WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 021321 Q Ward & Michael Malone Jr. 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.440 Hello, and welcome to Civic Cipher. I am your host. 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:07.440 My mother calls me quentin Ward, but my friends called 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:10.520 me q. I appreciate you guys tuning in with me today. 0:00:10.600 --> 0:00:16.400 I have a esteemed I think I'll say esteemed. Try 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:18.720 to try to push my boy's pedestal up because he 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:23.480 deserves it. Esteemed friend of mine, friend of the show, 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:33.199 and pioneer in the medical health and equipment industry from 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:35.800 you know, friend of mine from Bowling Green State University. 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:42.839 Member Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, an area vice president 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:49.440 of women's health Sales for Nitara. Mister Michael Malone Junior, 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:52.479 what's going on? 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:55.400 Thanks for having me man, appreciate you having me on 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:55.640 to that. 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:57.760 Thank you for making some time for me. Mike. 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:01.520 You know, don't get to see my brother as often 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:05.360 as I would like, but you know glad he was 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:07.680 able to take some time away from the family. Tell 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:10.680 them thank you for me, and apologize to them for 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:13.520 me stealing you away on the night where you guys 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:15.680 could be hanging out and relaxing. But I really thought 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:18.240 that it was important for us to talk to people 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:20.560 about your company and about what you do. So before 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.840 we get into what you do specifically with relation to 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:27.520 diversity and inclusion. Tell us a little bit about NATA 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:28.080 in general. 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:35.520 In general, we help women have healthy pregnancies. So we're 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:40.320 a genetics company that looks at the fingerprint of the 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:44.560 DNA to see what is different between the baby and 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:48.000 the mom, to see if there's anything that's causing the 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:52.440 baby to possibly have a chromosome abnormality. That's the basis 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:55.920 of our business, and then of course from there we've 0:01:55.960 --> 0:02:03.400 expanded into oncology, cancer or as plans and even to 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:06.480 the point where people have ad losses, we can look 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:08.120 to see possibly. 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:11.440 Why And do you guys work directly with clients or 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:15.080 do you go through healthcare providers or hospitals. How do 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:19.640 you guys have that interaction from your company to expecting mothers. 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:23.880 Most of our interaction happens with the physician. 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:27.520 We're essentially the educator of the provider, so a lot 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.280 of the information gets funneled through them to the patient 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:33.919 the same along with the feedback. So it's our job 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:36.640 to educate the physician so that the physician can educate 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:40.839 themselves on the best way to provide the best care 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:41.800 and treatment. 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:42.280 For their patients. 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:45.720 Okay, So you guys teach the doctors and the medical 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.799 staff that they have about your technology, and then they 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:53.720 present that as an option for clients who are expecting mothers. 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:55.400 Correct. 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:57.680 Okay, how long have you been in this industry, Mike. 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:03.480 Man the industry about fifteen years with this company. This 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:04.280 is my tenth year. 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:04.880 Okay. 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:09.359 How recent did you guys split off into those other 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:11.280 areas outside of just pre natal. 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:17.600 We would really the last two years, so we've been 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:19.359 doing a lot of research and developments. 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:20.600 We kind of kept it. 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:25.960 Secret for a while and then publicly announced it two 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:29.560 years ago for signatory on collegey side, and then this 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:34.359 year or in twenty twenty, we announced our organ transplant. 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:37.560 Okay, and you guys do this across the entire country. 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:43.400 We're global even overseas overseas as well. 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:45.360 And you are where are you located now? 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:47.720 I live in Atlanta? 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:48.200 Okay? 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.760 So are you are you specific to the East Coast? 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:54.520 Are you do you personally get to travel, you know, 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:56.680 around the country and around the world or is it 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.320 do you have an area that you're assigned to. 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:03.160 Yeah, you know, I feel. 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:04.440 Like I have one of the best jobs because I 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:07.200 have the southern half of the United States. So you know, 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:10.040 my counterpart likes to joke with me and say I 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.240 have the best and most expensive real estate and not 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:17.280 the coldest of real estate. And then the ongoing joke 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:19.040 is where do you live or where are you staying 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:19.680 at today? 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:19.919 Right? 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:23.440 Because I've moved throughout the Southeast ever since i left 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:27.680 Bowling Green, I kind of stayed put mostly down in 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:31.960 the South Southeast during Corridor, spent some time in South Florida. 