Welcome back to the Visibility Project Podcast! Our last two episodes have been focused on issues related to the Black Lives Matter movement and racial justice. We will be shifting gears to focus on issues related to the LGBTQ community in this month’s podcast. You will hear our guests talk about important legislation, the importance of voting, the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and much more. We have two exciting guests with a wealth of knowledge and experiences with us. Jay Kaplan has been the staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan’s LGBT Project since its founding in 2001. He has worked on cases including: challenging undercover sting operations targeting gay men, fighting Michigan’s constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying, defending the validity of second parent adoptions granted in Michigan, and recently advocating for a transgender high school student to be able to run for prom court. Jay was honored with the 2006 Unsung Hero Award from the Michigan State Bar and the 2010 Virginia Uribe Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association (NEA). He was part of the legal team of the transgender rights case filed by Aimee Stephens that went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, listen for Jay talk about who Aimee was as a person and how she is more than just a name and headline in the important legislation. Our second guest Scott Ellis serves as the Executive Director of Perceptions, the Great Lakes Bay Region’s LGBTQ+ education, advocacy, networking, and resource organization. A 2014 graduate of Saginaw Valley State University, Scott began his career in Bay City’s maritime industry - managing marketing and special events for the Appledore Tall Ships and the Tall Ship Celebration festival. Scott joined the board of Perceptions in 2017 and became the coordinator of the Great Lakes Bay Pride Festival that same year and has since produced four successful events for the organization. In 2019, as Perceptions expanded, Scott accepted his current role as the organization’s first full-time Executive Director. To learn more about The Visibility Project, follow us! Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/thevisibilityprj/ Contact us at [email protected] This podcast was produced by Push Productions | https://pushpromi.com/ Transcription | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MESTuC97LDY2soQkPe0zJ2dxdpamcDwJ/view?usp=sharing --- The Visibility Project is a community collaborative aimed at bringing awareness to unseen and unheard populations in our community. We are based out of Midland, MI. Spearheaded by members of the Cultural Awareness Coalition the Project is the brainchild of several organizations and individuals with shared values who sit on the Project Steering Team. The current Team includes staff from Northwood University, Midland Kid’s First, the Midland County Inclusion Alliance, The Legacy Center for Community Success, Our Community Listens, the Midland Wellbeing Task Force, and several Employee Resource Group member from Dow; the intention is to expand this Team to include other like-minded groups in the region. The Project’s vision is to create a more connected, empathetic, and inclusive community by listening to and learning from individuals whose stories are too often unheard. The Project’s vision is to create opportunities for stories of diversity to be heard so that people can grow in connection and understanding of self and others. The impact will be to create a more inclusive mindset both as individuals and as a region.

In our inaugural episode, we discussed the Black Lives Matter movement, anti-racism, and the history of systemic racism. Our guests were two individuals with a wealth of knowledge and experience as they are both African-Americans from an older generation that lived through the Civil Rights Era. This month, we will be continuing the conversation but we will be hearing the voices of two younger African-American individuals who are active in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It will be interesting to hear how their views compare and contrast to last month’s guests. Among other topics, we will be discussing the passion of the younger generation, the impact of media outlets and social media, the topic of micro-aggressions, and the difficulty of finding mentors in the workforce for people of color. Our guests today are Mr. Javonie Ellington and Mr. Jamaal Washburn. Javonie is from Detroit, Michigan. He graduated in 2016 from Elida High School in Lima, Ohio. He is a double major at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan where he is specializing in Hospitality Management and Accounting. He is also very involved on campus. He is the Entertainment chair of the 46th annual Stafford dinner; the Co-President of the Black Student Union. The Co Events director of the International Student Organization and member and ally in the sexual advocacy for everyone (SAFE) club. Javonie looks forward to the day when the world doesn’t reflect in favor of one race. He believes innovation stems from diversity and inclusion. Jamaal was born and raised in Raleigh, NC. In 2017 he obtained my B.S. in Accounting from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC. After graduation, he moved to Midland to begin working in Dow’s finance department. He recently switched career paths and now does commercial sales for Dow’s Industrial Solutions business. Having the insights from Javonie as a university student and from Jamaal as a young working professional will add even more perspective to the continued conversation on their fight for social justice. To learn more about The Visibility Project, follow us! Facebook | www.facebook.com/thevisibilityprj/ Contact us at [email protected] This podcast was produced by Push Productions | pushpromi.com/

