The Jali, host Melyssa Barrett

The Jali - Ep 24: Breaking Barriers

Rochelle Holoman is a program manager with the Diversity & Inclusion team at Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation's largest electric utilities and a Fortune 250 company. She is responsible for leading the company's 12 Business Resource Groups (BRGs). Rochelle joins the podcast to discuss why her company uses the term Business Resource Group rather than Employee Resource Group, shares how the BRGs conduct community outreach programs to bring about awareness, and explains how to modify our structural barriers and biases to remedy challenges in the workplace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep 23: Amplifying the Zambian Voice

Aerospace engineer and author, Mukuka Chipanta joins the podcast to discuss the beneficial effects diversity has on the field of aerospace engineering, reveals the significance of his novels and their connection to Zambia, and explains what we can learn by embodying the “Zambian Voice.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep 22: Advocating for Diversity

Associate Professor and Director of Faculty Diversity and Retention at Old Dominion University, Dr. Narketta Sparkman-Key joins the podcast to discuss her position as she promotes diversity and inclusion amongst academic personnel. She explains the importance of faculty retention, methods used to confront biases within the departments, and shares what motivated her to create a podcast centered around the issues that impact the Black Community.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep 21: Journey to Unconscious Competence

Dr. Helen Turnbull talks about immutable and permeable forces, how to manage our biases, explains how unconscious competence leads to genuine inclusivity, and discusses the “imposter syndrome” and its effect on internalized oppression. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep 20: Teaching Social Justice

Chairing of the department of History and Social Justice Studies at San Joaquin Delta College, Evan Wade joins the podcast to share what it is like to teach social justice in a classroom during today’s social climate, discusses institutional racism and the student movements that followed in response, and explains the steps needed to take when striving to achieve inclusivity within education and business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep: 19 Practicing Unity

On this week’s epsiode, join Melyssa as she discusses what it means to live by Umoja(Unity). She explains how this principle can be practiced to promote unity in your personal and professional lives, and how its message reconnects with Pan-African roots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep 18: Designing With Empathy

Dr. Dee Miller joins the podcast to discuss inclusivity in product design. Dr. Miller explains why empathy is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to inclusive design and the approach taken to overcome, shares strategies to uncover unconscious biases, and what users should keep in mind when it comes to consumer biases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep 17: Defining Yourself

Happy Black History Month! This week’s episode highlights the second principle of Kwanzaa, Kujichagulia. Melyssa discusses the importance of this principle and its influence on defining yourself, explains how Kujichagulia can be practiced every day, and how to begin to observe its message. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep 16: Encouraging Equity

Akita Somani explains the “culture” within the financial services and payments career, shares how companies in London have reformed to create a more inclusive atmosphere, explains integrated inclusive practices that businesses can use, and discusses how virtual accommodations, due to the global pandemic, have impacted the outreach of diversity and inclusion.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jali - Ep 15: Lead Through Inspiration

Jill Long explains why she decided to pursue a career in diversity and inclusion in addition to her career as a lawyer, gives examples of best practices that organizations can exercise to create real systematic changes, explains why people of all backgrounds can be a part of the solution and how to go about getting involved, and discusses what the future may hold for the profession of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices