The Creating Belonging Podcast
In the book, Creating Belonging: A Practical Guide to Accelerate Belonging in Organizations and Communities, Justin Reinert describes a model where belonging sits at the intersection of authenticity and acceptance. In The Creating Belonging Podcast, host Justin Reinert will continue the conversation of creating belonging by discussing others' experiences when they've been at various levels of authenticity and acceptance in their communities. Our goal with this podcast will be to help others find new paths to belonging in their communities.
The Creating Belonging Podcast
Perspective
Let us know what you think of this podcast!
On this episode, Kendra LeFleur joins us. Kendra is a Partner at Carr Riggs & Ingram CPA’s and Advisors. We discuss how Kendra found her way in the corporate world, and how much she appreciates getting to know others’ perspectives.
One of the causes we discuss toward the end is the work that Kendra does with Girls on the Run Atlanta, check them out! https://www.girlsontherunatlanta.org
You can order your copy of Creating Belonging on Amazon.
Music:
Wave by Helkimer | https://soundcloud.com/helkimer
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US
00:00:10 Justin
Hello and welcome.
00:00:11 Justin
To another episode of the Creating Belonging Podcast Today I have with me Kendra Lafleur.
00:00:18 Justin
If you wouldn't mind, introduce yourself in your own words.
00:00:22 Kendra
I'm so happy to be here.
00:00:23 Kendra
Thank you, Justin, for inviting me to this episode of your podcast.
00:00:27 Kendra
I'm very excited to do this with you.
00:00:29 Kendra
So my name is Kendra floor.
00:00:31 Kendra
I am a partner for Carricks and Ingram.
00:00:34 Kendra
I live in Atlanta, GA with my husband and our three children.
00:00:40 Justin
Kendra and I met.
00:00:42 Justin
I spoke at her firm.
00:00:46 Justin
This winter, I guess it was.
00:00:49 Justin
It didn't feel like winter because we were in.
00:00:51 Justin
New Orleans and to me.
00:00:51 Kendra
I know, yeah, I agree.
00:00:53 Justin
To me, that's not winter.
00:00:57 Justin
But yeah, so we met there, really enjoyed kind of meeting you and then kind of had a few conversations since then and really excited to get in.
00:01:06 Justin
And and speak with you today in the podcast.
00:01:09 Justin
To ground us in the conversation, I'd love to hear, you know, as most of our listeners are going to be on audio, what identities would you like to share that kind of may come up in your stories to help but kind of ground us?
00:01:24 Kendra
So I am, I am a black woman.
00:01:28 Kendra
I would say I I shouldn't say young maybe can I say?
00:01:33 Kendra
Upper Young, I want to hold on to the.
00:01:38 Kendra
Young part for as long as I can so.
00:01:43 Kendra
So I am 34.
00:01:45 Kendra
I just it just this is going to put it out there.
00:01:47 Kendra
So and I am a herald sexual Christian.
00:01:52 Kendra
That would be me summed up in a nutshell.
00:01:55 Justin
Well, thank you, Kendra.
00:01:56 Justin
So I understand you have read the book, Doug yen and.
00:02:01 Kendra
Yes, great job, by the way.
00:02:01 Justin
Have been thinking.
00:02:02 Kendra
Let's just, let's just let's give you some credit for that.
00:02:05 Kendra
It's such a good book.
00:02:06 Justin
Oh, thank you.
00:02:08 Justin
I I swear this.
00:02:09 Justin
I don't mean for this podcast to be like a I mean, it is about the book.
00:02:14 Justin
Right.
00:02:14 Justin
But like so many people, like, Oh my gosh, it's so great.
00:02:17 Justin
I love it.
00:02:17 Justin
And I swear I'm not.
00:02:19 Justin
This isn't just about like me.
00:02:20 Justin
Puffing up my ego.
00:02:22 Kendra
Sure. Thank you, Kendra.
00:02:27 Justin
So I'd love to hear, let's just dig in and you know, can you think of any stories from your past that kind of related back to the model or what stories came up for you as you're reading?
00:02:39 Kendra
You know what hit.
00:02:42 Kendra
I guess I resonated with I.
00:02:44 Kendra
I think it it really minimizing I think so for me it's I'm a black woman.
00:02:49 Kendra
As I mentioned earlier and then I'm in corporate America and so I went to to high school, very diverse, high school.
00:02:58 Kendra
My college was very diverse and in various ways, right.
