Courageous conversations about race with accountability via a judgement-free podcast + learning community. The Opt-In invites you to an intimate, ongoing conversation on practicing self awareness, building racial literacy, supporting cross-racial friendships, and opting-in everyday. The Opt-In aims to show the messiness of human transformation through the lens of uncomfortable conversations happening in real-time. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-opt-in/support
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Goodbyes can be hard. But they’re a little easier when you know you’re headed on the right path. In the final episode of this season, we show you the results. We hear from CHOP Foundation managers about how their team has grown because of The Opt-In’s learning program. Plus, we hear about what they have in store for the future. Imagine a workplace …
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DE&I has big impacts on workplace culture. But it also has a big impact on a team’s personal development. In this episode we hear from two of The Opt-In learning program participants about how the program has shaped their lives in AND outside of work. Plus we’ll interrogate some of the blocks that keep us from being our full authentic selves. Imagi…
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We need to improve cultural competency, but getting there isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. In this episode we get into how leaders can commit to a more equitable workplace. Plus we get real about some of the challenges BIPOC staff can experience while participating in DE&I programs at work. About Season 4: Imagine a workplace that can better hum…
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In this episode, we draw back the curtains and show you what partnering in a comprehensive cultural competency learning program actually looks like. You’ll also get to meet more of The Opt-In team and hear why they do this work. About Season 4: Imagine a workplace that can better humanity. A kind of workplace where diverse talent is recruited, lead…
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This episode dives into some of the Cultural Competency skills needed to get to our desired DE&I outcomes - specifically self awareness and racial competency, and also introduces The Opt-In’s theory of change. Imagine a workplace that can better humanity. A kind of workplace where diverse talent is recruited, leaders can show up as their authentic …
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Imagine a workplace that can better humanity. A kind of workplace where diverse talent is recruited, leaders can show up as their authentic selves, and collaboration means innovation. In this season of The Opt-In podcast we take you through a 2+ year journey of cultural transformation with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In this episode we…
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This season, we will be showing you how one organization took the leap in implementing real cultural change through a partnership with us at The Opt-In. Together we supported their DE&I strategy with a comprehensive cultural competency learning program. And now this organization - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia - is paving the way for others t…
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Season 3 Wrap-up LIVE with Aurora + Kelly
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Aurora + Kelly went LIVE to wrap-up Season 3 of the Opt-In Podcast. Missed it? You can catch up with the wrap-up here! ⠀ This season we touched on so many different aspects of community over the last few months + we want to highlight a few pieces of wisdom that struck a chord in us.⠀ ⠀ Follow the Opt-In on Instagram, Facebook, + Twitter @theoptin. …
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Rebelle-ing + Rulebreaking with Shannon Sirano Greenwood
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Imagine you're a woman in your 30s, an entrepreneur, and you found a planet to live on where you felt great in your mind and body, you had friends that lifted you and your business up and you were surrounded by a diverse group of women that you learned oodles from. Well, welcome to the Rebelle Con community. Shannon Siriano Greenwood is the Founder…
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Everyone has a birth story. A warrior for sexual and reproductive health, Carmen Green, Vice President of Research & Strategy at National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC), is creating solutions to optimize Black maternal and infant health stories through training, research, policy advocacy and community-centered collaboration. Aurora + Kelly dig d…
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Giving Up Whiteness, Gaining Humanity
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Jeff James was one of the good white guys—or so he thought. But when he asked an African American friend how he could help fight the rising tide of racism, he had to think again. "Simple," she shot back, "get rid of whiteness." Thus began his journey to discover, name, and dismantle the racial category that had defined and advantaged him for a life…
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In such turbulent + expansive times, we call on every drop of equanimity we can muster. Reverend Rhetta Morgan has been gathering tools for healing + inspiration over a lifetime and joins Aurora + Kelly in cultivating hope + connection as a pathway back to wholeness. Regardless of election results, there is transformation to be birthed. This work o…
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Humanity Has No Borders with Sr. Norma Pimentel
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Named one of TIME Magazine's top 100 Influential people of 2020, Sister Norma Pimentel has been providing food, shelter, dignity + compassion to migrants seeking refuge in the US. Aurora + Kelly are invited into Sr. Norma's grounded and joyous space to discuss the community which refugees of all different countries create under hazardous circumstan…
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Racial Truth + Transformation with Dr. Gail Christopher
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How do we heal the trauma of a country built on stolen land with stolen people? Look no further for a holistic plan for America, than Dr. Gail Christopher. Dr. Gail is the visionary and architect for the Truth Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Commission, a resolution going in front of the US House of Representatives. Healing is a natural pr…
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Climate Justice with Colette Pichon Battle
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Colette Pichon Battle is a climate justice WARRIOR. A generational native of Bayou Liberty, Louisiana, she is founder + ED of the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, developing programming focused on Equitable Disaster Recovery, Global Migration, Community Economic Development, Climate Justice + Energy Democracy. Colette works with local communitie…
