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After celebrating my two-year business anniversary in June, today is my one-year anniversary of podcasting!

Since I launched my conversation with resilient refugee Olive Bukuru Kabura, I have been honored to interview 14 people who are Black, 9 Asian or Middle Eastern, 3 Latino/Hispanic, 5 non-Christian, 13 LBGTQIA+, 42 women, 3 in recovery, 13 immigrants, 4 with a disability, 6 from outside the U.S., and 42 women on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast. I’ve interviewed seven men, only one of whom is white.

On my new Companies That Care podcast, launched on Earth Day, I have a bit of rebalancing to do. So far I’ve interviewed 3 people who are Black, 2 Asian, 1 Latino/Hispanic, 2 outside of the U.S., 3 immigrants, 14 women, and 3 men. Because I believe in transparency, I’m reporting these numbers to share my commitment to interviewing more people of color in the coming months. Because this podcast is focused on business, I’m not always aware of people’s sexual orientation, disabilities, or ethnic or religious backgrounds.

Since I started podcasting, I’ve been committed to providing a place for historically excluded people to share their grit and resilience stories. I’ve started using the phrase “historically excluded” instead of “under-represented” or “marginalized,” because it puts the onus on the reason why these people do not always have a place at the table.

In my year of podcasting, this is what I’ve learned:

  • Podcasting has helped me refine my purpose in life: to inspire and uplift people and help them share their stories.

  • I’ve always loved reading, listening to, and watching stories about inspiring lives that are different than mine. Now I get to actually tease out these stories in real time and get inspired by real conversations.

  • Podcasting has broadened my world. I have met more fascinating people in the last year, from all walks of life and all over the world, than I ever could have imagined.

  • It’s also given me opportunities to connect like-minded people. I am thrilled when my guests connect with each other!

  • People who have endured a lot in their life (possessing grit and resilience) often create companies that care! I’m finding natural crossovers!

  • I’ve learned that I’m fascinated by what makes people resilient, and my research skills are serving me well. (One of my signature strengths is “input.”) I’ve been told I’m a great interviewer. Who knew, since I certainly wasn’t trained to do this.

  • These interviews are my legacy. I know I have a book in me one of these days, but if that doesn’t happen, I am leaving these interviews behind for posterity.

  • I am giving people free marketing through my podcasting. I love to help my guests realize their value and contributions to the world, and for others to be inspired by what they have overcome or accomplished.

Trying to convince people to get vaccinated

For the past two months I’ve been working onsite at Clackamas County, helping with their COVID-19 communications. It’s been an education to work in the public sector after a lifetime in the corporate world.

Clackamas County is highly diverse in terms of the urban and rural divide. It contains some of Oregon’s most prosperous, affluent areas (Lake Oswego, West Linn, Wilsonville) and some of its poorest and least educated. It also has a high Latino population because of the region’s farming sector.

I have been writing a weekly “Three Things to Know about COVID-19” newsletter and getting it translated into Spanish, helping update their website, developing social media, writing press releases, producing flyers, and helping with other various communications.

I’ve been impressed with the incredible commitment of the county’s staff, who are doing everything they can to convince a wary public to get vaccinated. It’s been a wonderful education for me to learn about government and the way things operate behind the scenes. I have a renewed appreciation for civil servants.

You know who needs to read this.

"There are no jobs available."

"Why did I go to college anyway?"

"I hope he/she uses his/her major."

"You have to get a job so you can get off our insurance!"

Any of these sound familiar? Last year I wrote a message to graduating college students, with an equally important message to their parents. Please share it with anyone who could benefit from reading it.

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The Companies That Care podcast featured two more powerhouse women: executive chef of Mother’s Bistro & Bar, Lisa Schroeder (“Portland’s Jewish mother of Mother’s”), who also has a few grit & resilience stories, and Wendy Horng Brawer, cofounder and chief of learning & innovation at Intune Collective. Both of them are working to create cultures of caring in their industries and with their customers and clients.

On my Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interviewed Melissa Pierce, whose life was upended when her beloved husband died in the middle of the night and she suddenly became a single mom to their two recently adopted sons, and Amira Stanley, who is a Black queer woman living in a racist city, Salem, Oregon. She has recently found her voice as an anti-racist and community activist.

Treasures for laughter and inspiration

I’ll leave you with a few recommendations that are occupying some of my time lately:

Ted Lasso, a wacky but heartwarming story about a folksy American football coach who’s recruited to transform a British football (soccer) team in London. Since my hubby is British and I’m American, we have been amused. It’s on Apple TV.

And three books by Black women that have had a huge impact on me in 2021:

  • The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love, by Sonya Renee Taylor

  • Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation, by Anna Malaika Tubbs

  • Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, by Brittney Cooper

Contact me for more information about how to communicate effectively in the workplace. With over 30 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry, I am passionate about sustainability and corporate citizenship, equity & inclusion, businesses that use their power for good, and doing everything I can to create a kinder, more sustainable, and just world.

Fertile Ground Communications LLC is a certified women-owned business enterprise, disadvantaged business enterprise, and emerging small business.

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