00:03:02 Kendra
Not just things that you can see just holistically.
00:03:04 Kendra
They're diverse, but when I know it's a corporate America, it was it was.
00:03:09 Kendra
Kind of a bit of a.
00:03:10 Kendra
It was different.
00:03:11 Kendra
You know it.
00:03:12 Kendra
It was kind of.
00:03:13 Kendra
It was new for me.
00:03:14 Kendra
It I wasn't used to being the only one of of me.
00:03:19 Kendra
In a certain amount of space.
00:03:20 Kendra
So that was kind of.
00:03:21 Kendra
I didn't know how to.
00:03:22 Kendra
I wouldn't say I wouldn't know how to I had.
00:03:26 Kendra
To get comfortable with being myself and and and somewhat adapting, I love who I am.
00:03:33 Kendra
So I don't like to necessarily code switch, so I kind of had to muddy through that a little bit.
00:03:39 Kendra
And so I was kind of, I'm an.
00:03:40 Kendra
Extrovert. OK, let's let's.
00:03:42 Kendra
Just let's just be honest.
00:03:43 Kendra
I am an extrovert.
00:03:44 Kendra
But you know you.
00:03:45 Kendra
Have to come learn.
00:03:46 Kendra
Lay of the land.
00:03:47 Kendra
And so I had to learn how to be Kendra.
00:03:51 Kendra
But in a corporate setting and be OK with being the only Kendra in the room.
00:03:56 Kendra
That makes sense.
00:04:02 Justin
So I love that you brought up code switching.
00:04:04 Justin
I think you know code switching comes up a lot when we talk about the minimizing area of the model because there's, you know, a lot of of overlap there and the, the other thing that I'm kind of thinking about how to be Kendra in the corporate world.
00:04:10 Kendra
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:04:22 Justin
I was having a conversation with.
00:04:24 Justin
I'm trying to remember when it was now about.
00:04:28 Justin
The idea of professionalism.
00:04:31 Justin
And kind of how professionalism is in a way, there are elements of structural oppression in professionalism.
00:04:42 Justin
You know it is it is, you know, you need to conform to XYZ thing.
00:04:47 Justin
I'm curious how that hits you.
00:04:49 Justin
Like when you think about your experience in finding Kendra in the corporate world, what are you like?
00:04:53 Justin
How does the word professionalism bump up against you?
00:04:57 Kendra
So I I have.
00:04:57 Kendra
A really good example.
00:04:58 Kendra
It's not directly for me, but it is something that I was a part of the conversation.
00:05:03 Kendra
So I do a lot of recruiting with my firm.
00:05:06 Kendra
And so one of our candidates, top candidates, smart bright, I mean, she's just amazing, but she is a black female.
00:05:17 Kendra
And so when she was going through the process and she ended up coming with our firm.
00:05:23 Kendra
And so when we talked.
00:05:24 Kendra
About it like because there's so many great.
00:05:26 Kendra
Great firms out there.
00:05:27 Kendra
And so we kind of like to know what do we do, right, how do we get you here?
00:05:30 Kendra
And one of the things that she said was your recruiter, one of my colleagues had her hair braided and so hair is a big thing and and for for for black women, you know.
00:05:43 Kendra
Certain hairstyles, and I know some people don't understand.
00:05:47 Kendra
Yeah, but it's such a it's a complete, complicated discussion, but there's certain hairstyles that aren't seeing as professional.
00:05:55 Kendra
And so for her, when she saw that there was a professional trying to recruit her with the hairstyle that she didn't necessarily think would be OK, but clearly it was.
00:06:06 Kendra
But it it just resonated with her.
00:06:08 Kendra
And she just felt like, OK, I can kind of be myself because you.
00:06:12 Kendra
It's OK in your space like because you have this hairstyle and I know that I can wear that hairstyle and and it won't be an issue because the fact of the matter is even something is blue as hair there is.
00:06:23 Kendra
Is that a professional hairstyle or is it is it not?
00:06:26 Kendra
Is hair you know what I mean.
00:06:28 Kendra
And so that's kind of a an interesting topic.
00:06:31 Kendra
We won't go off on the tangent, but here is the big thing.
00:06:36 Kendra
For for for black women trying to navigate that space.
00:06:42 Justin
Yes, thank you for sharing that.
00:06:44 Justin
And I think you know what you're touching on is something that has actually come up in several episodes now is this idea of representation.
