Step into the world of transformative conversations with Dominique Samari, a visionary strategist, coach, and facilitator. Join us as we explore her journey from criminal defense attorney to fostering equitable and inclusive change through P3, the organization she co-founded.

Delving into the heart of racial segregation, Dominique's Belonging Project unveiled stories of how individuals create connections in divided communities. This led to the birth of Kin Universe, an innovative online platform, which revolutionizes dialogue. Users are thoughtfully matched based on personality traits, communication styles, and interests. Through six transformative conversations, they journey toward vulnerability and empathy.

Dominique's platform tackles tough conversations, especially regarding race. By connecting people with diverse backgrounds, Kin Universe sparks growth and understanding. This methodology is supported by University of Washington research and is finding its way into organizational equity and inclusion initiatives. Tune in to discover how Dominique's personal journey and innate gifts have culminated in her mission of fostering belonging, one conversation at a time.

Episode Highlights:

08:07 - It's an online platform that connects people across race for conversations with the idea that, very similar to my experience in Afghanistan, we need to be in relationships to have the very difficult conversations.

11:06 - The only two rules really are that you follow the discussion guides and that you don't talk about race or race-related matters across the first five conversations. By the fifth conversation, we are hoping that you have enough of a relationship where you can then talk about race.

12:54 - You have to know that going in, that that's exactly how you're going to feel. We are humans and being uncomfortable, whether that's physically or emotionally or mentally, if there's dissonance, we don't run towards these things. We just don't. I think in order to overcome most of the challenges that we're facing in our everyday world right now, most of the challenges that my colleagues and partners in these organizations that we work with are trying to face, that we have to get comfortable with some level of discomfort. It's what it requires.

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Connect with Dominique Samari

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Bio:

Dominique Samari is an experienced strategist, coach and facilitator who helps organizations build and sustain equitable and inclusive change. A naturally empathetic leader, Samari specializes in supporting leaders as they navigate difficult and complex change.

Samari began her career as a criminal defense attorney and a City of Milwaukee criminal court commissioner. She transitioned from the practice of law to international development, serving in key management positions for the U.S. Department of State’s Rule of Law Program in Afghanistan. There, she designed and implemented culturally-relevant strategies and training opportunities for over 2,000 Afghan criminal justice professionals.

Samari is also the creator of the Belonging Project, a year-long exploration into how individuals create a sense of belonging across differences. Informed and inspired by data from the Belonging Project, she subsequently developed Kin Universe, an online platform designed to authentically connect individuals across real and perceived differences.

Uncover the transformative journey led by Ken Robertson, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Financial Officer of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, as he shares his inspiring initiatives to empower disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Ken is a driving force behind the ThriveOn Collaboration, which encompasses the remarkable restoration of the historic Gimbels and Schuster's building. This urban gem now stands as a bustling administrative hub, parking structure, and a vibrant community center, complete with an early childhood education center. For Ken, representation is more than a concept—it's a conviction. His personal experiences serve as a bridge between local communities and financial strategies, fostering a deeper understanding of neighborhood dynamics.

Tune in to hear Ken's insights on initiatives and approaching them with humility and audacity, striking a balance between boldness and sensitivity to effect meaningful change. Listen and embrace the power of collaboration, representation, and visionary community upliftment.

Episode Highlights:

05:37 - In roles like mine and similar roles, representation matters. I mean, that lived experience from the neighborhood and bridging that gap between what's happening there and how our institutions work, how our businesses work, is just critical if we're going to move forward and solve some of the challenges that we have.

10:19 - It's one thing to sit in a corporate park and think about programs, think about fixes for neighborhoods. It's another thing to kind of be in the neighborhood and walk day by day in that neighborhood and talk to our neighbors, and work with them in coming up with solutions that'll make everybody's lives better in that space.

13:33 - We know that this is more than brick and mortar within the building. So, our aim is to help activate the entire neighborhood, not just us, but working with partners, along this. So, the whole goal was this would be catalytic, and we think we're accomplishing that.

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Guest Bio:

Ken Robertson has been serving the Foundation as vice president and CFO since October 2015, but was promoted to executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer in 2020. Robertson has over 20 years’ experience in both the for-profit and the nonprofit sectors. His professional experience includes serving as CFO for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, as well as finance roles with GE Healthcare, Briggs & Stratton, Miller Brewing, Motorola and more. Equally important, his lived experience as a Milwaukee native and product of Milwaukee Public Schools, plus his volunteer leadership roles with Wisconsin Philanthropy Network, Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), and Howard Fuller Academy, afford him a unique perspective that guides his approach to community leadership and decision-making.

Let's listen to the inspiring journey of Judge Derek Mosley, a true advocate for empowering the youth and promoting civil discourse, whose path to the law was ignited by a character he saw on LA Law.

Explore how Judge Mosley uses social media to share impactful Black history stories, inspiring future generations to rise against adversity. Find out the significance of leading by example, as Judge Mosley encourages young people to see him as a role model and act upon their dreams, when you listen to this episode.

Tune in to learn how his passion for law and inspiring others led him to create the METAL Program, providing students with invaluable insights into various career opportunities and discover the program's impact as students get the chance to meet professionals from different fields, fostering a sense of curiosity and ambition. Join Judge Derek Mosley in embracing a "we" mindset instead of an "I" perspective, fostering meaningful change in our communities.

Episode Highlights:

12:25 - No matter if you're Black, White, Asian, Latino, no matter what your background is, if you don't eat, you are going to die. You can be as opposite as you think we are, but we have to eat to survive. So, why not let's get together and eat as humans and just talk and get to know each other? When you do that, you realize you have more in common than what separates you, and that's been going on from day one.

14:29 - When I was going to school, Martin Luther King is about the extent of Black people you learned about, and you learned a little bit about slavery and then Black history. So, if you knew nothing about Black people, you would think our entire diaspora was slavery and Martin Luther King.

18:29 - I think it's important for my daughters to see it because they know how important it is to me that it's important to them because now they're doing it. They do the same thing.

Connect with Becky Dubin Jenkins

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Connect with Judge Derek Mosley

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Guest Bio:

Derek Mosley graduated from Marquette University Law School in 1995. After graduation he served as an Assistant District Attorney for Milwaukee County from 1995-2002. As an Assistant District Attorney, he represented the State of Wisconsin in over 1,000 criminal prosecutions. In 2002, Mr. Mosley was appointed Municipal Court Judge in Milwaukee. At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest African-American to be appointed judge in the State of Wisconsin. For ten years Mr. Mosley served as the Chief Judge of the Milwaukee Municipal Court. In 2023, Mr. Mosley became the Director of the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education at Marquette University Law School.

Judge Mosley routinely speaks both nationally and internationally about Unconscious Bias and Black History. Also, as a kidney transplant recipient, he is an ardent supporter of Donate Life Wisconsin, the National Kidney Foundation, and Versiti (formerly the Blood Center of Wisconsin). He currently serves as a Donate Life Hollywood advisor to the television and movie industries to promote accurate depictions of organ donation and transplant on television and in movies. In his spare time, Judge Mosley is a local Milwaukee foodie, and served as a 2022 James Beard Judge for the James Beard Foundation.