Expert Interview with Selisse Berry of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
San Francisco, California 

To listen to this audio podcast please click the play button on the left above. Or subscribe to the free podcast in iTunes today!

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

Links mentioned - 

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates 

Out & Equal Workplace Summit 2013

Books mentioned - 

Out & Equal at Work: From Closet to Corner Office

You can get in touch with Selisse here - 

Outandequal.org 

facebook.com/OutAndEqualWorkplaceAdvocates

Twitter.com/OutandEqual 

Facebook.com/Selisse.Berry 

Twitter.com/Selisse_Berry 

The post Selisse Berry Interview for “30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders” [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Expert Interview with Kevin Letourneau of Go Out Loud
Salem, Massachusetts

To listen to this audio podcast please click the play button on the left above. Or subscribe to the free podcast in iTunes today!

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

Links mentioned - 

Go Out Loud 

Northshore Pride

City of Salem, Massachusetts

Google Reader

Salem State University

You can get in touch with Kevin here - 

Go Out Loud website

Facebook.com/GoOutLoud

Twitter.com/GoOutLoud

The post Kevin Letourneau Interview for “30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders” [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

 
Storytelling with Dan Nilsen of Bishop-McCann
Kansas City, Missouri
Links mentioned in the show:

Bishop McCann
Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce – Kansas City Area
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

You can get in touch with Dan here:

Email: dnilsen@bishopmccann.com
Bishopmccann.com
MAGLCC.org

Listen to the podcast by clicking the play button below!

Would you rather read the transcript than listen to the podcast? No problem! Read the transcription below!
AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Dan Nilsen

Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.I am delighted to be talking with Dan Nilsen today. Dan is the CEO of Bishop McCann which is a brand experience agency with six locations in the United States. In 2010, Dan was awarded with the NGLCC Wells Fargo Business Owner of the Year Award. And this recognition spawned Dan to found the Mid-America Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, recognizing that there was a need to have one in the Kansas City area. So Dan, I've given the listeners a really brief overview of who you are and a little bit about your company; but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself, your story, and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Dan Nilsen:
Hi Jenn, thanks for having me on today. You know I actually was asked about a year ago to be the topic of a reality series because my life- where I got to today is just so interesting because it involves so many pieces, some quite entertaining actually. I was born and raised in California and went to Long Beach State, and grew up and actually married my college sweetheart, Julie, out of that. And we had three children together. I have three daughters actually, they are- my first just graduated from college, my second just turned 21. So I can't believe that it's been so long. I started actually in Big Pharma out of college, so I was a pharmaceutical sales rep for a company like- called Marion Laboratories back in '85, and left school to work for them and ran sort of the LA market for that. I was 24 at the time and the average age of my district at the time was about 32. So that was quite a challenge to kind of move in, try to quickly learn all the things that you didn't know about managing people. I remember one of my first sort of a ride-along where you ride with one of your reps, she was talking about getting a divorce and I didn't know the first thing about what I could say that could possibly give her any advice. But I learned at that point I was supposed to be a good listener, and just share as much as I could about my reps with each other and I think was one of the ways that I certainly got to in terms of working with people and understanding the differences in people.

Expert Interview with Rony Tennenbaum | Business Owner and Jewelery Designer
New York City, New York

To listen to this audio podcast please click the play button on the left above. Or subscribe to the free podcast in iTunes today!

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

Links mentioned in the show -

Amazon Kindle Commercial 

Rony Tennenbaum Rings 

You can get in touch with Rony here -

RonyTennenbaum.com

Facebook.com/RonyTennenbaum

The post Rony Tennenbaum Interview for “30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders” [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Expert Interview with Tonie Snell of 925 Hire
Cleveland, Ohio
Links mentioned in the show:

925 Hire
Snitch.name
Crain’s Cleveland Business: Cleveland Business News
Google Business Products 
Knack.it

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would your prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below.
AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Tonie Snell
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day, each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven and an advocate for the LGBT business community. Jenn, with two N's, T Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning into this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am pleased to be talking with Tonie Snell today. She is the CEO of 925 Hire, which is a staffing firm headquartered in northeast Ohio, whose focus is dedicated to creating a more equitable workplace. Her firm specializes in building cultural diverse staffing, and training solutions throughout the United States. She is also known as a job mingler which can be found on her business card.

So Tonie, I've given the listeners a really brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today?
Tonie Snell:
Well I am first and foremost a mom and a grandparent of nine. I've been in the recruiting industry for about fourteen years. I started 9 to 5 Hire about three years ago because of an encounter that I experienced with an internal recruiter. I had just probably been out for about maybe six years, and I was really, really sensitive and she was going on and on about how glad she was to see me. There was another recruiter who was just there trying to solicit business from this company, and he happened to be gay and she went on to berate him and I said, 'This has to be a better way.' So I actually- at that moment I decided I'm going to do something a little different with the staffing industry, so my community- specifically the LGBT community, African American women, don't have to go through that. I decided to create a full service staffing firm to be the forefront of those communities.
Jenn T Grace:
Wow, that's really interesting. And especially because as most entrepreneurs you see some sort of problem and it's just your natural inclination to want to fix it. And for this to have been the case, and it being so personal to you, to have had to sit there and have somebody be berating this openly gay man and then you sitting there thinking like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe this person doesn't know this about me.'
Tonie Snell:
Yeah, exactly. And of course I didn't want to work with her anymore because then the people- I'm very clearly open and diverse. The people that I send to her may encounter that type of attitude, so I decided again just to be the forefront, and all of my clients know that we have- we're LGBT focused. So nine times out of ten, our candidates are going to be LGBT, that's not exclusive. Of course we're women-owned and African American-owned and actually Latino-owned; so it...

