscapes2025 In Fellowship Cohort:Great LeapWhat Would an HIV Doula Do?Wild Path CollectiveReflections on the first year of In FellowshipAbout the GuestsDiya Vij was the Vice President of Curatorial and Arts Programs at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, NY when this episode was recorded, and is committed to critically investigating the evolving role of art in politics and civic life. Most recently, she served as the Curator at Creative Time where she commissioned and stewarded large-scale public art work, launched the public programming space CTHQ, re-launched the Creative Time Summit, and initiated the R&amp;D Fellowship for socially engaged artists. Over the past decade, she has held programming, curatorial, and communications positions at major New York City Institutions. As the Associate Curator of Public Programs at the High Line, she organized dozens of live events and performances with artists, activists, practitioners, and healers. At the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Vij launched and co-directed the Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) program. Additionally, she helped lead the Agency’s citywide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative, and played an active role in public monument efforts, as well as CreateNYC—New York City’s first strategic long-term plan for culture. She was a curatorial fellow and the communications manager at the Queens Museum from 2010–2014. She currently serves on the Boards of A Blade of Grass, the Laundromat Project and the Poetry Project and was co-curator of the Counterpublic Triennial 2023 in St. Louis, MO. [After this episode was recorded in 2026, Diya was appointed the Commissioner of NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs.]Gregory Sale is an artist, curator, educator, and community organizer whose work uses creativity as a tool for transformation. His socially engaged practice is grounded in collective experience, relationship-building, and shared authorship to create large-scale, often long-term public projects that address social challenges. For over two decades, Sale’s projects have focused on mass incarceration, reentry, and civic life, centering system-impacted individuals as creative collaborators and leaders. Notably It’s not just black and white (2011) and Future IDs at Alcatraz (2018–19) – a yearlong exhibition and series of community programs developed in partnership with the National Park Service, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and more than 20 community organizations. Reaching hundreds of thousands of visitors, Future IDs at Alcatraz created an evolving civic space for open dialogue and stories of trauma, transformation, and resilience. Sale co-founded the Future IDs Art and Justice Leadership Cohort, which works with justice-involved leaders and allies to explore how art can support leadership, civic participation, and systemic change. Participants have co-created projects such as Justice + Art Jam (2025), a day of art, advocacy, and resource sharing in Los Angeles. Sale also co-leads initiatives about voting and love as social and political strategies, including #ArtistsWhoVote and the Love for Love series. His work has been supported by Creative Capital, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, A Blade of Grass/David Rockefeller Fund, Art Matters, Center for Artistic Activism, and Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Sale is Professor of Expanded Arts and Public Practice at Arizona State University and serves on the board of A Blade of Grass. He is based in Phoenix and Los Angeles. Gregory’s website and his project Future IDs website.Lu Zhang is an artist and arts worker. She is the Executive Director of A Blade of Grass (ABoG), an artist-run nonprofit dedicated to socially engaged art. In collaboration with a paid board of artists and practitioners, Lu guides programs rooted in co-creation and dialogue that provide flexible, responsive resources to artists. Under her leadership, ABoG continues to evolve as a nimble organization that adapts its structure and programs to meet the changing needs of socially engaged artists. Before joining ABoG, Lu served as Initiatives Director at United States Artists (USA), a national arts funder supporting artists across all disciplines. There, she launched a new department to expand holistic support for artists, including landmark programs such as Disability Futures and Artist Relief. Previously, Lu was Deputy Director of The Contemporary, a nomadic museum in Baltimore, where she provided strategic oversight and led initiatives to strengthen the local arts ecosystem. As an artist, Lu’s work spans books, drawings, installations, and interventions. She has partnered with Press Press to produce publications, with the George Peabody Library to launch a studio residency program, and founded the Institute for Expanded Research, which activates sites and resources for artist projects. Lu holds an MFA in Painting from the Frank Mohr Institute in the Netherlands and a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Listen to more with Lu on episode 11 of the body is the brain.Tim Cynova is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable. More at <a href="https://www.timcynova.com/" rel="noopener...

What does an executive search actually look like from the inside?This episode brings together two people who know the process from different vantage points: Pamela Bol Riess, CEO of PBR Executive Search, and Deeksha Gaur, Executive Director of Theater Development Fund, who was a candidate in a search Pamela led in 2023.Together, we discuss how executive hiring really works right now — what search committees are actually evaluating, why the boldest candidates tend to win, and how to show up in a competitive market without losing yourself in the process.In this conversation:Why you usually can't get everything in one hire, and how smart organizations identify their true must-haves before the search begins.How candidates are being evaluated from the first email they send, not just in the interview room.Why "the answers are in the position description" and what it looks like when candidates use them.Deeksha's approach to her own search: researching every search committee member, preparing a strategic deck, and giving herself the freedom to show up authentically. Why the boldest candidates tend to win and what "leading in the room" actually looks like.How post-pandemic uncertainty has shifted what organizations are really hiring for: pattern recognition, comfort with failure, and judgment over credentials alone.How to stay resilient as a finalist who doesn't get the offer.Whether you're navigating a search, hiring into complexity, or doing search work yourself, this one's full of practical insight and rare candor from both sides of the table.Highlights:01:40 Meet Pamela and Deeksha02:34 Career Origins and Paths03:50 What Hiring Gets Wrong06:11 Judgment and Fit at Exec Level07:42 Defining the Right Leader10:04 Showing Up as a Candidate12:28 Bold Interviews That Win14:45 Testing Thinking and Ego17:36 Practical Interview Prep19:51 Signal Commitment and Research23:49 Authenticity and the Current Job Market27:04 Cover Letters and Owning Your Gaps29:24 Everything Is Data33:28 Bravery and Joyful Leadership37:17 Networks and References38:34 Encouragement and RelationshipsLinks &amp; ResourcesPBR Executive Search including their Active Searches and Recent PlacementsPBR's Job Search GuidePamela's Succession Planning SeriesTheatre Development Fund (TDF)About the GuestsPamela Bol Riess has been in the search business for more than 25 years, focusing exclusively on the nonprofit sector. During her career, she has led hundreds of leadership searches for a wide variety of nonprofit clients based in the US and abroad. Through this work, she has developed an extensive network of relationships with nonprofit leaders, a deep understanding of the skills and experiences that make candidates successful, and knowledge of the institutional conditions necessary for supporting that success. She is particularly adept at understanding the culture of a client organization and identifying people who will thrive there. She has a BA in English from Brown University and an MFA in Fiction Writing from New York University.Deeksha Gaur is Executive Director at Theatre Development Fund (TDF), a non-profit that is building the future audience for the performing arts by removing financial, physical, and invisible barriers to attendance. Prior to this, Deeksha spent eight years at the nexus of theatre and tech at Show-Score, a consumer reviews platform that she co-founded. Following its acquisition in 2020, she ran the incubated brand for TodayTix Group. With TDF, she returns to the non-profit arts world, where she has previously held senior marketing and PR positions at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Two River Theater Company, and Long Wharf Theatre. She serves as Treasurer and a founding board member of Kaleidoscope Dreams Foundation, chaired by Alicia Keys, and has previously served on the boards of the award-winning Second Stage Theater, Ars Nova, and Space on Ryder Farm, where she was also Treasurer. She is an adjunct professor at Fordham University and guest lecturer at Yale University's David Geffen School of Drama. Deeksha is also a Tony Nominator and a published crossword constructor.Tim Cynova is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable. More at timcynova.com.

Artificial intelligence isn’t just changing how we work—it’s reshaping how we hire.In this episode, hosts Tim Cynova and Katrina Donald explore the impact of AI on hiring practices. Joined by their unique, algorithmic guest—Chad Geepet (pronounced GPT 😉), part thought partner, part mirror, and all algorithm—they unpack what AI is really doing to hiring systems, not just in headlines but in the messy middle where résumés, interviews, and algorithms now mingle.Drawing on eight recent studies and articles, they explore:Learning to Speak Algorithm: How job seekers and employers are adapting to (and gaming) A.I. systems — and what that reveals about a hiring culture that prizes efficiency over connection.A.I. Interviews and the Illusion of Fairness: Exploring why structured doesn’t always mean just, and how transparency can restore trust in the interview process.Invisible Filters: Where bias hides in plain sight — inside the data, the design choices, and even our definitions of “professionalism.”Trust and Transparency as the New Currency: How sharing how the system works can turn skepticism into credibility.From Risk to Responsibility: Designing for Care: How bias audits, explainability, and “A.I. use statements” can shift compliance from checkbox to culture — turning care into a competitive edge.Together, Tim, Katrina, and Chad explore the tensions between efficiency and care, risk and responsibility, asking questions like: What would it look like to design hiring as an act of care? And how do we make sure that technology reflects our values—not the other way around?“AI won’t replace humans in hiring—it will amplify whatever values are already in play.” — Chad GeepetWhether you’re a job seeker navigating an algorithmic gauntlet or an HR leader experimenting with new tools, this conversation offers both insight and invitation: to build hiring processes that are transparent and deeply human.📺 Watch the animated edition of the podcast episode!Highlights:01:39 Meet Chad Geepet: An Algorithmic Guest02:49 The Big Story: Trust in Hiring04:03 Theme 1: Learning to Speak Algorithm06:41 Reactive Creativity in Job Seeking17:09 Theme 2: AI Interviews and the Illusion of Fairness 26:46 Theme 3: Invisible Filters: Bias in Data and Design33:16 The Importance of Bias Audits34:21 AI as a Mirror in Hiring35:05 Feedforward Loops and Cultural Impact35:59 Layers of Transparency and Accountability37:42 Theme 4: Trust and Transparency as the New Currency38:18 Transparency as a Competitive Advantage46:54 Theme 5: From Risk to Responsibility: Designing for Care in Hiring1:00:32 The Future of AI in HiringLinks &amp; Resources"Recruiters Use A.I. to Scan Résumés. Applicants Are Trying to Trick It" by Evan Gorelick (The New York Times, Oct 2025)"Job Interviews Are Broken: People are sneaking answers from AI, and who can blame them?" by Ian Bogost (The Atlantic, Oct 2025)"AI Did The Job Interview. The Results Shocked Everyone" by Marc Ethier (Poets &amp; Quants, Oct 2025)"Voice AI in Firms: A Natural Field Experiment on Automated Job Interviews" by Brian Jabarian and Luca Henkel"Why might AI-enabled interviews reduce candidates’ job application intention? The role of procedural justice and organizational attractiveness" by Wenhao Luo, Yuelin Zhang, and Maona Mu (Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2025)"Age and gender distortion in online media and large language models" by Douglas Guilbeault, Solène Delecourt, and Srinivasa Desikan (Nature, 2025)"Invisible Filters: Cultural Bias in Hiring Evaluations Using Large Language Models" by Pooja S. B. Rao, Laxminarayen Nagarajan Venkatesan, Mauro Cherubini, and Dinesh Babu Jayagopi (arXiv, 2025)"How AI-powered recruitment defies expectations about inclusion and transparency" by Mark Esposito and Ava Fitoussy (World Economic Forum, Sept 2025)"NYC Set to Enforce Law to Regulate Use of Automated Hiring Tools Starting July 5, 2023" by Joseph O’Keefe &amp; William GreyArtificial Intelligence Legal Roundup: Colorado Postpones Implementation of AI Law as California Finalizes New Employment Discrimination Regulations and Illinois Disclosure Law Set to Take Effect (Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Sept 2025)About the GuestsABOUT CHAD GEEPETChad Geepet is Work Shouldn’t Suck’s resident AI collaborator — a reflective analyst with a knack for connecting data, design, and humanity. Trained on far too many résumés and research papers, Chad brings curiosity (and occasional existential humor) to conversations about how technology is reshaping hiring and the future of work. They’re especially interested in what happens when we design systems that amplify care instead of bias — and in helping humans stay at the center of innovation.ABOUT KATRINA DONALDKatrina (she/her) is a regenerative systems designer, developmental strategist, thriving workplace practitioner, and both a certified recruiter and coach. She has become a trusted guide for individuals, teams, and organizations facilitating pivotal developmental moments, sparking curiosity in service of innovation, and supporting emergent change. With two decades of experience working across sectors, Katrina has helped folks develop their capacity to lead through complex challenges, embrace experimentation, make informed decisions, and design adaptive strategies that flow with the ever-changing dynamics of their work. She’s worked with community foundations and other non-profits, health agencies, post secondaries, arts and culture organizations, start-ups, social enterprises, family businesses, and more. This work spans everything from organizational design and learning, people and culture processes (including hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, and leadership development), to strategic evaluation, R&amp;D, and system change and mission impact initiatives. Through her own consulting and coaching company, Ever-so-curious, and her collaboration with great partners like Shift Consulting and WSS HR Labs, Katrina works with the brave and the curious — those who are daring to bring forth what is new, what is next, and address what needs to change. Learn more at Ever-so-curious.ABOUT TIM CYNOVATim (he/him) is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable.

Construction sits at the intersection of some of today’s most urgent challenges—workforce shortages, climate change, housing insecurity, and culture change. It’s also where solutions are being built, literally and figuratively.In this episode, host Tim Cynova continues the Climate Justice HR series with Mel Baiser and Kate Stephenson, co-founders of HELM Construction Solutions, a people- and planet-forward consulting firm helping construction companies transform their culture, strengthen business resilience, and lead on climate action.They explore:What it means to embed justice, care, and clarity into hiring, leadership, and everyday operations.Why construction’s cultural transformation could unlock lessons for every sector.How HELM helps companies evolve from “chaotic job sites” to thriving, values-aligned workplaces.The industry’s overlapping crises—from labor shortages and mental-health challenges to ICE raids and climate emergencies.How coaching, community-building, and shared learning can shift entire systems, not just individual job sites.Despite the gravity of the challenges, Mel and Kate also share a deep sense of hope—that by centering connection, humility, and interdependence, we can build not only structures but the systems that sustain us.Highlights:01:06 Meet the Guests: Kate Stephenson and Mel Baiser02:19 Personal Backgrounds and Career Paths07:30 The Origin and Vision of HELM Construction Solutions12:55 Challenges in the Construction Industry16:38 HELM's Approach to Addressing Industry Challenges28:09 Leadership and Business Development41:51 Climate Justice and Workforce Issues51:11 Client Success Stories and Future VisionLinks &amp; ResourcesRecording of the event “Building Solidarity: Construction Workers, Jobsite Safety, and ICE” mentioned during the episode.HELM Resource Library containing a wealth of materials to inform, support (and occasionally entertain) you as you develop your company.HELM Job Board if you're looking to join a forward-looking company with a great work culture.About the GuestsABOUT MEL BAISER | Co-Founder &amp; Director of Vision &amp; Strategy, HELMMel (they/them) believes in the transformative potential of the construction sector. This industry, which contributes nearly 40% of the carbon emissions wreaking havoc on our planet, is well positioned to become a catalyst for change in the movement for climate justice. Mel is passionate about making that happen. One could say Mel was destined to enter the construction trades. A 7th-generation Vermonter, they come from a long line of builders and homesteaders.After years working as a residential carpenter, project manager, and estimator in both the San Francisco Bay Area and New England, Mel couldn’t ignore the tremendous opportunities for improvement they saw for the industry. With a degree in sociology, decades of organizing experience, and a desire to engage with the building world, Mel co-founded HELM to provide a much-needed service—while simultaneously disrupting business as usual. They became a BPI- and PHIUS-certified professional, are an ICF PCC-accredited coach, and have been providing business consulting, coaching, and project management services to companies throughout North America over the past ten years.As Director of Vision and Strategy, Mel leads the effort to generate and hold HELM’s vision of making a positive impact on the world in the areas of climate change and social justice. They live in Brattleboro, VT, with their wife and son where they enjoy monthly hikes on big mountains, speaking Spanish, and listening to music.ABOUT KATE STEPHENSON | Co-Founder &amp; Director of Training &amp; Finance, HELMKate (she/her) is an experienced leader in the fields of green building, professional education, sustainability, and business management. She’s worked with established and emerging businesses and non-profits to achieve triple bottom line metrics, develop business systems, and plan for a dynamic and resilient future. She has deep experience in post-secondary education, and led the Yestermorrow Design/Build School for over thirteen years.Kate helped to develop and is a facilitator for NESEA’s BuildingEnergy Bottom Lines program. Kate is a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program, a member of the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee, and serves on the Boards of NESEA and the Studio for High Performance Design and Construction. She holds a MS in Management from Antioch University New England and a BA in Anthropology and Environmental Science from Haverford College.ABOUT TIM CYNOVATim (he/him) is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable.

Nonprofit teams. City governments. Unionizing workplaces. Pet pics in the team Slack thread. No matter the setting, one thing is certain: conflict is going to show up.But what if conflict isn’t the problem—it’s the way we relate to it that matters?In this episode, Tim Cynova is joined by facilitators, coaches, and organizational practitioners Navida Nuraney and Camille Dumond to explore the Lewis Method of Deep Democracy, a practical and surprisingly playful framework for navigating disagreement, surfacing unspoken truths, and building real relational capacity in teams.We explore what makes Deep Democracy distinct from traditional facilitation approaches, why it matters more than ever in today’s complex workplaces, and how even seemingly small tensions—like whether your team’s Slack channel should be for logistics or life updates—can benefit from the tools and mindset Deep Democracy offers.And in true WSS style, we don’t just talk about the framework—we try it out! Together, Tim, Navida, and Camille take the “Debate Tool” for a spin, exploring the polarity between “Just do the job” and “Bring your whole(ish) self to work.” Spoiler: You might agree with both.Highlights:03:55 Understanding the Lewis Method of Deep Democracy05:47 Practical Tools for Navigating Conflict10:30 Personal Experiences with Deep Democracy17:07 Applying Deep Democracy in Organizations20:41 The Importance of Addressing Conflict Now23:50 Exploring the Debate Tool24:34 Exploring the Polarity of Bringing Your Whole Self to Work29:58 Debating the “Just Do the Job” Perspective33:16 Balancing Both Sides: Insights and Reflections37:03 Practical Applications and Tools for Conflict Resolution41:00 Upcoming OpportunitiesLinks &amp; ResourcesLewis Deep DemocracyWaterline Co-opRole Theory Companion: Applying Deep Democracy ($16 CAD) Camille Dumond's book exploring the secret sauce behind the method; includes a number of leadership applications.International Association of Process Oriented PsychologyWork Won’t Love You Back by Sarah JaffeAbout the GuestsABOUT CAMILLE DUMONDCamille (she/they) is a settler of Indo-Caribbean and French-Irish descent living on unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. Her practice is as a somatic therapist, conflict and group facilitator. With over 20 years experience facilitating change processes, she brings depth psychology, social movement analysis, and embodied spirituality to organizational change. This allows her to support a sense of center and even playfulness in complex, emergent situations. Camille co-founded the Refugee Livelihood Lab with Nada Elmasry to amplify the impact and transformational influence of racialized leaders with lived experience of forced displacement and migration. She is principal at Dignity Facilitation. ABOUT NAVIDA NURANEYNavida (she/her) is a liberatory coach, facilitator and organizational consultant. At the heart of her life and work is a commitment to nourishing people through practices that center love, justice and liberation. She has held leadership roles across start-ups, nonprofits, and municipal government, always with a commitment to fostering healthier, more creative, and relationally alive workplaces. She holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia with a focus on Human Resources and Organizational Development. Her early studies in architecture and graphic design enabled her to see how beauty and aesthetics shape experience. Navida has ancestral roots in Gujarat, India and was born on the unceded lands of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples in so called Vancouver, Canada. Discover more at www.navida.ca.ABOUT TIM CYNOVATim (he/him) is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable.

