5 Things / 5 Ways
Happy new year! I hope this year is a wonderful one for you, personally and professionally. As always, I’m optimistic that we’re all on the right side of history. I’ll keep sharing the good vibes with you every week and cheer you on along on this DEI journey.
5 Things / The Year in Good Vibes
Some of you may know that I spent years as a wedding planner with an LGBTQ+ specialty and a speaker on inclusion in that industry. I started that business in 2004. I was so young! It's been nearly 19 years since the first legal same-sex marriage licenses were issued in Massachusetts -- and only NOW are those marriages — and interracial marriages – codified into federal law, thanks to the Respect for Marriage Act. Those marriages were allowed due to Supreme Court decisions, which could have potentially been challenged.
5 Things / Sparks
This week I delivered a keynote for a client’s internal event and, afterward, joined them for dinner. I spent much of my time in a pleasantly long conversation with a managing partner who, at one point, exclaimed to me, “I mean, can you believe at one point, people held slaves in this country?”
5 Things / Spring Break
This week my 11-year-old son is on spring break. I thought it might be fun if he watched 5 Things in 15 Minutes on Monday (he was happy for the screen access!) I forwarded him the newsletter but instead of using the YouTube link, he used the LinkedIn link and then was asked to create a LinkedIn account in order to watch. In three minutes, my son Patrick told the world (via LinkedIn) that he’s an Amazon account manager. That was my first LOL moment after the show wrapped.