00:06:52 Justin
When when we can see ourselves in that community, like if you know if for example, it is we're interviewing at an organization and we see ourselves, we're more comfortable going there.
00:07:07 Justin
So I love that.
00:07:08 Justin
I love that idea.
00:07:09 Justin
And and I think that's it's one when I think of professionalism, I don't often think of hair.
00:07:16 Justin
Necessarily, but it is something that is that is real and relevant.
00:07:22 Justin
Let's go back to finding.
00:07:27 Justin
In the corporate world, tell me more about that and how you got to be.
00:07:33 Justin
Because I I'm assuming and I think you know in the discussions we've had like you've moved out of minimizing into belonging.
00:07:42 Justin
So how tell me about that journey?
00:07:47 Kendra
When I when I enter a form so I'm an accountant from CPA and so when I entered this profession, I didn't realize how underrepresented minorities were because my whole life I had been around diverse populations.
00:08:03 Kendra
Grade school, college, like my friend group, just very, very diverse populations and so.
00:08:09 Kendra
And I entered the accounting profession.
00:08:12 Kendra
That's kind of when it hit me like.
00:08:16 Kendra
Many times I was the only African American or or female in the room, and so it it took a little bit of navigating.
00:08:25 Kendra
And so I'm fortunate enough in that I am an extrovert and I can talk and so and and I'm comfortable with it and asking some of the difficult questions.
00:08:36 Kendra
But for those who know me, who kind of know my story, I I remember asking.
00:08:42 Kendra
We went to.
00:08:43 Kendra
Events and there's a lot of professionals in the room. And So what I love about my firm, I've been here for 1313 years.
00:08:51 Kendra
I've always thought and included, right?
00:08:53 Kendra
So that's that's the difference, right?
00:08:56 Kendra
I I have always felt like I was a part.
00:08:58 Kendra
Of the team.
00:09:00 Kendra
That's what mattered a lot.
00:09:02 Kendra
That's how I've been able to kind of navigate this profession.
00:09:05 Kendra
But he went to an event and professional event for CPE.
00:09:11 Kendra
And I had asked one of my mentors, my friends or my partners at that time, I was a staff and I said, am I the only black person that that works in this firm, you know?
00:09:24 Kendra
So that is just asking.
00:09:27 Kendra
That's a tough question.
00:09:28 Kendra
And this is over lunch.
00:09:29 Kendra
Right.
00:09:30 Kendra
So this is not.
00:09:30 Kendra
Even like we're.
00:09:32 Kendra
In a setting where we can really like hone and this is just like at lunch, but because of the relationship that I had with this partner then and and really now like it, it was a safe space.
00:09:44 Kendra
It was no judgment it.
00:09:45 Kendra
It's just I had observed something and so I asked the question and so we kind of talked about it and then it kind of sparked a a more of a OK, we need to be more intentional because if your network is only made-up.
00:09:58 Kendra
Of this type of person, you'll never be the birds, right?
00:10:03 Kendra
So how do we intentionally reach out to?
00:10:08 Kendra
People have, you know, just how do you reach out to those.
00:10:11 Kendra
And so, you know, we talked through some strategies and since then, like the firm has implemented like resource groups and then we just been more strategic because it and you mentioned that a lot in your book actually, it just makes economic sense.
00:10:24 Kendra
It just makes sense, you know, because this is a business.
00:10:28 Kendra
And so so it has been fun to kind of be a part of that transition, because I've been here for so long to kind of see what it was and what it is now.
00:10:40 Kendra
It has just been amazing and I have just been so blessed to kind of be a part of that transition.
00:10:48 Justin
Yeah, it's amazing.
00:10:50 Justin
And I have a feeling that you.
00:10:54 Justin
You've done a lot to help move that forward, which is amazing.
00:10:59 Justin
I mean, in fact, I I'm I'm assuming you won't bring it up because I've known you as, as as you know as much as we've talked.
00:11:05 Justin
I I get you to be a little humble and you were the first black female to be promoted to partner within the firm.
00:11:15 Justin
OK.
00:11:16 Kendra
So so I came as an intern, so that was.
00:11:18 Kendra
The first black female to be promoted to like intern to partner.
00:11:24 Kendra
Yes, we do have another black female here, but she was.
00:11:27 Kendra
She merged in and she's amazing, but she merged in.