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:35.400 Currently live in Atlanta. It's my second stint back in Atlanta. 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.560 Lived in South Carolina. My wife was in Mississippi, so 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:41.479 kind of had different spots throughout the Southeast. 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.360 But luckily my job is. 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:47.320 Because I have half the country, I can essentially live 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.600 anywhere that I want to. In the US, I don't 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:53.880 have the opportunity to go overseas like I have volunteered 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:58.040 to do Blush every time something comes up. I'm always 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.360 trying to rub evos with the people that on the 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:02.400 organ fans plant side because they do a lot of 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:03.360 traveling overseas. 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:05.760 But one of these days, hopefully I can take advantage 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:05.960 of that. 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.520 With the choice of living anywhere, it's really interesting that 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:14.800 you chose Atlanta, Georgia that's kind of the epicenter for 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:17.719 people that look like us in this country. Did that 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:19.839 have anything to do with why you picked Atlanta? 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:22.200 No, man. 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:26.560 Actually, the interesting thing is when I had when I 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:29.400 met Cheyenne, and we had more intimate conversations and we 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:32.680 started dating. The first time I actually met her, she 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:34.560 was coming back from a family. 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:35.800 Reunion from Atlanta. 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:39.360 Okay, And that's part this conversation, because this is when 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:42.200 we're okay, yep, this is when we're still in BIGI 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:45.040 is her senior year, she was about to graduate, and 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:47.920 it was going into my junior year. And we met 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.240 at uptown. She was coming up the steps. I'm sitting 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:52.839 there chilling like a like, I think I'm too cool, 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:55.400 you know, and we just kind of hit it off. 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.200 Out of conversation. She told me she just came. 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:02.960 Back, you know, the previous week from a family reunion, 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:06.120 and we sparked that. Our conversation got sparked because I 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:07.839 was like, hey, you know, my cousin goes to Spilm, 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:11.680 and what did you think about Atlanta? And she would 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:13.240 not stop talking about Atlanta. 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:13.600 Wow. 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.400 And so luckily after college, you know, I had the 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:21.080 opportunity to play professional football, and as I was going 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:25.039 through that process, just so happened to land a contract 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:29.279 down in Georgia. It was initially with the making nights, 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:33.480 and after you know, things didn't work out, stayed in 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:35.800 stayed in my butt in Atlanta because I liked the ore. 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:38.680 I loved the feel like to see, you know, us 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:39.880 black folks doing well. 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:43.320 And I remember telling my dad, I said, you know, being. 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:46.640 Down in Atlanta reminds me that nobody should have an 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:48.680 excuse not to be able to make a little bit 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:52.360 of money. Because everybody down here, especially the black folks, 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:56.080 have found some way to monetize something, and that should 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:58.880 keep everybody motivated. So that's why I really love and 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.440 that's what I love about being in this city because 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:04.840 you see young black folks doing, you know, some good things. 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:07.440 You know, I actually forgot that you weren't making because 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.480 my mom's from making, so I forgot that you're writing 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:13.720 down there. You know, my family still has a restaurant 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.880 downtown making it's a historic site now. So if the 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.840 next time I come to Atlanta, hopefully this year, I 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:21.920 can come and see you and the kids. I got 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:23.680 to take you guys down there to get some food. Man, 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:26.720 I want to speak to you a little bit about 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:32.320 our show and why I felt like when you mentioned 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:33.880 to me what you were doing that it would be 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:38.320 perfect to have you on. Ramses, who is my co 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.320 host and co producer of the show, went on a 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:44.200 cross country road trip with me. We started in Tampa 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.200 and drove back to Phoenix, but as you could imagine, 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:50.920 we had to stop in Atlanta. And he's from Compton, California, 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:54.880 and it never been to Georgia at all, but specifically Atlanta, 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:57.160 and for all the reasons that you just named, we 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:01.560 saw black doctors, black lawyers, black business owners, you know 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:04.880 you driving through really nice neighborhoods with really nice cars, 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:08.119 and all of the people were black. And he never 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:11.160 seen or experienced anything like that, Mike. So he was 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:14.560 caught off guard. And the best way immediately start talking about, man, 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:17.120 how do we figure out how to get back down 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:18.840 here for something? Do we need to move the show 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.480 down here? Do we need to move our families down here? 