32 min

Could virtual reality make us better coworkers‪?‬ Almost There

    • Society & Culture

Work isn’t just the place where we work. It’s also the place where we meet new people who are different from us, which is why Elise Smith thinks the office is the perfect place to start building a more empathetic world. She is the co-founder and CEO of Praxis Labs, an immersive learning startup that is reimagining diversity, equity, and inclusion training for corporate America. Using virtual reality, workers take on new perspectives, experiencing incidents of bias or discrimination from multiple points of view, and get to actually practice responding. The goal: to build empathy and spark behavior change. 
In this episode, Elise talks to Dwayne about what it is like to raise venture funding as a young, Black founder; the early virtual reality experiences that changed her life; and the surprising similarities between poetry and virtual reality. 
For more on out guest, Elise Smith: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/elise-smith  
To learn more about Almost There and to read the transcript of this episode: https://www.emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast 
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller. 
Email us at almostthere@emersoncollective.com. 
Subscribe to the Emerson Collective Fellows newsletter: http://www.emersoncollective.com/fellows-newsletter 

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Work isn’t just the place where we work. It’s also the place where we meet new people who are different from us, which is why Elise Smith thinks the office is the perfect place to start building a more empathetic world. She is the co-founder and CEO of Praxis Labs, an immersive learning startup that is reimagining diversity, equity, and inclusion training for corporate America. Using virtual reality, workers take on new perspectives, experiencing incidents of bias or discrimination from multiple points of view, and get to actually practice responding. The goal: to build empathy and spark behavior change. 
In this episode, Elise talks to Dwayne about what it is like to raise venture funding as a young, Black founder; the early virtual reality experiences that changed her life; and the surprising similarities between poetry and virtual reality. 
For more on out guest, Elise Smith: https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/elise-smith  
To learn more about Almost There and to read the transcript of this episode: https://www.emersoncollective.com/almost-there-podcast 
For more on Emerson Collective: https://www.emersoncollective.com/
Learn more about our host, Dwayne Betts: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
Almost There is produced by Eric Nuzum and Jesse Baker of Magnificent Noise for Emerson Collective. Our production staff includes Eleanor Kagan, Julia Natt, Patrick D’Arcy, Amy Low, Alex Simon, and our sound designers Paul Schneider and Kristin Mueller. 
Email us at almostthere@emersoncollective.com. 
Subscribe to the Emerson Collective Fellows newsletter: http://www.emersoncollective.com/fellows-newsletter 

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

32 min

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

Shawn Ryan Show
Shawn Ryan | Cumulus Podcast Network
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
Call It What It Is
iHeartPodcasts
Animal
The New York Times
Lights On with Carl Lentz
B-Side
This American Life
This American Life