00:11:30 Kendra
So like, she was already essentially a partner when she merged in.
00:11:33 Kendra
So yes, true.
00:11:36 Justin
I, but I I love you.
00:11:37 Justin
Wanna give her credit.
00:11:39 Justin
But I think it's amazing that you navigated kind of within the organization from that intern level up to partner, which is amazing.
00:11:47 Justin
And I think it shows your influence in the organization, which is really great.
00:11:50 Kendra
Right. And it's cool because.
00:11:52 Kendra
It's that you talk about humility, like that's just how I was brought up to.
00:11:56 Kendra
Always like I I never want.
00:11:59 Kendra
I always see the floor.
00:12:00 Kendra
Like I I give my pants.
00:12:02 Kendra
I never need the.
00:12:03 Kendra
I never need all the hoops in the house and all I don't need cheerleaders.
00:12:05 Kendra
I just have never have needed that.
00:12:08 Kendra
But I was talking to one of my mentors.
00:12:11 Kendra
And she explained to me, it's not about.
00:12:15 Kendra
You wanting all this spotlight, but it's you showing that it can be done like you showing like you being an inspiration to someone else.
00:12:23 Kendra
And I had never always seen it in that point of view.
00:12:25 Kendra
I always thought about it as bragging and, like, look what I've done, you.
00:12:28 Kendra
Know but it's.
00:12:29 Kendra
Really more of a wow.
00:12:30 Kendra
She did it and I can do it too.
00:12:32 Kendra
And so as we.
00:12:34 Kendra
Have young women, young black women, white women, green women, whomever I'm.
00:12:40 Kendra
I'm a mother.
00:12:41 Kendra
So people who are having children like they're like you can do.
00:12:44 Kendra
I can do this because I've seen you do it too and like that's and I love that.
00:12:48 Kendra
Like, that's what I love.
00:12:49 Kendra
And so I've kind of been able to.
00:12:52 Kendra
Slowly pivot into like sharing more of my story for the sole purpose of like being an inspiration to somebody else.
00:12:59
I love that.
00:13:00 Justin
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
00:13:03 Justin
Well, it goes back to that idea of representation that you can be that representation for others.
00:13:08 Kendra
That's exactly right.
00:13:09 Kendra
That's exactly right, Justin.
00:13:11 Justin
Thank you for doing that.
00:13:13 Justin
Another thing kind of going back to, you know, thinking about within your firm, you know, creating greater diversity and representation across other identities.
00:13:24 Justin
You know, the what hits me is that.
00:13:27 Justin
For for some businesses, it's not as a parent to be representative of the population they serve, but I can think as a CPA firm, you know you're working with organizations that are owned and led by people of color, by Asians, by Hispanics.
00:13:47 Justin
Right.
00:13:47 Justin
And so to have that representation across the organization, I think it also signals that, hey, this is an an organization that might understand me.
00:13:57 Justin
I'm curious kind of your if you know how what thoughts you've had on that?
00:14:02 Kendra
Yeah, that's that's so true, Justin.
00:14:05 Kendra
We've had really big companies.
00:14:07 Kendra
I I won't say the company, but there was a company that went out forbid.
00:14:11 Kendra
So we had a few firms trying to get this work, but their I think their CEO and the CFO were both females and so that's what they wanted to see.
00:14:22 Kendra
They wanted to see female partners.
00:14:24 Kendra
They want to see women in leadership because that's what they wanted.
00:14:29 Kendra
They were adamant I shouldn't call it.
00:14:31 Kendra
I guess that you could say them is because I kind of know who they were, but that's what they wanted to see.
00:14:36 Kendra
And so they didn't want to sit in.
00:14:38 Kendra
A room full.
00:14:39 Kendra
Of men trying to pitch to them, they they and and now I'm sure.
00:14:45 Kendra
Maybe even with your words like we have.
00:14:48 Kendra
That's part of like.
00:14:49 Kendra
The the proposal package.
00:14:51 Kendra
Tell me about your diversity and inclusion.
00:14:53 Kendra
What what is your gender makeup?
00:14:55 Kendra
What is your race like?
00:14:57 Kendra
It's therefore with, with asking those questions, and so it's a part of the process now.
00:15:04 Kendra
And so I have definitely seen like that transition with people being more intentional and just their forward to be quite frank with how are you implementing this within your organization because that's what they want to see.
00:15:18 Justin
And it's great.