Expert Interview with Kristen Hickey of Supplier Diversity
Manchester, CT

To listen to this audio podcast please click the play button on the left above. Or subscribe to the free podcast in iTunes today!

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

Links mentioned in the show -

Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council

Craig Ross Leadership Podcast

VIA Strengths Assessment

Levi Strauss Co. Inclusion & Diversity 

Books Mentioned -  

StrengthsFinder 2.0

Stomp the Elephant in the Office

The 10 Greatest Gifts I Give My Children: Parenting from the Heart

You can get in touch with Kristen here -

linkedin.com/hickeykristen

twitter.com/KristenHickey1

Website - http://hickeykristen.wix.com/khickey

Email – hickeykristen@hotmail.com

The post Kristen Hickey Interview for “30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders” [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Expert Interview with Victoria Fulkerson of National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Washington D.C.

To listen to this audio podcast please click the play button on the left above. Or subscribe to the free podcast in iTunes today!

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

If you liked Victoria's interview don't miss Episode 10 of my podcast (not part of "30 days - 30 voices" series) when I interviewed Justin Nelson, Co-Founder & President of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) [Podcast]

Links mentioned in the show - 

National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

Out for Work

NGLCC Supplier Diversity Initiative 

NGLCC Conference

Books Mentioned - 

Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization On the Growth Track–and Keeping It There

You can get in touch with Victoria here - 

nglcc.org

facebook.com/NGLCC

twitter.com/NGLCC

#LGBTBIZ

#NGLCC13

The post Victoria Fulkerson Interview for “30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders” [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Expert Interview with Deb Prior of Liberty Tax
Hartford, Connecticut
Links mentioned in the show:

DOMA: Defense of Marriage Act
CABO – Connecticut’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce
Liberty Tax Facebook
Inspired Gardens and Landscapes Facebook page

Books Mentioned:

The Age Wave: How The Most Important Trend Of Our Time Can Change Your Future
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
Bringing Nature Home

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below.
AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Deb Prior
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day, each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven and an advocate for the LGBT business community. Jenn, with two N's, T Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning into this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am excited to be talking today with Deb Prior. Deb has more than thirty years’ experience in both the insurance and financial industries. In 2005 she left the corporate environment and set out on her own path as a business owner, who currently owns a Liberty Tax franchise and Prior Enterprises, which has two divisions; a bookkeeping service division and a landscape design division. Deb, I have given the listeners a really high level overview of your past, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today?
Deb Prior:
Well, I started out as a child; so I won't go that far back because that was a long time ago and I've been alive for a long time.
Jenn T Grace:
That will be our secret.
Deb Prior:
Yes, okay. Well you know as you mentioned I went through the corporate world and I had a great career at New York Life primarily, where I was a financial advisor representative. And I'd gotten the entrepreneurial bug back then because as you know a number of financial advisors, that they are- it's like running your own business. And so I really, really enjoyed that. Different things in life caused my career to take several turns. But I'd never had a position or a job that I didn't like, and that I didn't find valuable, and that added- you know helped me become who I am. And the only job that I really hated was the last one. And that's when it was time for me to strike out on my own. So I actually started in the landscaping business because I really love plants. I got into the master gardener program, became a certified master gardener, and started out doing landscape designs and installations, and I bought a little red truck, and that was very fun. And then I was looking for something to do in the winter. And so I decided that I would do taxes, and was looking around for tax classes and I stumbled upon Liberty Tax. And the owner of that- Liberty Tax is a franchise, and I worked for a franchise owner and he said, "Well you're an entrepreneur, you should probably own one yourself." And I thought, "Yes, I probably should but let me see if I like this.

Expert Interview with Paul Collanton III of Gay Ambition Blog
Denver, Colorado

To listen to this audio podcast please click the play button on the left above. Or subscribe to the free podcast in iTunes today!

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

Links mentioned in the show -

Gay Ambition Blog

Gay Ambition Podcast

Service Source

Proudly Speaking: Denver Colorado's LGBT Toastmasters

Toastmasters International

Rainbow Toastmasters

GLBT Community Center of Colorado

Marriage Equality is Coming Blog Post

Curve Magazine

Amazon Kindle Commercial

Start Out

Matt Skallerud Interview for “30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders” [Podcast]

NGLCC National Business & Leadership Conference

New Media Expo

Jamie Tardy's The Eventual Millionaire Blog 

Books Mentioned: 

Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future

Thoughts of a Tribal Elder: One Queerman's Journey from the Ashes Risen

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

You can get in touch with Paul here -

Gayambitionblog.com

Facebook.com/paulcollanton

Twitter.com/PaulCollanton

LinkedIn/PaulCollanton

The post Paul Collanton III Interview for “30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders” [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Storytelling with Evan Urbania of ChatterBlast Media
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Links mentioned in the show:

ChatterBlast
Independence Business Alliance – Greater Philadelphia’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
LGBT Community Centers Directory
ChatterBlast
twitter.com/TheUrbanian
twitter.com/ChatterBlast

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below.
 

AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Evan Urbania
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

Okay let's get started. I am pleased to be talking with Evan Urbania, the CEO of Chatterblast Media, a social media marketing and online strategy firm whose clients range from small businesses to Fortune 500's, and non-profits and government entities. Evan first became an entrepreneur in his teens when he produced and recorded over forty albums for local musicians. Additionally, he is active in both non-profit and business communities as the co-founded of The Memoria Project, a non-profit effort to memorialize the lives lost on 9/11. He is also the president of the Independence Business Alliance which is greater Philadelphia's LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Evan, I have given the listeners a brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and your business, and what that path looked like for your that led you to where you are today.
Evan Urbania:
Sure, thank you. I guess when I was young and in high school I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and most of the time I didn't even know what that word meant. But I always knew that I liked building things, and being involved in new projects and being part of a team and also doing things on my own. And kind of as my bio says, when I wrote that my business partner and I, we joked about it and put it on our website, but it is kind of true. And when I was in high school, in my summer of my last year I ended up buying a bunch of audio recording equipment at a time when digital had just become accessible to the general public. And I said, "Mom and Dad, can I build a recording studio in my basement?' And of course they looked at me like I was crazy, but ultimately I did because I got away with everything anyway. And kind of figured out how to put this stuff together and buy this gear and spend all of my savings and market myself. And I lived in the small town of Rumson, New Jersey, and the town nearby Red Bank was a big arts community. And there was a lot of local artists and musicians and theatre. And so I found a way to just get connected to them and bring them into my space and I decided to call the company Sigma 6 Recording after the Pink Floyd band which was their name before they chose Pink Floyd and I was real fond of them back at the time.

Storytelling with Valerie Clark of the Greater Boston Business Council and Tsipora Consulting
Plymouth, MA
Links mentioned in the show:

Sadler Financial
Greater Boston Business Council
3 Reasons you should never say Homosexual blog post

Books Mentioned:

Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below.
AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Valerie Clark
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day, each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven and an advocate for the LGBT business community. Jenn, with two N's, T Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning into this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am excited to be talking to Valerie Clark today, she has a long history of working in the financial field as the owner of several start-ups. Most recently she is an investment professional with Sadler Financial Group based in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In addition to this, she is the President of the Greater Boston Business Council, which is Boston's LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Val, I have given the listeners a brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and your business, and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Valerie Clark:
Sure. You know I think like a lot of people, my path was not- definitely not one that was straight or well-defined. I kind of stumbled into my profession. I'd thought that I would be a teacher when I was in college, and I have a degree in history and modern languages. Then I found out how much teachers actually make, versus how much money I owed the government for my degree. And I decided that you know, I simply- I couldn't, as passionate as I was about the opportunity, I just couldn't live on $25,000 a year. So I had been in the restaurant business probably since I was about fourteen, and one day was actually in a restaurant waiting on tables when I was recruited right off the floor.
Jenn T Grace:
Wow.
Valerie Clark:
Yeah. So it was- totally took me by surprise but literally inside of a month, you know I had my securities licenses and I was sitting behind the desk ready to do all sorts of damage. And you know, it's sort of the cliché within the financial services profession is that these kids when they recruit them, they're just so full of energy and ready to go, but the truth of the matter is they just don't even know what they don't know.
Jenn T Grace:
Yeah, absolutely.
Valerie Clark:
So I, you know I was with a major bank at the time and had a successful career from let's say- I want to say early 2000 on until 2006 when I left sort of pre-crazy housing market bubbl...

Storytelling with Dennis Velco, Owner of LinkedIn’s largest LGBT Group
Columbus, Ohio
Links mentioned in the show:

Human Rights Campaign 
Dennis Velco’s Artwork
LGBT-GLBT Networking Group on LinkedIn

Books Mentioned:

Becoming a Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison

You can get in touch with Dennis here:

dennisvelco.com
dcvelco.com
twitter.com/DennisVelco
linkedin.com/in/dvelco

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below. (Coming soon!)
 

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

This podcast episode originally aired in June 2013.

The post Storytelling with Dennis Velco for "30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders" [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Storytelling with Robin McHaelen of True Colors
Hartford, Connecticut
Links mentioned in the show:

True Colors 
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Public Allies
Bienestar – LGBT Youth
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Give Out Day 
Gill Foundation 
The Overbrook Foundation 

Books mentioned:

How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk

You can get in touch with Robin here:

Facebook/ourtruecolors
twitter.com/TrueColorsCT 

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below.

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below. (Coming soon!)
 

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days -30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

This podcast episode originally aired in June 2013.

