Inclusivity Included: Powerful personal stories Reed Smith

In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we delve into the unique experiences of first-generation attorneys at BigLaw firms. Featuring a distinguished panel from Reed Smith’s PAALS (Pacific and Asian American Lawyers and Staff) business inclusion group, Bareeq Barqawi is joined by Thuy Nguyen, Rizwan 'Rizzy' Qureshi, and Julia Peng. These exceptional attorneys share their inspiring journeys, the challenges they faced, the importance of mentorship, and how they balance their cultural identities within the legal profession. The group shares their invaluable insights and advice for aspiring first-generation law students and young attorneys.
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Intro: Welcome to the Reed Smith podcast, Inclusivity Included, Powerful Personal Stories. In each episode of this podcast, our guests will share their personal stories, passions, and challenges, past and present, all with the goal of bringing people together and learning more about others. You might be surprised by what we all have in common, inclusivity included. 
Bareeq: Welcome to Inclusivity Included, Reed Smith's podcast dedicated to exploring diversity, equity and inclusion within the legal profession and across sectors. I'm your host, Bareeq Barqawi, and in honor of May being Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we have a special episode today highlighting first-generation attorneys at Big Law. I'm thrilled to be joined by three exceptional attorneys from our firm and part of today's panel, Thuy Nguyen, a partner in our real estate group, Rizwan ‘Rizzy’ Qureshi, a partner in global Global Regulatory Enforcement Litigation, and Julia Peng, an associate attorney in Global Commercial Disputes. Each of them brings unique perspectives and experiences as first-generation attorneys of Asian and South Asian descent. Thank you all for joining us today. 
Rizwan: Thanks for having us. 
Bareeq: So to start, can each of you just share a little bit about your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in law? Let's begin with you, Thuy. 
Thuy: Thanks, Bareeq. We have to go down memory lane a little bit, but I'll try to keep it concise. As a Vietnamese woman, my family and I immigrated to the United States in 1991. My dad served in the Vietnam War in opposition to the Communist Party. After he served in the war, he was put in what they refer to as re-education camps, which are essentially concentration camps. They put you to work, they tortured you. The idea was to kind of, re-educate you to think the way they thought. He spent a few years there and fortunately for us afterwards, we were able to gain refugee status and come to the U.S. and be protected by the United States government. So my two parents and six kids came to the United States in San Francisco with nothing but the clothes on our back. And we just, my parents set to do a variety of odd and end jobs to support our family. My dad did landscaping. My mom worked at the bakery. She worked at the flea market. She did everything she could get her hands on to feed the six of us. And we were on public assistance. I guess there's no way to really sugarcoat it. And we were, we received food stamps, we received housing assistance. And I remember as a young child, I was fortunate to be able to go to school and pick up English relatively quickly because I was still really young. And so kind of the responsibility I had in my household was taking my parents to the county of public assistance whenever they needed help getting getting food stamps or filling in paperwork for them when it came time for an inspection on our household. And I just remember being really, really terrified every time I had to go to any place of authority and just thinking like, we don't belong here. And I don't want to say anything wrong because I don't want them to reject us. And I just was looking for a profession where I could learn to advocate for myself an

Bareeq Barqawi, DEI talent development analyst at Reed Smith, is joined by Sarah Hassaine, head of global diversity and inclusion at ResMed, to explore Sarah’s remarkable journey and groundbreaking work in the field of diversity and inclusion advocacy. As April marks National Arab American Heritage Month, Sarah shares personal insights on how her cultural background has shaped her approach to fostering inclusion both personally and professionally. From championing health equity to addressing gender disparities and advocating for marginalized communities, Sarah offers practical strategies and invaluable advice for individuals and organizations seeking to drive positive change in their spheres of influence. Listen to this episode to gain valuable insights into the transformative power of inclusive leadership.
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Transcript:
Intro: Welcome to the Reed Smith podcast, Inclusivity Included: Powerful Personal Stories. In each episode of this podcast, our guests will share their personal stories, passions and challenges, past and present, all with the goal of bringing people together and learning more about others. You might be surprised by what we all have in common, inclusivity included. 
Bareeq: Welcome to Inclusivity Included, the Reed Smith DEI podcast. I'm your host Bareeq Barqawi today. In honor of April being Arab American Heritage Month, we have the privilege of speaking with Sarah Hassaine, the head of global diversity and inclusion at ResMed and a trailblazer in the realm of diversity and inclusion advocacy. Before we delve into our discussion, I'd like to introduce our esteemed guests to our listeners. Sarah has is a dynamic leader with a decade long track record in driving global diversity and inclusion initiatives. Currently leading a global team at ResMed, she consults, advises, and upskills leaders worldwide, designs and delivers in-house D&I trainings and evaluates policies to drive inclusion. Notable achievements include expanding Resmed's ERGs or employee resource groups from 4 to 17, increasing self ID percentages by 4% and spearheading initiatives to improve representation and advocate for accessibility. Sarah brings over 20 years of management experience with a focus on HR initiatives recognized as San Diego businesswoman of the year in 2022. She holds an MBA from Wharton Business School and outside of work, she enjoys traveling, speaking three languages and finds relaxation in sunny beach days with a good book. Today, she joins us to share her insights and experiences. Sarah, welcome to the podcast. 