00:15:19 Justin
I love that that organizations are focusing on that and wanting to do business with organizations that focus on, you know, ensuring they have diversity within the organization because we know, you know, research tells us that organizations perform better.
00:15:34 Justin
When they have those different perspectives.
00:15:37 Kendra
That's what you said in here.
00:15:39 Justin
Kendra if you're listening, Kendra is waving around my.
00:15:42 Justin
I am so I'd love to hear, you know, are what other stories came up for you as you were navigating the book and thinking about the model.
00:15:53 Justin
You know, what else came up for you reflecting on your own experience?
00:15:58 Kendra
You had a there was a a line in your book that said Ohh forgive me if I get this wrong, but it was something like you don't have to understand or.
00:16:10 Kendra
Really even agree to accept someone?
00:16:13 Kendra
And so I think that sometimes people get so caught up in.
00:16:17 Kendra
Well, no, I don't agree with that.
00:16:18 Kendra
No, that I can't have anything to like.
00:16:20 Kendra
You get so caught up into that.
00:16:22 Kendra
And that's not what it's about.
00:16:24 Kendra
The sense of belonging has nothing to do with you agreeing or or or understanding.
00:16:32 Kendra
However, whatever the the differences, they be right, like it has nothing to.
00:16:35 Kendra
Do with that.
00:16:36 Kendra
It's just it it's accept.
00:16:38 Kendra
It's acceptance, right?
00:16:39 Kendra
And so I think that I think it was one of your opening things people talk to talk.
00:16:45 Kendra
Everybody has this pledge, right?
00:16:47 Kendra
Everybody's so quick to put something on LinkedIn or put some on the website about this.
00:16:51 Kendra
Diversity initiative or or whatever, but they're not walking the walk and and and so I think that struggle.
00:17:00 Kendra
I keep reverting back to your book because it really is such a good book and there's a lot of aha moments in this book and I'm OK.
00:17:06 Kendra
Justin, you better write this book.
00:17:09 Kendra
But I think that there were just I.
00:17:11 Kendra
I think that's kind of where some of the issue lies is that people feel like they almost have to be converted, right?
00:17:17 Kendra
And that's really not the case.
00:17:19 Kendra
You just have to.
00:17:20 Kendra
Accept them for who they are and understand that it's OK to have.
00:17:25 Kendra
My one of my favorite words is perspective.
00:17:28 Kendra
I love perspective.
00:17:30 Kendra
I love learning about people.
00:17:32 Kendra
My network is so robust.
00:17:34 Kendra
I am so passionate about networking.
00:17:37 Kendra
I will talk to anybody that will.
00:17:39 Kendra
Talk back, you might even.
00:17:41 Kendra
You may not even have to talk back if you just listen.
00:17:43 Kendra
I'll talk to you still.
00:17:44 Kendra
But I love people's perspective and I and I love to see the world from a different angle. Like I just. I just love all of that. And so I think that.
00:17:56 Kendra
You really hit it.
00:17:58 Kendra
I mean touched on the spot on is that people feel they have to be converted or understand or agree to have a sense of belonging.
00:18:04 Kendra
That's really not the case.
00:18:06 Justin
Hmm, yeah, the and I don't think I used this term in the book, but the term that I'm using now is is actually that of radical acceptance and radical acceptance, meaning that.
00:18:18 Justin
I don't have to understand you to accept you.
00:18:20
Right.
00:18:23 Justin
I don't have to understand you to accept that you're a human being that deserves my respect.
00:18:27 Kendra
Right.
00:18:29 Justin
And acceptance that we can be in the same community together and and, you know, in the place of, you know, workplaces we can do good work together, right?
00:18:41 Kendra
That's exactly right, that's.
00:18:44 Kendra
So when you ask me to identify myself, I said a black female, heterosexual Christian, you know, all of the things and so but.
00:18:51 Kendra
But some of my friends are are are homosexuals, you know, one of my, one of my favorite colleagues, you know, she's married to a woman and and and I have great white girlfriends and I have you know, it's just all of the things.
00:19:04 Kendra
And so, but they pour into me.
00:19:07 Kendra
And so and I love that cause.
00:19:10 Kendra
They I have so many aha moments all the time because I'm seeing things from a different lens.
00:19:15 Kendra
If you will.
00:19:16
Don't like that?
00:19:19 Justin
And it is, you know.
00:19:20 Justin
You get you.