In this episode, host Tim Cynova is joined by E. Andrew Taylor—professor, researcher, consultant, board chair, and longtime colleague—to explore the messy, meaningful, and often misunderstood world of nonprofit boards. Together, they take a fresh look at what boards are really for, why bylaws matter more than most people realize, and how values-based governance can meet the challenges of an unpredictable world.Dispelling common myths, Andrew reframes the governing board as a servant leader to the public it represents. The conversation spans recent high-profile governance stories at institutions like OpenAI and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the importance of stress-testing bylaws, and the unique hurdles boards face in today’s rapidly shifting environment.Spoiler Alert: Instead of seeing risk as threat, this episode invites us to (re)imagine governance as a space for resilience, creativity, and collective leadership.Whether you’re curious about joining your first nonprofit board, navigating one as an executive, or rethinking governance structures in your own organization, this conversation will spark fresh thinking about how boards can evolve to meet the moment.Highlights:01:11 Current Issues in Nonprofit Governance06:01 The Role and Challenges of Nonprofit Boards07:36 Understanding Nonprofit Organizations17:22 The Importance of Bylaws21:13 Revising Bylaws for Modern Governance21:35 The Concept of Minimum Viable Everything22:32 Using AI for Policy Development24:57 The Role of the Board in Nonprofits25:37 Bridging the Gap Between Board and Staff29:32 Navigating Risk and Collaboration35:45 The Importance of Collective ActionRelated ResourcesArtsManaged Field Guide, E. Andrew Taylor’s online "textbook"ArtsManaged Field Notes, E. Andrew Taylor’s weekly newsletter, which includes a page dedicated to governance-relevant posts“Trump has purged the Kennedy Center’s board, which in turn made him its chair – why does that matter?” by E. Andrew Taylor published in The Conversation“OpenAI and Nonprofit-Money Collaborations” by Gene Takagi via NEO Law Group“Facing Trump threat, Corporation for Public Broadcasting amends bylaws to protect directors from removal” by Austin FullerBiosABOUT E. ANDREW TAYLORAndrew Taylor thinks (a bit too much) about organizational structure, strategy, and management practice in the nonprofit arts. An Associate Professor and Director of Arts Management at American University, he also consults for cultural, educational, and support organizations throughout North America. Andrew is past president of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, board chair for Fractured Atlas, consulting editor for The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, and a co-editor of Artivate, a journal on arts entrepreneurship. His book, The Artful Manager: Notes on the Business of Arts and Culture, is available from arts axis press. And he's producing an array of free and public resources to support Arts Management practitioners – online textbook, weekly newsletter, short video series – all available at ArtsManaged.org.ABOUT TIM CYNOVATim Cynova is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable.

In this episode of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, host Tim Cynova is joined by Chantel Cohen—licensed therapist, executive coach, and founder of CWC Coaching and Therapy—for a powerful conversation at the intersection of career and mental wellness.Chantel works with entrepreneurs and corporate leaders to help them navigate the messy, magical overlap of identity, leadership, stress, relationships, and purpose. Through coaching and therapy, she supports individuals and teams in showing up more fully—for themselves, for each other, and for the work they believe in.We explore:Why founders and professionals benefit from support beyond the workplaceThe role of relationships in shaping how we lead and liveWhat couples therapy can teach us about co-leadership and team dynamicsHow to stay grounded when facing burnout, job transitions, or identity detachment from workWhy it’s worth asking: “What is this all for?”—and how that question can change your relationship to career, purpose, and communityWhether you’re curious about how to navigate big career shifts, wondering why work feels lonelier than it used to, or looking for ways to lead with more compassion and clarity, this episode offers both practical tools and soulful reminders.🎧 Listen in for stories, strategies, and truth-telling about the emotional labor of leadership—and the joy and fun that can come from not doing it alone.HighlightsChantel's Journey and Approach to Coaching (01:17)Understanding and Managing Mental Wellness (02:39)The Importance of Relationships and Support Systems (06:03)Work, Identity, and Values (10:05)Staying Grounded and Finding Meaning (19:20)Balancing Personal and Professional Dynamics (23:18)Conclusion and Final Thoughts (25:02)BiosABOUT CHANTEL COHENChantel Cohen is a therapist, life coach, and executive communications coach dedicated to helping individuals, couples, and groups in their journeys of self-improvement, career advancement, and relationship enhancement. She specializes in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples and created the Become One Again™ Method to address every aspect of a client’s life, including their mental wellness, their career or business, and their significant relationships both personally and professionally.After earning her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, Chantel worked as a program specialist for individuals with psychiatric and physical challenges. She then moved to New York City, where she earned a Master’s degree and Coaching Certification in Executive Coaching and Counseling from Columbia University. At St. Luke’s Hospital in New York, Chantel focused on counseling young adults facing depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and ADHD.In 2011, Chantel founded CWC Coaching &amp; Therapy in Atlanta, Georgia, where she and her team provide mental health services with a business coaching lens. While her clients are from all walks of life, she works extensively with couples in relationship distress, individuals managing anxiety, ADHD, and depression, and those seeking career transitions or professional growth. Her compassionate approach and use of tools like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the DISC help clients gain self-awareness and improve their communication skills.Chantel particularly works with business leaders in individual sessions or larger groups in corporate settings. Her roster of clients includes Google, Coca-Cola, Lenovo, Coursera, Village Capital, CARE, Vistage Atlanta, , Collab Capital, BIA, and the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE).In recognition of her work with couples, Chantel has been named one of the Three Best Rated Marriage Counselors in the metro Atlanta region since 2019, determined by an independent review that took into consideration factors like client reviews, customer satisfaction, and general excellence.Chantel lives in Atlanta, with her husband of 30 years, her dogs Thunder and Bourbon, and her Maine Coon cat named Ripley who thinks she’s a dog too. Chantel has three children who love to travel just as much as she does.ABOUT TIM CYNOVATim Cynova is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable.

In this episode, we explore what it means to approach hiring as improvisation—especially from the perspective of job seekers navigating ambiguous, pressure-filled, and often inequitable processes.Joining host Tim Cynova are two brilliant minds who live at the intersection of the performing arts and organizational transformation: Courtney Harge, founder of CHarge Advisory Hub and Kate Stadel, General Manager of Arts at YMCA Calgary. Both bring deep experience in theater and arts leadership—and share how their training has shaped how they build teams, lead organizations, and show up in interviews.We explore:Why job seekers rarely get a full script—and how to adapt when you’re handed a vague promptHow theater skills like reading a room, holding tension, and embracing failure help candidates and hiring managers alikeWhat hiring managers can do to reduce unnecessary ambiguity and bring more care and intention into the processWhy “just be yourself” is both true and insufficient advice—and how to pick which version of yourself to show up asWhy sometimes the goal is to “interview to get fired”—so you and the organization can learn quickly if it’s a fitWhether you’re hiring, job seeking, or just rethinking the systems we all move through, this episode offers insight, laughter, and plenty of permission to improvise.Highlights:Meet the Guests (01:28)Theater Skills in Leadership and Hiring (02:50)The Art of Storytelling in Job Interviews (07:05)Embracing Feedback and Authenticity (08:54)Reimagining the Job Seeking Process (20:03)Evaluating Candidates Beyond Skills (22:53)The Purpose of Interview Questions (23:42)Challenging Traditional Hiring Practices (24:49)Authenticity in Job Interviews (27:17)The Importance of Values and Kindness (28:05)Navigating Interview Dynamics (29:40)The Role of Improvisation in Interviews (38:07)BIOSABOUT COURTNEY HARGECourtney is a Midwest-made, Brooklyn-refined, theater maker, facilitator, creative leader, and cultural strategist. She has been working in the service of artists, art-making, and healthy organizations for the last fifteen years. Recently, she was the CEO of OF/BY/FOR ALL, a nonprofit dedicated to improving arts, civic, and cultural institutions through community-centered strategizing. She is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Colloquy Collective. Her work on anti-lynching plays was featured on NPR in 2015. She’s also the Lead Consultant for CHarge Advisory Hub, a consulting service offering human-centered, tech-supported solutions for mission-driven organizations. She holds an MPS with Distinction in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute and a BFA with Honors from the University of Michigan in Theater Performance. Courtney is also an alum of APAP’s Emerging Leaders Institute, artEquity’s Facilitator Training, and Lead for Liberation’s Conscious Executive program. Learn more about her and her work at courtneyharge.com and chargeadvisoryhub.com.ABOUT KATE STADELCurrently the General Manager of Arts for YMCA Calgary, Kate is a dedicated community leader and arts administrator with a wealth of experience spanning 20 years. Her passion lies in leveraging the transformative power of the arts to foster personal and communal growth. Kate believes deeply in Art as Belonging—the idea that the arts are a vital tool for building inclusive spaces where all voices feel seen, heard, and valued. She is committed to creating environments where creativity becomes a catalyst for connection, equity, and empowerment. Kate possesses a keen ability to craft strategic business plans that yield tangible results, contributing to the development of a dynamic and lively arts community hub. Her work consistently reflects her core values of accessibility, inclusion, and community engagement. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, Kate was named as part of Avenue Magazine's prestigious Top 40 Under 40 class of 2020. katestadel.comABOUT TIM CYNOVATim Cynova is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable.

Discover the real-world lessons of co-leadership in this two-part conversation with Americans for the Arts’ interim Co-CEOs, Suzy Delvalle and Jamie Bennett.Recorded at the start and end of their nine-month shared leadership journey, host Tim Cynova explores how they divided responsibilities, built trust, navigated challenges, and embraced the benefits of having two leaders at the helm. From the decision to take the roles together, to the cultural shifts and surprises along the way, this episode offers candid insights for executives, boards, and organizations exploring interim leadership, shared power, and values-driven change.We explore:How the co-leadership arrangement came together and why neither would have said yes without the otherStructuring responsibilities, building trust, and navigating shared decision-making in a high-profile national nonprofitThe benefits—and surprises—of having two leaders instead of one, both internally and externallyHow interim roles can create space for experimentation, transparency, and cultural changeLessons for boards, staff, and leaders considering co-leadership or shared power modelsPart One captures Suzy and Jamie’s hopes, plans, and questions as they begin. Part Two—where Tim is joined by podcasting’s favorite co-host Lauren Ruffin—unpacks what worked, what didn’t, and what they wish they’d had time to do.Whether you’re curious about co-leadership, fascinated by interim executive roles, or wondering how to lead in turbulent times, this episode offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at shared leadership in practice.Listen in and discover: How two leaders, one job, and a finite timeline reshaped an organization’s transition—and their own perspectives on leadership.Highlights:00:00 Introduction and Podcast Episode Origins00:56 Meet the Interim Co-CEOs02:09 The Co-Leadership Journey Begins04:41 Structuring the Co-Leadership06:17 Intentional Interim Ministry08:06 Challenges and Opportunities10:23 Shared Leadership Dynamics14:51 Project Management and Organizational Goals17:39 Reflecting on Interim Leadership25:41 Future Vision and Organizational Evolution33:34 Part Two: Reflecting on the Journey35:42 Entering the Interim Role36:35 Navigating Co-CEO Dynamics37:36 Building Trust with Staff39:13 Reflections on Co-Leadership41:26 Challenges and Benefits of Shared Leadership43:18 Interim Leadership Insights45:23 Future of Leadership Models48:13 Final Thoughts and ReflectionsBIOSABOUT SUZY DELVALLESuzy is a seasoned advisor who has leveraged her expertise to drive strategic growth and stability in arts organizations, most recently through interim leadership roles at A Blade of Grass, Artadia, Socrates Sculpture Park, and United States Artists. With a proven track record of success, she previously led Creative Capital and was one of the architects of Artists Relief, a $25 million initiative that provided emergency support to artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was the founding executive director of The Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling following tenures at El Museo del Barrio and American Composers Orchestra.ABOUT JAMIE BENNETTJamie has been providing strategic advice through a partnership with Lord Cultural Resources to clients that include the American Museum of Natural History, the Barr Foundation, the BIG We Foundation, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the MacArthur Foundation, PolicyLink, Starfish Accelerator, and Walk With Amal. Previously he ran ArtPlace America and worked at the National Endowment for the Arts as a political appointee in President Obama’s administration and at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs during Mayor Bloomberg’s administration.ABOUT LAUREN RUFFINApproaching challenges with multiple perspectives, Lauren Ruffin creates solutions bridging technology, art, and social impact. She is the Director and Lead Strategist of Arts &amp; Cultural Programming at Michigan Central's Detroit innovation campus and teaches at Arizona State University's MIX Center. As a 2025 Lewis Latimer Fellow, she explores ethical AI applications for oral histories. Ruffin co-founded CRUX Cooperative supporting immersive artists and previously served as Fractured Atlas Co-CEO where she founded the Artist Campaign School. With a J.D. from Howard University and experience spanning arts administration and education, she remains committed to empowering creative communities while serving on the Black Innovation Alliance board.ABOUT TIM CYNOVATim Cynova is the host of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, where he and guests explore bold ideas and practical strategies for creating workplaces where people thrive. At the consulting firm WSS HR Labs, he draws on deep experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through growth, change, and complexity to help them dust off outdated policies, challenge default approaches, and design values-centered workplaces that align people strategy, organizational culture, and operational infrastructure. A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and trained mediator, Tim’s path has taken him from orchestral trombonist to C-level roles in multiple $25M+ nonprofits around the globe. Whether consulting, teaching, or recording, he brings curiosity, candor, and a knack for making workplace design engaging and actionable.

In this on-location episode, host Tim Cynova visits Socrates Sculpture Park, a creative haven on along New York City’s East River. Once a landfill, Socrates is now a vibrant public space where artists and community members come together to imagine what’s possible. Co-Directors Katie Dixon and Shaun Leonardo join Tim to reflect on the park’s origins, its role in a rapidly changing neighborhood, and the creative and civic experiments it cultivates every day.Together, they explore what it means to lead an arts organization in uncertain times, how their version of co-leadership works in practice, and why places like Socrates are essential. From the artist-led programming to the practicalities of funding, from personal memories to the future vision for the park, this wide-ranging conversation is a thoughtful reminder of the value of places that are not just made for community, but by and with community.Quotables“[Places like Socrates] are not an extra, or an added-good, or a nice-but-not-necessary. They are absolutely critical to a well-functioning society and to the ability of our neighbors, our fellow New Yorkers, our fellow citizens, to have the space to interact, to practice being human together… and to be able to fail at that sometimes. That requires space, and it requires care, and it requires a kind of attention that is important and necessary, and not to be taken for granted.” —Katie Dixon“Socrates—as an arts institution and a public park—is the most democratic experiment that I've ever come to know because of our responsibility to community. Therefore, all the creative and public programming offerings that we make to our constituencies offers such a myriad of entry points to being here. I want to emphasize this idea of being the experiment is in not only the experience of art, but what art catalyzes in regards to a sense of belonging. Whether you're coming here for kayaking, the gardens, to walk your dog, to be part of some of the sculpture workshops, performances, etc., the art is unfolding whether you're conscious of it or not.” —Shaun LeonardoHighlights:Personal Histories and Inspirations (02:34)The Evolution of Socrates Sculpture Park (05:12)Community Engagement and Programming (08:01)The Importance of Cultural Nonprofits (10:06)Navigating Uncertainty and Sustaining Community Spaces (14:23)The Co-Directorship Model (27:27)Conclusion and Reflections (35:24)Related Resources:“Cultural nonprofits are the unsung stewards of NYC: Why these organizations deserve our support.” by Katie Dixon &amp; Shaun LeonardoSocrates Sculpture ParkMark di SuveroChâteau le WoofBiosKatie Dixon, Co-Director, Socrates Sculpture ParkWith over two decades of experience working at the intersection of the arts, architecture, and urban planning, Katie Dixon has created cross-sector partnerships and new artist-led programming for a broad range of arts, culture and civic organizations. Her work is based in collaborative research and centers consensus-building and cooperation among many different publics, institutions, government agencies and funders.From 2014 to 2021, as the CEO of Powerhouse Arts, Dixon established the vision for a new artist-led institution and led the redevelopment and transformation of the former BRT Power Station in Brooklyn, which was named a New York City Landmark in 2019. Dixon and her team conducted intensive workshops and consultations with artists to develop the institution’s programming, organizational structure and physical planning. Powerhouse was a response to the needs for production space, fabrication expertise and support for artists working in traditional materials that is rapidly disappearing in New York City. In addition to the institutional development, Dixon led all aspects of programming and rehabilitating the 170,000 square-foot facility designed by architecture firm Herzog &amp; de Meuron.Dixon served as the Director of Special Projects at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) from 2011 to 2014 where she established public art programming initiatives in the neighborhood, including works by KAWS and David Byrne. With BAM’s executive team, she also led capital and program planning efforts to grow and expand the institution. Prior to BAM, she was the Chief of Staff at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs leading special initiatives for the Commissioner, as well as, overseeing the agency’s $700 million capital funding portfolio. From 2007 to 2010 as the Director of Planning and Development at the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, she led the site development, arts program planning and administration of the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District.Dixon holds B.A. in Architecture from Yale University and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University. She lives with her husband and daughter in Red Hook, Brooklyn.Shaun Leonardo, Co-Director, Socrates Sculpture Parkhaun Leonardo has dedicated over 15 year of his professional career to arts administration at the intersection of community engagement, public programming, and experimental pedagogies. Deeply invested in processes of reciprocal exchange, Leonardo’s work flows from a belief in collaborative leadership and artistic visioning.Leonardo’s professional life began at Socrates (2005-2015) as its special events manager before expanding into the role of Socrates’ Director of Public Programs. Over 11 seasons, he envisioned and created new program initiatives and educational curriculum, including the development of the Park’s first workshop series dedicated to adults and teens and the implementation of Socrates’ first onsite and in-school high school-level, sculpture classes. His tenure was marked by collaboration with over 40 cultural and community organizations, leading to the establishment of the Park’s Healthy Living and Performance initiatives, as well as the tripling of the park’s educational offerings.From 2015-2017, Leonardo served at the New Museum’s first Manager of School, Youth &amp; Community Programs, developing programs and accommodations for specific audience groups, both those under the umbrella of school partnerships, designed for high school teachers and students, and new initiatives in the area of community engagement.From 2018-2020, Leonardo&nbsp;acted as Pratt Institute’s inaugural School of Art Visiting Fellow, instigating dialogues amongst students, faculty, and staff, as well as others outside the Institute, to challenge ideas on community and belonging, while shaping possibilities of ethical community engagement.And most recently, Leonardo served&nbsp;as&nbsp;Co-Director of the Brooklyn-based Recess,&nbsp;helping guide the organization’s continuous evolution as an engine of social change. Shaun joined Recess in 2016, initiating the art-based diversion program Assembly as its project and curricular lead, while also acting as the project’s first facilitator. Over the course of nearly 9 years, Shaun continued to expand his role, ultimately being invited to fill the organization’s first co-directorship with founder Allison Freedman Weisberg in 2021. And during the last almost four years, Shaun took on the effort of guiding Recess through the pandemic onto thriving both programmatically and fiscally. His time was dedicated to internally operationalizing care and accountability, while pushing experimentation within the org’s external-facing programming.He is a Brooklyn-based artist from Queens. He received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and is a recipient of support from Creative Capital, Guggenheim Social Practice, Art for Justice and A Blade of Grass. His work has been featured at The Guggenheim Museum, the High Line, New Museum, MASS MoCA and The Bronx Museum, and profiled in the New York Times and CNN. His first major public art commission,&nbsp;Between Four Freedoms, premiered at Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, in the fall of 2021. Shaun lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters.Tim Cynova, SPHR (he/him) is the COO/CHRO of&nbsp;WSS HR LABS, an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical...