Sarah: Thank you. It's so good to be here. Thanks for having me. 
Bareeq: Of course. I'm going to dive right in for the sake of time. Sarah as an Arab American, how has your cultural background influenced your approach to diversity and inclusion advocacy, both personally and professionally? 
Sarah: Yeah, And I'm really excited and happy that we're talking about the Arab American identity. Growing up, you're, you were othered as Arab Americans. So it has helped me across my career because the beautiful thing about being an inclusion and diversity leader is that you're navigating a lot of conversations around people feeling othered, and it's any category, right? Whether it's a parent, a caregiver, a veteran, a reservist, a lot of us experience that and as an Arab American, our identity is not accounted for, right? We're, you know, we're in the Census in the US, we're accounted for as white, but we're not treated as white. Oftentimes, our names are misspelled. Uh We get a lot of questions, small microaggressions, A lot of stereotypes get cast. And as someone who grew up, you know, an American grew up in this country, uh it is very hard to constantly feel like, oh, well, you know, you guys do this or you're, you're being othered all the time. So that has definitely helped with empathy and helping me understand the communities I work with and being able to relate and show that kind of validation

Why is disability inclusion a business imperative? How can organizations harness allyship to dispel misconceptions and lay the foundation for meaningful representation?
In this podcast, we consider the business case for investing in disability inclusion – an often forgotten strand in corporate DEI efforts – and the importance of changing mindsets in order to ensure progress. 
Our presenters delve into how organizations can pursue their business goals while investing in DEI by acting in a truly responsible manner and making effective use of the tools at their disposal. 
Our host David Boutcher is joined by Vaibhav Adlakha, Joanne Christopher, and Carole Mehigan.
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Transcript: 
Intro: Welcome to the Reed Smith podcast Inclusivity Included: Powerful Personal Stories. In each episode of this podcast, our guests will share their personal stories, passions and challenges, past and present, all with the goal of bringing people together and learning more about others. You might be surprised by what we all have in common, inclusivity included. 
David: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Inclusivity Included. My name's David Boutcher. I'm a partner in the Reed Smith Global Corporate Group based in London. The title of this podcast is Diversity, equity and inclusion: Disability, a key focus for organizations. I've been involved with uh LEADRS, Reed Smith's Disability Group, since it began. And we thought it would be important to uh have a podcast as to why we think it's important to focus on, on disability, disability events, uh disability initiatives. Uh I'm joined by colleagues, Vaibhav Adlakha, Joanne Christopher, and Carole Mehigan. As they join the podcast, I will ask them to say a little bit about, about uh who they are as well. So I think um I'd like to kick off with talking about some of the specific events that we've had over recent years and the reasoning behind them and why we think they're really important and uh Vaibhav perhaps you'd like to kick us off on that.
Vaibhav: Thanks David. So as David mentioned, my name is Vaibhav Adlakha. I am an associate in our competition team here in London, but I also have an interest specifically in the diversity inclusion issues. I also have a physical disability and use a wheelchair. Now, I wanna begin with a personal, little personal thing. Before I joined Reed Smith and I thought about what my identity was going to be, I thought I only wanted to be a lawyer, but as I joined and began my journey here at Reed Smith, I realized that we have a platform to make the change what we want to see in the profession and be a leader in what we want, how we want people to see view the profession. As David often says, we are the best of a bad bunch. But I guess my goal was to try and create uh something where it is beyond my own success. It is a legacy that we can continue.
Just to spotlight on one of on some of our events, we started in doing our Disability Inclusion Summits in 2020. Um Necessity is the mother of invention. So uh during the pandemic, we wanted to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities. And we, thought, what better way to do that when by discussing issues and creating an environment not only for our ourselves, but also for our clients and anyone who wishes to participate, to be honest, uh whether no matter how far you are in your disability journey, whether you have reservations, whether you're further ahead, whether you're converted. So that's the Disability Summits explored different topics. How it is to work in the pandemic. What is the myths of uh disability inclusion? How can you embrace the journey? What are some of the things that different clients have done in their journey to disability? So long story short, the the Disability Summits were done as a platform to of discussion no matter how, how far you are in that journey. And we believe that it's an important, important aspect to understanding what we can do better, how we can invest i

We delve into the transformative initiatives undertaken by LexisNexis to shape the landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the legal industry. Our guest, Adonica Black, director of global talent development and inclusion at LexisNexis, shares insights into the organization’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion, supporting law firms in their DEI efforts and making a significant impact through innovative programs like the LexisNexis African Ancestry Network and LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation Fellowship. Join our host, Bareeq Barqawi, for a thought-provoking conversation on the current state and future trends of DEI in the legal sphere.
