The Magic of Being Truly Seen

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Ever felt on display yet invisible at the same time? For many mixed race, racially ambiguous people, especially women, this experience at the intersection of objectification and being ignored is very familiar. Andrea Forsht, the Chief Consulting Officer at Hummingbird Humanity, joins as a guest to share stories of her journey towards self discovery, fitting in and personal growth while also dropping nuggets of wisdom around how leaders and companies can approach culture building and inclusive employee experience work. Andrea and Nikki talk about the impact that the larger cultural awakening and conversation about racism in 2020 has had on their personal development, professional paths and their friendships/relationships in both progressive and challenging ways. They also discuss the importance of experiencing an internal sense of physical safety, belonging and empowerment in your own body, as a woman, a person of color and a mother when the world around you can leave you feeling like a vulnerable target.

TOPICS

[2:45] episode intro
[5:25] Andrea’s backstory
[16:45] Andrea’s story of being seen at DEI camp
[24:00] amplifying DEI practices
[28:45] holding space for DEI conversations
[48:00] reclaiming your body
[55:00] the evolving workplace and HR
[1:05:00] stay in touch with Andrea

RELEVANT LINKS

Hummingbird Humanity
Andrea’s social media:

Book: The Body Liberation Project: How Understanding Racism and Diet Culture Helps Cultivate Joy and Build Collective Freedom by Chrissy King
Anytown Leadership Camp
Fearless Communicators

Andrea’s Fearless Fire Speech

Checkbox Other episodes:

QUOTES

“I think it took a while to kind of step into the power that existed by not being the same as everybody else. And that's something that I'm still working on.” –Andrea
“I thought there was such an interesting dance between being seen and wanting to be unseen and the dance between being somebody that also doesn't match my parents.” –Nikki
“How am I being part of the solution? How am I contributing to something that is bigger?” –Andrea
“I also don't have to be quiet because it makes you uncomfortable.” –Nikki
“We can watch our bodies heal when we get cut, but for some reason our abilities to interpersonally heal, we've hampered ourselves from it.” –Nikki

STAY IN TOUCH