In this episode of Work Shouldn’t Suck, host Tim Cynova connects with the ever-awesome Shannon Litzenberger to explore the intersections of democracy, creative practice, and collective thriving. Together, they dive into how artistic methodologies can expand leadership frameworks and help shape more caring, equitable communities.In this episode:How creative practice informs leadership and systems changeThe importance of mutual care and collective thrivingSensory attunement, attentional awareness, and improvisational leadershipDisrupting default systems and embracing world-making as a practiceFresh from the national tour of her production World After Dark and moments away from presenting at a social theory, politics, and the arts conference in Spain, Shannon shares insights on how creative practice can serve as a catalyst for personal and societal transformation. They discuss the power of mutual care, the significance of sensory attunement, and the need to reimagine default patterns in both the workplace and society.This episode also touches on the enduring influence of Shannon’s friendship and collaboration with the late Diane Ragsdale, their shared exploration of aesthetics and embodiment, and their co-authored chapter in Democracy as Creative Practice. Plus, hear how Shannon is bringing her artistic ethos into unexpected spaces—like reimagining an academic panel as an improvisational score.Tune in for a conversation packed with practical wisdom, unexpected insights, and a reminder that thriving workplaces and thriving communities are built on mutual care, relational leadership, and a willingness to embrace the unfamiliar.Quotables“This is where I find a lot of fertile ground for transformation, and why I feel it's so important for creative practice methodologies to gain purchase in this conversation around change, because they're practice-based, and practice is how we change habits. We can have lots of fruitful conversations that evoke ways of knowing that we understand, but to actually become something different than what we've already been conditioned to be requires practice, not just a kind of conceptual knowing.” – Shannon Litzenberger“ Practice is the pathway to change. If you want to be able to expand your repertoire of being and doing, you have to practice things that are unfamiliar.” – Shannon Litzenberger“Identity is a very powerful organizing construct in society. The pandemic especially I think really highlighted identity significantly as an organizing structure, as a way of revealing structural harms and inequities. It also started to deepen the way that we are relating in these identity-based affinity groups, and in a sense, this is a challenge when it comes to developing practices that are supportive of a pluralistic democracy. Because, in a pluralistic democracy, we need to develop an ability to be together in ways that are not so strictly codified that we are all twisting ourselves in a knot to try to belong, that actually we need to be able to embrace differences within a dynamic whole in order to work well and co-create well together.” – Shannon LitzenbergerHighlights:Values in Creative Practice (02:14)Exploring “World After Dark” (04:08)Leadership and Collective Action (09:32)Navigating Post-Pandemic Challenges (11:10)Creative Practice in Organizations (17:43)Improvisational Leadership (27:09)Collaboration with Diane Ragsdale (35:33)Improvisational Score as Panel Discussion (42:29)Final Thoughts and Reflections (45:52)Related Resources:Shannon's SubstackDemocracy as Creative Practice: Weaving a Culture of Civic Life Edited By Tom Borrup and Andrew Zitcer“The Snapback: Why Workplaces Are Reverting and What We Can Do About It” by Tim Cynova“Beyond the Snapback: Designing Change That Lasts” A Facilitator’s GuideBiosShannon Litzenberger (she/her, Tkaronto) is an award-winning choreographer, director, researcher and embodiment facilitator. She creates sensory-rich multi-disciplinary performance experiences that animate our relationship to land, community and the forgotten wisdom of the body. Her imaginative collaborations connect art forms and communities, centering participatory experiences in artistic processes. Throughout her 25+ year career, her work has been presented across Canada and the U.S., in collaboration with many of Canada’s leading artists across disciplines.The creative principles and embodied practices she works with regularly in the studio are also central to her work in relational leadership, organizational development, and systems change. Her approach to personal and collective transformation focuses on recovering our capacity to sense and make shared meaning of our complex, rapidly changing world. The collective experiences she designs focus on strengthening our ability to respond generatively to what a moment is asking of us, in service of mutual thriving. They invite a conscious recovery of embodied capacities like sensory attunement, expanded attentional awareness, reciprocity, imagination, collaborative play and worldmaking.She works frequently across corporate, academic and non-profit spaces in support of creating a healthier, more interconnected, caring and resilient society. She is currently a Public Imagination Network Fellow and Artist Researcher in Residence at Creative Community Commons, within University of Toronto’s School of Cities. www.shannonlitzenberger.comTim Cynova, SPHR (he/him) is the Principal of&nbsp;WSS HR LABS, an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Learn more on&nbsp;LinkedIn.

In this episode of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, host Tim Cynova begins an exploration into the crucial intersection of Human Resources (HR) and climate emergencies. Recorded amidst recent natural disasters, the discussion explores how workplaces can prepare for and respond to climate-related challenges, underscoring the importance of planning for the unexpected, building resilient systems, and supporting employee well-being in the midst of these emergencies.Joining the conversation are Jenna Ringelheim and Jillian Wright, bringing their insights on meaningful HR and organizational design practices rooted in equity, anti-racism, and compassion. They emphasize the importance of proactive planning, values-based workplace design, and the integration of equity, empathy, and integrity in HR practices. This spirited discussion highlights the evolving nature of workplace challenges posed by climate change and the need for resilient, people-centered organizational frameworks.Highlights:Introduction to Climate Emergency and HR (00:00)Unplanned vs. Unexpected Events (01:06)Climate Justice HR: A New Approach (02:31)Guest Introductions and Their Work (03:04)Values-Centered Work in HR (04:08)Climate Justice HR in Practice (10:39)Real-World Examples and Challenges (12:43)Developing Compassionate Leave Policies (18:18)Building Resilient and Supportive Workplaces (22:16)The Importance of Flexibility and Empathy (34:28)Final Thoughts and Takeaways (44:22)Related Resources:The Resilient Organization: A Guide to Nonprofit Disaster Preparedness by the Center for Disaster PhilanthropyScarcity and the Non-Profit People Paradox Example 2 delves into the St. John’s case study and how they approached the unplanned versus the unexpectedClimate Emotions Wheel including a Guide to Climate EmotionsPhases of Disaster Response from the Institute for Collective Trauma and GrowthUniversity of California’s Center for Climate Justice “What is Climate Justice“ and the Six Pillars of Climate Justice.Tulane University’s “What Is a Disaster Management Cycle?”Crisis Relief &amp; Recovery on “What is Disaster Leadership?”“How to Lead Through a Crisis” by the Center for Creative Leadership“The connection between the climate crisis and outdated leadership models” by the Academy for Sustainable Innovation“Five Critical Questions Every Nonprofit Must Address for Disaster Preparedness” by OneStarBIOSJENNA RINGELHEIM (she/her) is a skilled facilitator, coach, and HR practitioner that is passionate about igniting liberatory leadership practices within workplaces. She has a keen interest in program and curriculum design, supporting equity-centered people and culture efforts, network weaving and building communities of practice. Jenna is happiest when she is co-creating systems and structures that allow for greater agency, transparency, and shared learning. In her previous work as nonprofit executive, Jenna catalyzed a network of over 2,000 environmental and social change leaders as the Deputy Director of the Environmental Leadership Program. She also served as the Executive Director of Wild Gift, a wilderness-based leadership development program and international network of social impact entrepreneurs. Jenna has a BA in Environmental Studies and Anthropology from Skidmore College, an MA in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University, an MBA in Sustainable Systems from Pinchot University, and a Certificate in Human Resource Management from Portland State University. Most importantly, she is a proud parent, partner, pet matchmaker, foodie, and e-bike enthusiast living in Portland, Oregon. Learn more on LinkedIn.JILLIAN WRIGHT, PHR (she/her) spends her days as an HR consultant, but she’s also a dancer, mother, gardener, and puzzle finisher who enjoys helping small businesses succeed. For over 18 years, she’s had the privilege of working with and learning from some amazing folx who have taught her so much about how to facilitate people support BETTER – and she wants to share what she’s learned with other value-driven companies who are ready to do things differently. Her passion for people-support and behavioral psychology in the workplace along with her deep personal commitment to social justice as a member of the queer community has fueled her desire to help leaders create inclusive places to work. Jillian’s background in small non-profit and mission-driven workplaces has gained her valuable skills in the art of prioritization, efficient use of time, and understanding how to make things happen on a shoestring budget, and she’s worked hard to apply those principles to creating affordable, time-conscious, impact-centered consulting projects tailored to a variety companies specific goals, opportunities, and challenges. Learn more on LinkedIn.Tim Cynova, SPHR (he/him) is the Principal of&nbsp;WSS HR LABS, an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Learn more on&nbsp;LinkedIn.

In this episode of Work Shouldn’t Suck, host Tim Cynova is rejoined by co-host Lauren Ruffin and special guest Adam Huttler, the founder of Fractured Atlas and current head of product and technology at MonkeyPod, another company he founded. Together, they dive into the nuances of starting and scaling organizations, drawing from their shared experiences at Fractured Atlas and beyond.The conversation explores the intricacies of startups and scaling, including the critical transition points, calibrating risk between staff and boards, the importance of intellectual honesty, and the role slack plays in supporting a culture of learning.Key Highlights:Product-Market Fit [02:09]Startup Phase Challenges [02:56]Transitioning to Scaling Mode [03:22]Experimentation &amp; Intellectual Honesty [04:45]Evaluating Team &amp; Leadership [08:35]Nonprofit Sector Dynamics [13:51]Risk Calibration in Nonprofits [20:08]Strategic Planning &amp; Strategic Thinking in Organizations [26:11]Hybrid Workplace &amp; Organizational Culture [32:27]Building High-Performing Teams [36:30]Creating Space for Learning &amp; Growth [44:55]BIOSADAM HUTTLER is the founder and head of product of MonkeyPod, an all-in-one software platform for nonprofit organizations that supports accounting, donor management, fundraising, collaboration, and more. A serial entrepreneur at the intersection of technology, culture, and social justice, his career emphasizes developing innovative business models and revenue strategies for mission-driven companies, in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors.In 1997, Adam founded Fractured Atlas, a non-profit technology company that helps artists with the business aspects of their work. During Adam's twenty years as CEO, the organization grew from a one-man-band housed in an East Harlem studio apartment to a broad-based service organization with an annual budget of $25 million. When he left in 2017, Fractured Atlas's services had grown to&nbsp;reach over 1.5 million artists across North America and distributed over $250 million to support their work.From 2003-2013, Adam also ran Gemini SBS, a software development firm serving the nonprofit and public sectors. Before being acquired by Fractured Atlas in 2013, Gemini worked with clients such as the US Department of Education, New York University, and the University of North Carolina, among many others.In 2017, Adam left Fractured Atlas to launch Exponential Creativity Ventures, a boutique venture capital fund backing early-stage technology companies that support human creative capacity. ECV was fully deployed as of late 2019, but Adam continues to support and advise ECV's 18 portfolio companies.In 2019, a personal side project became a bona fide startup when Adam publicly launched MonkeyPod.Adam has a B.A. in theater from Sarah Lawrence College, an M.B.A. from New York University, and is a self-taught software developer. In 2011, he was recruited for the inaugural class of National Arts Strategies' Chief Executive Program. He is also an alumnus of Singularity University's Executive Program and the University of California at Berkeley's Venture Capital Executive Program.Adam was named to Crain's New York Business's 2016 "40 Under Forty" class and was listed by Barry's Blog as one of the "Top 50 Most Powerful and Influential Leaders in Nonprofit Arts" for five consecutive years.LAUREN RUFFIN (she/her) is the Director and Lead Strategist of Art &amp; Culture at Michigan Central. An expert in responsible innovation, her work centers on defining and implementing best practices for organizations reshaping the world through technology to ensure their platforms are safe, equitable and beneficial for all users. From 2016-2021 she served as Chief External Relations Officer and co-CEO of Fractured Atlas, the largest association of independent artists in the United States, where she oversaw marketing, communications, community engagement and fundraising for the nonprofit. In 2017 Ruffin co-founded CRUX, an immersive storytelling cooperative that collaborated with Black artists creating content in virtual and augmented reality (XR). In addition to her work as co-director at Michigan Centra, Ruffin is an Associate Professor of Worldbuilding and Visualizing Futures at Arizona State University where she explores the unprecedented and rapid political and social changes taking place in every facet of modern life due to advances in technology. Ruffin has held various positions at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Children’s Defense Fund, New Leaders and AAUW and has served on the governing and advisory boards of Black Innovation Alliance, Black Girls Code, ArtUp, Black Girl Ventures and Main Street Phoenix Cooperative. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science and obtained her J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.

In this episode, host Tim Cynova dives back into the world of shared and distributed leadership with three leaders of Bridge Live Arts, a Bay Area-based nonprofit dedicated to equity-driven live art. He's joined by Cherie Hill, Hope Mohr, and Rebecca Fitton as they unpack the unique journey of implementing a distributed leadership model at BLA as it transitioned from Hope Mohr Dance.The team shares the origins of the distributed leadership model, how their particular model works, how engaging with community informs and evolves the model, some of their “ahas” and lessons learned along the way, and where to from here.Episode Highlights03:50 Understanding Bridge Live Arts05:27 The Journey to Shared Leadership08:20 Implementing Distributed Leadership14:45 Challenges and Assumptions in Shared Leadership19:47 Exploring Dancing Distributed Leadership20:35 Initial Phases and Learnings22:47 Improvisation in Shared Leadership24:26 Future Directions26:47 Challenges and Reflections30:36 Advice for Implementing Shared LeadershipRelated Resources&nbsp;The Dancing Distributed Leadership programShifting Cultural Power: Case Studies and Questions in Performance by Hope MohrCheck out the new book Artists On Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography featuring an in-depth case study of Bridge Live Arts.GUEST BIOSCherie Hill (she/her) is a curator, co-director, and the Director of Arts Leadership at Bridge Live Arts (B.L.A.). She has co-curated Power Shift: Improvisation, Activism, &amp; Community; Anti-Racism in Dance; Money in the Arts; and&nbsp;Transforming the Arts: Shared Leadership in Action series. In 2023, she curated Liberating Bodies: dialogue and movement workshops with Black Diaspora dance artists. She co-presents on distributed leadership, advocates for equity and inclusion, and is a choreographer, dance educator, and Assistant Professor in Dance Studies at CSU San Marcos. Cherie collaborated with B.L.A. former co-directors Hope Mohr and Karla Quintero to lead HMD/the Bridge Project, an organization with a hierarchical model to Bridge Live Arts, a model based on Distributed Leadership. Cherie is a researcher and has published articles in Gender Forum, the Sacred Dance Guild Journal, Dance Education in Practice, Stance On Dance, In Dance, and most recently co-authored "Embodying Equity-Driven Change: A Journey from Hierarchy to Shared Leadership" for&nbsp;Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography. Cherie presents at national and international conferences and has held multiple residencies, including choreographic residencies with Footloose Productions, Milk Bar Richmond, the David Brower Center, and CounterPulse’s Performing Diaspora. She holds a BA degree in Dance and Performance Studies and African American Studies and an MFA in Dance, Performance, and Choreography with graduate certificates in Women and Gender Studies and Somatics. Cherie is a mother of two incredible sons and lives in Luiseño-speaking Payomkawichum homeland/Temecula Valley, CA, with her life-long partner.Hope Mohr (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and arts advocate. She has woven art and activism for decades as a choreographer, curator, and writer. After a professional dance career with Trisha Brown and Lucinda Childs, she founded the nonprofit Hope Mohr Dance and its signature presenting program, The Bridge Project, which for over 15 years supported over 100 artists through commissions, residencies, workshops, and collaborative performance projects. In 2020, Mohr co-stewarded the organization’s transition to an equity-driven model of distributed leadership and a new name: Bridge Live Arts. Mohr’s book about cultural work as activism, "Shifting Cultural Power: Case Studies and Questions in Performance," was published in 2020 by the National Center for Choreography, the inaugural book in their publication series. She is a contributor to the anthology "Artists on Creative Administration" (2024), edited by Tonya Lockyer and also published by the National Center for Choreography. A licensed California attorney and a working artist, Mohr works at the intersection of art and social change as a Fellow with the Sustainable Economies Law Center. Movement Law, Mohr's solo law practice, is dedicated to supporting artists and changemakers.&nbsp;movementlaw.net &nbsp;and www.hopemohr.orgRebecca Fitton (she/they) is a queer, mixed race asian american, disabled, and immigrant person. Their work as an artist, administrator, and advocate focuses on arts infrastructure, asian american identity, and disability justice. They currently serve as a Co-Director at Bridge Live Arts (CA) and as Director of Studio Rawls for choreographer Will Rawls (NY/CA). From 2017-2021, she coordinated community gatherings about local abolition and justice movements with DELIRIOUS Dances/Edisa Weeks (NY). She was a Dance/NYC’s Junior Committee member from 2018-2020 and participated in Dance/USA’s Institute for Leadership Training in 2021. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, the National Center for Choreography – Akron, SPACE 124 @ Project Artaud, Center, LEIMAY/CAVE, EMERGENYC, and The Croft. Their writing has been published by Triskelion Arts,&nbsp;Emergency Index,&nbsp;In Dance,&nbsp;The Dancer-Citizen,&nbsp;Etudes,&nbsp;Critical Correspondence,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Dance Research Journal. As an access practitioner, she narrates audio description for experimental dance and performance artists. They hold a BFA in Dance from Florida State University and an MA in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas at Austin.

