S7E4: Amy Hunter on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Work

Naked Conversations: Race, Culture, & Beyond

“Not everything I’ve tried has worked, I just have forgotten about the things that didn’t work.” - Amy Hunter

This woman will blow your mind. We are so blessed to have had this conversation with Amy Hunter, it went completely off-script in the best possible way. Amy is ‘Miss Optimism’, a relentless trier. She speaks in possibility. She motivates us to do better, to reach higher, to dream bigger. Thank you Amy. We hope you are all as inspired by this conversation as we are.

Listen to hear us talk about:

- What inspired Amy into activism at age 14

- HBCU’s (historically black colleges and universities) and “being white”

- The need for white women to step up and support their black sisters. No longer saying yes to violence and injustice.

- What does truth and reconciliation look like in practice, between women, across racial lines?

- Apologies: who needs to apologise, and for what?

- How “not being good enough” and “not belonging to a community” are socialisations of whiteness

- Optimism: failing & trying again. How Amy looks to her successes to sustain her activist work

- Your sphere of influence: what can you do to make a tangible difference, right now?

More about Amy Hunter:

Amy A. Hunter is the Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the publicly traded footwear company, Caleres. She recently joined the Caleres team after serving as the Senior Global Equity Diversity and Inclusion leader at Boeing. At Caleres she leads the global initiatives for diversity equity and inclusion. She has enjoyed a career in diversity working within the healthcare, agricultural, educational, and financial services industries.

Hunter has more than 20 years of experience in human resources, organizational development, project management and leadership within the corporate and nonprofit arenas. Her responsibilities have included creating and implementing return on investment strategies for recruitment, curriculums for training and development and measurable retention strategies.

Her community engagements have included serving on several boards for local organizations. She has spoken and presented diversity training, keynotes, seminars, and strategy sessions around the world. She is well respected globally and has received numerous awards for her achievements as a diversity resource. Her popular speech “The Talk” was incorporated into a TEDx presentation called “Lucky Zip Codes.” Hunter has an earned undergraduate degree and is currently pursuing a doctorate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Links and Resources Mentioned:

- Cornel West - Racism Literature

- Amy’s company ‘Caleres’: https://www.caleres.com/

- Amy’s TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g36ijwr3wc8

- Witnessing Whiteness (YMCA program): https://www.ywcastl.org/what-were-doing/racial-justice/witnessing-whiteness

Books:

- Tarana Burke & Brene Brown: You Are Your Best Thing

- Brene Brown: Atlas of The Heart,

- Ijeoma Oluo: So You Want to Talk About Race

- Isabel Wilkerson: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

- Gary John Bishop: Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-hunter-491767b

Connect with us and learn more about our work:

Sage: Speaking, leadership development & coaching, team building, and group facilitation www.sagebhobbs.com

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagebhobbs/

Erica: Executive coaching and organizational strategy at Flying Colors LLC:

https://www.flyingcolorsllc.com/flying-colors-about-us-

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