Leading with purpose through moments of crisis: Kimberly Seals Allers

PodcastApril 12, 2021
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Intro

In this episode of the Decision Corner, Brooke speaks with award-winning journalist Kimberly Seals Allers. Kimberly was formerly a senior editor at Essence and a writer at Fortune magazine. She now uses her decades of media experience as the founder of the IRTH app, which is specifically designed to help mothers of color rate their doctors for optimal health. Kimberly is also the host of Birthright, a podcast about joy and healing in Black birth.

Kimberly and Brooke discuss the need for apps like IRTH and how the tragedies that gave rise to the BLM movement last year impact the communities that Kimberly serves. This episode is an important reminder of the realities that people of color face in both personal and professional environments.

Some of the topics discussed include…

  • The discrepancy of maternal and infant mortality for peoples of color, and the need for apps like IRTH.
  • The struggle that professional people of color have with ‘dual identities’, where they must separate their cultural and professional selves.
  • The trauma experienced by entire communities in response to the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd over the Spring and Summer of 2020.
  • The additional challenges faced by minority innovators, especially when it comes to issues of racism and cyber-security
  • Why society needs to acknowledge that people of color have different experiences in professional and personal environments, and how the ignorance and denial of racism is one of its root causes.
  • The ongoing struggle and the difficult conversations that are needed to start bringing about meaningful change.

About the Guest

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Kimberly Seals Allers

Kimberly Seals Allers is an award-winning journalist, five-time author, international speaker and strategist for maternal and infant health. She is the founder of Irth, (as in Birth but without the B for bias), the first-of-its-kind “Yelp-like” review and rating app for Black and brown women and birthing people to leave and find reviews of Ob/GYNs, hospitals, and pediatricians as a digital tool to address bias and racism in maternity care and to bring transparency and accountability to the medical system.

Kimberly is also the host of Birthright— a podcast about joy and healing in Black birth to counter the doom and gloom mainstream narrative in Black maternal health, funded by the California Health Care Foundation.

Learn more at www.irthapp.com, www.birthrightpodcast.com, and www.KimberlySealsAllers.com. Follow @iamKSealsAllers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

About the Interviewer

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Dr. Brooke Struck

Dr. Brooke Struck is the Research Director at The Decision Lab. He is an internationally recognized voice in applied behavioural science, representing TDL’s work in outlets such as Forbes, Vox, Huffington Post and Bloomberg, as well as Canadian venues such as the Globe & Mail, CBC and Global Media. Dr. Struck hosts TDL’s podcast “The Decision Corner” and speaks regularly to practicing professionals in industries from finance to health & wellbeing to tech & AI.

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