How to Intentionally Create An Inclusive Environment with Yolanda Evans | Mediavine On Air Episode 42

Content creators have the power to change the world from behind their laptops.



Cheesy? Maybe a little, but that doesn't make it any less true.



Unfortunately, creating a safe space for yourself and others isn't going to happen by chance. So, how do we go about this very important work with sensitivity and intention?



For Mediavine On Air Episode 42, Senior Director of Marketing Jenny Guy is joined by Yolanda Evans, Mediavine's VP of People Experience and Diversity.



Yolanda shares all the wisdom she's learned from more than 20 years of experience advocating for diversity and inclusion and you DON'T want to miss it!







Helpful Resources



Helpful Resources SlideHate Is A Virus#ChangeTheFaceThe Tonquise "TQ" Evans '03 Endowed Scholarship"How to Be An Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi








https://youtu.be/4lZ_1lM5CY4




Transcript



[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hello, everyone. Welcome. Grab a seat. Grab your favorite beverage. It is the middle of the day, but we are not here to judge. It is 2022, and we're still in a pandemic. So we need to take our moments of joy whenever we can have them. Mine today was a iced dirty coconut chai and a cheddar and spinach scone, and I have zero regrets about it.



YOLANDA EVANS: Man, that sounds amazing.



[LAUGHTER]



JENNY GUY: It was so-- it was one of those things when I'm like am I going to take the time to do this. And then I thought, yeah. You know, I am going to take that extra 10 minutes, and I'm going to get this, and I'm going to have it.



YOLANDA EVANS: That beats my water and bagel any day.



JENNY GUY: You reward yourself post live.



YOLANDA EVANS: There you go.



JENNY GUY: Mm hmm. Reward yourself post live. That's good. How is everybody out there doing on this Teal Talk Tuesday? I want to take this moment to say thank you for being here. Truly it is my privilege to come here every couple of weeks to talk with industry experts and all of you. So thank you.



And I should say who I am. I am your host for Teal Talk. I'm Mediavine's Jenny Guy. It is February, which means it is Black History Month. One of the ways we're honoring the occasion is by sharing some of the incredible Black content creators and Mediavine team members that we are so lucky to work with. So make sure that you're following us on all of our social media platforms, including LinkedIn, if you do that, and YouTube, to catch them and more things that we'll be doing throughout this month.



While we are excited though at this opportunity to share a light on these talented individuals, our goal is to ensure that we're pushing for awareness, equity, and inclusion year round. As content creators, we're in a unique position of influence and can affect real change, but sometimes we might not be confident in how to provide support sensitively, which is why I am so excited for my conversation with our wonderful guest today.



Yolanda has joined the Mediavine team in the Summer of 2021 and has already proven herself a maker and educator at our organization. I'm going to read her impressive bio. Yolanda Evans serves as Mediavine's VP People Experience and Diversity overseeing the people operations department and department staff. In this role, Yolanda leads the overall strategic direction of all people-related programs within the company, including talent acquisition, talent management, and all diversity and inclusion initiatives. She brings more than 20 years of experience to Mediavine. In her most recent position at Syniti as the VP of talent acquisition, she played a key role in the company's growth as the business scaled from 400 to 1,400 employees during her tenure. In her leadership role at Syniti, she also helped to initiate the company's Diversity and Inclusion Council and launched the Black Employee Network, BEN, & Friends as the executive sponsor. Yolanda, thank you so much for making time for us.



YOLANDA EVANS: Absolutely. No, thank you for having me.