1: Getting Honest + Dead Squirrels + Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Dr. Tiffany Jana, CEO of TMI Portfolio

In today’s show, we talk a bit about our vision for the Arc Benders podcast and the community we hope to create. We also interview Dr. Tiffany Jana, the founder and CEO of TMI Portfolio, a collection of socially responsible and interconnected companies working to advance more culturally inclusive and equitable workforces.

“Understand what you value and understand what you’re willing to do to protect that integrity. I left multiple jobs while I had to support children because people expected me to do things that I considered to be unethical. And I chose to live on ramen and chose to suffer a little bit — even with two children in tow — rather than compromise my integrity and what I believe to be right and true… That’s what attracted me to the B Corp movement. Measuring that integrity and measuring ‘what is the impact we want to have on the world.’ So I would say know who you are and don’t ever apologize for that.”
– Dr. Tiffany Jana

Here are some of the highlights discussed on the show:
* We want Arc Benders to get you inspired & also get super honest about reality, which might be a bit tricky. We also know the last thing you need is another boring podcast or another reason to feel depressed, so we’re going to focus on ways to make actionable change.
* We’re going to have a theme for each season that ties each show together, and for Season 1 the theme is how to design a life with purpose.
* Alisa shares why dead squirrels led to her not being able to do this interview & why this is relevant to social impact work.

Dr. Jana talks about:
* Why diversity & inclusion are good for business
* What to do if you’re facing bias, sexism, racism, or prejudice
* How to build a grassroots movement in your company to improve diversity & inclusion
* If you or your leadership team want to improve diversity & inclusion, where you should start
* How to avoid tokenism
* Owning a job vs. building a business
* The importance of self-care and integrity

Links mentioned in this episode:
* Video of Tiffany Jana’s B Inspired talk
* More information on B Corporations
* Tiffany Jana on Twitter
* TMI Portfolio Website

Dr. Jana’s books on Amazon:
* Erasing Institutional Bias: How to Create Systemic Change for Organizational Inclusion (2018)
* Overcoming Bias: Building Authentic Relationships across Differences (2016)

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Closed Captioning for this episode is available on YouTube.

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Music Credit: Ryan Levin