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Dr. Kelsey Leonard on Indigenous Tradition + the Rights of Water
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Water is LIFE. As a water scientist and protector, Dr. Kelsey Leonard seeks to establish Indigenous traditions of water conservation as the foundation for international water policy-making. Fighting for legal personhood of water, Dr. Kelsey Leonard represents the Shinnecock Indian Nation on the Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean, which is charged …
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Alli + Asha about Schools, Writing + Race
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We are getting SCHOOL-ed with co-authors, lifelong educators, parents, + great friends Alli Frank + Asha Youmans. Their debut novel, Tiny Imperfections, offers a lighthearted take on race, family, and friendship in the world of elite private schools—a product of their shared experiences as educators and also their differences: Asha, a black woman f…
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Children + Raising Up for Racial Justice with Tia Mathisen
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How do we raise our kids to talk, play, learn and rise up for racial justice? Aurora + Kelly virtually sit with Tia Mathisen, the managing director at The Philadelphia Citizen, whose interest resides in connecting people and building community. Tia is deeply intrigued and ignited by the disparities within the socio-economic structures in society an…
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Raising Our [white woman] Hands + Jenna Arnold
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Jenna Arnold pulls the curtain back on the proverbial White Woman of Oz to reveal why America's most powerful demographic seems to think they're, well, powerless. She is the author of Raising Our Hands, an educator, social entrepreneur, activist + mother who lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Jenna was one of the National Org…
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For Aurora, community is love, family and life. For Kelly, community is joining a pool or gym. To break down what community means and how we need it more than ever, they're joined by great friends on the journey small-biz owner Bonkosi Horn of Freedom Apothecary and yogi/entrepreneur Mariel Freeman of Three Queens Yoga to have an intimate conversat…
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We're back! New episodes of the Opt-in drop next week. The Opt-In is hosted by Kelly + Aurora, two socially, generationally and ethnically divergent besties getting real with honest, messy conversations. This season we're talking all about community. Subscribe on all your favorite podcast platforms. And find us know on Instagram, Facebook, and Twit…
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Season 2 Wrap-Up: The 10,000 White Women Return
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Aurora + Kelly are joined by Erica Taxin Bleznak and Lisa Lord, from Season 1's 10,000 White Women: Doing the Work episode, to reflect on Season 2 and share their growth from the last year. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @theoptin. Twitter Instagram Facebook Produced by Rachel Ishikawa Music by Jordan McCree Hosted by Aurora Archer and…
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Becoming a Good Ancestor with Layla F. Saad
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Layla Saad is a globally respected writer, speaker and podcast host on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation and social change. Aurora + Kelly talk with Layla about her NY Times Bestseller Me + White Supremacy, spiritual white women, and Layla's work to 'become a good ancestor' -- living and working in ways that leave a …
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Penn State Football Coach James Franklin and The Road to First
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BONUS MINI EPISODE! Penn State Football Head Coach James Franklin shares with Aurora + Kelly his goal of being the first African-American coach to win a National Championship, how to raise daughters without entitlement and what it's like to be Black in a white sports engine. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @theoptin. Twitter Instagram F…
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The Parlay Effect with Anne Devereux-Mills
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Anne Devereux-Mills, an author, speaker, advocate, entrepreneur and corporate leader, was sick of transactional and boring interactions with competitive white women. After a career spent running advertising agencies in New York and faced with some of her biggest fears come true, Anne craved authentic friendships with deep connection and in 2012, fo…
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Communication and Human Nature Expert, Award-winning journalist, NPR host and Best-Selling Author Celeste Headlee has us asking why do we measure our time in terms of efficiency instead of meaning? Why can't we just take a break? Aurora + Kelly dive into her process behind Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing and Underliving as…
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Racial Justice from the Heart with Dr. Amanda Kemp
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Many white people want to do good - but are afraid to say the wrong thing. Meanwhile, many people of color are exhausted from speaking up. Dr. Amanda Kemp teaches people of all races how to feed their spirits and have joy while they stand for racial justice so they’re not exhausted or scared. A scholar, author, racial justice coach and mindfulness …
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"B" is for Be the Change with Jay Coen Gilbert
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Jay Coen Gilbert is co-founder of B Lab, a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. The vision for Certified B Corporations is to change the operating system, culture, and practice of business so that all companies compete to be the best FOR the world, and as a result society will enjoy a sh…
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Due Quach (pronounced ‘Zway Kwok’) is an inspiring social entrepreneur and author of Calm Clarity: How to Use Science to Rewire Your Brain for Greater Wisdom, Fulfillment and Joy. Due uses neuroscience and mindfulness to guide organizations to tackle complex social challenges like addressing unconscious bias, healing trauma and building resilience,…
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How the Story You Believe Impacts Everyone with Heather McGhee
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If we ever needed a narrator to help generations of American people understand where we've come from and the direction we are going, it is Heather McGhee. A political strategist and distinguished senior fellow at think tank Demos, Heather demystifies the "American Dream" explaining how we have to work much harder to get no where near the generation…
