Get "Liberate Your Business" by Becky Mollenkamp at https://liberateyourbusiness.com/

What if the goal was never "safe" spaces but safer ones? Becky Mollenkamp and Faith Clarke sit down with Sydney Elaine Butler, founder of Accessible Creates. They're a biracial, non-binary, autistic entrepreneur living with chronic pain and complex PTSD, and this is a fantastic conversation about intersectionality, disability inclusion, and what it really takes to let people bring their whole selves to work.

Sydney shares how their childhood role as "the helper" shaped their career supporting people with disabilities, what it's like to code-switch between Black and white spaces as a biracial person, and why so much workplace DEI work stalls out at compliance instead of getting to the people actually living the policies.

In this episode:

• (00:15) Icebreaker: the cartoon character you relate to most (Papa Smurf, Atomic Betty, Encanto's Luisa, and Inside Out 2's Anxiety all make an appearance)
• (06:23) Sydney's full-circle moment speaking at the Canadian Autism Leadership Summit
• (08:16) The story that isn't being told: intersectionality in disability and DEI work
• (10:14) Code-switching as a biracial, non-binary woman — and what safety has to do with it
• (16:23) What changes when we stop collapsing identities and start expanding them
• (23:04) Why so much corporate DEI work stays surface-level — and what real accountability looks like
• (26:16) Sydney's shift from "expert" to focus groups: centering the people living the policy
• (33:06) Safe vs. safer spaces — and why "safe" might be a promise no one can actually keep
• (44:07) Filling your own cup: solitude, boundaries, and unlearning the "selfish" narrative
• (51:41) The Resmaa Menakem story: what happens when a room chooses care over the agenda
• (54:04) A real-time example of building accommodation into a relationship, mid-conversation
• (56:14) Closing ritual: Yes, and... Otherwise

About the guest: Sydney Elaine Butler is the founder of Accessible Creates, working with organizations on disability policy, accessibility, and inclusive workplace practice. Learn more at accessiblecreates.ca.

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Get "Liberate Your Business" by Becky Mollenkamp at https://liberateyourbusiness.com/

Black women's hair carries history, labor, identity, and risk — and most white women have never had to think about any of it. In this conversation, Becky and Faith sit down with Dr. Eghosa Obaizamomwan-Hamilton, a Black mother-scholar and author of Articulations: A Radical Methodology for Black Pedagogy — Redefining Education Through Black Women's Hair Experiences, to dig into what her research uncovered about hair as an overlooked layer of intersectionality.

We talk about the "true cost" of hair — financial, physical, and emotional — the difference between internalized racism and intentional "texturized code-switching," why the rise of social media accelerated the natural hair movement, and the invisible labor Black women carry every day just deciding how to show up. Faith brings her own journey from straightened hair in Jamaica to nearly 25 years of locks, and Dr. Eghosa shares what she means when she says "I am my hair" — plus concrete advice for white women who want to be real co-conspirators instead of passive allies.

Links mentioned:
• Latest article, "We Be Audacious": https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YBJHBZJRVG7MYDIUCAGA/full?target=10.1080/09540253.2026.2707142
• Articulations, A Radical Methodology for Black Pedagogy: https://amzn.to/4yKaxnr
• Articulations on Audible: https://amzn.to/4fpEEcp
• Reading Guide for Articulations: https://www.eghosaobaizamomwan.com/_files/ugd/1382eb_14e141a63f4b4618bb0e527bb80f385a.pdf

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Get "Liberate Your Business" by Becky Mollenkamp at https://liberateyourbusiness.com/

What does radical empathy actually look like in a business, not just as a feeling, but as a practice?

Becky sits down with Terri Givens, political scientist and author of Radical Empathy and Reckoning, to dig into the how behind the why. They talk through Terri's six steps to radical empathy (starting with the hardest one: being vulnerable with yourself first), what it means to unpack internalized bias, and why "safe spaces" might be the wrong goal (brave spaces are more honest and more possible).

They also get into the stuff business owners actually wrestle with: how to build diverse teams without falling into tokenism, what "empathy is not absolution" means when you're deciding who to work with, and why intentionality (not perfection) is the real work of inclusive leadership.

In this episode:
• The six steps of radical empathy, and why vulnerability with yourself comes first
• Unpacking internalized oppression, Terri's own story growing up Black and Catholic in Spokane, WA
• Safe spaces vs. brave spaces, and why the second one is the honest goal
• "Strategic empathy": how to have compassion for someone without excusing their behavior
• Building trust and community without falling into performative hiring or tokenism
• The role business can play in creating the future we want, with lessons from history

Terri Givens is a political scientist, author, and entrepreneur. Her books Radical Empathy (2021) and Reckoning (2025, paperback out this year) offer both the why and the how of using empathy as a tool for real change in business, in community, and in ourselves. Learn more and grab the books (currently 50% off) at Terri's website.

Feminist Founders is a space for business owners who care about equity and justice — and want the practical tools to actually build it. New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe and join the conversation.

Find Terri Givens (and her books) at https://www.terrigivens.com/

Also mentioned in this episode:
• "The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson: https://amzn.to/44zOjH2

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