Fiftyfaces Focus 2023 Pride Special Aoifinn Devitt

Dani D’Amico is a partner at McKinsey in their financial services practice. She has previously worked at Oliver Wyman in New York, where she was also a partner, and started her career in various consulting roles.Our conversation starts with Dani’s early years in Italy and how she devised various distractions to outrun her authentic self – while she always felt she was a female trapped in a male body, she couldn’t at that time conceive how she could live authentically. As a marathon runner, she uses the analogy of trying to outrun the reality that was catching up with her, until she could outrun it no more.Dani made the decision to transition after she already had had notable achievements in her career, and she is quick to note the position of privilege that that gave her.  She notes that not all transgender people are so lucky to have the financial resources, access to medical care and career capital at the stage that they choose to transition, and this disparity reveals the inequity in play across the LGBTQ+ community that often gets overlooked. Dani draws upon her risk management background to explain how she planned out her transition – including scenario analysis and decision trees. Once again we are told of how leadership and peer support was exceptional and surprised on the upside – a recurring theme throughout this series, when it comes to coming out at work.Our fourth Pride series is supported by JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase has long been a supporter of equality in all forms, including for the LGBTQ+ community. Starting with the very first PRIDE business resource group in 1996, they recently strengthened their commitment by creating the Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs and a full-time, dedicated team to deliver on a global LGBTQ+ agenda. The Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs partners closely with stakeholders across the firm to promote intersectionality and leverage its combined resources to deliver equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees, clients, partners and communities, worldwide.

Brad Baumoel is managing director and Global Head of LGBTQ+ affairs at JPMorgan Chase, a position he assumed in April 2021.  He previously was Portfolio Director for the Chase Digital Platform and prior to that led several large-scale transformative programs and teams across the institution. He was a founding member and prior leader of OPEN Finance NYC, a non-profit LGBT network for the Financial Services Industry.Our conversation starts with Brad describing his upbringing in a single parent household and how he came out in stages – not initially to his family. He moved to New York City early in his career, and we speak about the adjustment that was involved – in terms of modifying his New England accent but also the burst of inclusion that he experienced from being exposed to New York’s LGBTQ+ neighborhoods. We move then to his role at JPMorgan Chase, and the breadth of what he is taking on, and speak in particular about what it is to foster true allyship.  Our fourth Pride series is supported by JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase has long been a supporter of equality in all forms, including for the LGBTQ+ community. Starting with the very first PRIDE business resource group in 1996, they recently strengthened their commitment by creating the Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs and a full-time, dedicated team to deliver on a global LGBTQ+ agenda. The Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs partners closely with stakeholders across the firm to promote intersectionality and leverage its combined resources to deliver equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees, clients, partners and communities, worldwide.  

Welcome to our fourth Pride series of all time, which is full of personal narratives that will make you smile, may make you cry and will definitely make you think.  Join us as we discuss what allyship really means, share personal experiences across diverging global backgrops for LGBTQ+ rights, and take you into the realms of personal finance, international development and coaching.  Our stories are personal and nuanced and reveal how activism can come from many sources. We hear about individual stories of coming out, finding authentic selves, and about some challenges faced and achievements enjoyed.  The 2024 collection features the following inspiring guests:· A long-time LGBTQ+ activist Mark Segal· A prominent transgender spokesperson and partner at McKinsey, Dani D'Amico· A couple who hosts a financial wellbeing podcast - The Debt Free Guys – John and David Auten-Schneider· The head of LGBTQ+ affairs at JPMorgan Chase, Brad Baumoel· The first transgender graduate from HBS now at an investment fund that represents Finance Flowing with Pride, Soltan Bryce· A coach who works with parents of LGBTQ+ children, Susan Berland· A prominent activist within international development and advocate for directors, Fabrice Houdart· A transgender founder of a private wealth firm, Lindsey Young· A founder of a private wealth firm that is inclusive and values oriented, Marci BairSo join us from June 1 and throughout the entire month of June. The 2024 Pride Series is kindly supported by JPMorgan Chase.

