S7E4: Amy Hunter on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Work

“Not everything I’ve tried has worked, I just have forgotten
about the things that didn’t work.” - Amy Hunter


This woman will blow your mind. We are so blessed to have had
this conversation with Amy Hunter, it went completely off-script
in the best possible way. Amy is ‘Miss Optimism’, a relentless
trier. She speaks in possibility. She motivates us to do better,
to reach higher, to dream bigger. Thank you Amy. We hope you are
all as inspired by this conversation as we are.


 


Listen to hear us talk about:


- What inspired Amy into activism at age 14


- HBCU’s (historically black colleges and universities) and
“being white”


- The need for white women to step up and support their black
sisters. No longer saying yes to violence and injustice. 


- What does truth and reconciliation look like in practice,
between women, across racial lines? 


- Apologies: who needs to apologise, and for what? 


- How “not being good enough” and “not belonging to a community”
are socialisations of whiteness 


- Optimism: failing & trying again. How Amy looks to her
successes to sustain her activist work


- Your sphere of influence: what can you do to make a tangible
difference, right now? 


 


More about Amy Hunter:


Amy A. Hunter is the Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion for the publicly traded footwear company,
Caleres.  She recently joined the Caleres team after serving
as the Senior Global Equity Diversity and Inclusion leader at
Boeing.  At Caleres she leads the global initiatives for
diversity equity and inclusion. She has enjoyed a career in
diversity working within the healthcare, agricultural,
educational, and financial services industries.   


Hunter has more than 20 years of experience in human resources,
organizational development, project management and leadership
within the corporate and nonprofit arenas. Her responsibilities
have included creating and implementing return on investment
strategies for recruitment, curriculums for training and
development and measurable retention strategies. 


Her community engagements have included serving on several boards
for local organizations. She has spoken and presented diversity
training, keynotes, seminars, and strategy sessions around the
world.  She is well respected globally and has received
numerous awards for her achievements as a diversity resource. Her
popular speech “The Talk” was incorporated into a TEDx
presentation called “Lucky Zip Codes.” Hunter has an earned
undergraduate degree and is currently pursuing a doctorate from
the University of Missouri-St. Louis. 


 


Links and Resources Mentioned:


- Cornel West - Racism Literature 


- Amy’s company ‘Caleres’:
https://www.caleres.com/ 


- Amy’s TED talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g36ijwr3wc8 


- Witnessing Whiteness (YMCA program):
https://www.ywcastl.org/what-were-doing/racial-justice/witnessing-whiteness 


 


Books:


- Tarana Burke & Brene Brown: You Are Your Best Thing


- Brene Brown: Atlas of The Heart,


- Ijeoma Oluo: So You Want to Talk About Race 


- Isabel Wilkerson: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents


- Gary John Bishop: Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and
Into Your Life


Connect with Amy on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-hunter-491767b 


 


 


 


Connect with us and learn more about our work:


Sage: Speaking, leadership development &
coaching, team building, and group facilitation
www.sagebhobbs.com


On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagebhobbs/


 


Erica: Executive coaching and organizational
strategy at Flying Colors LLC:


https://www.flyingcolorsllc.com/flying-colors-about-us- 


 


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