The post Storytelling with Robin McHaelen for "30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders" [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Storytelling with Matt Skallerud of Pink Banana Media
New York City, New York

Links mentioned in the show -

Travel Gay Canada 
California Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce 
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
International Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce 
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association 
GayWired.com
SheWired.com
The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly

You can get in touch with Matt here -

Pink Banana Media 
Facebook.com/PinkBananaMedia
LinkedIn

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below!
AUDIO TITLE: 30 Days, 30 Voices: Matt Skallerud

Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT Business Leaders

You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Hello and welcome!
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

Jenn T. Grace: I am pleased to be talking with Matt Skallerud today, who is the president of Pink Banana Media. Matt began his online career in May of 1995 with the launch of the website www.GayWired.com. This website became one of the top three LGBT websites worldwide. He has been helping clients reach the LGBT community for more than eighteen years, and in addition to this he is a current board member for Travel Gay Canada and the interim Executive Director of the California Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Also he is actively involved with many key national LGBT organizations, which include the International Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and Out & Equal Workplace Advocates just to name a few. So Matt, I've given the listeners a brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.

Matt Skallerud:  Yeah! I always try to simplify things. I've just been very lucky. I went to school, I got my degree in engineering, got really bored with it in about three years and thought to myself, 'I got a degree for this? I don't know if I want to do this for the rest of my life.' And- but I actually went into sales, I was in this kind of high-tech R&D world of lasers and then I went into sales of lasers and the reason I bring all that up is because it was that combination of kind of just being comfortable with technology, and it was a perfect time. It was when computers were just really starting to come out. I used to have a Commodore 64, and then I had some of the first Compaq 286 and all these fun computers but I had the opportunity to really utilize them first for more on the engineering side, but then as things developed more on the sales, and then also very much marketing of products I used to work on in the lab. I basically took all those skills,

Storytelling with Jim Koury of Diversity Rules Magazine
Oneonta, New York
Links mentioned in the show:

Diversity Rules Magazine
Brokeback Mountain

Books Mentioned:

The Truth of Yesterday

You can get in touch with Jim here:

Website: diversityrulesmagazine.com/
facebook.com/Diversity-Rules-Magazine
twitter.com/DiversityRules
plus.google.com

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below. (Coming soon!)
 

This podcast episode originally aired in June 2013.

The post Storytelling with Jim Koury for "30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders" [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Storytelling with Sara Calabro who is a Content Strategist
Portland, Oregon
Links mentioned in the show:

AHA!
AcuTake
Think Traffic website

Books Mentioned:

But You Don’t Look Gay…
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated)
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question

You can get in touch with Sara here:

saracalabro.com
linkedin.com/in/saracalabro

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below. (Coming soon!)
 

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

This podcast episode originally aired in June 2013.

The post Storytelling with Sara Calabro for "30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders" [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Storytelling with Trung Tieu of PepsiCo
Chicago, Illinois
Links mentioned in the show:

The Chicago Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce 
CABO – CT’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
twitter.com/PepsiCoTrung
linkedin.com/trungtieu

 
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Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

This podcast episode originally aired in June 2013

The post Storytelling with Trung Tieu for "30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders" [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Storytelling with Meghan Freed of Freed Marcroft Law
Hartford, Connecticut 
Links mentioned in the show:

The Colin McEnroe Show, WNPR: Divorce In 2013. Gay people face complications, and cases of collaborative divorce are rising.
Steve Jobs Biography
Freed Marcroft

You can get in touch with Meghan here:

Facebook page:
Twitter:

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

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AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Meghan Freed
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am excited to be talking to Meghan Freed, founding member of Freed McKeen which is a law firm located in Hartford Connecticut. In addition to many of her accomplishments, she is especially proud of her estate planning, family and small business legal practice within the LGBT community. Also, her name appears in the Connecticut Supreme Court's ground-breaking decision on marriage equality which was Kerrigan versus the Commissioner of Public Health. Meghan, I have given the listeners a brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and your business, and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Meghan Freed:
Sure, hi Jenn. First of all thank you so much for having me; I love your podcast, and I love your website, and I love your Facebook page. So I'm thrilled to be a part of it.
Jenn T Grace:
Thank you.
Meghan Freed:
I went to law school back in 2000, and after I graduated I went to a firm here in Hartford, Connecticut, Shipman & Goodwin, and then I worked at a much larger international firm called Bingham McCutchen. And then after that I was in-house council for a number of years at a wonderful company, Hartford Steam Boiler. At a certain point in my career I wasn't sure what to do next. And practicing law has been really a wonderful thing for me but I was ready to sort of take a new path, and work more with individual folks than with the companies I had been working for as clients prior. So I started talking about the concept of beginning my own law firm and a friend of mine from law school, Ryan McKeen, was sort of at the same place and came to me with the idea of forming a firm together. And my initial thought was, 'Ugh, wouldn't that be nice? I would really love to do this. But I also have this wonderful biweekly paycheck, and I love the people I work with, and I love the work I do. Am I really ready to take this risk?' I was sitting on a plane one day with my partner Kristen Marcroft, and we were talking about how I wish I could go into practice for myself and she at the time was looking at graduating from law school herself in a few months. And so she said, 'Well really why not? What is the risk?' And we went through everything and thought about our lives and our finances...