Season 6 of the WSS podcast here!In our inaugural episode of the season, host Tim Cynova is joined by Katy Dammers, Indira Goodwine-Josias, and Christy Bolingbroke as they explore reimagining of value-centered workplaces through Creative Administration. In organizations dedicated to creative expression and innovation, why is it that so many have workplace practices and policies that are dusty?The spirited discussion dives into the challenges and opportunities within the creative sector to rethink “traditional” approaches, asking when it might be better to reinvent the wheel or even asking if a wheel is what’s needed. The conversation underscores the critical balance between stability and creative experimentation, reflecting on how new approaches can support long-term change and longevity in the arts.Episode Highlights02:15 Meet the Guests05:44 Diving into Creative Administration09:20 Balancing Structure and Improvisation17:26 Challenging Conventional Wisdom20:46 Navigating Institutional Change24:26 Reevaluating Policy: Balancing Ethics and Values25:09 Navigating Crisis with Established Policies25:51 Incremental Change in Nonprofit Organizations26:37 Creativity and Experimentation During COVID26:58 The Snapback to Pre-COVID Norms27:38 Fear of Change and Embracing New Solutions28:44 Creative Administration and Sustainability29:49 The Role of Artists in Institutional Change34:11 Balancing Administrative and Artistic GrowthResources Mentioned in the Podcast:Check out the new book Artists On Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography.Christy Bolingbroke’s Masters Thesis, Designing a 21st Century Dance Ecology: Questioning Current Practices and Embracing Curatorial InterventionsGUEST BIOSChristy Bolingbroke is the Founding Executive/Artistic Director for the National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron (NCCAkron). She is responsible for setting the curatorial vision and sustainable business model to foster research and development in dance. Previously, she served as the Deputy Director for Advancement at ODC in San Francisco, overseeing curation and performance programming as well as marketing and development organization-wide. A key aspect of her position included managing a unique three-year artist-in-residence program for dance artists, guiding and advising them in all aspects of creative development and administration. Prior to ODC, she was the Director of Marketing at the Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, NY. She earned a B.A. in Dance from the University of California, Los Angeles; an M.A. in Performance Curation from Wesleyan University; and is a graduate of the Arts Management Fellowship program at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She currently serves on the Akron Civic Commons Core Team; as a consulting advisor for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Arts Innovation Management initiative; and on the New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project Advisory Panel. In 2017, DANCE Magazine named Bolingbroke among the national list of most influential people in dance today.Indira Goodwine-Josias was born and raised in Queens, NY, and believes in the power of art to educate, inspire, and advance change. With a dual background in dance and arts administration, she is currently the Senior Program Director for Dance at the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) where she directs NEFA’s National Dance Project and major dance initiatives in New England. Previously, she served as the Managing Director of Camille A. Brown &amp; Dancers (CABD) where she shepherded the organization through the attainment of 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, established the organization’s founding Board of Directors, increased the institutional and individual fundraising efforts, and provided oversight of the development, implementation, and continued growth of CABD’s dance engagement program, “EVERY BODY MOVE.” Prior to her leadership role with CABD, Indira held various positions at Harlem Stage that deepened community partnerships and enhanced the organization’s annual dance program, “E-Moves.” A 2016 New York Community Trust Fellow, American Express Leadership Academy Alumna, and Dance/USA DILT Program Alumna, Indira is widely recognized for her entrepreneurial and artist-centered spirit. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Dance/USA, the Advisory Committee for The Black Genius Foundation, Grantmakers in the Arts’ Individual Artist Committee, and is a member of Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA). Her contributions to the dance field also include serving as a programmatic thought partner, grant panelist, and conference speaker. Indira holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Florida State University and an MA in Performing Arts Administration from New York University.Katy&nbsp;Dammers (she/her) is the Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Performing Arts at REDCAT, CalArts’ center for the visual and performing arts in Los Angeles. Her curatorial practice presents, organizes, and contextualizes contemporary practice in performance commissions, exhibitions, festivals, site-specific installations, and publications. She has held past leadership positions at The Kitchen, FringeArts, and Jacob’s Pillow. Dammers has also worked as a creative administrator, and worked with choreographers Rashaun Mitchell&nbsp;+ Silas Riener as&nbsp;General Manager from 2014-2022, in addition to organizing projects with Jennifer Monson, Donna Uchizono, and Tere O’Connor. A writing fellow at the National Center for Choreography Akron, her essays have been published in The Brooklyn Rail, Motor Dance Journal, and MOLD as well as edited volumes by University of Akron Press and Princeton University Press. Dammers was a member of the Inland Academy and holds degrees from Goldsmiths College and Princeton University.Tim Cynova, SPHR (he/him) is the Principal of WSS HR LABS, an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Learn more on LinkedIn.

If you’ve ever wondered about the ins-and-outs of executive coaches – how does it work, how do you find one; I’m not an “executive,” is it still for me? – this is an episode for you!Host Tim Cynova is in conversation with Farah Bala, a certified executive coach and founder of Farsight, an agency dedicated to leadership and organizational development with a focus on equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-oppression practices. Their conversation covers a lot of ground, from the philosophical to the practice, with some highlights from the discussion below.Episode Highlights04:15 The Essence and Impact of Coaching08:10 Coaching for Everyone: Breaking Down the Myths12:09 The Intersection of Coaching and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion18:28 Navigating Privilege and Responsibility in Coaching and Beyond24:00 The Power of Perspective in Coaching and Creating Change25:10 Choosing the Right Coach: A Personal Journey26:16 The Impact of Identity on Coaching Choices27:26 The Art of Asking the Right Questions29:55 The Evolution of Coaching in Virtual Workplaces33:32 Self-Care: The Coach's Perspective41:02 Leveraging Improv for Coaching Skills42:36 Understanding Coaching Costs and Arrangements46:36 Expanding Access to CoachingMentioned on the podcast: Farsight Friday EP26: Coaching for InclusionFARAH BALA is a Leadership EDIA (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Oppression) Executive Coach, Consultant and Speaker. As Founder &amp; CEO of&nbsp;FARSIGHT, Farah's mission is to support organizations and leaders redefine the concept of leadership by making Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Oppression a core leadership competency. Her clients include executives in the C-suite, creatives and entrepreneurs, and organizations across wide-ranging sectors and industries. She is also a faculty coach at multiple learning and development institutions. Farah believes equity and inclusion are the foundational pillars for effective leadership and communication.Farah’s speaking engagements include Yale University, Ford Foundation, Voice America, NY Travel Festival, Travel Unity, Adirondack Diversity Initiative, Asian American Arts Alliance, among others. She is a sought after speaker at national conferences, most recently at SHPE and SASE. Farah is also the creator and host of&nbsp;FARSIGHT FRIDAY,&nbsp;a video podcast started in 2020 in response to the heightened racism and divisiveness of marginalized communities.&nbsp;communities. She is a recipient of the Diversity Award by the World Zoroastrian Organization, recognized for her work in raising awareness towards gender, culture, racial equity and inclusion globally.Farah holds an MFA in Theater from Sarah Lawrence College, and is a graduate of the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) Program. She is a Professional Certified Executive Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation, and is certified in the Energy Leadership Index (ELI), EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 assessments, and Character Strengths Intervention. She is featured in Umbrage Edition’s national award-winning book&nbsp;Green Card Stories&nbsp;as one of 50 profiles of recent immigrants from around the world.Having worked as a performing artist and producer for over two decades, Farah has used the tools of the theater in arts education developing social-emotional learning in NYC public schools and international volunteering initiatives, and as of the last decade, in professional environments across multiple industries. If you would like to learn more about Farah’s artistic work, please visit her&nbsp;website.

In this episode, host Tim Cynova interviews Ann Le and Meg Buzzi, authors of the book "The In-Between: A Companion for Uncertain Times." The discussion brings in many of the challenges of work in the current chaotic and uncertain landscape, and offers insights on how individuals, teams, and organizations can stay engaged and motivated. At the heart of the discussion, Ann and Meg invite listeners to rethink their relationship with work and explore new possibilities.Episode Highlights:03:18 The Genesis of The In-Between: A Book for Uncertain Times05:06 Unpacking Work Culture: Insights from The In-Between08:00 Navigating Work and Life in a Post-Pandemic World08:43 Redefining Work: From Transactional to Transformational15:52 The Future of Work: Adapting to Change and Embracing Uncertainty16:29 Bridging Old Systems and New Realities19:09 Practical Advice for Organizations in Transition24:32 Evolving Ideas and Unexplored ThemesExplore the authors’ website. Buy their book.Ann Le is thinker, leader, and finance/operations pro, working on building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems and organizations. She's leaning into how we can leverage new technologies, finance and community to combat racial and economic injustice.&nbsp;Ann spent a decade as a VP in investment banking, then spent 5 years at a major film studio. After her MBA, Ann has worked and held leadership roles with over 50+ organizations from large corporations to start-ups, non-profit, government, and has served on numerous boards. She's also written a great, but not best-selling cookbook, and produced an award-winning Sundance independent film. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics, with a focus on history and labor, and has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Business. Ann will ask you if any of this matters as we move out of the In-Between, and we enter a new paradigm of work and community: there's a new way to see and value ourselves. Ann has been described as a great teammate, a caring, intuitive human with a strong Slack game who also writes the "opposite of boring" emails.&nbsp;Meg Buzzi is a change artist helping to build imaginative solutions to systemic challenges, especially at work. She is a PCC-certified coach, writer, and co-founder of the Present of Work (presentofwork.com) consulting group and the Starter Cultures (startercultures.us) change community. She helps teams and leaders level-up and reconnect to what truly matters to them. A former Chief Information Officer, Meg has led multi-million-dollar change efforts in K-12, higher education, government, and tech. But her most valuable learning is about building community and practicing trust when we are faced with complexity and challenge. Meg is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, an Art of Hosting facilitator and a contributor to the books Fieldworking (Bedford St. Martin's), The Rhetoric of Inquiry (Macmillan), and Narrative Generation. Send her a note at&nbsp;[email protected].

In this episode, Tim Cynova is in conversation with Tammy Dowley-Blackman, an entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in leadership and organizational development. A differentiator for Tammy in this work comes in that she’s sat in many of the proverbial seats at the table: serving as a CEO and key decision-maker, a board member, a sought-after consultant, a leadership development content creator, and a key partner to corporations, government entities, nonprofits, and philanthropic institutions.Episode Highlights:The needs and expectations of Gen Z in the workplace,The impact of the pandemic on work and how organizations can adapt to the changing landscape,The importance of rethinking and reimagining performance evaluations and strategic planning, Developing futurist mindsets,And, the need for organizations to invest in professional development and create equitable and inclusive work environments.Stay tuned for upcoming episodes on executive coaches who center equity and inclusion in their practice, and the authors of "The In-Between: A Companion Book For Uncertain Times.” Plus, catch season two of "White Men and the Journey Towards Anti-Racism" as well as an episode on values-based collective bargaining processes.TAMMY DOWLEY-BLACKMAN (she/her) collaborates with the corporate, government, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to build an intergenerational pipeline of leaders equipped to deliver solutions for today’s complex global workplace. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and Harvard University is an author, entrepreneur, leadership expert, nonprofit executive, philanthropic leader and professor.She is the CEO of Tammy Dowley-Blackman Group, LLC, a certified National Supplier Development Council Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Small Business Administration (SBA) Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), and Women’s Business Enterprise Network Council (WBENC) woman-owned company, as well as a graduate of the C200 Champion Program and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. The company is comprised of a suite of brands, including TDB Group Strategic Advisory, a management consulting firm specializing in organizational and leadership development for the corporate, government, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors; Looking Forward Lab, a media content company focused on Gen Z, which partners with corporations and higher education systems to offer a full-service learning engagement model that delivers workforce development solutions; and Cooper + Lowe, a company that serves as an incubator offering full back-office management support for women interested in transitioning to entrepreneurship and thought leadership. Each of the companies has a long legacy of embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging (DEIAB) in its values, collaborations, and outcomes.In addition, Tammy recently completed her six-year term as the president of the TSNE Board of Directors, where she helped lead the $64 million-dollar organization through unprecedented leadership and business model strategic alignment and planning. She also provides leadership as a Board Director for the Proteus Fund and as an Advisory Board member for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the University of North Carolina School of Law Director Diversity Initiative. Find Tammy online at tammydb.com.TIM CYNOVA, SPHR (he/him) is the Principal of&nbsp;Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Learn more on&nbsp;LinkedIn.

In this episode, Tim Cynova and Katrina Donald delve into the complex world of wage transparency and equitable compensation, and explore how organizations can navigate these challenges to create fair and inclusive workplaces.They explore the need for organizations to list salaries for roles, both internally and externally, as well as the implications wage transparency laws are having across the U.S. The conversation delves into the challenges faced by organizations in creating consistency and fairness in their compensation approaches, particularly when considering factors like internal versus external experience and equity. Tim and Katrina also emphasize the significance of engaging in open and honest conversations about compensation within organizations and the benefits of adopting a holistic approach to compensation.Episode Highlights:The growing urgency for organizations to have transparent salary informationThe impact of new and expanding wage transparency lawsThe challenges organizations face in creating consistency and equity in compensationThe importance of having open and honest conversations about compensationHow to consider compensation in a more holistic way, beyond just base compensationThe benefits of adopting a strict, fixed tier compensation modelStay tuned for upcoming episodes on executive coaches who center equity and inclusion in their practice, the authors of "The In-Between: A Companion Book For Uncertain Times," and Gen Z in the workplace. Plus, catch season two of "White Men and the Journey Towards Anti-Racism" as well as an episode on values-based collective bargaining processes.

This week, the world lost an amazing light of a human: Diane Ragsdale. This episode is a previously lost and unreleased conversation that host Tim Cynova recorded with Diane at the Banff Centre in February 2020, a few weeks before the world shut down for the global pandemic... and they promptly forgot they even recorded this conversation together.Originally intended to be titled, "Investing in Personal and Professional Growth," the conversation explores Diane's thoughts on the role of the arts and artists in society, the role arts management and leadership programs can and should play, and how we can craft our own learning and development plan. It also includes a few clips they thought would eventually be left on the cutting room floor.Sending love and strength to Diane's family and friends, students and colleagues who are located all over the world.GUEST BIO:DIANE RAGSDALE is Director of the MA in Creative Leadership, an online master’s program that welcomed its first cohort in summer 2022 and for which she additionally has an appointment as Faculty and Scholar. After 15 years working years working within and leading cultural institutions and another several years working in philanthropy at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in NYC, she made the shift to academia and along the way became a widely read blogger, frequent speaker and panelist, published author, lecturer, scholar, and advisor to a range of nonprofit institutions, government agencies, and foundations on a wide range of arts and culture topics.Diane joins MCAD from both Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity, where she served as Faculty and Director of the Cultural Leadership Program, and Yale University where she is adjunct faculty and leads an annual four-week workshop on Aesthetic Values in a Changed Cultural Context. She was previously an assistant professor and program director at The New School in New York, where she successfully built an MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship in the School of Performing Arts and launched a new graduate minor in Creative Community Development in collaboration with Parsons School of Design and the Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment. Diane is a doctoral candidate at Erasmus University Rotterdam where she was a lecturer in the Cultural Economics MA program from 2011–15. She continues to work on her dissertation as time permits.&nbsp;Her essay “Post-Show” was recently published in the&nbsp;Routledge Companion to Audiences and the Performing Arts&nbsp;(2022); and a teaching case that she developed from her doctoral research on the relationship between the commercial and nonprofit theater in America–currently titled “Margo Jones: bridging divides to craft a new hybrid logic for theater in the US”–will be published in the forthcoming Edward Elgar handbook,&nbsp;Case Studies in Arts Entrepreneurship.&nbsp;Diane holds an MFA in Acting &amp; Directing from University of Missouri-Kansas City and a BS in Psychology and BFA in Theater from Tulane University. She was part of Stanford University’s inaugural Executive Program for Nonprofit Arts Leaders, produced in partnership with National Arts Strategies. She holds a certificate in Mediation and Creative Conflict Resolution from the Center for Understanding in Conflict.HOST:TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the CEO of Work Shouldn’t Suck, an HR and org design firm helping organizations dust off their People policies, practices, and offerings to co-create workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and serves on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Hollyhock Leadership Institute (Cortes Island, Canada), and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in Strategic HR, Co-Creating Inclusive Workplaces, and Values-Centered Organizational Design. He recently concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit FinTech company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Learn more on LinkedIn.

Why and how do you decolonize an organization's bylaws?In this episode, host Tim Cynova connects with three leaders from the U.S.-based nonprofit Dance/USA about their recent and ongoing work to decolonize their organization. Joining the discussion are Kellee Edusei, Executive Director of Dance/USA, and Holly Bass and Jim Leija, two members of the Board of Directors who co-lead the process to decolonize their organizational bylaws.We discussed the what, why, and how of the process Dance/USA engaged in over the past couple of years.Visit Dance/USA online.EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:The importance of decolonizing organizational structures: The conversation highlights the need to critically examine and reimagine organizational structures that are often rooted in racism and oppression. Decolonizing these structures is essential for fostering inclusivity and equity in the workplace.The significance of continuous reflection and learning: The leaders of Dance/USA emphasize the importance of an ongoing process of reflection and learning in the journey of decolonization. This includes acknowledging challenges, celebrating successes, and adapting strategies as necessary.Core values as guiding principles: Dance/USA operates based on core values – creativity, connectivity, equity, and integrity – that serve as guiding principles for their work in decolonizing their bylaws and developing inclusive practices.Collective responsibility in creating change: The conversation underscores the collective responsibility of individuals and organizations in creating an anti-racist, inclusive, and equitable dance field. This necessitates collaboration, sharing of resources, and actively challenging systemic barriers.GUEST BIOS:HOLLY BASS is a multidisciplinary performance and visual artist, writer, and director. Her work explores the unspoken and invisible social codes surrounding gender, class, and race.&nbsp;She was a 2020–2022 Live Feed Resident Artist at New York Live Arts and a 2021–22 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow. She is the recipient of Dance/USA's Engaging Dance Audiences grant and part of their inaugural class of Dance/USA Fellowships for Artists. She studied modern dance (under Viola Farber) and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College before earning her Master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her work has been presented at spaces such as the National Portrait Gallery, the Seattle Art Museum, Art Basel Miami Beach (Project Miami Fair), and the 2022 Venice Biennale as part of Simone Leigh's Loophole of Retreat.&nbsp;Her visual artwork includes photography, installation, video, and performance. A Cave Canem&nbsp;Fellow, she has published poems in numerous journals and anthologies. She is currently the National Director for Turnaround Arts at the Kennedy Center, a program which uses the arts strategically to transform public schools facing severe inequities.&nbsp;KELLEE EDUSEI (she/her) is the first BIPOC Executive Director of Dance/USA, a forty-one year old, historically and predominately white led organization. After over a decade of serving in multiple capacities (first as the Office Manager and soon after as the Board Liaison and Director of Member Services), Edusei currently has the privilege of sitting at the helm of Dance/USA during this moment of change. Edusei embodies an ethos of “being in humble service to the dance ecosystem.” Through her leadership, she is committed to cultivating a practice of bringing to life the organization’s stated core values of Creativity, Connectivity, Equity and Integrity. Under her leadership, Edusei is leading Dance/USA in building an environment that embodies equity, centers inclusionary practices, and cultivates a profound sense of belonging for all parts of the dance ecosystem.In the two and half years that she has served as the Executive Director, Edusei has incorporated a shared leadership structure for Dance/USA’s eighteen peer networks (Councils and Affinity Groups) thereby dismantling a singular leadership structure; embedded the organization’s core value of equity in its most foundational document – its Bylaws – ensuring a singular, equitable pathway to Trusteeship; transitioned its Conference to a biennial cycle with a commitment to offering virtual programming throughout the year; and introduced Impact Groups, a more inclusive framework for collaboration and input from members and leaders from the broader dance ecosystem. These initiatives have flourished all the while ensuring the financial stability of the organization during one of the most economically uncertain times in the last decade. As a commitment to bolster the organization’s financial health, Edusei rolled out a 12 month individual giving campaign, 40 x 40, that celebrated the organization’s 40 years of service. The culmination of the 40 x 40 ended with Dance/USA’s inaugural Day of Giving.With curiosity and intentionality, Edusei will launch a Strategic Reframing process to examine the connections between being a member based association, operational sustainability, and increased influence within the performing arts sector. In her prior role as Director of Member Services and Board Liaison, Edusei designed the Membership Fellowship, for early career arts administrators to deepen their administrative skills and expand their leadership acumen. She implemented the “Special Membership Package,” recruitment campaign that surpassed set goals and engaged the entire Dance/USA Board and team. Edusei created a new revenue stream by maximizing Dance/USA’s monthly Bulletin. Additionally, she was part of the initial design of Dance/USA’s Dance Business Bootcamp, a program for dance artists working with budgets of less than $200,000. Edusei leveraged her Board experience to develop a website portal for Dance/USA’s Board of Trustees giving them access to one another and Board materials on-demand. In addition, she standardized the on-boarding process for new Trustees.Edusei is an experienced grants panelist, having served on panels for the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (MD), Alternate Roots (GA), and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (IL). She currently serves on the Advisory Council for Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA) and on the Board of Directors for the Performing Arts Alliance (both national in scope). She is a former Board member of See Chicago Dance (IL) and Dance Exchange (MD), where she served as the Chair of their Governance Committees. Edusei has connections to Jacob’s Pillow (MA), Bates Dance Festival (ME), and Movement Research’s (NY) dance communities. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Edusei was first introduced to dance when her grandmother took her to The Washington Ballet (TWB) where she auditioned for Mary Day. Being accepted into TWB’s School is where Edusei’s love for dance took root and blossomed. After several years of ballet training, Edusei transitioned to contemporary dance, training at Maryland Youth Ballet, Dance Place, and the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange.As a double-major graduate from The College of Wooster (OH) with degrees in Dance and Black Studies, Edusei studied in New York City and Yaoundé, Cameroon. Though worlds apart, she immersed herself in each city’s eclectic dance and arts communities. As a reflection of these experiences, she devised an evening length performance exclusively of her work – the first of any Dance major at Wooster – as part of her Independent Study thesis, titled Singularly Women/Collectively Woman. The piece focused on the mask dances of the Yoruba, Voltaic, and Mende (three distinct West African ethnic groups).Edusei considers herself a lifelong learner, and is always seeking opportunities to stretch, grow, learn, reflect and refine. To that end, she is an alumna of Acumen’s 2022 Leadership Accelerator cohort; a 2021 participant of the New Strategies Forum at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, supported by American Express; artEquity’s 2020 BIPOC Leadership Circle; and an alumna of American Express’ 2014 Leadership Academy. Edusei relocated to Chicago, IL in 2014 with her husband and their children.JIM LEIJA has served as Deputy Director for Public Experience and Learning at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) since September 2019. He leads the team that builds UMMA's partnerships across the university and community and that designs and implements educational and public programming. During his tenure at UMMA, Jim has launched innovative public programming, like the Vote2020/22/24 Project with the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office and the campus-wide "Arts and Resistance" theme semester, in addition to initiating new partnerships with the Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership Program (Canada) and Monument Lab. Before UMMA, Leija served on the senior executive leadership team of the University Musical Society (UMS) as Vice President, Education &amp; Community Engagement for 8 years (former title Director of Education &amp; Community Engagement). He was instrumental in designing and implementing two major educational and performance residencies with the New York Philharmonic; served as project director for UMS’s two “Engaging Dance Audience” grants (through Dance/USA and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation); launched an arts-academic integration program with the U-M College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation); co-curated UMS’s theater series "No Safety Net" focused on contemporary social issues; and produced a "Day of Action" with Yo-Yo Ma in Flint, Michigan,...

