It's often intriguing to me that in my personal and professional lives I have talked about and shared information like this and graphics like this way more than I feel I should have to. The normalization and casual integration of racism, White supremacy, and White privilege affect me personally as a person of color but also professionally as an HR professional who works very hard to make sure hiring practices, management practices, and work cultures are devoid of this pyramid and its building blocks. You cannot imagine how many interactions with directors and hiring managers are rife with indifference and minimization or how integrated veiled racism is in the work culture and fabric of higher ed. It's daunting...but I've never been one to lay down. I'll keep sharing this info and educating and checking people and their supremacy personally and professionally because without challenge there is no change.

I spent this past Saturday morning representing Reed College at BEAM’s 6th Annual Black Student Success Summit at Portland State University. Equity, equality, inclusion, community, and opportunity don’t take weekends off and neither do I.

This Week's Featured Guest on Kornercast!

Many of you may not know this about me (but you probably do now because you’re on this website) but outside of my work in human resources and equity and inclusion I am a big ol' comic geek and pop culture nerd! I make comics, talk about comics, live a life immersed in pop culture, and own way too many action figures for a man my age to own. So I was honored when Khalil Quotap of Kaster's Korner asked me to be on this week's episode of Kornercast! Khalil and I talk race, gender identity, reading and creating comics, and artist alley. It's a hoot! Click here or on the image below to listen!

The #1 advice I can give to folx wanting to pursue a career in Human Resources is that if you are unable to empathize with folx - even racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/xenophobic folx - you probably shouldn’t pursue a career in Human Resources. This work is about humans first and empathy is paramount even against ignorance, hate, misinformation, naïveté, and ingrained societal and cultural behaviors.

Portland Hiring Trends 2019: How to Land Meaningful Work in Nonprofits Panel!

Last Thursday night, March 28, I had the pleasure and honor to be a part of the expert panel for the first of three networking and informational events that make up Mac's List's Portland Hiring Trends 2019 networking series. I am proud to have been a part of, and help to coordinate, the How to Land Meaningful Work in Nonprofits event at Reed College. I also feel so privileged to have been on a such a powerhouse panel as the one I was a part of Cinthia Manuel of Portland Leadership Foundation, Crystal Jackson of Meyer Memorial Trust, and Meghan Prichard of Mercy Corps.

I'd like to thank Mac's List for having me and my fellow panelists for offering their insight, experience, and empathy to a packed house of 125 attendees. I'd also like to thank all of you who attended and connected with me after the event. Let's keep the conversation and empathy flowing!