Storytelling with Stan Kimer of Total Engagement Consulting
Raleigh, North Carolina
Links mentioned in the show:

5 things never to say to gay people blog post
Business of Change website
The Gill Foundation
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
NGLCC Trade Missions
Raleigh Business & Professional Network
Trade Press Article on Stan’s innovative career mapping methodology
LGBT at IBM Facebook Page
The Kimer-Kamba Community Center Stan is funding in Mtito Andei, Kenya

Books Mentioned:

StrengthsFinder 2.0
Million Dollar Consulting

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Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

This podcast episode originally aired in June 2013

The post Storytelling with Stan Kimer for "30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders" [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Links mentioned in today's episode:

Corporate Equality Index
Buying for Workplace Equality 2013
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Human Rights Campaign

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

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AUDIO TITLE:  Liz Cooper Interview for “30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders”
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am delighted to be talking with Liz Cooper today, who is the manager of Corporate Programs for the Workplace Project at the Human Rights Campaign. She is the go-to gal for all things regarding the Corporate Equality Index which does come up a great deal on this podcast. So Liz, I've given the listeners just a really high-level highlight of your most recent work, but why don't you tell the audience a little bit more about yourself and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Liz Cooper:
Absolutely, so thanks so much for having me. I'm Liz Cooper as Jenn mentioned, manager at Corporate Programs at the Human Rights Campaign. I've been here just about three years now and so for folks who are not familiar with the Human Rights Campaign, we're the organization that goes along the blue and yellow equal sign. We're the largest civil rights organization working for LGBT equality in the US and I've been with HRC just about three years. And the project that I work on, the Workplace Project, deals with how companies are ensuring the safety, inclusive policies, benefits, protections for their LGBT employees. And as Jenn mentioned, the main mechanism that we measure and evaluate, the status of LGBT equality in the workplace, is through the Corporate Equality Index. So the CEI has been around for over ten years now, and it was really- and not to be too corny but an honor to inherit such a well-established and respected project when I came along on board with the team. So the CEI is a very objective measure of LGBT equality in the workplace. It doesn't account for employee surveys or their perception of their own personal experience with the company. It really is, 'Do you have these inclusive policies in place or do you not? Do you have these benefits for your LGBT employees or do you not?' So it's a really great objective measure and while it's also reporting out on the status of LGBT equality in these major US employers, our main focus is for those employers with 500 or more full-time employees; so we're talking about the big guys. But it's not just a report out, it's also a roadmap for folks who might now be scoring that well, might not have the most inclusive policies on the books. But we're here to help folks get there. We don't want to shame companies or make them feel bad about not being the best they can be,

Storytelling with Brad Sears of The Williams Institute at the UCLA, School of Law
Los Angeles, California
Links mentioned in the show:

The William’s Institute, UCLA School of Law
Lambda Legal
About Brad Sears

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

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Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders
This podcast episode originally aired in June 2013

The post Storytelling with Brad Sears for "30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders" [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Expert Interview with Jill Nelson of the INUS Group
Portland, OR | Vancouver, WA
Links mentioned in the show:

Portland Area Business Association
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
Evolutionaries: Transformational Leadership: The Missing Link in Your Organizational Chart

You can get in touch with Jill here:

Website: http://www.INUSGroup.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inusgroup
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jilllnelson
By e-mail at: jill.nelson@paba.com or j.nelson@inusgroup.com

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

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AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Jill Nelson
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day, each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven and an advocate for the LGBT business community. Jenn, with two N's, T Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning into this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

Okay let's get started. I am excited to be talking with Jill Nelson today, founder of the INUS Group which works with individuals, teams and organizations to create powerful lives and dynamic relationships. She is also a community leader actively working towards LGBT equality issues through business, marriage equality and youth issues. She also spent over a decade as an ordained minister serving congregations in three different states. Jill, I have given the listeners a brief overview of who you are but why don't you tell us a little bit more about your business and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Jill Nelson:
Well I'd love to do that Jenn. I have what many might consider a very convoluted path. I started out many, many, many, many years ago- I'm not even going to elaborate how long ago because then you'd know how old I am. But my undergraduate degree was in Accounting, I started out with, and it didn't take me long to realize I really didn't enjoy Accounting and switched to business management. And over the course of the next fifteen or twenty years, I got an opportunity to really experience retail management, business consulting, working several different industries. Eventually reached the point where I felt as though business work was two dimensional. I didn't feel as though I was really doing everything I wanted to make the world a better place, and that kind of led me into the ministry. I spent, you know as you noted in my introduction, a good ten or twelve years working with congregations wanting to help people really in touch with their whole life experience, not just their work experience. And help people then realize their full potential. But after twelve years in ministry I discovered that I missed business. I missed creating things. There were pieces of ministry that just didn't resonate well for me, and I met someone who was a couple's coach. Met them through a church group that I was co-facilitating for couples. And I discovered the world of coaching. And that opened up just an amazing,

Storytelling with Danie Fineman of Keller Williams Realty
Hartford, Connecticut
Links mentioned in the show:

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

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AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Danie Fineman
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day, each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven and an advocate for the LGBT business community. Jenn, with two N's, T Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning into this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am pleased to be talking today with Danie Fineman, who has spent eight years in the US army. She earned two Bachelor's degrees from the University of Connecticut, and is now a realtor with Keller Williams Realty. She is located in the great state of Connecticut next to me, so I am pleased to have her on as my guest today. So Danie, I've given the listeners a really high level overview of who you are, but why don't you just tell us a little bit more about yourself, and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today?
Danie Fineman:
Well thanks Jenn for having me, this is a nice surprise to be asked to be doing something like this. You know I tend to have the world view that I'm just a tiny, tiny person in such a large world. So for you to ask me to do something like this is really quite an honor, so thank you first and foremost for that.
Jenn T Grace:
You are very welcome.
Danie Fineman:
You know I need a little shot to my self-esteem every now and then so this is great.
Jenn T Grace:
Absolutely.
Danie Fineman:
So I'll just start from the beginning. I do like to tell people that I sort of came from a suburban neighborhood with a large Italian family, and did the typical things growing up; playing on soccer teams, and had a very typical childhood. But I grew up in a family where you know, resources were stretched a bit, so when it came time for me and my four siblings to go off and do our own individual adult things as children do go to college, get jobs and move out of the house, I was sort of left with the decision of do I not go to college because my parents really can't afford it because they already sent somebody before me who has sort of drained the bank accounts? Or do I take sort of matters into my own hands and I was being offered a scholarship to a very, very small school in Pennsylvania to play softball for them. And as all good lesbians, we all play softball, so I actually toyed with the idea. And so I actually ended up taking matters into my own hands and as a very independent eighteen year old, met with a recruiter and decided to join the US Army; without my parents' permission and without even their knowledge. And I don't regret it one bit, it was actually a very freeing and liberating decision, and I got to grow up in the military. I spent sort of my formative years in the military, and I feel like that's sort of where I grew up,

Storytelling with Matt Luginbuhl from the Office of Diversity & Inclusion at Aetna
Hartford, Connecticut
Links mentioned in the show:

Aetna
Out & Equal Connecticut
Community Marketing Inc. LGBT data points
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
The Williams Institute, UCLA Law School

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AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices: Matt Luginbuhl
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to Thirty Days, Thirty Voices: Stories from America's LGBT Business Leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day, each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride Month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now your host; she's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community. Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning into this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest, and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

Okay, let's get started. I am pleased to be talking with Matt Luginbuhl today who is currently the Senior Diversity Business Specialist at Aetna, and he also manages the enterprise-wide diversity and inclusion communications strategy. In his previous roles at Aetna, he also managed fifteen Employee Resource Groups, with 100 chapters nationwide. Matt is also the cofounder of Out and Equal Connecticut. Matt, I have given the listeners a brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about your business and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today?
Matt Luginbuhl:
Thanks very much Jenn, thanks for having me. So I work you know in a Fortune 500 healthcare benefits provider, and we're really focused on empowering people to live healthier lives. During this time of healthcare reform, we really are at a pivotal moment in terms of how healthcare is affecting all of us, how we're all paying for healthcare, and how we're creating innovative solutions to solve the economic problems that are stemming from healthcare. Specifically at Aetna I work in the office of diversity and inclusion, and we're really focused on creating a diverse and inclusive work environment at Aetna. That's important both so that we are able to better understand our customers, it's really important that we look like our customers, that we have the perspectives of our customers, that we have the experiences of our customers. And it's also important that internally we have diversity in our workforce so that as we are creating those innovative ideas we have- or innovative solutions rather, we have the diverse perspectives at the table to make sure that we are creating a diverse solution. So I actually studied Industrial Organizational Psychology at Quinnipiac, the university as well as classical voice. How I got here, you know I worked at Aetna and through school I worked actually on the healthcare side of the business working with our members, and helping them manage their chronic conditions as they worked with nurses here on the telephone. And having studied Industrial Organizational Psychology, which really is the psychology of the workplace, a lot more related to HR, diversity had certainly come up and I had been involved with our Employee Resource Groups here at Aetna.

Storytelling with Dawn Ackerman of Out Smart Office Solutions
San Francisco, California/Seattle, Washington
Links mentioned in the show:

Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (LAGLCC)
Golden Gate Business Association (GGBA)
EcoToner
Office Depot Tier One Supplier Diversity Partner
10th Annual NGLCC National Business & Leadership Conference
Greater Seattle Business Association
What is an LGBT Chamber of Commerce?
But You Don’t Look Gay… book
Empire of the Ants

You can get in touch with Dawn here:

Out Smart Office Solutions
https://www.facebook.com/outsmartoffice
https://twitter.com/outsmartoffice
https://twitter.com/outsmartdawn