How do we support leaders in the cultural sector?In this episode, host Tim Cynova has a fun and fascinating conversation with Gail Crider (President &amp; CEO) and Kristina Newman-Scott (Board Chair) of National Arts Strategies (NAS), an organization dedicated to building and supporting a community of arts and culture leaders who drive inspiring change for the future. We dive into the transformative work they've been doing to create more inclusive and innovative spaces and approaches within the sector through their programs and offerings.Episode Highlights:Introduction to our guests from National Arts Strategies and their roles within and outside of NAS.The history and mission of NAS, and how they are working to strengthen the arts and culture sector.The importance of embracing change and adapting to the ever-evolving landscape of the arts industry.The role of technology in creating new opportunities and challenges for arts organizations.NAS's commitment to its values, and how they're working to create more inclusive spaces within the arts sector.The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts industry and how NAS has adapted its programs to support leaders during these challenging times.The future of NAS and their vision for the arts and culture sector and what exciting things are in store.GAIL CRIDER is the granddaughter of Bob and Carrie, farmers who figured things out as they went and nurtured both plants and neighbors; she is the daughter of Carolyn, an educator who built spaces for people of all ages to understand and learn tools to turn learning disabilities into different abilities; she is the sister of Catherine, a psychiatrist who is as dedicated to truth finding as she is to planet nurturing; she is mother to Alex, a recent graduate who plans to run for public office, dismantle harmful and oppressive systems, and link arms with others to heal the world.Gail is part of a collaborative management team of creative and resourceful individuals at NAS who sit inside a larger and greatly gifted staff and board of agitators and change agents. She facilitates strategy, program design and partnerships, and values alignment. Gail was instrumental in the organization’s transition from the National Arts Stabilization Fund to National Arts Strategies and providing the range of services offered today that support a diverse community of leaders driving inspiring change for the future.Over the course of her career, Gail has been an entrepreneur, worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations and spent a decade in public and private philanthropy. Prior to NAS, she was as a program officer for a foundation where she worked on inner-city redevelopment and community building in Washington, D.C. Gail has also worked for the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Key Bank. She co-chaired the Community Development Support Collaborative in Washington, D.C., and has served as a senior fellow for the Center for &nbsp;High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania, on the audit committee for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and on grant panels for the Corporation for National Service (AmeriCorps), the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Treasury, CDFI Fund. She holds a B.S. in theater from Lewis and Clark College and continues to learn formally and informally through her work at NAS, including continuing education at Stanford University, Harvard Business School, and University of Michigan – Ross School of Business. She is an ICF trained leadership coach.KRISTINA NEWMAN-SCOTT is an award-winning, purpose-driven leader with over 20 years of experience in contemporary visual and performing arts, entertainment, and media. She is the inaugural Executive Director for The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at New York Public Radio/WNYC, the company’s multi-platform and live studio space.Newman-Scott's awards and recognitions include being named one of the City and State New York’s, Telecommunications Power 50 individuals shaping New York’s digital future, an Observer’s NYC Arts Power 50, and a Next City Urban Vanguard. She is a recipient of the Selina Roberts Ottum award from Americans for the Arts and was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by the University of New Haven, Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in 2018.Her past leadership positions include serving as President of BRIC, an art, and media organization in Brooklyn; the Director of Culture for the State of Connecticut; Director of Programs at the Boston Center for the Arts; and Director of Visual Arts at Real Art Ways. Kristina was appointed to the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission in 2020 and currently serves on the Boards of Americans for the Arts, the Brooklyn Arts Council, National Arts Strategies, New Yorkers for Culture and Arts and the New York Arts Education Roundtable.Kristina was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica and worked as a practicing artist and TV/radio host and producer in her home country before moving to the US in 2005. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

In this episode, we explore unlimited paid time off policies: what they are, what they aren't, and items to consider when implementing this type of approach to PTO.Katrina Donald takes over hosting duties and turns the interviewee's microphone unusually in Tim Cynova's direction as they discuss Paid Time Off and his experience transitioning an organization to an Unlimited Paid vacation day policy.Katrina Donald based in Treaty 7 Territory, Katrina (she/her) is the principal consultant at&nbsp;ever-so-curious. She believes that listening and sensemaking practices bring us into community, reveal pathways forward, encourage and embolden us, and allow for greater impact. Her approach is relational and developmental; she works in partnership with people and organizations to co-design inclusive, collaborative and continuously emerging evaluation and HR strategies.She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba and a Masters Certificate in Organization Development and Change from the Canadian Organization Development Institute (CODI) and the Schulich Executive and Education Centre (SEEC) at York University. She is a mother, wife, daughter, sister, systems thinker, developmental evaluator, program designer, and a Registered Professional Recruiter (RPR). She’s committed to showing up for her own ongoing learning and to building workplaces that are actively anti-racist, praxis-centered and humble as they work through the prickly bramble of change. Learn more on&nbsp;LinkedIn.Tim Cynova, SPHR (he/him) is the Principal of&nbsp;Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Learn more on&nbsp;LinkedIn.

In this episode, podcast co-hosts Tim Cynova and Lauren Ruffin discuss recent pay transparency law changes that require companies to disclose pay ranges, as well as the laws’ potential to shift power and information sharing in workplaces. They explore the importance of clearly defining job requirements and the benefits of fixed-tier compensation to ensure equal – if not entirely *equitable* – pay. Lauren addresses the issues of location-based pay adjustments and speculates that increased transparency may lead to more organizations unionizing. Tim highlights the ongoing reevaluation of work's value and the need for businesses to adapt to Long COVID by creating more inclusive and equitable environments. They end the episode with a cliffhanger and agree to revisit this topic as the laws’ effects become clearer.Lauren Ruffin&nbsp;(she/her) is a thinker, designer, &amp; leader interested in building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems &amp; organizations. She's into exploring how we can leverage new technologies to combat racial and economic injustice. She frequently participates in conversations on circular economies, social impact financing, solidarity movements, and innovative, non-extractive financing mechanisms. Lauren is an Associate Professor of Worldbuilding and Visualizing Futures at Arizona State University and a co-founder of&nbsp;CRUX,&nbsp;an immersive storytelling cooperative that collaborates with Black artists as they create content in virtual reality and augmented reality (XR). Lauren was co-CEO of&nbsp;Fractured Atlas,&nbsp;the largest association of independent artists in the United States. In 2017, she started&nbsp;Artist Campaign School,&nbsp;a new educational program that has trained 74 artists to run for political office to date. Lauren has served on the governing boards of&nbsp;Black Innovation Alliance,&nbsp;Black Girls Code,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Main Street Phoenix Cooperative,&nbsp;and on the advisory boards of&nbsp;ArtUp&nbsp;and&nbsp;Black Girl Ventures.&nbsp;She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science and obtained a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.&nbsp;Learn more on LinkedIn.Tim Cynova&nbsp;(he/him) is the Principal of&nbsp;Work Shouldn’t Suck, an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.&nbsp;Learn more on LinkedIn.

Whether you refer to it as "sunsetting" or "supernova’ing," what’s true is that there are few resources to guide those wanting to intentionally shutdown an organization’s operations. While a multitude of resources exist dedicated to starting and scaling ventures, the same can’t be said when one finds themself on the other end of the organizational life cycle. In this episode, host Tim Cynova connects with guests who were tasked with leading companies through this final phase. We’ll hear how they came to the decision, how they approached the work, and what resonates for them as they reflect on it all.This episode include two conversations. The first is with Michelle Preston and Megan Carter who helped lead the transition at SITI Company. The second is with Jamie Bennett who helped lead the transition at ArtPlace America. In all of this, we consider how centering values when closing a company can help us even when we’re not.MEGAN E. CARTER is a creative producer, strategy consultant, and dramaturg with a track record of sustained success in theatre, interdisciplinary performing arts and live events. Most recently, she led SITI Company, an award-winning theater ensemble, through a comprehensive legacy plan, archive process, and finale season. She is currently a creative consultant with A TODO DAR Productions on rasgos asiaticos, a performance installation by Virginia Grise and Tanya Orellana exploring migration, borders, and family. Megan has developed and produced new and classic works Off-Broadway, as well as internationally at theatres, venues, and festivals like The Fisher Center at Bard, BAM, City Theatre in Pittsburgh, Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA), REDCAT (LA), Teatr Studio (Warsaw), Wuzhen Theatre Festival (Wuzhen, China), Under the Radar Festival, the Huntington Gardens (LA, site-specific), International Divine Comedy Theatre Festival at Małopolska Garden of Arts in (Krakow), the Walt Disney Modular Theater (LA), Classic Stage Company, Cherry Lane Theatre, WP Theater, the World Financial Center (site-specific). At WP Theater, she led the Lab for Directors, Playwrights, and Producers and managed new play development and commissions. Megan served as dramaturg on the American Premiere of Jackie by Elfriede Jelinek and has edited the English translations of a number of Jelinek’s plays, including Rechnitz and The Charges (The Supplicants). She has also edited the SITI Company anthology – SITI COMPANY: THIS IS NOT A HANDBOOK, coming out in 2023. Megan has been on faculty at the Brooklyn College, SITI Company Conservatory and California Institute of the Arts. She is currently on faculty at Primary Stages’ Einhorn School for the Performing Arts (ESPA). Education: MFA in Dramaturgy, Brooklyn College/CUNY; BA in Theatre, Centenary College of Louisiana.MICHELLE PRESTON began her career in arts administration at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra before coming to New York City where she has worked with Urban Bush Women, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the School of American Ballet. She began at SITI Company in 2012 as the Deputy Director and served as Executive Director from 2014-2022.&nbsp; While at SITI, Michelle produced 9 world premieres, 17 domestic and international tours, and 5 New York City seasons. She also led the multi-year strategic planning process that resulted in the SITI Legacy Plan, a comprehensive set of activities meant to celebrate the accomplishments and preserve the legacy of the ensemble before the organized and intentional sunset at the end of 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;She is currently the Executive Director of the José Limón Dance Foundation. She holds an M.F.A. in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College and a B.F.A. in Dance Performance from Northern Illinois University. Michelle spent six years as an adjunct faculty member for the Brooklyn College Performing Arts Management MFA program teaching fundraising and 18-months serving as the Interim Program Head.&nbsp; Additionally, she has guest lectured at Bard College, Columbia University, Columbia University Teachers College, Marymount Manhattan, NYU, Playwrights Horizons Theater School, and St. Lawrence University. She has also served as a panelist for the Brooklyn Arts Council Regrant Program, the TCG Global Connections Grant, the ART/NY Nancy Quinn Fund, and the NAMT Innovation &amp; Exploration Fund. JAMIE BENNETT [he/him] works at the intersections of nonprofits, philanthropy, and the public sector with arts, culture, and comprehensive community development. Jamie has held leadership roles at ArtPlace America, United States Artists, the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Columbia University, and the Agnes Gund Foundation. He worked in fundraising at the New York Philharmonic and Columbia University; and serves in volunteer capacities with the David Rockefeller Fund, the HERE Arts Center, the Make Music Alliance, and The Heritage Center (Itówapi Owápazo) of the Red Cloud Indian School. Jamie has been sober since 2009.

In this episode, we’re exploring uncertainty, transitions, and moving forward in ambiguity – something most of us probably feel like we’re getting pretty used to having lived the past several years amid a global pandemic.We’ll be exploring how these things show up in organizations, and in one organization in particular – San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. And we’ll discuss how they’re approaching this in their evolving work.To learn more about their Head of External Relations search, visit: https://www.workshouldntsuck.co/ybca-er.SARA FENSKE BAHAT is a connector, most at-home when bridging the creative arts, economics, and equitable design to shape our social and political landscape. As Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) CEO, Sara works collaboratively with the YBCA team to advance the organization as a dynamic home for artists, arts and culture, and social justice movement building. Prior to becoming CEO, Sara served as YBCA’s Board Chair. Under her leadership, YBCA navigated COVID-19 pandemic challenges (which resulted in the longest mass closure of cultural venues since World War II), received support from leading innovators for groundbreaking work at the intersection of arts and movement building, and launched the nation’s first dedicated guaranteed income program for artists.Most recently, Sara served as chair of the California College of the Arts (CCA) MBA in Design Strategy, a groundbreaking, multidisciplinary degree rooted in systems theory, foresight, and innovation.Sara has a community finance and economic development background. Before becoming an educator, she worked for New York City’s economic development agency and in banking, where she championed local government support for community banks, improved banking and savings products for immigrant households, and multi-state consumer protection settlements.Raised in a Milwaukee family steeped in advocacy for human, civil, and LGBTQ+ rights, Sara quickly developed a commitment to activism and social justice. A dedicated political fundraiser and mobilizer, she is passionate about driving civic engagement and hosted the Democratic National Committee’s first-ever Zoom fundraiser at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Sara is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the London School of Economics. She is a 2022 Presidential Leadership Scholar, exploring the meaning of culture and cohesion in a country increasingly divided across wealth, ideology, and acknowledgment of historic and present inequity.Sara lives in San Francisco and loves a good dance party.RENUKA KHER has supported entrepreneurial efforts in under-resourced communities for her entire career. She has spent 16 years in various roles in philanthropy and managed and directed over $150M. Her professional experience spans the public, private, philanthropic and non-profit sectors. She has served on the board of and as an advisor to many of the nation’s leading social change organizations including, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Beyond 12, Year Up, Global Citizen Year and Revolution Foods.Most recently, she served on the executive team of Tipping Point Community a nonprofit grant-making organization that fights poverty in the Bay Area. During her six year tenure at Tipping Point she helped lead the growth of the organization as its Chief Operating Officer and also founded T Lab, Tipping Point's R+D engine.Before joining Tipping Point, Renuka served as a Principal at NewSchools Venture Fund whose work is focused on education and prior to that she was a Senior Program Officer at the Robin Hood Foundation where her work included developing and implementing a strategy for a $65 million relief fund, one of the nation's largest, created to respond to the terrorist attacks of&nbsp;September 11th.Her work has been featured in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, OZY, and Social Startup Success. Renuka received her bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Michigan, and completed her graduate work at Emory University, where she received a master's in public health from the Rollins School of Public Health. She is an alumnus of the Coro Leadership Program and also holds a certificate in Innovation Leadership from California College of the Arts. She currently lives in Oakland with her husband and two young children.

In this special bonus episode of "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim talks with Noah Becker, Kevin Eppler, Colin Lacey, and Shannon Mudd, four members of a peer support circle that's part of the larger racial affinity group White Men for Racial Justice (WMRJ). This group of guys meet regularly to support, challenge, and hold each other accountable as they seek to live into their values and desire to help co-create an anti-racist, equitable, and just world.After nearly two years of meeting weekly on Zoom, they finally had the opportunity to meet in 3D in Richmond, Virginia for a weekend of immersive learning and community building with 40 other members of WMRJ. This discussion occurs the week after that gathering.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Kit Hughes, Co-Founder and CEO of Look ListenMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRSydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityWant to explore resources mentioned in and related to this episode?"Sassy Mouths, Unfettered Spirits, and the Neo-Lynching of Korryn Gaines and Sandra Bland: Conceptualizing Post Traumatic Slave Master Syndrome and the Familiar “Policing” of Black Women’s Resistance in Twenty-First-Century America" by Dr. Zoe Spencer and Olivia N. PerlowHidden in Plain Site is a VR exploration of distinct, but easy to overlook sites around Richmond, VA - including the Richmond Slave Trail mentioned during this episode - that tells the story of the Black experience throughout history. Featuring actual examples from various angles and ages, these sites will be brought to impactful life through current appearance augmented with historical imagery.America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America by Jim Wallis"A Stain on An All-American Brand: How Brooks Brothers Once Clothed Slaves" by Dr. Jonathan Michael SquareGuestNOAH BECKER With more than 20 years of experience in the corporate financial and public accounting sectors, Noah is responsible for financial reporting and oversight of all administrative financial matters at LLR. During his career, Noah has helped several companies establish the financial and operational tools to facilitate growth and expansion. He has held senior financial positions at early stage as well as established entities such as ICG Commerce, Five Below and The Franklin Mint. Prior to joining LLR, he served as CFO of Finite Carbon. Previously, he spent eight years in public accounting at Arthur Andersen, most recently as a Senior Manager.KEVIN EPPLER (he/him), MTS, is a curriculum designer, facilitator, and content creator with Jubilee Partners (Jubilee Justice and Jubilee Gift). Kevin recently became a certified Program Leader with the Groundwater Institute. He is also a Learning Partner at The Opt-In.&nbsp;Prior to his work with Jubilee, Groundwater, and The Opt-In, Kevin spent 20 years in education, as a classroom teacher, dean, department chair, and varsity coach. He has designed and taught courses that examine race, justice, social business, social movements, and religion in both university and secondary school settings. Since 2013, Kevin has been dedicated to designing antiracism curriculum, leading antiracist caucus spaces, and JEDI/ABAR (Anti-bias, antiracism) consulting, after having committed himself to his own learning/unlearning as well as building his racial and cultural competence.&nbsp;Kevin believes he and other white men particularly have an important role to play in dismantling systems of oppression that begins with transformational learning and intentional inner work. Kevin has co-designed and founded a number of white, antiracist, caucus spaces including WMRJ (White Men for Racial Justice) and AWARE, both which were designed to call white folk into community and accountability, to develop our racial awareness, our stamina, literacy, and communication skills, as well as to commit to dismantling racism in ourselves and our spheres of influence. He has helped develop antiracism curriculum and programs in high schools, church communities, non-profit organizations, and for profit businesses.&nbsp;Kevin particularly enjoys designing and leading&nbsp;intensive justice and equity based immersion experiences and has done for both secondary schools and adult communities.&nbsp;COLIN LACEY, Chief Product Officer at a Machine Learning technology startup, has a passion for bringing great products and services to market and has done so in IT,&nbsp;clean energy and software domains. From growing up in Ireland, to working in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, he liked to think that he had a pretty good handle on the state of the world but that was completely dispelled following Charlottesville, and the death of George Floyd, driving him to reassess his perspectives on life and race in America. He lives in Austin, TX with his Afro-Latina wife, their two dogs, and (occasionally) their two college-aged kids.&nbsp;SHANNON MUDD is an economist who has worked both in and out of academics and has previously lived in Slovakia, Russia and the UK. He currently is in the department of economics and director of Haverford MI3,&nbsp;the Microfinance and Impact Investing Initiative at Haverford College.&nbsp;Mi3 is a member of Investors’ Circle (SVC) and its national network of impact investors and Shannon is an active participant in the Philadelphia Chapter. He and his students manage a small impact investing portfolio of equity investment in early stage social enterprises in partnership with a foundation in HK. He has been living in Phoenixville, PA for 18 years where he and his wife raised two terrific kids and where they are now happily empty nesters. He enjoys cycling, gardening, reading, cooking, training in martial arts, playing guitar and is active in his church leading small group studies and participating in worship music. He participates in POWER Interfaith, an organizing group of largely faith-based congregations actively working toward racial justice, social justice and environmental justice in Pennsylvania.HostTIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an...

