Inclusivity Included: Powerful personal stories

Helping veterans fight for disability benefits

In this special Veterans Day episode, Reed Smith partner Julia Lopez guest hosts a discussion with lawyers Melisa Geist and Kathy Oviedo to discuss their pro bono work to help veterans get a second chance at disability benefits that were wrongly denied or delayed. They’re joined by Rochelle Bobroff, pro bono director at the National Veterans Legal Services Program, which works to ensure that the government delivers to our nation's 22 million veterans and active duty personnel the benefits to which they are entitled because of disabilities resulting from military service. 

This episode was produced with support from RSVets, Reed Smith’s veterans and military family business inclusion group.

For more information, please visit Reed Smith's Diversity & Inclusion page.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ask me my pronouns: Creating transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary inclusive workplaces

In recognition of LGBT+ History Month, Nat Ochoa (they/them), an associate in Reed Smith’s labor and employment group, joins John Iino (he/him) and Iveliz Crespo (they/them) for an enlightening discussion on the importance of transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary (TGNCNB) inclusive workplaces. In this episode, Nat discusses being non-binary at work, their involvement with PRISM, Reed Smith’s LGBT+ business inclusion group, PRISM’s efforts to advance inclusion with Reed Smith’s recent pronoun initiative, and transgender inclusive strategies that organizations and leaders should adopt. 

For more information, please visit Reed Smith's Diversity & Inclusion page.

Read the rest of this entry »

How workplaces promote recovery by destigmatizing mental illness

World Mental Health Day is observed every year on October 10, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world. Mark Goldstein, partner chair of Reed Smith’s Mental Health Task Force, talks powerfully about challenging the stigma associated with mental health. Joined by hosts John Iino and Iveliz Crespo, Mark shares his personal experience with mental health symptoms and describes strategies companies can use to cultivate psychological wellness and encourage help-seeking behaviors. 

For more information, please visit Reed Smith's Diversity & Inclusion page.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why organizations need to be ‘disability-confident’… and how to make that happen

The three co-founders of Reed Smith’s disability focused inclusion group share best practices and challenges in building an effective employee resource group for people with disabilities. This comes on the heels of the news that Reed Smith has earned the top score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index, a benchmarking tool that offers businesses an opportunity to self-report their disability inclusion policies and practices. Luke Debevec, Kevin Hara and Carolyn Pepper join co-hosts Iveliz Crespo and John Iino to share their experiences and best practices.

For more information, please visit Reed Smith's Diversity & Inclusion page.

Read the rest of this entry »

Revisiting race: Examining ”Blackness” in Latinx communities

Dr. Shantee Rosado, professor in Africana Studies at Rutgers University, delves into the intersections and emergence of Afro-Latinidad in the United States. Joined by D&I advisor Iveliz Crespo and Life Sciences partner Julia López, Rosado discusses coalition-building to advance racial equity, and shares strategies to combat anti-blackness and colorism in Latinx communities.

Read the rest of this entry »

The American Indian College Fund: Changing the face of higher education

Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO, and Emily White Hat, J.D., vice president of programs, of the American Indian College Fund, discuss the indigenous populations they serve, the College Fund’s transformative advocacy work, and how individuals and organizations can support Native Americans. Reed Smith Global Diversity Chair John Iino and Global D&I Advisor Iveliz Crespo moderate the episode.

Read the rest of this entry »

A. Scott Bolden: Living at the intersection of business, law, politics and race

Reed Smith Managing Partner A. Scott Bolden shares stories about his childhood during the civil rights movement, reflects on his successful career, and offers his unique insight on the need for more discussion and reconciliation around race relations, in an episode recorded earlier this year. Bolden is the current managing partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

Read the rest of this entry »

Deconstructing white privilege: Calling all upstanders (Part 3)

In Part 3 of our series “Deconstructing White Privilege,” former Reed Smith partner Mike Scott, associate Lora Spencer, and co-hosts Iveliz Crespo and John Iino discuss their work on the case to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi state flag. They also will emphasize the importance of upstanders who support the Black community and interrupt racism.

Read the rest of this entry »

Deconstructing white privilege: When white women cry (Part 2)

Jenna Chandler-Ward, founder of the Multicultural Teaching Institute and the Teaching While White podcast and blog, joins Dr. Dana Alvaré, Reed Smith’s global gender equity advisor, Liza Craig, deputy chair of Reed Smith’s Black business inclusion group, and Global Diversity Chair John Iino for a lively discussion on: the intersectionality between gender and race; why white women feel uncomfortable discussing race; and how white women can engage in discussions around race and racism.

Read the rest of this entry »

Deconstructing white privilege

Ryan Williams-Virden, author and instructor on Reimagining Whiteness, joins Reed Smith Diversity & Inclusion Global Chair John Iino and Senior Public Relations Manager Devon Jaffier for a provocative discussion examining white privilege, why it is difficult for white people to discuss race, and what organizations can do to address systemic racism. 

Read the rest of this entry »