In this brief teaser segment, host Bob (referred to as Speaker A) welcomes special guest Daniela (Speaker B) to the podcast. He thanks her for joining, notes her location in New York, and expresses appreciation for her willingness to appear. Bob then opens the conversation to Daniela, inviting her to share any personal experiences or insights related to diversity, equity, and inclusion—particularly as a Black woman in America—while also encouraging audience participation and questions. The tone is conversational and supportive, setting the stage for a deeper discussion on DEI topics.
All right, thank you so much everyone. I have a special guest here for just a minute. I can't believe she agreed to do this. Hey Daniela, how are you?
Hi everyone, thanks for having me Bob.
Yeah, sorry for putting you on the spot, but you did reply back, so you are watching us today from New York, you said, right? Which is really awesome. I really appreciate this because I am here every morning, usually around 6:00, 6:30 AM California time, so I'm glad for people like you who watch and listen almost every day. Now you don't have to, but if you are willing to, I think this is such an important subject. You may share about maybe a personal experience just about diversity, being Black, being a woman in America, or any of the takeaway or insight from this podcast, or really anything you want to do. I thought it would be kind of cool if I could bring someone from the audience to just come and share, ask question, or just comment. So the floor is yours.
Sure. So my name is Daniela. Thanks for having me. And I think DEI is really important, not from the stance of, you know, giving people things because they are different, but giving people a chance. Um, so I believe diversity, equity, and inclusion are really essential to building true resilience. And that's the line of work that I'm in, uh, business continuity, emergency management. And so I'm looking at situations of crisis and disaster and trying to fix it, essentially. So in my work, DEI is not a side initiative. It's really a core strategy that ensures that all voices are heard, that resources are accessible, and solutions are culturally informed. So I've worked in the US, I've worked in the United Arab Emirates, and those are two very different cultures. But what connects all of us is that we are humans at the end of the day. By integrating diverse perspectives into planning and decision-making, we really do strengthen our ability to respond, recover, and thrive in the face of disruption. Resilience is at its strongest when no community, industry, or individual is left behind. I think we also have to remember diversity comes in a lot of shapes, sizes and presentations. So it could be age, it could be ethnicity, it could be wearing glasses, you know, there's just a range of things that make us diverse. And that can also be a beautiful thing.
