In this curated selection from the Happy Space Podcast, I’m bringing back voices that challenge, inspire, and expand our thinking about designing for inclusion and accessibility. These encore episodes highlight conversations that continue to resonate—on neurodiversity, workplace design, and the small shifts that can make a big difference. Whether you’re tuning in for the first time or revisiting a favourite, I hope these episodes offer fresh insight into how thoughtful design can help everyone show up and perform at their best.

Having had to leave numerous experiences because of sensory overwhelm, I was immediately drawn to the work of Google’s The NEU Project which shares rich resources evolved from Google’s Experience Institute.

After learning about the Google Experience Institute (Xi) and The NEU Project, I knew I had to speak with the Strategic Lead of Global Event Solutions for Google, Megan Henshall. Hear what brought Megan to do this important work, why it matters, and her simple advice to leaders who want to make a difference for their own teams. She’ll also let you in on the three futures she spends 60% of her time thinking about.

Megan (she/her) joined Google in April 2019 and serves as the Global Events Solutions, Strategic Lead. She partners across Google to understand how events drive business, build communities, and promote cultural continuity, informing strategy for a global team of amazing event professionals. She leads an internal/external innovation effort called the Google Experience Institute (Xi), focused on the future of human-centered, multi-modal experience design.

CHAPTERS

00:03:41 Megan's journey to this important work

00:06:01 Global Event Solutions - today and tomorrow

00:07:19 Pandemic effects on work culture

00:08:50 The pandemic boosted sensitivity

00:10:00 Sensitivity and neurodivergence may be evolutionary

00:13:10 The definition of neurodivergence

00:16:38 Neurodivergent people speaking up

00:18:57 Leadership resistance to being inclusive

00:21:00 Museum concept event

00:23:09 The Experience Institute (Xi) and The NEU Project

00:28:36 The error in fundamental attribution

00:30:24 The three futures

00:38:12 What a leader can do

LINKS

Episode 10 - Hiring for Neurodiversity - with Keith Isaac, TD Bank

Episode 15 – A Fresh Look at Sensitivity – with Andre Sólo

Episode 27 – The Undeniable Value of Neurodiversity – with Theo Smith

Google Experience Institute

Marcus Buckingham

Love + Work by Marcus Buckingham - Goodreads

Newton Cheng - Director of Health + Performance, Google

Belonging by Geoffrey L. Cohen - Goodreads

IMEX America

IMAGE CREDITS (see images on Youtube video)

Megan and Otis - credit Megan Henshall

Happy Space Podcast ep 10...