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.200 Like this is just really really different, and similar to 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:27.760 what you said, the aura just really really rubbed off 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:32.400 on him. But Atlanta is a very very unique black 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:37.640 city in the South. I think people sometimes misinterpret that 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:41.560 all of Georgia looks and feels like Atlanta, and that 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:45.040 is kind of far from the truth. So, you know, 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:51.760 after a really tumultuous twenty twenty, especially the summer, the 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:55.960 summer of George Floyd, there was some tension that rose 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.040 up in our country and really around the world, and 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:01.880 you know, put a microscope on race relations, police brutality, 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:05.559 racial injustice, and a lot of things that our people 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:07.680 have been dealing with for a long time. And we 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:10.720 had this idea, since we worked in radio, that we 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:13.920 should shine some light on things that are important, specifically 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:16.480 to black people. So that was kind of the brain 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:19.720 child for this show. And I remember when I sent 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:22.200 you the press release about the show and you read it. 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:24.280 When you messaged me and you sent me the information 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:27.679 about what you were doing. I was excited, Bro. I 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:29.959 was like, you know, I really hope that we do 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.520 have time to make this happening soon because I think 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:35.360 what you're doing is important. So I just wanted to 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:37.800 give you a little bit of scope and context as 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.200 to why I thought it was so perfect, and I 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.480 think you did as well. So can you tell people 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:45.840 a little bit about what it is that you're doing 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.160 at in the terror with regards to inclusion and diversity. 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:51.880 Yeah, you know, first of all, I want to commend 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:55.079 you for having this program to talk about that, because 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:57.640 I think, you know, we've been suppressed too long to 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:00.280 not have the voice as strong, as as. 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:04.520 Powerful as we can be to make a change. 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.720 And I think that's what even you know, for me 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:11.120 moving to Atlanta has showcased that even if you're a minority, 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:13.880 and it's like, as you mentioned, it's very easy to forget, 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.200 like you go even twenty miles outside of Atlanta Radius. 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:20.400 I mean, it's the redneck of the rednecks. They act 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:25.000 like they've never seen a black person before. But nonetheless, 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:28.520 I think, you know, when all that happened with my 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:32.120 organization that I'm with now in a terra, you know, 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:35.480 I sat back because I wanted to see organically how 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:36.800 they were going to respond. 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:39.319 I didn't want it to seem like it was forced. 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:42.520 I didn't want it to seem like, you know, it 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:45.440 was a me too type of response. I would just 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:48.520 you know, laid back, just kind of waiting to see 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:50.800 if somebody was going to approach me, how they were 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.959 going to approach me, and as an organization, how are 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:54.920 we going to respond. 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.920 Now before I kind of get into how I responded, and. 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:02.280 I was thinking that I think is very important to 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:06.760 you know, executive leadership teams. So these are the CEOs, 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:11.199 the CFOs, the CEOs and all these c's, the C 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:14.400 suite individuals. Yeah, you know, I have an opportunity to 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:16.800 present to them all the time. And you know, when 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:18.600 you're on a zoom and you're looking at the boxes 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:23.679 of faces that don't represent how I think, how you 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:27.400 think what we've been through, right, but yet the community 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:34.160 that we serve mostly are communities of color, and it's 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:38.319 very interesting that you know, sometimes some of the initiatives 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:42.080 that we put in place don't necessarily take that into consideration. 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:44.560 But I do got to commend to the company, you know, 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:47.040 even though that they don't have somebody of color or 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:49.600 black I should say, you know, sitting on the board, 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:52.760 I do think that they do, you know, respond to 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:57.880 feedback very positively because we are an innovative company and 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:01.680 it showcases in the organization of that I've been able 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:05.280 to find. So essentially, you know, I started getting those emails, 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:08.840 started seeing you know, Instagram, you know, different companies responding 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:13.280 and showing support for black lives matters. And then just 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.360 out of the woodworks, like individuals within the company just 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:18.440 reached out to me like, I can't believe the company 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:19.040 is not doing this. 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:21.160 What do you think of being silently? What does this mean? 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:23.480 Just all kinds of different emails, and I was like, hey, 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:26.319 you know what, just let's just see how Natara handles it. 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:29.079 And I had one of the executive leaders come to me, 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:31.120 called me on the phone early in the morning. 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:33.440 It was like eight o'clock East Coast time, so I 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:37.040 know it was what at least five five something, you know, 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:38.199 three hours back. 