In the final episode of Race At Work Season 3, Porter chats with Michelle Gadsden-Williams, Managing Director & Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at BlackRock. They discuss the costly mistakes companies make when it comes to retaining employees of color and the milestones that indicate successful DEI initiatives. BlackRock recently released its impact report and launched a 1 billion dollar fund to invest in businesses and projects owned, led by, or serving people of color. Michelle is also an author. Her most recent book, out now, is titled “Driven by Intention: Own Your Purp ..read more

In this episode, Porter chats with Deb Liu, CEO of Ancestry. They talk about why diverse teams in tech build better products - from design all the way through the review process, it all matters. And when it comes to talking about race at work, Deb thinks pretending it doesn’t affect the workplace only alienates your employees. Deb’s book “Take Back Your Power” is all about lessons from tech, leadership, and motherhood. It will be out Fall 2022 ..read more

In this episode, Porter chats with Tom Naratil, Co-President Global Wealth Management and President Americas at UBS. They discuss why for leaders, it’s not enough to just be supportive of diversity, equity and inclusion at your company, but you must be committed. Tom also talks about why empathy is an important skill for a leader to develop - he believes the more you work at it, the better you get ..read more

In this episode, Porter chats with Erika Irish Brown, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer and Global Head of Talent at Citi. They discuss the elements needed for a DEI leader to thrive - like support from the top and having the human capital as well as budget resources - and how data can help stakeholders understand why DEI isn’t a “nice to have”, but an important business case ..read more

In this episode, Porter chats with Jason Mayden, CEO of Trillicon Valley, a modern design collective. They discuss the record-setting projects he worked on at Nike, why he left a dream job to build Superheroic, and why the impact he aims to have with Trillicon is meant to be multigenerational. Jason’s forthcoming book “A Kids Book About Design” comes out this May.  ..read more

This episode is the second and final part of Porter's conversation with Ryan Williams, co-founder of Jopwell. They share personal stories from the Jopwell journey, like a rejection from TechStars that led to a yes from Y Combinator, what it means to be Black founders in the tech space and the challenges they face when it comes to leading a diverse company ..read more

This episode is part one of Porter's chat with Ryan Williams, co-founder of Jopwell. They talk about the origin story of how they met, what it was like working in finance as young Black men, and how their professional experiences led them to believe Jopwell was a much-needed platform.     ..read more

In this episode, Porter chats with David Stiepleman, Co-President, and Co-Founder of the global investment firm Sixth Street. They talk about the reasons for the lack of funding for diverse founders. They also discuss why Sixth Street’s summer fellowship program is critical in their approach to diversifying their internal team and the private capital industry more broadly. Porter and David also discuss why it’s the responsibility of both the company and the broader industry to create spaces for employees to talk about race at work ..read more

In this episode, Porter chats with Kwasi Mitchell, Chief Purpose Officer at Deloitte. They discuss why Kwasi’s role is crucial in creating frameworks for organizational purpose, which is the greater mission that helps companies Deloitte serves and its employees find purpose in their daily work. They also talk about creating pathways of success for employees and why it’s a passion for Kwasi ..read more

In this episode, Porter speaks with Dr. Paula A. Johnson, the 14th President of Wellesley College. They talk about how classrooms need to be set up for discussions when it comes to highly charged topics amongst a diverse student body, why simple changes to job description wording can improve corporate recruitment on campus, and how COVID showed that living on campus is an equalizer for students. As a physician-scientist, Paula made a significant impact through her clinical and research work. Before joining Wellesley in 2016, she was a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard.  ..read more