What happens when a former White House policy nerd realizes the real work of culture change isn't in politics? Let's find out!

In this episode, we chat with Rhodes Perry, social entrepreneur, author of Imagine Belonging, and founder of Rhodes Perry Consulting, for a thoughtful, grounding conversation about what it takes to build belonging at work when the ground keeps shifting under all of us.

We dig into why the epidemic of loneliness at work is a business risk most leaders aren't tracking, why Rhodes welcomes diversity of thought but draws a hard line at diversity of respect, how somatic leadership and nervous system regulation are becoming essential skills for leading through chaos, and what it means to support trans, non-binary, and gender diverse colleagues when just existing feels targeted. Rhodes also shares how burnout cracked him open five years into building his company, why he made unapologetic trans joy a personal commitment, and why the leaders we've been underestimating the longest are the ones this moment is calling for.

It's one of those conversations where we left feeling steadier and a little more hopeful, and we think you will too!

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Episode Preview
01:50 - Felicia and Rachel Intro
11:57 - Welcome, Rhodes!
13:09 - The Epidemic of Loneliness at Work
15:38 - From the White House to Founding Rhodes Perry Consulting
18:35 - Why Belonging? The Heart Behind DEI
23:54 - Diversity of Thought vs Diversity of Respect
27:51 - Somatic Leadership and Regulating the Nervous System
33:34 - Why Getting Into the Body Feels Hard
38:54 - The Sludge of Transformation
43:36 - Does the DEI Industry Still Have a Place?
47:22 - What This Work Really Asks of Leaders
50:51 - Supporting Trans, Non-Binary, and Gender Diverse Communities
59:53 - The Future of Work and the Rise of Minority Leadership
64:04 - Rhodes's New Book, Out This Fall
64:56 - Closing Thoughts & Where to Find Rhodes

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

What happens when one of HR's most seasoned leaders gets fed up with broken systems and decides to build new ones? Let’s find out! In this episode, we sit down with Kristy McCann, multi-time founder, CEO, and HR powerhouse, for a wide-ranging, energizing conversation about the real state of the future of work.

We dig into why change management is ultimately just project management (and why most leaders are failing at it), the growing ethics and efficacy crisis around AI adoption in the workplace, what's gone wrong with SHRM as a certifying body, and why consumer power might be the most underutilized lever we have right now. Kristy also shares how she reads pattern recognition as a superpower, and what her next chapter looks like as she works to close the skilling gap she's spent her career fighting.

It's one of those conversations where we left feeling genuinely fired up and we think you will too!

Also in this episode: we introduce Ask the Librarian, our new AI-powered tool built on the Inclusion Geeks resource library. {blush emoji}

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction & Episode Preview

01:14 - Introducing Ask the Librarian, Our New AI-Powered Resource Tool

11:47 - Welcome, Kristy McCann Flynn

12:03 - Kristy's Career Journey, From Scranton to HR Founder

18:02 - Rethinking Change Management for a World in Constant Flux

22:00 - AI in the Workplace, Enhancement or Replacement?

28:33 - AI Ethics, Data Privacy & the No-Guardrails Problem

31:11 - Leadership Gaps, Accountability & Why Ideas Aren't Enough

33:21 - Kristy's Stealth Next Chapter, Education, Skilling & AI Efficacy

35:13 - The SHRM Problem, When Certifying Bodies Lose Their Way

44:49 - Rebuilding Critical Thinking & Trust in Institutions

50:18 - Consumer Power, Boycotts & Collective Action

52:59 - Unionization, General Strikes & Protecting Workers

57:42 - Think Globally, Act Locally

61:14 - AI Displacement, What History Tells Us

64:31 - Closing Thoughts & Where to Find Kristy

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.

This episode goes somewhere we didn't plan, and we think that makes it one of our best yet.

We sat down with Jarah Euston, co-founder and CEO of WorkWhile, a fast-growing app-based staffing platform connecting 80 million frontline workers with flexible shift opportunities. Jarah grew up in Fresno working retail, got burnt out building software for tech people, and decided to build technology for workers instead. It's a compelling vision and a genuinely interesting conversation about flexibility, AI, and what the future of work could look like for hourly employees.

But after that conversation wrapped, we learned that WorkWhile had recently settled a second major lawsuit with the San Francisco City Attorney's office for misclassifying workers as independent contractors. So we spoke with David Chu, the San Francisco City Attorney, and asked for his side of the story.

What you'll hear in this episode is both interviews back to back. First, Jarah's perspective on building worker-centered technology, and then David's perspective on what happens when "flexibility" becomes a cover for avoiding worker protections.

Together, these two conversations raise a question that feels urgent right now: Is it possible to build a genuinely worker-centered future of work, one with flexibility, innovation, and fair treatment? Or are we just repackaging old inequities in new apps?

Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.