Our first conversation explores the history of racism and slavery in our country and how it has institutionalized a biased system and leads us to today’s Black Lives Matter movement. Our guests Kimberly Houston and Kevin Kendrick share a lifetime of experiences and observations including how we can challenge ourselves to have hard conversations and challenge our biases. EARLY YEARS Kimberly talks about going to a mostly Jewish school exposed her to others that have been oppressed at an early age. Kevin opens up about a trip to Georgia as a child in the 1960’s that had was a “physically painful” introduction into race relations. EDUCATION Kimberly gives examples of common biases and reflects on the hard work of self-assessment. Kevin gives an explanation of what anti-racism is with relevant examples. WHAT CAN YOU DO Kevin comments about the need for activism over time especially related to voting rights and the history of slavery, while Kimberly emphasizes the need to understand and define a community and culture. She also points out that having the hard conversation can be uncomfortable, encourages listeners to be willing to listen and share their perspectives. Here is the Episode 001 Resource Document https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CpyumnwZ5G0Sz7o9HulWPqOlU-1g84sr/view?usp=sharing To learn more about The Visibility Project, follow us! Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/thevisibilityprj/ Contact us at [email protected] This podcast was produced by Push Productions | https://pushpromi.com/ Transcription | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HV6dMF928uzD2BOvw7KxgejMH-6JHd_G/view?usp=sharing BIOS Kimberly Houston has over 40 years of leadership experience in business, philanthropy, and fund development. She retired from Dow Corning in 2012 and led numerous strategic initiatives as the Chief Diversity Officer, Global Community Relations Leader, and President, Dow Corning Foundation. She served as the Interim Executive Director of the YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region. Kimberly is a CCF Certified Coach Practitioner, trained in Unconscious Bias and is a Certified CQ Advanced Professional by the Cultural Intelligence Center. She will be completing her applied positive psychology certification in Creating Wellbeing this year. Kevin Kendrick worked from 1976 to 1981 at two police departments at Wayne State University and the Detroit, Michigan Police Department. In 1981 he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation and spent the next 25 years in the FBI working in virtually every area of investigative responsibility including two tours of duty at FBI Headquarters. He retired from the Bureau in May of 2006 to accept the newly created position of Vice President of Global Security for the Dow Corning Corporation in Midland, Michigan. While in Midland, Kevin served on several boards, including the Midland Area Community Foundation, the Legacy Center for Community Success, the Midland Noon Rotary Club where he served as a past President, the Center Stage Theatre Advisory Board, and the Midland County Historical Society. He is a strong advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion and was a strong force in the Cultural Awareness Coalition which hosting The Visibility Project. --- Spearheaded by members of the Cultural Awareness Coalition the Project is the brainchild of several organizations and individuals with shared values who sit on the Project Steering Team. The current Team includes staff from Northwood University, Midland Kid’s First, the Midland County Inclusion Alliance, The Legacy Center for Community Success, Our Community Listens, the Midland Wellbeing Task Force, and several Employee Resource Group member from Dow; the intention is to expand this Team to include other like-minded groups in the region. The Project’s vision is to create a more connected, empathetic, and inclusive community by listening to and learning from individuals whose stories are too often unheard.

This is the inaugural episode of The Visibility Project. A podcast meant to help create a more connected, empathetic, and inclusive community through the power of storytelling. We’re here to provide a platform for individuals whose stories are too often unheard. In this first episode, you’ll meet the series host, Jeremiah Lee of Northwood University (Midland, MI) and Pam Singer from Midland Kids First. You’ll learn how a dream shared over a cup of coffee in 2019 sets them down this path, how the power of listening has inspired them, and their personal connection to this project. To learn more about The Visibility Project, follow us! Facebook. | https://www.facebook.com/thevisibilityprj/ Contact us at [email protected] This podcast was produced by Push Productions | https://pushpromi.com/ Transcription | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PsJJqQwcPmzIXCDw5QlUhD8TTN_1CHl9/view?usp=sharing --- The Visibility Project is a community collaborative aimed at bringing awareness to unseen and unheard populations in our community. We are based out of Midland, MI. Spearheaded by members of the Cultural Awareness Coalition the Project is the brainchild of several organizations and individuals with shared values who sit on the Project Steering Team. The current Team includes staff from Northwood University, Midland Kid’s First, the Midland County Inclusion Alliance, The Legacy Center for Community Success, Our Community Listens, the Midland Wellbeing Task Force, and several Employee Resource Group member from Dow; the intention is to expand this Team to include other like-minded groups in the region. The Project’s vision is to create a more connected, empathetic, and inclusive community by listening to and learning from individuals whose stories are too often unheard. The Project’s vision is to create opportunities for stories of diversity to be heard so that people can grow in connection and understanding of self and others. The impact will be to create a more inclusive mindset both as individuals and as a region.