Hi Sedruola, first we’d like to express how happy we are that you’re joining us for Bullcon 2020! We’d love to learn a bit more about you how you became a diversity advocate and personal development coach.
Hi Jen, I’m excited about being a speaker at Bullcon 2020! So grateful for the opportunity. I’m looking forward to meeting the amazing women I know will attend. I’m pretty sure I’ve been a development coach all my life, but about 2016 I really began to realize it was my path and my passion. Nothing major happened then (at least not personally) but I felt a shift in the core of my soul. As I began to explore what I was feeling with introspection and contemplation I allowed myself to slowly transition from my crochet work to a more personal work. Then, in December of 2017 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and that sealed the deal. Something happens when you get a cancer diagnosis, you realize how important the NOW really is! So I focused and dedicated my efforts to following my passion. As for being a diversity advocate, that too has always been in my soul. I’m the daughter of immigrants so I’ve grown up bi-culturally and my husband is a white man from the midwest so my children are not only bi-cultural but bi-racial. It’s important to me that we are all. and I mean everyone, is celebrated for who they are fully! We all know that diversity is what makes this country great, I’m here to help that happen on a grand scale.
You’re also an accomplished speaker and author, can you tell us about some of the topics you love to write and speak about?
You’re very kind! Thank you. I’m a personal development coach focused on helping women claim their empowerment and move in it. I believe that every woman can be empowered. What happens is that many women wake up one day and find they have no idea who they are, what they want, where they’re going or how they got to where they are. They’ve been living in default for so long they’re lost. Many women don’t take time to listen to their innermost thoughts and feelings. They don’t know what to ask themselves or when to connect with themselves. My passion is to teach them how to connect with self, discover their personal dreams and boost their motivation to pursue said dreams. That means they know, accept and love themselves and are confident that the decisions they make and activities they participate in are truly intentional and aligned with their purpose. I’m also passionate about inspiring others to become allies. Research shows that ally-ship helps move the needle to equality for all. To that end some topics I’m excited to share about are “I Can’t Believe I Did That: How to challenge our self-imposed disbelief in ourselves”; “Leisure is Not For The Weak: Mustering the courage to enjoy leisure as a way to more productivity”; “Goals Aren’t Just for Soccer: How to Separate Yourself From The ‘won’t do’ Crowd”; and “Show Up Boldly: Showing Up as The Person You’d Love to Meet.” All my talks and what I write about are in an effort to help women see themselves more clearly, and to fall in love with what they see. When we love ourselves we’re truly powerful and true agents of change in the world.
Can you tell us more about your BullCon Presenation, “50 Shades of People: How to be a Diversity Advocate Even If You’re Not The Boss? Who should attend your talk and what will they learn along the way?
Oh my goodness! Managers, employees and all allies should attend because I’m sharing tips to help people at every level, below the executive level, be diversity advocates. Whether you’re working for a company that has a diversity initiative or a company that doesn’t you’ll get ideas on how to maneuver within your environment and/or present a diversity initiative to your company. Learning that your company has a “diversity” initiative is usually where it stops. If we’re not the boss we think it’s not in our power to latch onto that initiative and help it spread. That’s so wrong. We’re more powerful and impactful than we give ourselves credit for. My talk is centered around helping us see exactly how a diversity initiative is about all of us embracing and helping move the initiative forward. Highly diverse teams are far more innovative that homogeneous teams which means diversity is good not only socially, but professionally. I’ll be sharing tips on how to be a better ally, help your company find qualified candidates and be a ninja diversity agent when and if needed.
Can you talk to us about an impactful moment in your career?
Many moons ago I’d become the Executive Assistant at the company I was working for after starting as a receptionist. I noticed that although people enjoyed working at the company morale was a bit low. I decided to go in to my boss, who was the Managing Director, and propose an employee recognition program that would reward different people each month for various accomplishments. My boss thought the idea was great and put me in charge of getting it done. Excited to own and push forward a new initiative I decided on the criteria, the awards and organized the monthly recognition program. Needless to say morale went up quickly because people felt valued and appreciated in their jobs and I was happy to have been the initiator. It’s all about knowing that your ideas matter and presenting them can’t hurt.
And lastly, can you tell us one quirky or unexpected thing about you?
