Today cohost Jamiere Abney, Associate Dean of Admissions at Colgate University and Coordinator of Outreach for Opportunity & Inclusion speaks with Ben Schneider, University of Milwaukee grad, sales professional, and an avid follower of The Barbershop Group about his professional efforts to change how corporate America engages people of color and about his own desire to understand more about mental health and illness.

Ben is a Diversity and Inclusion Facilitator for a company in Wisconsin. He and his team have been challenged to lead in efforts to retool D&I processes. It sounds like a mammoth task considering some of the obstacles and goals of the organization but he is definitely up for it. On one of his recent walks through his neighborhood saw a Take a Book /Leave a Book box. Knowing Elm Grove is a 90%+ white community, he wasn't surprised to see any books celebrating diversity or on the concepts of anti-racism. Ben wanted to make sure that
changed, so he dropped off some books he felt almost every White man needs to read. Ben says White men like him need to feel uncomfortable.And he isn’t just speaking about random men. He has found himself at the forefront of discussions about race with many of his close family members, former schoolmates, and colleagues.

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Also, if you or someone you know would like to be on the podcast, you can email us with the subject line: ’Co-host’ or ‘Guest’ Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @TheBarberShopGrp. You can also follow Jamiere on Instagram @jamabney26.