In this episode, Melinda Briana Epler, Founder & CEO of Change Catalyst, speaks with Tammy Cho, Co-Founder & CEO of Hate Is A Virus and BetterBrave. Tammy and Melinda discuss the work we must do together to combat racism against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, starting with raising awareness of what community members have experienced – historically and presently – in the United States. They address what allies and members of the AAPI community can do to create change.
Additional Resources
- Hate Is A Virus & BetterBrave
- Stop AAPI Hate
- Center for Anti-Violence Education
- Compassion in Oakland
- LA vs Hate
- 211 LA
- Defend Yourself
- “How You Can Support Asian American Communities Right Now” Part 1 & Part II
- “‘Model Minority’ Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks” by Kat Chow
- ”Show Up: Your Guide To Bystander Intervention” by Hollaback!
- “On Anti-Asian Hate Crimes: Who Is Our Real Enemy?” by Michelle Kim
This episode is sponsored by AppDynamics, builders of the world’s only full-stack Business Observability platform. Join their team to help businesses thrive by turning performance into profit. Learn more at www.appdynamics.com/company/careers
The live show is made accessible thanks to Interpreter-Now and White Coat Captioning.
[Image description: promo for Leading With Empathy & Allyship with Change Catalyst logo against a white background and photos of Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with long red hair, and Tammy Cho, an Asian woman with short blonde hair, and white text in a red graphic reading “How We Can Collectively Address Anti-Asian Hate”]
#AllyshipPodcast #ChangeCatalyst #Empathy #Allyship #Diversity #Equity #Inclusion #WomensHistoryMonth #AAPI #HateIsAVirus
Quotes
- “It is so important for us to continue to have dialogue and learn about the historical context. Learn about these issues that keep happening, the root causes and and the solutions that are in the works by the different community organizations.”
- “If you are in a situation, you are witnessing somebody yelling at a person on the bus for being Asian and causing the coronavirus, one of the strategies, if you feel safe, is just walking up to the person who is being attacked and just having a separate conversation with them. Just completely ignore the perpetrator and pretend you are in a different bubble/world with this individual until they go away.”
- “You know, as much as racism is not new, I also do want to highlight that activism is not necessarily new. There has been such an incredible history of solidarity among communities of color as well. And unfortunately, part of it is just that it is not covered in our history books and there is not as much dialogue or amplification of those moments.”
Tammy Cho
Co-Founder & CEO at Hate Is A Virus & BetterBrave
Tammy Cho focuses on work that dismantles harassment, discrimination and racism.
She does this through her work as the Co-Founder and CEO of Hate Is A Virus, a nonprofit and community of mobilizers and amplifiers dedicated to dismantling hate and racism. Hate Is A Virus started as a grassroots movement last April in response to the first spike in hate crimes against Asians due to COVID-19. Over the past year, they produced national awareness campaigns, educational resources for the community, and raised over $30K+ for essential BIPOC community organizations and small businesses across the nation and are committed to continuing these efforts this year.
In addition to Hate Is A Virus, Tammy founded BetterBrave, a nonprofit that empowers thousands of employees with free knowledge and tools for navigating workplace harassment and discrimination, serves as the COO of Block Party, a tech startup focused on tackling online harassment and abuse, and co-produced Hidden Narratives with Steven Lim, a podcast that launched to highlight the impacts of COVID-19 on our community.
Previously, Tammy co-founded Encore Alert, an AI platform that helps brands like IDEO, Denver Broncos, and the University of Michigan identify and act on emerging trends, crises, and influencers in their industry. She started the company as a college freshman at Georgetown University and sold it in 2016 at age 21.
Tammy has also been recognized as NBC Asian America’s A to Z Rising Star, Georgetown Entrepreneur of the Year, and a Power Woman in DC Tech. Her work has also been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Entrepreneur, Bloomberg, Glamour, and more.
Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Melinda Briana Epler has over 25 years of experience developing business innovation and inclusion strategies for startups, Fortune 500 companies, and global NGOs.
As CEO of Change Catalyst, Melinda currently works with the tech industry to solve diversity and inclusion together. Using her background in storytelling and large-scale culture change, she is a strategic advisor for tech companies, tech hubs, and governments around the world. She co-leads a series of global solutions-focused conferences called Tech Inclusion, where she has partnered with over 450 tech companies and community organizations and hosted 43 solutions-focused diversity and inclusion events around the world.
Previously, Melinda was a Marketing and Culture Executive and award-winning documentary filmmaker – her film and television work includes projects that exposed the AIDS crisis in South Africa, explored women’s rights in Turkey, and prepared communities for the effects of climate change. She has worked on several television shows, including NBC’s The West Wing.
Melinda is a TED speaker. She speaks, mentors and writes about diversity and inclusion in tech, allyship, social entrepreneurship, underrepresented entrepreneurs and investing. She has spoken on hundreds of stages around the world, including SXSW, Grace Hopper, Wisdom 2.0, the World Bank, Obama White House, Clinton Foundation, Black Enterprise, Google, Indeed, Capital One and McKinsey.
Watch Melinda’s TED Talk
Speaking Engagements
Change Catalyst Co-Founder Melinda Briana Epler has spoken across the globe in hundreds of venues and virtual events. Empathy, Allyship, Advocacy, Microaggressions, Inclusive Leadership, and Building Inclusive Teams are just some of the topics Melinda has spoken on. Let us know about your next speaking engagement needs! Melinda has also spoken on how to build organizational capacity to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as how to lead behavior change or how to build allies and advocates.
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