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:42.760 In La the Bay Areas where we're located, and you know, 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:45.600 the conversation was, Hey, Mike, I feel really embarrassed to 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:48.000 have to call you and ask you this, but I 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:50.520 think it's my duty to at least, you know, get 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.600 your insight. But I want to know from you by 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.120 given the situation that's you know that we have in 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.400 our environment and black lives matter, how can we help 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:00.720 How what should we do? 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:03.559 Can you help us get you know, the. 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:09.720 Support for our own individual employees and start an organization 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:12.680 so that we can support them in any way, shape 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:16.440 or form. And you know, I was kind of thrown back, 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.200 and they said that my name had come up a 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:23.720 few times in the board meetings, and so I responded 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:27.320 by saying, hey, you know, I'm more than happy to 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:28.720 do this. As a matter of fact, I was waiting 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:32.120 for you to or somebody, uh to to reach out 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.120 to me to just ask me, like what we thought, 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:37.480 because we felt like nobody had reached out to any 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:42.559 folk of color to get their you know, opinion or thoughts, 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.600 to see what they're emotionally, you know, going through based 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:50.160 on you know, everything I've seen in the news. 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:50.760 And uh. 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:52.800 He said, yeah, so tell me what what we need 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:54.800 to do. And I said, before I start anything, I 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:56.959 really have to give your support that you're going to 0:13:57.000 --> 0:14:00.280 give me full ring. I got full support and anything 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:04.720 that we need to make sure that we support the individuals, 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:09.520 especially the black community in our organization, to continue to 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:13.600 diversify our organization so that we can continue to be, 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:15.640 you know, as powerful as I know we can be. 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:18.280 I'm on board. But as soon as I feel like 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:18.880 I'm being. 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.640 Dictated or that you know, this is for show or 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.720 a marketing ploy, I'll be the very first person out 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.480 of here. And they said, look, that is not going 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:30.320 to happen, you got full. 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:31.960 Reign, you name it what you want. 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.440 I mean, they literally gave me the keys to the 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:38.360 bins instead go drive and go do your thing. And 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.640 so that's what I've been able to do. So we started. 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.600 You know, it's kind of a generic name. We call 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:49.760 it Diversity and Inclusion Group acronym DIG. But actually it's 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:53.760 become very catchy within the organization. You know, we got 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:58.080 what can you dig in? Let's dig out, digging. 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:00.000 Forward, marching out, you know, so we have all. 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:02.680 These different plays on that particular word which has been 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:08.360 very catchy. And so essentially this group is really founded 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:13.200 for two things. So one is to bring more visibility 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:17.560 amongst US minorities with the emphasis on the black individuals 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:22.120 in our organization, so that they can be represented and 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:24.840 have a voice, so that they have an opportunity to 0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:26.160 continue to grow within the. 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.000 Organization into leadership roles. Right. 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:30.880 I think you know, when you look at a lot 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.200 of companies, the ground level or the entry level positions 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:39.040 are historically or you know, mostly minorities or even blacks, 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.440 but as you start going up the ladder, you start 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:44.400 seeing less and less black folks. And so the main 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.000 vision is to try to get more people of color, 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:50.520 more minorities into these higher positions. 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:52.960 The second piece is that. 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:55.640 We really and this is more so in the mission 0:15:56.360 --> 0:16:00.960 without all the various jargon that we put into the mission, 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:04.800 the basis audience workplace. You know, we don't want people 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.680 to be walking on eggshells and feeling like, hey, you know, 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.120 am I saying something that's racist? But I want you 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:13.520 to be aware about what you're about to say, right. 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:17.320 I want you to understand what I've been through, and 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.280 you know, I haven't been living through a privileged life, 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.120 and my life is not like yours, right, And I 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:24.920 think the biggest thing that I've learned is like when 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:29.200 people say I don't see color, like, to me, that's 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:32.240 very irritating, right, because if you don't see color, that 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:36.640 means you don't understand there's a difference between what I've 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:38.360 been through versus what you've been through. 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:39.040 Right. 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:41.760 I get the concept that you're trying to treat everybody equal, 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:45.280 but you can't treat everybody equal if they haven't been 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:47.840 through the same process that you have in right. 