00:19:22 Justin
Offered the word perspective and I think that's what it other people help us give us different and new perspectives that there are other experiences out there that aren't ours, but it doesn't mean they're that they're invalid experiences, I think.
00:19:38 Justin
That's when you know the opposite.
00:19:41 Justin
What I see a lot of the opposite of.
00:19:43 Justin
Radical acceptances people not understanding someone else's experiences because that wasn't their experience. Like I've I've never lived through that. I like. I don't understand that, so that can't be true for you.
00:19:56 Kendra
Still, yes, right.
00:19:59 Kendra
We all have that.
00:19:59 Kendra
There's, I mean, we only have this one life, but there's tons of things that we'll never experience.
00:20:04 Kendra
Never have to experience, you know.
00:20:08 Kendra
But that's OK.
00:20:09 Kendra
Like, that's what makes perspective an amazing thing, cause now you can tell me about your experience.
00:20:13 Kendra
You had mentioned this in your book when you were kind of now I think you had left school or you were just kind of navigating your life trying to figure it all out and and you you said, well, I have to grind.
00:20:25 Kendra
I have to work for it, but then I love the term that you said you didn't have the.
00:20:30 Kendra
Like you didn't have the headwinds that other people may have?
00:20:35 Kendra
And and I and I love that because that kind of it's like in tandem with perspective.
00:20:39 Kendra
Like you don't realize certain things.
00:20:42 Kendra
You know, I mean, without kind of like expanding your network and and learning about other people's journeys.
00:20:48 Justin
Yeah, I just love it.
00:20:51 Justin
Yeah, that story I talked about, you know, I didn't.
00:20:55 Justin
For me, privilege wasn't something that I thought of that, you know, like like me, like growing.
00:20:59 Kendra
Sort. Yep, that's right.
00:21:03 Justin
Up in rural Iowa.
00:21:05 Justin
You know, like we didn't have like, you know, we weren't super well off.
00:21:10 Justin
And, you know, I paid had to pay my own way through college.
00:21:13 Justin
And so privilege was the furthest from what I.
00:21:16 Justin
Thought of my life.
00:21:17 Justin
It was, and it took a long time to realize, like, you know what I didn't.
00:21:22 Justin
I didn't have, like, everything handed to me, but also I didn't have things in my way.
00:21:27 Justin
Those like I talked about the headwinds.
00:21:28 Kendra
Right.
00:21:29 Justin
I didn't have the headwinds getting in my way either and it it took a while to understand that you know others do have.
00:21:37 Justin
Have significant headwinds.
00:21:40 Kendra
That's exactly right.
00:21:41 Kendra
Yeah, that's exactly right.
00:21:42 Kendra
And there's so many of them, right.
00:21:44 Kendra
And so I think that sometimes people get so caught up in like.
00:21:48 Kendra
Gender, race and sexuality.
00:21:51 Kendra
But like there, there's so many.
00:21:52 Kendra
There's religious differences, right.
00:21:55 Kendra
There is socioeconomic differences and so.
00:21:58 Kendra
And you know what I had talked about myself and, like, minimizing, you know, I come from very humble beginnings.
00:22:05 Kendra
OK, so, so so my.
00:22:08 Kendra
Upbringing was very different to some of my colleagues and so when they would reference things I'm like God, they're I.
00:22:15 Kendra
No I I haven't.
00:22:16 Kendra
I can't relate to that right and and so.
00:22:22 Kendra
I love hearing about it.
00:22:24 Kendra
I love to learn and like, well, how did that mold you into who you are today like this?
00:22:29 Kendra
I just love all of the underlying stories.
00:22:30 Kendra
But people stories are just.
00:22:33 Kendra
There's just there's so many different ways to be different to be diverse, not just necessarily what you see.
00:22:40 Kendra
On the other.
00:22:41 Kendra
And so sometimes people like we're not diverse at all and I'm like, well, but you you can dive into that a little bit, right.
00:22:47 Kendra
Like there's what makes a what define diverse right.
00:22:52 Kendra
Like it's not just man and woman.
00:22:55 Kendra
Like, there's so many other ways.
00:22:57 Justin
Well, and I think that's where, you know people.
00:22:59 Justin
Individuals try to put a label of diverse on an individual and by definition, an individual alone in a room is not, cannot be diverse, no matter the, no matter the identities of that individual diversity, diversity doesn't come into play.