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Yoga is Personal AND Political with Michelle C. Johnson
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THIS is the yoga we've been waiting for. Michelle C. Johnson, author, yoga teacher, social justice activist, licensed clinical social worker and Dismantling Racism trainer, gets into deep conversation with Aurora + Kelly about the intersections of yoga and justice, embodiment, liberation and spiritual bypassing. She has a deep understanding of trau…
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When Daralyse Lyons isn’t doing splits or jumping out of airplanes, this former yoga teacher and eternal adrenaline junkie can be found with pen in hand furiously scribbling her latest novel. The "Transformational Storyteller" Daralyse talks with Aurora + Kelly about being "mixed" (half-Black, half-white) - her identity, her heritage - as both her …
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Tech and innovation legend Nilofer Merchant is on a mission to reimagine a future of work that actually works… for all of us. We often listen to the loudest guy in the room. Or the best looking. And in reality, most of us are "covering!" Few industries or brands understand what Merchant calls “Onlyness” – the experience, talent, perspective, and pu…
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Stay tuned for Season 2 of The Opt-in. The first episode premieres January 21, 2020. The Opt-In podcast is two socially, generationally and ethnically divergent besties getting real with honest, messy conversations about their different experiences with racism, food systems, white supremacy, alternative healthcare and more. Find us on Instagram, Fa…
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Aurora + Kelly join The Opt-In producer Rachel Ishikawa in reflecting on this past season and share their New Years Revolutions. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @theoptin. Twitter Instagram Facebook Produced by Rachel Ishikawa Music by Jordan McCree Hosted by Aurora Archer and Kelly Croce Sorg If you enjoyed this conversation and would …
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Having lived the first half of his life as a Black woman and now over a decade as a Black man, Jaiden Love redefines the term intersectionality. He offers his wisdom as a Diversity and Trans Inclusion Consultant for workplaces, groups, and businesses and works closely with families who have a child or spouse/partner that is living outside of the ge…
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Motherhood, Money + Meritocracy with Joanne Ramos
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Joanne Ramos, author of NY Times bestselling novel The Farm, breaks down motherhood, money and meritocracy with Aurora + Kelly this week. From dormitory housing for domestic workers, to a luxury retreat for surrogates to penthouse apartments for .0001%ers, Joanne knows just how to hook you into her imaginative world while questioning systems of pri…
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The Heart of Racism with Therapist April Harter
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April Harter LCSW is an antiracism therapist and coach who helps white people break the rules of antiracism in order to show up authentically in their interracial relationships. Her work is controversial because her theories go against most traditional antiracism "rules." What is her source? Love. Find out more about April Harter here and follow he…
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From growing up a white girl in Charlottesville, VA, to becoming a Zen Buddhist Monk for eight years to creating the first for-credit Mindfulness Course in Portland, Oregon high schools, Caverly Morgan's path has been anything but predictable, yet intriguing and purposeful. Aurora + Kelly get intimate with Caverly as she divulges everything from fl…
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Meek Mill and Michael Rubin: Two Worlds Collide to REFORM Probation
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Philadelphia 76ers partner and REFORM Alliance co-chair Michael Rubin talks with Aurora + Kelly and reveals how his friendship with Meek Mill shifted his perspective, his opt-in moment to help #FreeMeek, and ultimately, his mission to advance criminal justice reform by passing bills at the state level to eradicate laws and policies that perpetuate …
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Melissa DePino + Michelle Saahene tweeted the Starbucks arrest of two Black men for not buying a coffee. The tweet was heard around the world to the extent that Starbucks shut down for a day of retraining. What has unfurled is their joint venture From Privilege to Progress (P2P), a national movement to desegregate the public conversation about raci…
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White Men on Race, Fatherhood and Opting-In
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Seth Berger is Managing Director of the Sixers Innovation Lab and Head Boys Basketball Coach at the Westtown School. Seth gets vulnerable and deep with Aurora + Kelly discussing being a white man at a rare intersection: fathering Black sons, supporting early career entrepreneurs in a field dominated by white men, and coaching aspiring athletes in a…
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Aurora and Kelly sit down with their co-creators of 10,000 White Women: Doing the Work, Lisa Lord and Erica Taxin Bleznak, to talk about the harm caused by white women's unconscious racism, their role in upholding the patriarchy, and the power of accountability. 10,000 White Women is an introductory workshop series co-created by Erica Bleznak, Lisa…
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Ever notice how at diversity trainings it always seems to be the white people crying - what’s up with that? Well, there’s a name for it: white fragility. This week we talk to New York Times best-selling author Robin DiAngelo author of White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. We cover white supremacy, patriarchy, and …
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Meet Aurora and Kelly, two socially, generationally and ethnically divergent besties, who GET REAL in this new podcast. Join in on messy, honest conversations about race, white supremacy, health, spirituality and so much more. In this episode, get to know your hosts, learn about their backgrounds, and hear the story behind what drove them to start …
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The Opt-In invites white people, especially white women, to an intimate, ongoing conversation between a Woman of Color and a white woman who are unpeeling their collective conditioning, exploring ongoing re-education, and stumbling on their traumas and blind spots, all while making more space for love, forgiveness, freedom, and truth. The Opt-In ai…
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