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.000 And so I think it's. 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:53.680 About educating, you know, all of our people at the 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.680 organization and especially starting from the higher ups down. 0:16:57.760 --> 0:16:59.560 And so I'm very proud. 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:02.720 To say that I have this big initiative and this 0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:06.600 training program that's already getting ready to launch next month. 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:11.520 But that training program starts with the executive leadership team, 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:16.000 and it's only geared towards them about what they're thinking, 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:19.520 how they view things, what their perspectives are, and to 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:21.800 get their feedback. And then from there we're going to 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:26.720 launch a company wide and this will be an ongoing program, hopefully, 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:28.520 you know, beyond my time. 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:29.080 Here at Materia. 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:31.919 It's really interesting you already spoke to something that I 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:36.720 was going to ask you later about the pipeline to leadership. 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:39.639 A lot of times, like you said, your ground level, 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:41.880 your entry level positions will be people of color, will 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:44.960 be black people, Hispanic people, but all of your executives 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.360 are typically white. And even when it comes to hiring 0:17:48.440 --> 0:17:51.120 and training people for those higher level positions, a lot 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:53.960 of times companies will reach outward and pull people in 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:56.120 instead of reaching down and pulling people up. So I'm 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:59.840 glad that you understood that it was important to have 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:04.560 something in place to train, build, and empower people of 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:07.280 color that are already in the company to move up. 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:12.320 Into those you know, higher level management, middle management, executive positions. 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:16.720 I knew you before they reached out to you thought 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:19.879 it was important to do what you're doing. Give us 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:23.160 a little insight as to why you waited to let 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:25.159 them present it to you instead of you presented it 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:27.399 to them, and why you questioned or not questioned, but 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:29.359 made it clear to them that you didn't want this 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:31.439 to be something we were doing for public relations, but 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:33.240 something that was authentic and genuine. 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:37.520 Yeah, that's a really good point because because at first 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:40.919 I didn't know. I think, let me back up, I 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:43.560 think all of us when you're a minority in an organization, 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:46.919 especially when you have some people come look at as power, 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:51.119 you can call it influence influence, so you know, so 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:53.040 I think there's like different things that you but when 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.000 you're a minority in a certain position, what you say 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:58.760 and what you do has a big impact on a 0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:04.080 lot of people. And not only that, I was also 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:07.920 trying to think about what I could do if something 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:10.719 were to if they felt otherwise right, if the organization 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:13.360 didn't agree with what I was going. 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:13.679 To stand for. 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:15.640 I wanted to make sure I had a backup plan. 0:19:16.040 --> 0:19:18.920 So I was actually thinking about all of these things together. 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:21.720 But the main thing that I really wanted to see, 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:25.480 as I mentioned earlier, is I wanted it to be 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:29.160 organ I wanted them to be able to go to 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:32.600 town hall without having anything or anyone come directly to 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:34.360 them and answer some of the questions. 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:35.640 I knew was going to come at town hall. 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:40.639 I wanted them to because I think it wasn't about 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:44.920 like trying to say I told you so or now 0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:48.000 what kind of thing. It was more about you don't 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:51.119 know what you don't know, right, And I wanted it 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:56.320 to be organ I wanted them to feel inadequate in 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:58.960 a certain area because a lot of times we're so 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:03.639 focused in unspecific you know, dimension or division, uh you know, 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:07.720 in this case obviously women's health and genetics, but a 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:10.800 lot of times we forget about investing in our own 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:13.359 people that have helped us get to that particular point. 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:17.119 And so the reason why I waited because I was 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:19.359 still trying to contemplate how I wanted to do things, 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:21.520 how I was going to respond, and even if they 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:23.359 didn't come to me, I still had a plan that 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:26.639 I was going to do and leverage my influence amongst 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:29.600 you know, my my people are people, right, and my 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:33.720 organization that I have influence over. But I was just 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:35.399 waiting back because I wanted to see who was gonna 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:39.159 because I think those that didn't say anything, those that 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:41.919 did say something at that point, and that those that 0:20:42.040 --> 0:20:45.160 haven't said anything since or that are now coming out 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:49.160 to me, tells the whole story about some of the 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:51.960 things that I had already been thinking about. Uh, you know, 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:53.920 tells the story about some of the things I didn't 0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:58.040