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

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AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Dawn Ackerman
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am excited to be talking with Dawn Ackerman today. Dawn is the president and CFO of the west-coast based company Outsmart Office Solutions. Prior to this, she was the CEO and founder of EcoToner. In 2012 Dawn and her business partner George were awarded with the Supplier of the Year Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Additionally she has spent six years on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, including two terms as the president. And she is currently serving as the vice president of the Golden Gate Business Association, which is San Francisco's LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Dawn, I have given the listeners a brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and your business, and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Dawn Ackerman:
Thanks Jenn. Well that was a pretty good introduction. I have basically been a business owner and entrepreneur since I was about 24 years old. So my path has been every day just trying to build business and building a business that can really do something for the LGBT community. So Outsmart Office Solutions is an office furniture, office interior design and space planning company. We are also the first LGBT tier one partner of Office Depot, which allows us to be able to see office supplies as a certified LGBT company to any company with the support of a company the size of Office Depot. So we have a very large catalog of supplies and a distribution capability that is national because of our partnership with them. We also donate a large portion of our proceeds back to LGBT and environmental non-profits every year. So really Outsmart was formed because of our- my understanding of the LGBT certification. The first time I ever went to an NGLCC Conference, I realized that some opportunities were going to be out there for certified LGBT businesses,

Storytelling with Richard Oceguera of Richard Oceguera Coaching
New York City, New York
Links mentioned in the show:

Convert your Community to Cash: Monetize your Connections
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce New York
Merchant Mart USA
Greater New York Steering Committee – Human Rights Campaign
The Landmark Forum
Relationship Building Requires a Strategy: How to get the LGBT community to know, like and trust you

You can get in touch with Richard here:

Sign up for your complimentary Business Breakthrough Call
Richard Oceguera Coaching
His Facebook Page
Richard Oceguera Coaching Facebook Page 
LinkedIn
Twitter 

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below.
AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Richard Oceguera
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

Okay let's get started. I am pleased to be talking with Richard Oceguera of Richard Oceguera Coaching. He is a transformational business coach, a speaker, a thought leader, and a community advocate. In addition he is the author of a new book called 'Convert your Community to Cash, Monetize your Connection.' Richard has played a key role in the startup of several organizations, most notably as the founding president of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, New York. Richard, I have given the listeners a brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Richard Oceguera:
Yes, well Jenn thank you. First I just want to say thank you for having me participate in this honor, it's really an honor to be able to spend some time with you talking about business and LGBT business. Yeah, so wow where to start. Well this is really great timing because I recently launched my new company, Richard Oceguera Coaching, as you mentioned, and it's exciting for me because it's an opportunity to bring together 29 years of experience in sales, marketing, business development and personal development, and really translate that to the clients that I'm working with. And specifically I work with entrepreneurs, business owners, as well as people who are in business development or sales capacities. And it's really wonderful to have the opportunity to take this experience and have it make a difference for other people as they're building out their businesses. So that's a little bit about what I'm doing now. But you asked about the path that led me to where I'm at today, and I think that's a very interesting question. And you know my path has not been clear cut. I've done many different things over the years and certainly if I mapped it out it would be quite a zigzag of different experiences.

Storytelling with Tony Ferraiolo of  Tony Ferraiolo Coaching

New Haven, Connecticut 
Links mentioned in the show:

The Genderbread Person
What is Cisgender?
IPEC Coaching
But You Don’t Look Gay…
The Dalai Lama’s Book of Wisdom
If I’m not lesbianed you can’t be transgendered…
http://tonyferraiolo.com/

 Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

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AUDIO TITLE: 30 Days, 30 Voices – Tony Ferraiolo
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am pleased to be talking with Tony Ferraiolo today. Tony is a certified life coach, a speaker, a trainer and an advocate for transgender youth and their families. He is the founder of several organizations that support transgender youth as well as the cofounder of the Jim Collins Foundation. Most recently he is the subject of the new documentary A Self Made Man. Tony, I've given the listeners a really brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Tony Ferraiolo:
Absolutely. But first, thanks for having me on the show.
Jenn T Grace:
You are welcome.
Tony Ferraiolo:
It's great to be here. So this is what really happened to me. I'm transgender and I just turned 50, so back in the early 70s when I was a teenager, or actually an adolescent and I was growing up knowing that something was different about me, I didn't have any support from anyone. And that led me down a really dark path; it led me down a path of suicidal thought, it led me down a path of self-harming. It led me down the path of drug use and alcohol use. And when I realized at a very late age, like 41 years old that I was transgender, it was a celebration for about I would have to say a day and a half and then I got really, really scared. And I went down to a beach, a local beach, and I sat there with every intention to end my life. I could not imagine being transgender and having people support me and having people love me and having friends. I didn't know anybody who was transgender at that time. But something happened to me in the moment that I was crying and ready to end my life, that something inside of me said, 'Stop. Wait a minute. You have all the power to create yourself.' And I shifted instantly. Like I took my power back. And I started going down the path of transition for me, and I always say 'for me' because this is my story and everybody's transition is different. But my transition started off really trying to work on not being angry anymore and being able to face life with a positive thought, not a negative thought. And to do that I had to let go of a lot of the anger that I held for people who were abusive to me in the past.

So I did that,

Storytelling with Sam McClure of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Washington D.C.
Links mentioned in the show:

National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
NGLCC National Business & Leadership Conference
But You Don’t Look Gay…
Green Eggs & Ham
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
https://twitter.com/SamNGLCC

For more information on Supplier Diversity:

#008: Expert Interview with Heather Cox of Certify My Company [Podcast]
#011: Diversity & Inclusion and Business Opportunities, Oh My! [Podcast]
Are there small business resources for LGBT business owners?