Ray Tierney is a cybersecurity specialist who was formerly a paramedic.  Prior to that she was a Security Forces Security Specialist. We chart her path through school and into a series of professions that were explicitly intolerant towards LGBTQ identities and discuss how she was "outed" initially by a polygraph test, which contained particularly intrusive questions.We talk then about her transition, societal pressure that led her to detransition, and then the decision point that led to her committing to her transition once more. We discuss the rising tide of opposition and hostility to transgender people across the country (US) right now and the real stresses that this causes in their everyday life.  We speak about allyship and where it is genuine and where it is not and the advice that Ray would have for her younger self. Finally Ray cites a number of organizations and affinity groups, including those listed below, which have supplied support and community to her and she recommends them as resources for others. Trigger Warning: This podcast contains a discussion of suicidal thoughts. If you or anyone you love is struggling please seek help from one of the organizations below or one of the suicide helplines in your country.  https://www.thetrevorproject.org/https://translifeline.org/www.veteranscrisisline.netThe 2023 Pride Series is kindly sponsored by members of our Rainbow Network including Laura J. LaTourette, who is a financial planner who describes her practice as one designed to enable LGBTQ+ folx make a plan to simplify their lives to enable them to live authentically and leave a legacy of love. Based in Dahlonega Georgia but with a national client base Laura has a particular interest in working with LGBTQ+ elders. You can find out more about Laura's practice by following her on:Linked Inlinkedin.com/in/lauralatourette Twitter: LauraLaTourette

Ronnie Woo is the chef and owner of The Delicious Cook, an LA-based private chef company that specializes in four-star dining experiences. He is an accomplished chef, television personality, and cookbook author (Did You Eat Yet?, March 14, 2023) celebrated by his fans and peers alike for his infectious personality, background in dating & relationships, and creative Asian-American cuisine, which combines Asian dishes with All-American influences. Our conversation starts by discussing Ronnie's childhood and love of food, which we trace through his high school years and early years as a model.  We talk about entering television, and the sometimes stop/start journey that that can entail, and how a recalibration of expectations and dreams is often necessary throughout life. Ronnie discusses what works for him and how he processes feedback in order to improve.  We hear how he connects with his audiences and the role that mentors and role models have played for him throughout his life. You can find out more about Ronnie on the following website: www.ronniewoo.com and his IG is @ronniecwoo.The 2023 Pride Series is kindly sponsored by members of our Rainbow Network including Laura J. LaTourette, who is a financial planner who describes her practice as one designed to enable LGBTQ+ folx make a plan to simplify their lives to enable them to live authentically and leave a legacy of love. Based in Dahlonega Georgia but with a national client base Laura has a particular interest in working with LGBTQ+ elders. You can find out more about Laura's practice by following her on:Linked Inlinkedin.com/in/lauralatourette Twitter: LauraLaTourette

Erryca Robicheaux describes herself as shaping the future of Diversity and Inclusion through technology.  She is a certified DEI leader and strategist as well as a Neurodiversity ERG lead. Erryca grew up in Louisiana in a deeply religious household where attending church multiple times a week was common.  She describes some of the belief system and backdrop to that time, and then how she was “outed” at church which was when she had to tell her parents that she was gay.  Her journey back to the church is one that we discuss, as it reveals the complex, intersecting, aspects of that relationship that many members of the LGBTQ+ community have to navigate. We move then to her career and discuss the intersectionality of her neurodiversity with being gay, and how this is actually quite a common area of intersectionality, particularly for lesbians.  This requires a particular kind of inclusion that is in tune with the individual’s needs but just because it requires effort, Erryca’s view is that it is an effort worth making. Erryca is an advocate for better visibility and acceptance on LinkedIn which is where I came across her profile, and she talks there about sometimes being forced to lead a double life and suppress a side of herself for corporate acceptance. She also discusses the pushback that something like a social media post can attract, in particular a recent one in which she was pictured with her jeep and a rainbow flag on Instagram in a joyful image that was actually grabbed by Jeep for their own post.  You can find some of Erryca’s social media posts here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7067926967219597313?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7067926967219597313%29including the famous Jeep Instagram pic that effuses such joy.The 2023 Pride Series is kindly sponsored by members of our Rainbow Network including Laura J. LaTourette, who is a financial planner who describes her practice as one designed to enable LGBTQ+ folx make a plan to simplify their lives to enable them to live authentically and leave a legacy of love. Based in Dahlonega Georgia but with a national client base Laura has a particular interest in working with LGBTQ+ elders. You can find out more about Laura's practice by following her on:Linked Inlinkedin.com/in/lauralatourette Twitter: LauraLaTourette