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Transcript:
Intro: Welcome to the Reed Smith podcast, Inclusivity Included: Powerful Personal Stories. In each episode of this podcast, our guests will share their personal stories, passions and challenges, past and present, all with the goal of bringing people together and learning more about others. You might be surprised by what we all have in common, inclusivity included.
Bareeq: Welcome to Inclusivity Included our DEI podcast at Reed Smith. I'm your host, Bareeq Barqawi. And today we have the honor of hosting Adonica Black, the Director of Global Diversity and Inclusion for LexisNexis Legal and Professional. Adonica's journey is an inspiring blend of legal expertise, commitment to diversity and inclusion and a passion for justice. Welcome, Adonica.
Adonica: Thank you so much, Bareeq. Very happy to join you.
Bareeq: Thank you. Um So let's kick things off by discussing your role as the director of Global Diversity and Inclusion at LexisNexis. How is your personal and professional journey influenced your approach to fostering a culture of inclusion within organizations?
Adonica: Yes. So my background is a bit unique because I have a legal background. Um I formerly was in litigation before joining LexisNexis. So I have the perspective of both um a practitioner as well as from the business perspective and the value of diversity, equity and inclusion in both arenas. So when transitioning into the business of the law through LexisNexis, um I started actually working with our largest clients. I'm based in the Washington, D.C. area and started working um on very straightforward kind of business development with our clients. And in those conversations and experiences had the opportunity to connect with so many different attorneys in different practice areas and discuss their, you know, the value system that they bring to their practice. And in those conversations uncovered this emerging more explicit value. I think it's the value has always existed but more explicitly stated value around a culture of inclusion in the practice of law and a want to achieve justice. And that really led me on my professional journey towards where I am currently as the global Director of Inclusion and Diversity for LexisNexis as an opportunity arose within the organization to really exemplify those values that have existed in, in myself and in the profession through this specific role.
Bareeq: That's amazing, especially because having that knowledge and background, I think makes you even more equipped to understand different perspectives that come into DEI especially in the legal industry. So LexisNexis has demonstrated a really strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Can you highlight one or two key initiatives or actions that LexisNexis has undertaken recently to promote that culture within the organization?
Adonica: Yeah, so as a business, we think about our culture of inclusion um through four pillars, what we call um our foundational pillar of making sure that our vision of our culture is strong and our leadership's commitment and accountability to our culture of inclusion is also strong. And then we have focus on external making sure that our external participation with our customers and the external community supports our culture of inclusion. So as a

In this episode, we delve into the critical intersection of law and technology, exploring the multifaceted landscape of digital accessibility. Joining Bareeq Barqawi, Reed Smith’s DEI talent development analyst, are three distinguished panelists: Angie Matney, counsel in the Entertainment and Media Industry Group at Reed Smith; Jamie Dean, senior corporate counsel on Microsoft’s Accessibility Regulations team; and Ken Nakata, an accessibility consultant with Converge Accessibility and a former U.S. DOJ attorney. Discover key legal considerations, collaborative challenges, and proactive measures for enhancing accessibility in the digital landscape with our insightful panel.
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Intro: Welcome to the Reed Smith podcast. Inclusivity Included: Powerful Personal Stories. In each episode of this podcast, our guests will share their personal stories, passions and challenges, past and present all with a goal of bringing people together and learning more about others. You might be surprised by what we all have in common, inclusivity included.
Bareeq: Welcome to another episode of Inclusivity Included, Reed Smith's podcast on fostering diversity, equity and inclusion. I'm your host, Bareeq Barqawi DEI talent development analyst at Reed Smith. Today we're diving into the realm of digital accessibility and accessibility audits, joined by three incredible experts in the field.
I'm delighted to have Angie Matney, Reed Smith counsel in the Entertainment and Media Industry group. Joining us today with a focus on information, privacy, data, security, and digital accessibility. Angie supports clients across diverse sectors including health care, entertainment, retail and finance. She's also a part of our LEADRS, business inclusion group, supporting professional and personal development of individuals with all types of disabilities at the firm and as someone with a complete loss of sight.
Joining us also is Jamie Dean, senior corporate counsel on Microsoft's accessibility regulations team with a wealth of experience, Jamie champions accessibility and technology, drawing from his personal journey as a person with a loss of sight and his extensive legal and rowing background.