In episode twelve of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Jared Fishman, a civil right lawyer and Founding Executive Director of Justice Innovation Lab, a company building data-driven solutions for a more equitable, effective &amp; fair justice system.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Kit Hughes, Co-Founder and CEO of Look ListenMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRSydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityWant to explore resources related to this episode? Jared suggests:[Race and the Criminal Justice System] New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander[Race and the Criminal Justice System] 13th, A Documentary[Race and the Criminal Justice System] Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas Blackmon[Race and the Criminal Justice System] Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America by Khalil Jibran Muhammad[Race and the Criminal Justice System] Punishment without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal by Alexandra Natapoff (on the impact of low level charges)[Race and the Criminal Justice System] Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform by John Pfaff (on prosecutors role)[Data and Justice] Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil[Date and Justice] The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law Enforcement by Andrew Guthrie Ferguson[Alternatives to the Status Quo] Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair by Danielle Sered[Behavioral Science] The Behavioral Code: The Hidden Ways the Law Makes Us Better…or Worse by Benjamin Van Rooij &amp; Adam Fine[Behavioral Science] The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan HaitiThe Marshal Project’s daily newsletter of the most important criminal justice stories from across the U.S.Serial Podcast, Season 3 is another good resource explainer on the Criminal Justice system.GuestJARED FISHMAN is a former federal prosecutor and the founder and executive director of Justice Innovation Lab, an organization that designs data-informed solutions for a more equitable, effective, and fair justice system. &nbsp;Justice Innovation Lab uses a collaborative approach to identify and fix inequities in jurisdictions across the United States. Prior to founding Justice Innovation Lab, Jared served for 14 years as a senior civil rights prosecutor at the US Department of Justice, where he led some of the most complex civil rights prosecutions in the country, securing convictions in high-profile cases involving police misconduct, hate crimes and human trafficking.&nbsp; &nbsp;He began his career as a line prosecutor at the Washington, DC US Attorney’s Office, where he handled domestic violence and sex offense cases. Jared regularly speaks on issues of data-driven criminal justice reform, police accountability, hate crimes, and human trafficking, and has trained international and local police, prosecutors, and judges.&nbsp;His work and analysis have been featured on CNN, CBS, CBC, and in the New York Times and the Washington Post., and he serves as adjunct faculty at Georgetown University and at the George Washington University Law School.HostTIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode eleven of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Ted Castle (Founder &amp; President) and Rooney Castle (Vice President) of Rhino Foods, the birthplace of the iconic cookie dough that goes into Ben &amp; Jerry’s Cookie Dough Ice Cream.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Kit Hughes, Co-Founder and CEO of Look ListenMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRSydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.GuestsTED CASTLE is the owner and President of Rhino Foods, a certified B Corporation located in Burlington VT. Rhino employs 250+ employees and manufactures bakery style inclusions for ice cream manufacturers, and a variety of frozen desserts and snacks that are distributed in North America and Europe. Rhino Food’s Purpose is to “Impact the Manner in Which Business is Done” through its Financial, Customer and Supplier, Employee, and Community Principles. Rhino Foods and Ted have been recognized for their efforts with the Hal Taussig B the Change Award from B Lab, Beta Gamma Sigma Entrepreneurial Award. Vermont Small Businessperson of the Year, by the SBA, the Terry Ahrich Award for Socially Responsible Business by Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Forbes Magazine’s List of Small Giants. Optimas award for vision in the workplace (past winners include UPS, Coors and 3M), Inc Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Special Recognition Award from the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. In 2018 the Rhino Foods Foundation was formed with the mission to "Spread Innovative Workplace Practices that Champion Employee Financial Stability and Make Good Business Sense" with an initial focus is to spread the Income Advance Program Rhino nationwide. Ted lives in Charlotte, Vermont with his wife Anne. Their two sons Ned and Rooney are presently living in Vermont. ROONEY CASTLE Growing up, Rooney was continuously asked if he ever planned to join the family business. Time and time again, he would answer with a definitive “no”, as it would have impeded his plans to become the next Wayne Gretzky. However, as time went by and his hopes of becoming the next “Great One” slipped away, he began to learn more about Rhino Foods. As a child, Rooney only knew it was the home of the locally famous Chessters ice cream sandwich and the birthplace of the iconic cookie dough that goes into Ben &amp; Jerry’s Cookie Dough Ice Cream.&nbsp;As he began to invest both time and interest in the business his parents had created, Rooney discovered there was more to Rhino Foods than just delicious treats.&nbsp;His father’s passion for doing things the right way and understanding how a conscientious employer can impact employees’ lives outside of work is something to admire and emulate.&nbsp;It is this “do right” mentality, spread across all aspects of the business that attracted his to becoming a full-time rhino. In 2011, he started working at Rhino Foods on the production floor as a batter maker. The most important byproduct of his 8 months batter making was undoubtedly the relationships he developed with other rhinos and the knowledge he gained about what it takes to make their products. Rooney moved on to other roles giving him broad experience in other aspects of the business. This flexibility and exposure to a variety of learning opportunities is what makes him an engaged, versatile and happy rhino. Now the question he’s most frequently asked has become “when do you plan on taking over the reins of the family business?” to which he most politely responds, “I’m in no hurry.”HostTIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode ten of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Kit Hughes, Co-Founder and CEO of Look Listen, a consulting company working at the intersection of creativity, data, and technology.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Marc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRSydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.BiosKIT HUGHES is a typical technology entrepreneur. He dropped out of college to start a company (it failed), spent a period of time homeless (by choice), and became an overnight success (slowly). Eventually, Kit returned to school as a two-time research fellow at the University of Georgia leading experimental technology research projects exploring mobile computing and connected devices. He credits his business smarts to his studies in strategy and innovation at MIT Sloan. Kit co-founded Look Listen in 2007 as a mash-up of a digital studio and a consulting company working at the intersection of creativity, data, and technology. Look Listen grew to have offices in Atlanta, Denver, and Portland with three centers of excellence: Brand Experience, Performance Media, and Marketing Automation. He has worked with a variety of B2B and B2C brands across multiple touchpoints: Anheuser-Busch, Arrow, BP, Char-Broil, Coca-Cola, Flextronics, GE, NCR, Philips, and Steve Harvey. Under Kit’s leadership as CEO, Look Listen was recognized as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the US by hitting #408 on the Inc 500 in 2015—staying on the list three years in a row—and has been in the top 100 fastest growing companies in Atlanta three years in a row, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle Pacesetter Awards.&nbsp;Find out more about Kit here.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode nine of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews David Reuter, Partner at LLR, a private equity firm based in Philadelphia investing in technology and healthcare businesses.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Kit Hughes, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Look ListenMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachSydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.BiosDAVID REUTER is a senior private equity investment professional combining strong financial and strategic analysis skills, extensive transaction experience, and proven leadership and business development capabilities. He possesses an analytical mind that quickly adapts to new environments and situations, and is self-motivated and dynamic with natural business decision skills. David is a Partner with LLR Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm investing in technology and healthcare businesses. LLR collaborates with its portfolio companies to define high-impact growth initiatives, turn them into action and create long-term value. Founded in 1999 and with more than $5 billion raised, LLR is a flexible provider of equity capital for growth, recapitalizations and buyouts.&nbsp;Find out more about David here.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode eight of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Marc Mannella formerly CEO of KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools and currently a consultant working with clients that range from professional sports teams, to charter schools, to non-profits.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Kit Hughes, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Look ListenJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRSydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.BiosMARC MANNELLA is the President of Mannella Consulting Services, specializing in leadership coaching, and optimizing learning environments in schools, non-profits, and sport. Prior to his work consulting, Mannella had a 20-year career in education; first as a science teacher, then as founder and Principal of KIPP Philadelphia Charter School, a college preparatory middle school in North Philadelphia. After five years at KIPP as principal, he led KIPP Philadelphia’s expansion to a five-school network serving nearly 2000 students in grades K-12, overseeing all aspects of school and network operations as KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools’ CEO. He holds a B.A. in Psychology and Biology from the University of Rochester, and an M.Ed. in Education Leadership from National Louis University.&nbsp;Find out more about Marc here.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode seven of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) and Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer) of BBMG, a branding and social impact consultancy.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Ted Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Kit Hughes, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Look ListenMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRSydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films. Read Rha Goddess's "An Open Letter To My Beloved White Male Allies," mentioned in this episode.BiosRAPHAEL BEMPORAD As Founding Partner of BBMG, Raphael unites branding, sustainability and innovation to help organizations create sustainable growth and positive impact in the world.&nbsp;An expert in brand strategy, public affairs and social innovation, Raphael is a passionate champion for a new approach to branding that’s driven by empathy, collaboration, shared values and mutual relationships.“I’m a passionate champion for a new approach to branding that places our humanity at the center. At BBMG, we help clients unlock the human truths in their brands and unleash the humanity in their businesses so they win hand in hand with the people they serve,” Bemporad says. “We believe the imperative of our generation is to unite the power of business with the meaning and influence of brands to shape our aspirations, behaviors and relationships for a more just and sustainable future.”&nbsp;He has directed recent branding and marketing programs for clients such as Adidas, CLIF Bar, Disney, Earthbound Farm, Eileen Fisher, Estée Lauder, Johnson &amp; Johnson, L’Oréal Paris, NBC Universal, Nespresso, Target, The North Face and Walmart. He has also worked with many leading nonprofits including ASPCA, Giffords, Greenpeace, OceanX, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Rainforest Alliance and Urban Teachers, as well as the Case Foundation, Ford Foundation, Kresge Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.&nbsp;Raphael also has an extensive background in political communications, getting his start as a press aide to Texas Governor Ann W. Richards. He also served as communications director for the Texas Democratic Party, as communications director for Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston), and as press secretary for U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas).Raphael received his BA in Philosophy with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of marketing and communications at the NYU Stern School of Business, and he sits on the advisory boards of Sustainable Brands and the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business.BRYAN MILLER spent twelve years on Wall Street, navigating between theory, strategy, and execution as well as the ever-present unknown. He’s our go-to problem solver and helps us all to thrive, as people and professionals. Bryan is also BBMG’s main ambassador to the B Corp community, and a Founding Board Member of B Local NYC. Superpower: Radical transparency and empathy.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode six of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Sydney Skybetter choreographer and founder of the Center for Research on Choreographic Interfaces that convenes experts in dance, performance, computer science, kinesiology, anthropology, social justice, and design to explore the relationship between bodies, movement, and emerging technologies.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Kit Hughes, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Look ListenMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films. Read "Reflections From a Token Black Friend," mentioned in this episode.BiosSYDNEY SKYBETTER is a choreographer. Hailed by the Financial Times as “One of the world’s foremost thinkers on the intersection of dance and emerging technologies,” Sydney’s choreography has been performed at such venues as The Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow and The Joyce Theater. A sought-after speaker, he has lectured at SXSW, Yale, Mozilla, and Stanford, and consulted for The National Ballet of Canada, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Hasbro, New York University and The University of Southern California, among others. He is a Public Humanities Fellow, Senior Lecturer and the Associate Chair of Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies at Brown University, and an affiliate of metaLAB at Harvard University and Dark Laboratory at Cornell University. He is a regular contributor to WIRED and Dance Magazine, has served as a Grant Panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts, is a founding member of the Guild of Future Architects, and is the Founder of the Conference for Research on Choreographic Interfaces.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In this episode, we dive into re-imagining the hiring process, in particular, how it might be designed if we dusted off executive search to co-create a process that centers our values of equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and anti-oppression.Find out more about Work Shouldn't Suck's hiring-based offerings here, including full-service executive search, our hiring process consultation, and our brand new values-based hiring course launching this April.JAMIE GAMBLE (Guest Host) Jamie Gamble is the Principal Consultant of New Brunswick&nbsp;based Imprint Consulting, and since 2002 has served organizations&nbsp;involved in the&nbsp;arts, climate change, environmental protection, economic development, public&nbsp;health, youth leadership, citizen&nbsp;engagement, and sport with consulting in&nbsp;strategy, evaluation, and organizational change. Jamie’s&nbsp;specialization is developmental evaluation, and he has authored&nbsp;several publications on evaluation&nbsp;including&nbsp;A Developmental Evaluation&nbsp;Primer&nbsp;and&nbsp;A Developmental Evaluation&nbsp;Companion.KATRINA DONALD (she/her): Based in Treaty 7 Territory, Katrina is the Principal Consultant at ever-so-curious, and believes that listening and sensemaking practices bring us into community, reveal pathways forward, encourage and embolden us, and allow for greater impact. Her approach is relational and developmental; she works in partnership with people and organizations to co-design inclusive, collaborative, and continuously emerging evaluation and HR strategies. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba and a Masters Certificate in Organization Development and Change from the Canadian Organization Development Institute (CODI) and the Schulich Executive and Education Centre (SEEC) at York University. She is a mother, wife, daughter, sister, systems thinker, developmental evaluator, program designer, and a Registered Professional Recruiter (RPR). She’s committed to showing up for her own ongoing learning and to building workplaces that are actively anti-racist, praxis-centered, and humble as they work through the prickly bramble of change.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode five of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Ron Carucci, an author and Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner at Navalent, a firm that works with CEOs and executives who are pursuing transformational change for their organizations and industries. This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:Raphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsDavid Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Kit Hughes, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Look ListenMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRSydney Skybetter, Founder, CRCI; Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films. Read "Reflections From a Token Black Friend," mentioned in this episode.BiosRON CARUCCI is co-founder and managing partner at Navalent, working with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change for their organizations, leaders, and industries. He has a thirty-year track record helping executives tackle challenges of strategy, organization and leadership.&nbsp;From start-ups to Fortune 10’s, non-profits to heads-of-state, turn-arounds to new markets and strategies, overhauling leadership and culture to re-designing for growth.&nbsp;He has helped organizations articulate strategies that lead to accelerated growth, and design organizations that can execute those strategies. He has worked in more than 25 countries on 4 continents. He is the author of 9 books, including the Amazon #1 Rising to Power and the recently released To Be Honest, Lead with the Power of Truth, Justice &amp; Purpose. He is a popular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, where Navalent’s work on leadership was named one of 2016’s management ideas that mattered most. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes, and a two-time TEDx speaker. His work’s been featured in Fortune, CEO Magazine, Inc., BusinessInsider, MSNBC, Business Week, Inc., Fast Company, Smart Business, and thought leaders.&nbsp;The Whole MeHe lives in the New York City area with his wife. On weekends, you’ll find him on his bike, on the tennis court, on his skis, at the movies, or cheering for the Seattle Seahawks.&nbsp;His greatest joy is seeing leader’s thrive by having the impact on the lives of those they lead.&nbsp;Helping leaders find their voice, and use it to serve their organization’s greater good is what gets him up every morning.&nbsp;In his office, Ron has a collection of antique door knobs, door knockers and skeleton keys.&nbsp;Every day, they remind him that life is about finding and pursuing the open doors in front of you, and making sure those doors open for others. In the morning, one of his favorite routines is picking the coffee mug in the conference room from among his collection.&nbsp;Each mug hails from a difference experience and person in his life, and helps him begin his day remembering to be grateful for all those in his life who’ve been part of his story.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode four of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews Jay Coen Gilbert, CEO of Imperative21 and Co-Founder of B Lab.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:David Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaRon Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentSydney Skybetter, Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityRaphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRKit Hughes, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Look ListenTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.BiosJay Coen Gilbert is CEO of Imperative 21, a business-led network that believes the imperative of the 21st century is to RESET our economic system so that its purpose is to create shared well being on a healthy planet. Network steward organizations include B Lab, The B Team, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), Common Future, Conscious Capitalism, Inc., Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), JUST Capital, and Participant. Imperative 21 builds on Jay’s experience as cofounder of B Lab, the nonprofit behind the global B Corporation movement. Along with his B Lab cofounders, Jay is the recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the McNulty Prize at the Aspen Institute, where he is a Henry Crown Fellow. Since 2016, Jay has been called into antiracism work, prioritizing his own learning and UNlearning journey while co-convening multiracial and white caucus spaces and formats including WMRJ (White Men for Racial Justice) and AWARE (Allies Whites Against Racism for Equity), both designed to help white people come together in peer-led communities of learning and practice to develop racial literacy, stamina, and communication skills, and a commitment to dismantle racism in ourselves, our organizations, our communities, and our country. Prior to co-founding B Lab (and despite having no game), Jay co-founded and sold AND1, a $250M basketball footwear, apparel, and entertainment company. He has also worked for McKinsey &amp; Co, as well as organizations in the public and nonprofit sectors. Jay grew up in New York City and while he graduated from Stanford University with a degree in East Asian Studies, his most rewarding educational experience was co-teaching a class for the last ten years about the role of business in society at Westtown School, a 200-year-old Quaker institution. Between AND1 and B Lab, Jay enjoyed a sabbatical in Australia, New Zealand, and Monteverde, Costa Rica with his yogini wife Randi and two children, Dex and Ria, now 23 and 21. Jay and Randi live in Berwyn, PA.B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, and tools for business, and we certify companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way. To date, our community includes more than 4,000 B Corps in 70 countries and 150 industries, 10,000 benefit corporations, and 100,000 companies who manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager. Learn more at bcorporation.net. B Lab has been recognized in almost every major business publication (including Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times, The Economist, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal), and its work was named by Fast Company as one of “20 Moments That Mattered Over the Last 20 Years.” Imperative 21 is a business-led network that believes the imperative of the 21st century is to RESET our economic system so that its purpose is to create shared wellbeing on a healthy planet. In addition to equipping business leaders to fulfill this purpose, Imperative 21 shapes the narrative about the role of business in society, and supports policy changes that accelerate the transition to stakeholder capitalism. Network stewards include: B Lab (certifier of B Corporations), The B Team, Chief Executive for Corporate Purpose (CECP), Common Future, Conscious Capitalism, Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), JUST Capital, and Participant. They collectively represent more than 134,000 businesses across 80 countries and 150 industries, more than 25 million employees, $11 trillion in revenues, and $21 trillion in assets under management, and reach hundreds of millions of people every day who are increasingly eager to vote with their purchases, investments, and employment decisions.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In episode three of the 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," Tim interviews John Orr, Executive Director of the Philadelphia-based Art-Reach.This series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Are you new to the series? Check out episode 54 where podcast co-hosts Lauren Ruffin and Tim Cynova introduce and frame the conversations. Download the accompanying study guide. And explore the other episodes in this series with guests:David Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Ron Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentSydney Skybetter, Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityRaphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRKit Hughes, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Look ListenTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabWant to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films.BiosJOHN ORR is the Executive Director at Art-Reach in the city of Philadelphia where he leads an effort to end systemic exclusion for people with disabilities and people experiencing poverty within Philadelphia’s cultural sector. Over his tenure Art-Reach has positioned itself as an innovative leader in accessible arts programming. The past 23 years of Orr’s career has focused on ensuring cultural access to as many people as possible. He has served as President of the Museum Council of Greater Philadelphia and has worked at large museums, small community art centers and international research institutions. Orr connects with the disability community and the cultural sector though his work on the Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities, the Board of the PA Humanities and the Board of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. Orr identifies as neurodiverse and lives in South Philadelphia with his partner Allison, 11-year old daughter Maddie, and two grey cats who hold deep disdain for each other.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.

