Episode 122: I am not a unicorn: a Black man's experiences in America -- with Kevin M. Yates
Beyond 6 Seconds: Neurodiversity stories from neurodivergent people
02/15/21
•39m
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Kevin M. Yates is a learning & development leader with a career spanning 20+ years, a sought-after expert in the field of learning measurement, a global public speaker and e-book author... and as a Black man living and working in the U.S., he sometimes feels he is mistakenly seen as a "unicorn."
On this episode, Kevin talks about what he means by "unicorn" and how it relates to his experiences as a Black man living and working in the United States. He speaks candidly about the impact of race in his professional and personal life. We also talk about how the racial and social justice movements of 2020 have further inspired Kevin to live in authenticity by being transparent about his whole self and experiences, because as he puts it, "living in duality is too much work."
Find out more about Kevin on his website, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and on YouTube.
Get your free copy of Kevin's e-book, "L&D Detective Kit for Solving Impact Mysteries©"
Previous Episode
Episode 121: Don't believe everything you think – with Elaine Montilla
February 1, 2021
•31m
Elaine Montilla is an accomplished senior executive who has been an IT leader in higher education for two decades. As an immigrant, Latina, lesbian woman, Elaine has overcome many challenges to build her successful IT career. She is currently Chief Information Officer and Assistant Vice President for Information Technology at The City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, a Forbes Technology Council member and contributor, and an AMA Women's Leadership Center presenter.
Elaine is also a TEDx speaker and the founder of 5xminority.com, a company and social media brand dedicated to empowering women and minorities, especially in tech, with a mission to demonstrate how businesses can be powerful platforms for social change.
During this episode, you will hear Elaine talk about:
- What inspired her to start 5xminority.com
- Her story of moving from the Dominican Republic to New York and discovering her interest in IT while attending college, where she learned English and programming language at the same time
- How her first job working in a restaurant kickstarted her IT career
- The obstacles she overcome to build a successful IT career in the US as an immigrant, female, Latina, lesbian human being... and how she battled imposter syndrome while advancing in her career
- Why you can't believe everything you think, and how challenging your own thoughts is critical to overcoming imposter syndrome and unconscious bias
- How important it is for your career development to "be comfortable being uncomfortable" and have difficult conversations
- Why it is important for leaders to admit their mistakes and to be vulnerable
Learn more about Elaine and her work at 5xminority.com and on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Watch Elaine's TEDx talk: The Value of Mentoring Women and Minorities in Tech
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
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If your employees spent their workdays engrossed in colorful LEGO® bricks, what would you think?
If you're David Kokai, you'd probably think that business is good!
David founded a company devoted to the LEGO® secondary market when he left the corporate world to start WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD (WLWYB), a LEGO® parts dealer. WLWYB operates their breakthrough platform, MOCHUB, which allows LEGO® builders to share their work and make money with their creations.
WLWYB is a neurodiverse workplace that employs autistic people in key parts of their business, and recognizes that the diversity within their teams makes their company stronger.
During this episode, David and Lili talk about:
- How David's interest in data science inspired him to start a LEGO®-focused business
- Why they decided to create a neurodiverse and autism-friendly work environment at their company
- How they recruit and employ autistic people in key parts of their business and build a work environment that is safe, effective and a great place to grow for all of their employees
- How they adjusted their business operations during the pandemic lockdown with almost no interruptions in orders
- Advice for people who want to start their dream company
To find out more about WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD, visit their official website wlwyb.com and connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also contact David and Lili through the contact us page on the WLWYB website.
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
Click here for the episode transcript.
More about David Kokai, Founder of WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD (WLWYB):
David Kokai is the founder of WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD (WLWYB). He studied economics at the Corvinus University of Budapest (former University of Economics Budapest) and graduated from the University of Vienna.
He had been working in the IT sector at leading multinational companies for more than a decade in several managing roles based in Budapest and Vienna. After getting acquainted with the secondary market for LEGO® in 2010, he opened a LEGO® parts dealership called WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD (WLWYB). WLWYB's business innovation is that it has placed its operations in this segment in a unique way in the world based on strong data science, supporting key enterprise functions with a comprehensive, custom-developed business intelligence system; such as purchasing, inventory management, and pricing.
As a result of many years of systematic building, in addition to its position in the secondary market of LEGO®, WLWYB opened the world's first marketplace in 2018 specializing in bespoke LEGO® creations, called MOCHUB. MOCHUB provides an opportunity for emerging and professional LEGO® builders to receive a royalty from the sale of the models they design. MOCHUB sold many thousands of bespoke LEGO® kits around the world in its first year of operation. After several years of work, the company became an autism friendly workplace in 2019.
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