And I'm also thrilled to welcome Ken Nakata, former senior trial attorney with the US Justice Department's disability rights section. Recognized for developing nationwide ADA policies for the internet and spearheading accessibility in federal government IT. He's also a founding board member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals.
Welcome everyone. So let's get started. I'm going to ask Angie the first question and as counsel in the Entertainment and Media Industry group at Reed Smith, Angie from a legal standpoint, what are the key legal considerations that companies should be aware of in terms of regarding digital accessibility?
Angie: Thanks Bareeq. Yeah. So the I would say one thing to keep in mind is that the legal landscape is uh you know, there are several different laws that might implicate digital accessibility considerations. And then within that though, there are different interpretations of some of those. And so I think it can be a little bit overwhelming at first maybe to, to navigate and, and that's where, you know, counsel can definitely assist. And so the types of laws that involve digital accessibility, we have civil rights laws and we have procurement laws and now we're seeing more, you know, consumer privacy laws and regulations that look at that as well.
So in the civil rights arena and the non-discrimination area, it would be, of course, the Americans With Disabilities Act, that's what most people in the US sort of automatically think of when you start to talk about accessibility. And, you know, the ADA there's been a, a long history that we definitely uh don't have time to fully go into here. But suffice to say there have been sort of different interpretations and proposed interpretations as to whe

Pariti Sutaria, organizer of TEDxCamden and graduate student at Rutgers School of Business, joins Iveliz Crespo and Bareeq Barqawi to discuss the fascinating world of TEDx speaking and event organization. Join us as we delve into the intricacies of preparing for and securing a coveted spot on the TEDx stage. Discover behind-the-scenes insights into curating powerful, thought-provoking talks that resonate with a global audience. Whether you're an aspiring speaker or simply curious about the magic that makes TEDx events unforgettable, this episode is your backstage pass to the TEDx experience. Stay tuned to gain valuable insights from Pariti that will inspire and inform, exclusively for our dedicated community of Reed Smith attorneys and staff.
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Intro: Hi, I'm John Iino and I'm Iveliz Crespo. Welcome to the Reed Smith podcast,  Inclusivity Included: Powerful Personal Stories. In each episode of this podcast, our guests will share their personal stories, passions and challenges, past and present all with the goal of bringing people together and learning more about others. You might be surprised by what we all have in common, inclusivity included.
Iveliz: Hello, everyone. Welcome to our podcast Inclusivity Included. I am your host, Iveliz Crespo and I'm joined today by our co-host Bareeq Barqawi. Bareeq is Reed Smith's DEI talent development analyst. So welcome Bareeq. So happy to have you join us today.
Bareeq: Thank you so much, Iveliz. I'm excited to be here. We are joined today by Pariti Sutaria, a graduate student at Rutgers School of Business pursuing her MBA with a concentration in marketing. She graduated this year with a Bachelors of Science in management statistics and leadership. Pariti is also the organizer of TEDxCamden, which brings annual TEDx talk conferences to the city of Camden to share ideas worth spreading within the local community and beyond. The TEDx talks and performances organized by Pariti and her team have garnered millions of views on ted.com and YouTube making a significant impact on a global scale.
As an immigrant and first generation student, Pariti is deeply committed to advocacy and activism with a particular focus on gender equity, anti colonialism and racial justice. In her free time, Pariti is a mehndi and henna artist who loves designing and doing traditional hand art. Welcome, Pariti.
Pariti: Hi. Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here today.
Bareeq: Of course, we are excited to kick this off and discuss more of your experiences as a TEDxCamden organizer. So I'm gonna start with what inspired you to become involved in organizing TEDx events.
Pariti: Yeah, I would say honestly, the city of Camden, I really care about TEDx talk and I've always watched them ever since I was young and I feel so inspired and, and I wanna do like innovative work every time I hear different TEDx talks or TED Talks. And since then, I've always had a goal of, you know, attending a TED conference. And when I started college, I realized like, hey, I can put together a TEDx conferences myself. And so through a licensing process, TED has uh I was able to gain an organizer license to organize TEDx talks for the city. And now that's what we do. And I love bringing innovative and inspiring work and speakers and performers to Camden. Um and then also to kind of shed a global light on Camden, the city, what it has to offer from its like community, art culture, its people. Uh So people could also see Camden in a new light, Um maybe passive stereotypes.
Iveliz: Absolutely. I really appreciate that, you know, as I shared with you before we started recording this, this episode and I, I'm a Camden native. I'm really proud of where I grew up. Um And I'm happy to see that so many great things are happening in the city. And I think, you know, dispelling a lot of those stereotypes is incredibly important, uh especially, you know, given that there is so much promise in the city a