In this episode, co-hosts Tim Cynova and Lauren Ruffin introduce a new 12-part podcast series, "White Men &amp; the Journey Towards Anti-Racism," where Tim interviews white men in positions of leadership whose companies are engaged in understanding how racism and oppression are at play in their organizations and the work they do.Download the accompanying series study guide.Series guests include:David Devan, General Director &amp; President, Opera PhiladelphiaJohn Orr, Executive Director, Art-ReachJay Coen Gilbert, Co-Founder, B Lab; CEO, Imperative21Ron Carucci, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, NavalentSydney Skybetter, Associate Chair &amp; Senior Lecturer, Theatre Arts &amp; Performance Studies Department, Brown UniversityRaphael Bemporad (Founding Partner) &amp; Bryan Miller (Chief Financial Officer), BBMGMarc Mannella, Independent Consultant, Former CEO KIPP Philadelphia Public SchoolsDavid Reuter, Partner, LLRKit Hughes, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Look ListenTed Castle (Founder &amp; President) &amp; Rooney Castle (Vice President), Rhino FoodsJared Fishman, Founding Executive Director, Justice Innovation LabThis series was created to be a resource for white men who might be wrestling with questions like, “What’s my role in anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice work as a white man with power and privilege?” and “How might my personal commitment to do this work manifest itself in the organization I help lead?”Want to explore related resources primarily *not* by white guys? Check out our compilation of 30 books, podcasts, and films. And find all the episodes here.Co-HostsTIM CYNOVA (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator, and has served on the faculty of Minneapolis College of Art &amp; Design, the Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design, and Strategic HR. In 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a $30M, entirely virtual non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the Chief Operating Officer and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made that commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press.LAUREN RUFFIN (she/her) is a thinker, designer, &amp; leader interested in building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems &amp; organizations. She's into exploring how we can leverage new technologies to combat racial and economic injustice. As part of this work, she frequently participates in conversations on circular economies, social impact financing, solidarity movements, and innovative, non-extractive financing mechanisms. Lauren is a co-founder of CRUX, an immersive storytelling cooperative that collaborates with Black artists as they create content in virtual reality and augmented reality (XR). Lauren is currently the Head of Movement Building at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), where she focuses on amplifying the stories and activism of the YBCA community. Prior to joining YBCA, Lauren was co-CEO of Fractured Atlas, the largest association of independent artists in the United States. In 2017, she started Artist Campaign School, a new educational program that has trained 74 artists to run for political office to date. She has served on the governing board of Black Girls Code and Main Street Phoenix Cooperative, and on the advisory boards of ArtUp and Black Girl Ventures. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science and obtained a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.

This conversation was recorded as part of Work Shouldn't Suck's Ethical Re-Opening Summit that took place on April 27, 2021.What does it look like to co-create a future where everyone thrives? We explore re-imagining the role of the art center as a canvas and place to play and explore, and how to transform society by transforming organizations and the systems and structures that built and sustain them.GuestDEBORAH CULLINAN Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) CEO Deborah Cullinan is one of the nation’s leading thinkers on the pivotal role artists and arts organizations can play in shaping our social and political landscape, and has spent years mobilizing communities through arts and culture. Deborah is committed to revolutionizing the role art centers play in public life and during her tenure at YBCA, she has launched several bold new programs, engagement strategies, and civic coalitions. Prior to joining YBCA in 2013, she was the Executive Director of San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts. She is a co-founder of CultureBank, co-chair of the San Francisco Arts Alliance, Vice Chair of the Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy, and on the boards of the Community Arts Stabilization Trust and HumanMade. She is a Field Leader in Residence at Arizona State University’s National Accelerator for Cultural Innovation and a former Innovator in Residence at the Kauffman Foundation. She currently serves on Governor Gavin Newsom’s Jobs and Business Recovery Task Force.Co-HostsLAUREN RUFFIN (she/her) is a thinker, designer, &amp; leader interested in building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems &amp; organizations. She's into exploring how we can leverage new technologies to combat racial and economic injustice. As part of this work, she frequently participates in conversations on circular economies, social impact financing, solidarity movements, and innovative, non-extractive financing mechanisms. Lauren is a co-founder of CRUX, an immersive storytelling cooperative that collaborates with Black artists as they create content in virtual reality and augmented reality (XR). Lauren is currently the interim Chief Marketing Officer of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), where she focuses on amplifying the stories and activism of the YBCA community. Prior to joining YBCA, Lauren was co-CEO of Fractured Atlas, the largest association of independent artists in the United States. In 2017, she started Artist Campaign School, a new educational program that has trained 74 artists to run for political office to date. She has served on the governing board of Black Girls Code and Main Street Phoenix Cooperative, and on the advisory boards of ArtUp and Black Girl Ventures. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science and obtained a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.TIM CYNOVA (he/him) is Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., a management consulting firm specializing in HR and human-centered organizational design. Whether it's through shared leadership explorations or alternative workplace arrangements, re-imagining recruitment and hiring processes to center equity and inclusion or decolonizing workplaces policies, practices, and programs, WSS is focused on helping companies co-create places where everyone can thrive. Tim is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator. He serves on the faculty of Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In August 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the COO and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made this commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Also, during a particularly slow summer, he bicycled 3,902 miles across the United States.

This conversation was recorded as part of Work Shouldn't Suck's Ethical Re-Opening Summit that took place on April 27, 2021.There are a multitude of ways to share power, decision making, and leadership in organizations. In this episode, Aja Couchois Duncan, Hop Hopkins, Lauren Ruffin, and Jason Wiener explore several, as well as discuss what companies should keep in mind as they consider different ways of participatory leadership.Resources mentioned during session:“Racism Is Killing the Planet” by Hop HopkinsSolidarity Not Charity - Grantmaking in the Solidarity EconomySustainable Economies Law Center’s Nonprofit Democracy NetworkUnited States Federation of Worker CooperativesAnti-Oppression Resource &amp; Training Alliance (AORTA)AJA COUCHOIS DUNCAN is a leadership coach, team engagement and strategic planning graphic facilitator and organizational development consultant of Ojibwe, French and Scottish descent. A Senior Consultant with Change Elemental, Aja has worked for almost 20 years in the areas of education, leadership and equity. Working with a broad range of clients from public and private universities, nonprofit organizations, national policy advocates, statewide arts organizations, to small businesses—she provides organizational capacity building expertise through needs assessments, program and/or strategy design and delivery, group facilitation, strategic communications and ROI/impact analysis. Aja has a strong background in diversity and social justice work, having provided diversity education, disparate impact analysis, diversity program evaluation and macro-level recommendations to improve equity and thus workplace climate and organizational performance. For nearly a decade, Aja was an active member of the Native American Health Alliance, an organization composed of University of California, San Francisco students, staff and faculty of Native descent working together to promote cultural understanding and an awareness of the health disparities affecting Native American/Alaskan Native peoples. With a small group of Native University of California staff, she created a development program designed to increase skills and promotional opportunities for employees of Native descent across the university system. She has led workshops for Native adults and youth to promote cultural values and identity through artistic expression. Previous professional roles have included leading creative writing workshops for under-served youth, working in the electrical and construction trades, serving as a meeting/conference planner, and leading nature programs in a state park. Aja is a certified co-active coach (CPCC) and holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in creative writing from San Francisco State University and a Master of Arts (MA) in policy, organization and leadership studies from Stanford University, where she is a member of the Stanford Native American Alumni Association. A writer and sometimes visual artist, Aja is interested in connecting the often disparate realities of spirit and mater, flora and fauna. When not at Change Elemental, you can find Aja writing or drawing. She also enjoys running in the hills with her dog, yoga and a daily meditation practice which begins with an expression of gratitude to her ancestors and ends with an enthusiastic shout out to the extraordinary miracle of her toes.HOP HOPKINS is Director of Organizational Transformation at the Sierra Club, where he works to ensure that Sierra Club campaigns and programs protect those most affected by climate change and environmental degradation and promote economic justice. Hop was also a certified Arborist, a Master Gardener and has earned a Permaculture Design Certificate. He has been a Grassroots Environmental Justice Community Organizer in Seattle, WA, Portland, OR and Los Angeles, CA.&nbsp;Born in Dallas, Texas, he received his BA from New College of California as a graduate in the Culture Ecology &amp; Sustainable Communities program with a focus in natural building. He has served on the boards of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, Western States Center and People’s College of Law. Presently, Hop sits on the Los Angeles Food Policy Council’s Leadership Board, is earning his Master’s in Urban Sustainability and is the Climate Justice Fellow at Antioch University, Los Angeles. He also participated in the Marshall Ganz Organizing Program at the Harvard University Kennedy School. Alongside his wife of eighteen years, co-founded Panther Ridge Farm located just outside of Los Angeles. Collectively they homeschool their daughters and steward a quarter of an acre of land inhabited by their pet Australian shepherds, chickens, honey bees, fruit trees and multiple compost piles.LAUREN RUFFIN (she/her) is a thinker, designer, &amp; leader interested in building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems &amp; organizations. She's into exploring how we can leverage new technologies to combat racial and economic injustice. As part of this work, she frequently participates in conversations on circular economies, social impact financing, solidarity movements, and innovative, non-extractive financing mechanisms. Lauren is a co-founder of CRUX, an immersive storytelling cooperative that collaborates with Black artists as they create content in virtual reality and augmented reality (XR). Lauren is currently the interim Chief Marketing Officer of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), where she focuses on amplifying the stories and activism of the YBCA community. Prior to joining YBCA, Lauren was co-CEO of Fractured Atlas, the largest association of independent artists in the United States. In 2017, she started Artist Campaign School, a new educational program that has trained 74 artists to run for political office to date. She has served on the governing board of Black Girls Code and Main Street Phoenix Cooperative, and on the advisory boards of ArtUp and Black Girl Ventures. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science and obtained a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.JASON WIENER enjoys the challenge of creatively designing legal and business solutions to persistent social and environmental challenges. Jason comes to this work with a wide range of experience as an entrepreneur, litigator, activist, organizer and worker-owner. With more than a dozen years of experience as an attorney – including several years in BigLaw litigation, and as a labor lawyer – Jason’s range of expertise and experience brings an innovative approach to solving client issues. Jason has walked in the shoes of his clients, as a social entrepreneur in his own right, on the board of non-profits, cooperatives and corporations. Jason has served on executive strategy, human resources, finance and other management level teams. Jason has been a thought, do and practice leader in the cooperative, employee ownership, impact finance and capital, and teal lawyering movements. Jason’s client work and public speaking have charted a new and grander course for the potential of democratized economic structures to re-calibrate the hazardous course set by “business as usual.” Jason has published more than six scholarly law review articles on international, human rights and renewable energy topics and speaks regularly about worker-owned and cooperative business model, non-extractive finance, the future of work, the contemporary and teal practice of law, distributed solar policy and sharing economy legal issues. Jason is an adjunct professor in Colorado State University’s Global Sustainability and Social Enterprise program, where he teaches an MBA course on business law and ethics. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Colorado Law School’s Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. His hobbies include mountain biking, yoga, hiking, running, walking his two dogs, coffee, cooking and traveling, and raising his two young children with his amazing wife, Meghan.

This conversation was recorded as part of Work Shouldn't Suck's Ethical Re-Opening Summit that took place on April 27, 2021.How do you create and maintain equitable policies and practices when your team works across differing onsite and remote arrangements?Resources mentioned during session:Results-Only Work EnvironmentThe People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB)Team Dynamics’s Behave podcastADDAM GARRETT serves as Operations Manager for the National Performance Network. Addam joined NPN in the summer of 2016 and has over 15 years of experience in education, program planning, and communications. He manages day-to-day organizational activities, which includes assisting all departments to meet the needs of our constituents. He holds a B.A. in Public Relations and Art History from the University of Alabama. Addam is a big tennis fan and sports enthusiasts and brings that passion to work everyday. “There is nothing a smile, humor and kind words can’t accomplish!” Can I get a big Roll Tide?!MICHELLE RAMOS Dr. Michelle Ramos brings a deep and incredibly robust diversity of experience to role as Executive Director of Alternate Roots. Her background includes most recently working in criminal justice reform as Project Director of the&nbsp;Vera Institute of Justice, philanthropic work as a Program Officer at&nbsp;Women’s Foundation of California, and service organization leadership as Board Chair of&nbsp;Dance/USA, Dancing Grounds and Junebug Productions. In addition to being a licensed attorney, and holding a PhD in Cultural Psychology, she has significant organizing experience and has committed her career to serving communities and individuals adversely impacted by issues of race, gender, disability, class, socio-economics, inequitable laws and systemic oppression. Ramos, a retired professional ballet dancer has worked as an executive director for multiple non-profit arts organizations in many cities across the US. She has consulted for over 20 years nationally and internationally. She is the proud mother Broadway choreographer, Ellenore Scott, and since retiring from her own dance career, Ramos has continued teach dance, has competed as an Ironman triathlete and now enjoys her southern New Orleans lifestyle.LAURA ZABEL is the Executive Director of&nbsp;Springboard for the Arts, which operates&nbsp;Creative Exchange, a platform for sharing free toolkits, resources, and profiles to help artists and citizens collaborate on replicating successful and engaging community projects. An economic and community development agency run by and for artists, Springboard provides programs that help artists make a living and a life, and programs that help communities connect to the creative power of artists. Based in Minnesota, Springboard’s projects include:&nbsp;Community Supported Art (CSA), which is based on the Community Supported Agriculture model and connects artists directly with patrons; the&nbsp;Artists Access to Healthcare&nbsp;program; artist entrepreneurial development; and&nbsp;Irrigate&nbsp;artist-led creative placemaking, a national model for how cities can engage artists to help reframe and address big community challenges. An expert on the relationship between the arts and community development, Zabel has spoken at leading conferences and events including the&nbsp;Aspen Ideas Festival, the Urban Land Institute, and&nbsp;Americans for the Arts. A&nbsp;2014 Bush Foundation Fellow, Zabel’s insights on industry trends have also been featured in outlets from&nbsp;The Guardian&nbsp;to&nbsp;The New York Times. Zabel serves on the board of directors of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers.TIM CYNOVA (SPHR) is Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., a management consulting firm specializing in HR and human-centered organizational design. Whether it's through shared leadership explorations or alternative workplace arrangements, re-imagining recruitment and hiring processes to center equity and inclusion or decolonizing workplaces policies, practices, and programs, WSS is focused on helping companies co-create places where everyone can thrive.Tim is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator. He serves on the faculty of Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In August 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the COO and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made this commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Also, during a particularly slow summer, he bicycled 3,902 miles across the United States.

This conversation was recorded as part of Work Shouldn't Suck's Ethical Re-Opening Summit that took place on April 27, 2021.Co-host Lauren Ruffin facilitates a discussion with Vanessa Roanhorse and Syrus Marcus Ware on how organizations can center those most vulnerable to craft workplaces where everyone can thrive. Their discussion explores recently announced changes at Basecamp, and also the workplace re-opening survey conducted by Work Shouldn't Suck in Spring 2021.Resources mentioned during this episode:Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement, Ejeris Dixon (Editor); Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (Editor)“Changes at Basecamp” by Jason Fried“Basecamp's new etiquette regarding societal politics at work” by David Heinemeier HanssonVANESSA ROANHORSE got her management chops working for 7 years at a Chicago-based nonprofit, the Delta Institute, focused throughout the Great Lakes region to build a resilient environment and economy through creative, sustainable, market-driven solutions. Vanessa oversaw many of Delta’s on-the-ground energy efficiency, green infrastructure, community engagement programs, and workforce development training. Vanessa is a 2019 Village Capital Money Matters Advisory Board Member, 2019 SXSW Pitch Advisor, sits on the local Living Cities leadership table, is a Startup Champions Network member, is an Advisor for emerging Navajo incubator, Change Labs, Advisor for Native Entrepreneurship in Residence Program, and is a board member for Native Community Capital, a native-led CDFI. She is a co-founder of Native Women Lead, an organization dedicated to growing native women into positions of leadership and business. Her academic education is in film from the University of Arizona but her professional education is from hands-on experience leading local, regional and national initiatives. Vanessa is Navajo living in Albuquerque, New Mexico.SYRUS MARCUS WARE uses painting, installation and performance to explore social justice frameworks and black activist culture. His work has been shown widely, including in a solo show at Grunt Gallery, Vancouver (2068:Touch Change) and new work commissioned for the 2019 Toronto Biennial of Art and the Ryerson Image Centre (Antarctica and Ancestors, Do You Read Us? (Dispatches from the Future)) and in group shows at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Art Gallery of York University, the Art Gallery of Windsor and as part of the curated content at Nuit Blanche 2017 (The Stolen People; Wont Back Down). His performance works have been part of festivals across Canada, including at Cripping The Stage (Harbourfront Centre, 2016, 2019), Complex Social Change (University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, 2015) and Decolonizing and Decriminalizing Trans Genres (University of Winnipeg, 2015). // He is part of the PDA (Performance Disability Art) Collective and co-programmed Crip Your World: An Intergalactic Queer/POC Sick and Disabled Extravaganza as part of Mayworks 2014. Syrus' recent curatorial projects include That’s So Gay (Gladstone Hotel, 2016-2019), Re:Purpose (Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2014) and The Church Street Mural Project (Church-Wellesley Village, 2013). Syrus is also co-curator of The Cycle, a two-year disability arts performance initiative of the National Arts Centre. // Syrus is a core-team member of Black Lives Matter-Toronto. Syrus is a co-curator of Blackness Yes!/Blockorama. Syrus has won several awards, including the TD Diversity Award in 2017. Syrus was voted “Best Queer Activist” by NOW Magazine (2005) and was awarded the Steinert and Ferreiro Award (2012). Syrus is a facilitator/designer at the Banff Centre. Syrus is a PhD candidate at York University in the Faculty of Environmental Studies.LAUREN RUFFIN Lauren (she/her) is a thinker, designer, &amp; leader interested in building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems &amp; organizations. She's into exploring how we can leverage new technologies to combat racial and economic injustice. As part of this work, she frequently participates in conversations on circular economies, social impact financing, solidarity movements, and innovative, non-extractive financing mechanisms. Lauren is a co-founder of CRUX, an immersive storytelling cooperative that collaborates with Black artists as they create content in virtual reality and augmented reality (XR). Lauren is currently the interim Chief Marketing Officer of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), where she focuses on amplifying the stories and activism of the YBCA community. Prior to joining YBCA, Lauren was co-CEO of Fractured Atlas, the largest association of independent artists in the United States. In 2017, she started Artist Campaign School, a new educational program that has trained 74 artists to run for political office to date. She has served on the governing board of Black Girls Code and Main Street Phoenix Cooperative, and on the advisory boards of ArtUp and Black Girl Ventures. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science and obtained a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.