00:23:17 Justin
Until there's multiple individuals and then it's when those multiple individuals are different than that's where we have diversity and we're all different in some way.
00:23:28 Justin
OK.
00:23:29 Justin
But there are, you know, varying levels of diversity that we can bring in.
00:23:32 Kendra
Sure, for sure.
00:23:35 Justin
So yeah, and that's I, that's one I got I got like very like and I I hate to use the word triggered because that sounds very strong.
00:23:44 Justin
But you know when someone says like let's bring in a diverse.
00:23:48 Justin
Candidate I'm like that.
00:23:52 Justin
That like person on their own in a room is not diverse.
00:23:56 Kendra
That is exactly right. I 100% agree with you on that 100% agree with you on that.
00:24:06 Justin
I really enjoyed having a conversation with you today.
00:24:11 Justin
Thank you for agreeing to to join me on the podcast and I am really glad that I met you and look forward to continuing to nurture our relationship.
00:24:22 Justin
But before we go, I want to I always like to give everyone an opportunity to.
00:24:26 Justin
Promote and this is this one, knowing how kind of humble you are, this one might be challenging for you, but I want to give you an opportunity to promote anything that you would like to promote and or how can people find you or connect with the with you if they want to do so.
00:24:41 Kendra
So you can connect me on LinkedIn, you can just search my name.
00:24:45 Kendra
Kendra the floor.
00:24:47 Kendra
There, there's a few of them, but I'm the one that's in Atlanta, GA, so that's me and one of the things that are near and dear to my heart is girls on the run of Georgia, which is a not-for-profit organization that I sit on the board with and so.
00:25:05 Kendra
I just want to give.
00:25:05 Kendra
Them a shout out so.
00:25:07 Kendra
If you are even remotely interested in girls running the nurturing of girls, anything to do with like that, even if you're not, I just encourage you to go visit girls on the run of Georgia or Atlanta.
00:25:20 Kendra
I think you can get there the same way, but that's just another profit.
00:25:24 Kendra
But it's so amazing.
00:25:25 Kendra
And so any time that I can talk.
00:25:26 Kendra
About that one I have to.
00:25:28 Kendra
So it's just, it's just and I appreciate that.
00:25:29 Justin
I love it.
00:25:32 Justin
Yeah, tell I'd love to hear a little bit more.
00:25:34 Justin
Tell me about girls on the run.
00:25:36 Kendra
Yeah, so girls only run.
00:25:37 Kendra
It's not well, it's.
00:25:39 Kendra
It's a national program.
00:25:40 Kendra
But but I'm in Atlanta, so I sit on that board.
00:25:43 Kendra
And So what they do is they have this curriculum essentially for young girls that they kind of go through where it teaches them about developing relationships, building confidence and just.
00:25:56 Kendra
All of the things that young girls go through struggle with, and it gives you a sense of community all while exercising and and.
00:26:04 Kendra
And so you go through this whole program and then at the very end of the program.
00:26:08 Kendra
And you do a 5K and so it's.
00:26:11 Kendra
All of the girls around all.
00:26:12 Kendra
The different schools that participate in you all meet up and the in the fall we were at the at with the Braves play at the battery.
00:26:22 Kendra
And so we, we ran around the batteries and 5K and so it's a a huge set of festival almost. And so it's just.
00:26:28 Kendra
This is so much fun and so I just encourage anybody who's interested.
00:26:33 Kendra
To go check.
00:26:34 Kendra
It out and you probably if you're not in Atlanta, I'm pretty sure you have one nearby.
00:26:39 Kendra
So if you're not, if you don't want to necessarily.
00:26:45 Kendra
Look into George.
00:26:45 Kendra
I'm sure you have one in your respective states, so.
00:26:47 Kendra
I encourage you to look it up.
00:26:50 Justin
Yeah, that's great.
00:26:51 Justin
Thank you for for that.
00:26:53 Justin
I'm definitely gonna check it out.
00:26:54 Justin
I love any program that gives youth an opportunity to create community and and grow outside of kind of the traditional school system.
00:27:05 Kendra
Exactly. Exactly. Thank you.
00:27:06 Justin
So that's great.
00:27:07 Justin
I'm going to check it out.
00:27:08 Justin
Thank you so much.
00:27:10 Justin
It was great to have you on today and we'll talk soon.
00:27:14 Justin
Thanks. Thank you.
