In this inspiring episode, Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder welcomes Liz Gordon-Canlas, Managing Director of Zora’s House, a vibrant hub for women and gender-expansive people of color in Columbus, Ohio, to discuss how disruption can mean building radically different spaces rooted in care, connection, and collective courage. Drawing on her transformative journey through higher education, nonprofit leadership, and personal advocacy as a transracial adoptee and community builder, Liz shares her vision for equity, belonging, and economic empowerment. Through programs like the Leadership Fellows and Wealth Builders, she is redefining what thriving looks like and challenging limiting narratives about women of color, proving that when we invest in dreaming, policy, and solidarity, we don’t just survive, we create a blueprint for the future.

• Season focus on disruption and reimagining change
• DLE program takeaways and Black professional cohort impact
• Origin story from residence life to governance fluency
• Mentorship from Black leaders shaping career pivots
• Pandemic-era shift and readiness for new work
• Building Zora’s House and the $6.3M campaign
• Programs including Leadership Fellows and Wealth Builders
• Regenerative economics and keeping talent in Columbus
• Boundary-setting as a launchpad, not social service
• Internal blueprint for centering Black women at work
• Visions for policy, community, and the next decade

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🔗 Follow the Center for DEI Innovation and Leadership on LinkedIn.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

We sit down with Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings Jr., teacher, principal, superintendent, consultant, and now professor at Howard University, to map a leadership journey that breaks barriers without losing its compass. From making history in Shaker Heights as the first Black superintendent at 35 to steering Alexandria City Public Schools through a pandemic and political crosswinds, Dr. Hutchings shares how his VIP framework (Vision, Integrity, Passion) kept him grounded while centering Black and Brown students.

You’ll hear the inside story of pushing for equity in districts known for tradition, what happens when you change who sits at the table, and why authenticity, down to how a family shows up, matters in public leadership. We explore measurable wins that challenge false tradeoffs between equity and excellence: higher graduation rates, full accreditation, and a strategic plan with equity at its core despite statewide retrenchment. Then we zoom out to the national stage as Dr. Hutchings steps from the superintendency into movement work, founding Revolutionary Ed and Hutchings & Associates, to help boards and leaders dismantle systemic racism with strategy, governance, and coaching.

• Origin story and early shift into education
• Becoming the first Black superintendent in Shaker Heights City Schools
• VIP leadership model: vision, integrity, passion
• Authenticity, family, and community grounding
• Legacy in Alexandria amid pandemic and politics
• Equity results: graduation, accreditation, new campus
• Burnout, therapy, and sustainable leadership
• Moving from district leader to national systems builder
• Howard University role and the leadership pipeline
• Research on Black women superintendents and solutions
• Pipelines, networks, and board relations for equity

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

Brand builder, marketing strategist, and entrepreneur Martin Ekechukwu joins Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder on The North Star to unpack how entrepreneurship can drive equity in a time when formal DEI programs are retracting.

From his immigrant roots to founding WHTWRKS, Martin shares the mindset required to build resilient businesses, align profit with purpose, and create brand ecosystems—not mere diversity checkboxes. He lifts the curtain on the truths of influencer marketing, opens up paths through supplier diversity and local impact, and shows why AI-fueled service models are the next frontier for founders and students alike.

Whether you’re starting out or scaling up, this is a guide to turning tension into opportunity.

• Immigrant roots, academic household, love of culture
• Leaving corporate to build, connect, and lead
• The limits of “change agent” roles in big firms
• Ecosystems over campaigns in multicultural marketing
• Influencer work as discipline, not luck
• DEI retrenchment, new access and supplier diversity gaps
• Social impact through arts, politics, and partnerships
• Profit with purpose in health and skincare needs
• Student playbook for organizing and peer networks
• Act local: councils, boards, and community service
• Becoming fluent in AI for practical business value
• A 10-year vision to reinvent product promotion

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group