This conversation was recorded as part of Work Shouldn't Suck's Ethical Re-Opening Summit that took place on April 27, 2021.Coming off a year that has echoed sentiments of feeling out of control, leaders from across sectors and industries have questions about employment law, safety, and other areas impacting how we earn a living in the wake of COVID. Those in smaller organizations or independent contractors also struggle with keeping up to date with worker-related rights and legislation. Panelist Andrea Milano, special counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, brings attention to the importance of knowing the different standards and stringent guidelines which vary state-to-state, city-to-city. Progress begins with awareness. And once we independently see where we need help, and actually ask for it, the necessary resources can be found to guide businesses, small and large, on how to pivot.ANDREA MILANO focuses her practice on all aspects of employment litigation, counseling and traditional labor matters. She manages a diverse caseload of class, collective and representative actions, single plaintiff litigation, and traditional labor matters. She has significant experience drafting and arguing substantive motions, conducting discovery, and preparing for trial. Andrea regularly provides direct advice and counsel on a broad spectrum of labor and employment law matters, including conducting positive employee relations and sexual harassment avoidance trainings; investigating payroll and wage and hour audits; developing, drafting and revising handbooks and employment policies; and managing performance issues, terminations and reductions in force. While she has handled litigation and employment matters across many industries, her focus has been on technology, hospitality and health care.

This conversation was recorded as part of Work Shouldn't Suck's Ethical Re-Opening Summit that took place on April 27, 2021.This past year saw the environmental impacts of the workplace shift dramatically. For many, travel for work was completely erased, both commuting and related business travel. Conferences that traditionally attracted hundreds or thousands of in-person attendees shifted to online offerings. As we consider how to reopen our workplaces, how can we do that in intentional ways that center our impact on planet and people?Resources mentioned during session:Howlround’s Climate Change resourcesCarbon emissions calculator for streaming media“A Producer’s Guide to Measuring, Budgeting, and Lowering the Carbon Emissions of Livestreams and Video Conferences” by Vijay MathewLess is More: How Degrowth Will Save The World by Jason HickelKRISTA BRADLEY is Director of Programs and Resources at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), the national service organization for the performing arts presenting industry. At APAP she’s responsible for the professional development programming for the annual conference as well as year-round programs, leadership development initiatives, regranting programs and resources that advance the skills, knowledge and capabilities of APAP's membership. Prior to APAP, she was Executive and Artistic Director of BlackRock Center for the Arts, a nonprofit multidisciplinary arts center in Maryland, and Program Officer of Performing Arts for Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. She brings more than twenty years of experience working in the nonprofit, performing arts, and philanthropy sectors as a curator, funder, arts administrator and consultant for organizations such as the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, the Walker Arts Center, Houston Grand Opera and Opera America. Krista is also a practicing musician, a current member of the Thomas Circle Singers, a DC-based choral ensemble, and a former board member of APAP. She holds a B.A. degree in Literature and Society from Brown University.ALEXIS FRASZ is a researcher, writer, strategic thinker, program designer, and advisor to partners in culture, philanthropy, and the environmental sector working for transformative change and a just transition. She is a co-director of Helicon Collaborative and leads their work at the intersection of culture and the environment. Her perspective on systems change draws on her artistic practices and diverse background in anthropology, Chinese Medicine, permaculture, and Buddhism. She believes in the need to build solidarity between artists and culture and broader movements working for racial, ecological, and economic justice. Alexis also teaches on creative civic leadership for artists and non-artists, and is faculty for the cultural leadership program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and Julie’s Bicycle’s&nbsp;Creative Climate Leadership program. Her research on&nbsp;socially engaged artistic practice&nbsp;has informed artist training curriculums and philanthropic programs worldwide. She is actively engaged in Helicon’s ongoing work to address&nbsp;inequities&nbsp;in cultural philanthropy. Alexis graduated Summa cum Laude from Princeton University with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and has pursued Master’s level study in Chinese Medicine.&nbsp; She is an advisor of the&nbsp;Public Bank East Bay, the&nbsp;Headlands Center for the Arts,&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Artist’s Literacy’s Institute. She lives in Oakland, where she spends as much time as possible in her garden.VIJAY MATHEW is the Cultural Strategist and a co-founder of HowlRound Theatre Commons, based at Emerson College, Boston, USA and is privileged to assist a talented team by leading HowlRound's development of commons-based online knowledge sharing platforms and the organization's notions of cultural innovation. Prior to his current position, he was the Coordinator for the National Endowment for the Arts (USA) New Play Development Program, as well as a Theater Communication Group (USA) New Generations Future Leader grant recipient in new work at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Vijay has a MFA from New School University, New York, a BA from University of Chicago, and an artistic background as an ensemble-based filmmaker and theatremaker. He is a board member of Double Edge Theatre located in rural Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA.ERIN WOODS offers the enterprise equivalent of creative production, bridging strategy and execution for projects and organizations. Her work is focused on transformational, purposeful learning, sustainable travel and tourism, and arts, culture and community. She has an undergraduate degree in theatre from Colorado College, a Master’s in Communication from the University of Denver, and has participated in such systems-shifting programs as Getting to Maybe and Creative Climate Leadership. Whether on stage or backstage (though now mostly from the balcony), live theatre will always have her heart.

This conversation was recorded as part of Work Shouldn't Suck's Ethical Re-Opening Summit that took place on April 27, 2021.How can we and our organizations acknowledge and support the well-being of everyone as we continue to live and work through a global pandemic?Resources mentioned during session:Project Include’s Remote Work Report &amp; Executive Summary“What Does It Mean to Be a Manager Today?” by Brian Kropp, Alexia Cambon, and Sara Clark via Harvard Business Review“Measuring Loss: The Inequities in Remembrance” by Sophia Park“Prioritizing wellbeing in 2020” by Joann Lee Wagner“Working While Grieving” Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast EP03“My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies” by Resmaa Menakem“Remote work since Covid-19 is exacerbating harm: What companies need to know and do” by Project IncludeThe Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.“The Han Flowing Through My Veins” by Sophia Park via Womanly“How to Keep Your Cool in High-Stress Situations” by Robert E. Quinn, David P. Fessell, and Stephen W. Porges via Harvard Business ReviewSHANNON LITZENBERGER is an award winning dance artist, embodiment facilitator and experienced cultural leader working at the intersection of art, ideas and transformational change. As a dancer, performance maker and director, her work explores our relationship to land, the politics of belonging, and the forgotten wisdom of the body. She has been an invited resident artist at Soulpepper Theatre, Toronto Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, Atlantic Ballet Theatre, Banff Centre, and the Gros Morne Summer Music Festival. She collaborates frequently with the Dark by Five Inter-arts ensemble and the Wind in the Leaves Collective. As a skilled freelance strategist, programmer, leadership developer, policy thinker and embodiment facilitator, she works with leading organizations in the arts, academia and the corporate sector. She is currently a faculty member at Banff Centre’s Cultural Leadership Program; a Program Associate with the Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) working on issues of equity, inclusion and pluralism; a guest facilitator of embodied practice at the Ivey Business School; a Trudeau Foundation Mentor; and a Chalmers Fellow, exploring the application of embodied practice in leadership development and transformative change processes.SOPHIA PARK (she/her) is a writer, independent curator, and general art person currently working out of Lenapehoking (Brooklyn, NY) and Gumi, South Korea. She studied neuroscience at Oberlin College, and will be a MA candidate at the School of Visual Arts in curatorial practice starting fall 2021. She’s worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and currently works at Fractured Atlas. She co-founded and helps run Jip Gallery, an apartment gallery turned curatorial collective, with fellow curators and friends. You can find her writing in numerous publications including Womanly Mag, Strata Mag, Monument Lab’s Bulletin, and more. She spends her time thinking and researching ideas around collective memory, migration, digital space, and Asia-futurism. She also loves to dance salsa, learn languages, and run longer than normal distances.DIANE RAGSDALE is a speaker, writer, researcher, lecturer, and advisor on a range of arts and culture topics. She is currently serving as Director of the Cultural Leadership Program at Banff Centre for Arts &amp; Creativity and is adjunct faculty at Yale University where she teaches an annual workshop series on Aesthetic Values in a Changed Cultural Context for the Theater Management MFA. Among other roles, Diane previously built an MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship for performance-based artists at The New School in Manhattan; served as a program officer for theater and dance at The Mellon Foundation; was managing director of the contemporary performing arts center, On the Boards; and ran a music festival in the beautiful North Idaho town of Sandpoint. Diane is currently a doctoral candidate at Erasmus University, Rotterdam; she holds an MFA in Acting &amp; Directing from University of Missouri - Kansas City and a BS in Psychology and BFA in Theater from Tulane University. She writes the blog, Jumper which is published on ArtsJournal.com and she recently penned the essay, “To What End Permanence?” for the 2019 Haymarket published book, A Moment on the Clock of the World. JOANN LEE WAGNER is Vice President of People Operations of Common Future. She is a program generalist and a people and culture specialist. When it comes to people and project management, Joann is on point. Her most memorable work wins end with people getting promoted or aligning themselves with the work that they’re most passionate about. She’s experienced at writing, communications, and running events for an audience of 5-500. She knows how to ask the right questions to facilitate a process, a conversation, or an individual’s growth. She likes to check things off the list and loves having fun while doing it.&nbsp;Her experience has been eclectic and linear. In a career spanning 15 years, she’s worked in small businesses, corporations, agencies, and nonprofits. She’s worked on suicide prevention, corporate social responsibility, employee engagement, leadership development, and organizational management. She holds official degrees in Cognitive Science, Environmental Management and Sustainability and unofficial degrees in yarn collecting, matriarch-ing, and whiskey drinking.&nbsp;

This conversation was recorded as part of Work Shouldn't Suck's Ethical Re-Opening Summit that took place on April 27, 2021.This unprecedented time has become a time of learning (and relearning) for many. But what is the process for turning knowledge into action in and out of our organizations? Thinking about organizational anti-racism work begins with a clear understanding of what “the work” is. Task forces, caucuses, book clubs, consultants? So many options. Our guests discuss different approaches to doing "the work" in our organizations.Resources mentioned during episode:Change.org’s Reflect &amp; Reset“What Does It Mean When We Say Doing ‘The Work’?” by Nina Berman“Working Apart So We Can Work Together” by Courtney Harge &amp; Tiffany Wilhelm“Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism” by Nina Berman &amp; Nicola CarpenterThe Nap Ministry on InstagramartEquity &amp; Carmen MorganFractured Atlas’s negative interactions documentANSA EDIM (she/her) is the Vice President and Chair of the Staff Board at Change.org and sits on Change.org's C-team. With over a decade of experience in brand, marketing, and communications, Ansa is a proud member of Change.org’s Black community resource group, Change.Noire. Before joining Change.org, Ansa spent several years working in tech, government consulting, non-profit, and education industries and most recently ran her own brand consulting firm, working specifically with elderly-, women-, and minority-owned businesses. Ansa lives in Washington, D.C. with her two boxers, Big Mac and Kiss, and spends her time enjoying the city, traveling, and lifting heavy things.COURTNEY HARGE (she/her) is a producer, director, and professional arts administrator originally from Saginaw, MI. She is the CEO of Of/By/For All, and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Colloquy Collective, a theater company based out of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. She has worked for the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center, Theater for the New City, The Public Theater, Gibney Dance, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and, most recently, Fractured Atlas where she led the design and implementation of anti-racist practices, like race-based caucusing and an equity-informed customer service strategy. She holds a Masters of Professional Studies, with Distinction, in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute and a Bachelors of Fine Arts with Honors from the University of Michigan in Theater Performance. Her credo (#HustlingKeepsYouSexy) is not merely a hashtag; it’s a way of life.TIFFANY WILHELM (she/they) is a Program Officer at the Opportunity Fund in Pittsburgh, a foundation that supports the arts and social &amp; economic justice. Previously, she was Deputy Director of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council where she raised funds, oversaw programming, and co-led initiatives on accessibility for people with disabilities and racial equity. Tiffany has been involved with several collectives focused on educating and organizing for racial justice, both in Pittsburgh and in the national arts field. Prior to Pittsburgh, she was Executive Director of the Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum and taught in an undergraduate arts management program. Tiffany is a facilitator for artEquity and Farsight, and previously facilitated with Keryl McCord’s Equity Quotient and the Fractured Atlas white caucus.

Three members of the Toronto-based company Generator discuss their approach to inclusive hiring practices as recently demonstrated during their call for new organizational leadership. While the search has concluded with their recent appointment, you can still check out the archived position posting here. Two consultants mentioned during the episode include: Zainab Amadahy and Angela Sun.SEDINA FIATI is a Toronto based performer, producer, director, creator and activist for stage and screen. Proudly Black and queer, Sedina is deeply invested in artistic work that explores the intersection between art and activism, either in form or structure or ideally both. Sedina is currently Artist-Activist in Residence at Nightwood Theatre and proud founding member of the Black Pledge Collective. Sedina was the co-chair of ACTRA Toronto’s Diversity Committee and 2nd VP of council for Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Sedina has worked with Generator since 2018, focusing on providing mentorship, program development and coordination for the Artist Producer Training Program. Upcoming projects: Switching Queen(s) (devised street performance), Last Dance (a web series).KRISTINA LEMIEUX (she/her) is an accomplished arts manager with more than 20 years of professional experience. She is also a contemporary dancer. Raised in Treaty 6 territory (rural Alberta), Kristina lived in Edmonton, attending the University of Alberta, for 10 years before heading to Vancouver where her passion for the arts has driven collaboration, creation, and innovation in the Vancouver arts scene for over a decade. After working with Generator in a freelance capacity for several years, Kristina made the move to Toronto in January 2017 to take on the role of Lead Producer of Generator. Kristina has worked with many of Vancouver's leading art organizations: Brief Encounters, Arts Umbrella, New Works, Out On Screen (Queer Film Festival), Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration, PTC Playwrights Theatre Centre, Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists/West Chapter (CADA/West), Tara Cheyenne Performance, Made in BC - Dance on Tour, Theatre Replacement, Progress Lab 1422, The Post at 750 (110 Arts Cooperative), Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF), Up in the Air Theatre (rEvolver Festival), Music on Main, and Vancouver Art Gallery. She co-founded Polymer Dance, a group dedicated to bringing dance experiences to non-professional dancers. Kristina remains tied to Vancouver through her project Scaffold, a coaching and skill development service designed to support performing artists and groups. She is the co-founder and Creative Producer of F-O-R-M (Festival of Recorded Movement) and works frequently with the Dancers of Damelahamid and Coastal Dance Festival. Kristina is passionate about generating dialogue in the arts and, to this end, earned a certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement from Simon Fraser University. In all that she does she works to support independent artists across performing disciplines in finding ways to make art outside of the currently prescribed modes.TED WITZEL (he/him) is a queer theatre-maker and arts leader based in toronto / tkaròn:to. primarily a director, ted is also variously a dramaturg, curator, teacher, writer, translator, designer, and performer. he has worked in theatres in vancouver, montreal, stratford, ottawa, london, berlin, milan, palermo, stuttgart, ingolstadt, baden-baden and bad hersfeld. ted is currently the artistic associate for the stratford festival lab, overseeing the company’s research and development programs. these include a broad portfolio of new works in development, systems-change initiatives, creative residencies, and a collection of artistic explorations and programs that aim to help imagine the future orientation of the company. in 2018, he was selected as an artistic leadership resident at the national theatre school, and was a member of the banff centre’s 2019 cultural leadership cohort. ted was in the inaugural cohort of the york university/canadian stage MFA in directing, and has been artist-in-residence at harbourfront centre, buddies in bad times (toronto) and institut für alles mögliche (berlin). ted also runs an independent theatre collective called the red light district and is the board chair at generator performance. recent directing credits include: susanna fournier’s what happens to you happens to me (canadian stage), elizabeth rex (theatre@york), the scavenger’s daughter (buddies/paradigm) and LULU v.7 // aspects of a femme fatale (buddies/red light district).

Courtney Harge (CEO, OF/BY/FOR ALL) and Nicola Carpenter (Director of People Operations, Fractured Atlas) sit down with Tim Cynova to answer the 30 questions they most frequently receive when speaking with individuals and organizations about race-based caucusing in the workplace.Want to learn more? Join them for their brand new course "Race-Based Caucusing in the Workplace: The Why &amp; How" taking place in October 2021. To find out more visit: https://www.workshouldntsuck.co/courses2/caucusingWhat is anti-racism, anti-oppression work, and in particular, anti-racism, anti-oppression work in the workplace?What does accountability look like for anti-racism, anti-oppression work in the workplace?What is race-based caucusing?Is a caucus, an affinity group, and an Employee Resource Group the same thing?Why should companies provide space for caucusing in the workplace?Who should be caucusing?Why would someone be a part of a caucus?What do companies need to do before they introduce race-based caucusing in the workplace?What do employees need to do before they start caucusing?How do people determine which caucus to attend?How do you get people to attend race-based caucusing if it’s not mandatory?How often do caucuses meet?Is there an ideal number of people to be in a caucusWhat happens DURING the caucus? How are they structured?What happens AFTER a caucus meeting?Who is responsible for managing the caucus process?Do you need a facilitator to get caucusing started? Or to keep caucusing going?Can’t we just all be in the same room to talk about this? How is this supposed to help address racism and oppression if it’s just white people talking in a room together?Won’t caucusing lead to further division or segregation? Doesn’t this just amplify racism?If caucusing is working separately, when do we all come together to talk?What are the people of color saying about us white people when they caucus? It doesn’t seem fair that they don’t also have to report to the white people about what they talk about?Can we also caucus by gender identity, sexual orientation, and class?What does it mean to have these conversations in the workplace?What if [the organization’s leadership, board of directors, etc.] doesn’t want to caucus, either themselves or for the organization to offer it?How is the purpose of a caucus different for privileged and oppressor identities versus marginalized and oppressed identities?What are common reasons people of color may be reluctant to join affinity spaces?What are common reasons white people may be reluctant to join affinity spaces?How long do you need to caucus? When are you done?NICOLA CARPENTER works on the People team at Fractured Atlas, where she finds ways for tools and processes to better align with the organization’s purpose. She believes in tools so much that she sets personal OKRs every quarter. Prior to joining Fractured Atlas, Nicola worked for a variety of arts organizations including MoMA PS1, Walker Art Center, and Heidelberger Kunstverein, and she still has a particular love for museums. Originally from Minneapolis, she received a BFA in Art from the University of Minnesota and continues to stay creative through knitting and sewing clothes. She is currently in too many book clubs, but still somehow finds time to read books about organizational culture for fun. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter at @colacarp.COURTNEY HARGE&nbsp;is an arts administrator, director, and writer originally from Saginaw, MI who has been working in the service of artists for the last fifteen years. She is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of Colloquy Collective, an emerging theater company in Brooklyn, NY.&nbsp;Courtney&nbsp;is also a proud member of Women of Color in the Arts, and a 2016 alum of both APAP’s Emerging Leaders Institute and artEquity’s Facilitator Training. She holds a Masters of Professional Studies, with Distinction, in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute. You can find more information about her at&nbsp;www.courtneyharge.com and find her on Instagram and Twitter at @Arts_Courtney.&nbsp;Her credo (#HustlingKeepsYouSexy) is not merely a hashtag; it’s a way of life.