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders
Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below!
AUDIO TITLE:  30 Days, 30 Voices – Sam McClure
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day, each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven and an advocate for the LGBT business community. Jenn, with two N's, T Grace.
Jenn T Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning into this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am pleased to be talking with Sam McClure. She is the Director of Affiliate Relations and External Affairs for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Prior to this she was the Executive Director of Quorum, which is the Minneapolis, Saint Paul LGBT and Allied Chamber of Commerce. And in addition to these roles she has previous experience owning several small businesses. So Sam, I've given the listeners a brief overview of who you are, but why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Sam McClure:
Well thanks Jenn, and I just want to say thanks again for having me on your show, it's really a pleasure and looking forward to our interview. So a little more about me. I'm here in Washington D.C. at the headquarters of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and I just moved to D.C. and joined the team here internally almost two years ago. But I've actually been with the NGLCC since really the very beginning. You know the organization just celebrated our tenth anniversary, and I was part of the earliest days when our co-founders created the NGLCC and came to one of the earliest conferences as a volunteer board member for a local chamber, Quorum, that you mentioned in the beginning. And you know I was quite taken with this whole concept of business equality as a movement and intentional inclusion of LGBT-owned businesses in the economy and the network of other LGBT chambers around the country. And also the corporate partners that were coming into the space to be part of this movement to leverage economic development opportunities specifically for people who are LGBT. I got really excited about the movement right away, I became a volunteer leader in the chamber council at that conference, and I served as the chair of the Midwest region and then after a few y...

Storytelling with Bree Gotsdiner of Publicly Related
Orlando, Florida

Links mentioned in the show:

Gay Games 2018
Tim Ferriss – The 4 Hour Work Week
Zebra Coalition
Difference between an Ally and an Advocate blog post
Expert in the Boardroom Program

You can get in touch with Bree here:

Website: http://publiclyrelated.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PubliclyRelated
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PublicistBreeGotsdiner
Twitter: https://twitter.com/publiclyrelated
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PubliclyRelated
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/publiclyrelated/

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below. (Coming soon!)
 

Want to see who else is being interviewed for this Pride month project? Check it out here – 30 days – 30 voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders

This podcast episode originally aired in June 2013

The post Storytelling with Bree Gotsdiner for "30 Days – 30 Voices – Stories from America’s LGBT Business Leaders" [Podcast] appeared first on Jenn T. Grace.

Storytelling with Jennifer Brown of Jennifer Brown Consulting
New York City, New York
Links mentioned in the show:

The Manhattan Jazz Transfer
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
NGLCC National Business & Leadership Conference
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
Out & Equal Workplace Summit
Book – Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

For more information on Supplier Diversity:

#008: Expert Interview with Heather Cox of Certify My Company [Podcast]
#011: Diversity & Inclusion and Business Opportunities, Oh My! [Podcast]
Are there small business resources for LGBT business owners?

Listen to the episode by clicking the play button below!

Would you prefer to read the transcript than listen to the episode? No problem! Read the transcript below!
Audio Title: Storytelling with Jennifer Brown 
Jenn T Grace:
Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT business leaders.
Intro:
You are listening to a special edition of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Tune in for the next thirty days as we interview one business leader per day each day in June to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. That's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. You'll learn insights around business and marketing from those who know it best. And now, your host. She's an entrepreneur, a marketing maven, and an advocate for the LGBT business community - Jenn, with two N's, T. Grace.
Jenn T. Grace:
Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this special Pride Month episode of the Gay Business and Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Information about today's guest and links mentioned in the show will be available on the website at www.JennTGrace.com/30days-30voices. If you like what you hear in this interview, please be sure to tell a friend. And now, without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

I am pleased to be talking with Jennifer Brown today. She is our first guest starting off the 30 Days, 30 Voices: Stories from America's LGBT Business Leaders Podcast Project. You may remember Jen from an interview she did with us back in February, and because she had so much great wisdom to share then, I had to have her back here to kick off this special Pride Month series. So for those of you who do not know, Jen is the founder and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting which is New York City based consulting firm that is both a woman-owned business and an LGBT-certified business. She is a social entrepreneur committed to making an impact that creates healthier workplace cultures for all of the clients that she serves. Jen it is fabulous to have you back on the show, how are you?
Jennifer Brown (Consulting):
I'm great Jenn, thanks for having me.
Jenn T. Grace:
It's fabulous to have you back and as I mentioned already, I gave the listeners a really little bit of an overview of who you are but why don't you just tell us a little bit more about yourself and what your path looked like that led you to where you are today.
Jennifer Brown:
Great, absolutely. I'd love to share. It's been a wonderful journey and I'm really excited about what we've accomplished and really where we're going. So I have had my company for about six years now, Jennifer Brown Consulting, or as we refer to it as JBC. And my background was a combination of non-profit management, I've always been pretty much of an activist if you can say, or an advocate for social change. And so I got my start in work like that and then at the same time I've always been an artist and performing artist and a vocalist. So I had two Masters degrees, one of which is in opera. And so in my twenties it was a combination of doing non-profit work, programming work for organizations that I believed in, and also singing and following the path of an artist. And that's actually led me to New York which is where I ...