Coop Di Leu Podcasts
With Mr. Rob Lowe
Former Airline Executive
turned Author and Keynote Speaker
​
Coop Di Leu Transformative Conversations Podcasts
Podcast Recap
October 9, 2023
Mr. Rob Lowe visited the Coop Di Leu recording studio to produce another outstanding Transformative Conversations podcast. Mr. Lowe was the first of Coop Di Leu’s series, From the “C” Suite to “My” Suite: Formal Executives Turned Entrepreneur. The theme of this series is Packing Your Bundle for a Broader Cause.
After welcoming remarks, Mr. Lowe responded to the core questions of the series. The core questions were:
​
-
Will you describe how you realized it was time to move on from an executive-level position in your field?
-
What purpose does your new role serve to society?
-
What are you doing in your present role that represents personal and professional gains from previous experiences in your scope of expertise?
-
Open discussion related to the theme - Packing Your Bundle for a Broader Cause
​
After his daughters graduated college, Mr. realized it was time to move on from executive-level service. He saved for this time/stage in his life. However, professionally speaking, it was time to weigh this decision – what’s more important – time with family or another title under my belt?
Weighing the heartstrings, the purpose that moved Mr. Lowe was central to his ability to tell his story without interference from naysayers or others who might want to censor his thinking. He sought to utilize his gift by sharing it with those coming down the HR profession's pipeline. He tried to address matters related to himself – his struggles to maintain a positive identity and lessons about avoiding landmines he found were embedded along the pathways to his success.
Mr. Lowe’s conviction beyond his C-Suite role started in June 2023. It was a reignition of things he began earlier, like Tune-ups for Leaders, which he holds on LinkedIn every Tuesday. He also spends time supporting future leaders via keynotes and other conversations.
The mindset of entrepreneurship gets a heavy focus in this podcast. Expectations during the startup phase, emotions, financial struggles, and psychological matters are addressed.
Listeners were inspired by the insight and conviction expressed by Mr. Lowe. Many also sought to subscribe to the YouTube series after listening. Click the play button to hear what some described as “revolutionary.”
Key Points
-
Seize a stage in your life while you still have energy, drive, and passion to pursue core matters of your heart.
-
There will be a culmination of events in one's life that compel a life story to be told.
-
Dissecting personal and professional components of life is essential to knowing what matters most.
-
It creates more value when we “bundle” experiences to create a package that will benefit those who listen and participate in their distributions.
-
Success, in terms of cash flow, may not be bountiful when you expect it after starting your business.
-
It’s challenging to assemble a favorable peer group after spending years in a C-Suite with people who don’t share the core values of your purposes or profession.
-
Ensure how you show up to others makes you an authentic person before you are an authentic leader.
​
Quotables:
“This entrepreneur thing is not for the faint at heart. I’ve learned that there is a real need to pace yourself.”
​
“There was a point where I had to ask myself, do I want just a title or a more impactful role in the community I live.”
​
“I didn’t want to be limited about [regarding his autobiography]what I talk about because it’s my life story.”
​
“The goal of my podcast is to talk about the struggles of boys and men, especially men of color, without bashing women.”
​
“Identity what else you can do when something is not working [in your business].”
​
“If you’re not willing to be broke for a year, don’t be an entrepreneur.”
​
“I don’t think you can be an authentic leader unless you are first an authentic person.”
​
Resources:
In His Voice Podcasts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lINm-SEKVpg
Tune-Up Tuesday for Leaders
​
​
Visit the CoopDiLeu website: coopdileu.com or follow us on social media:
Transformative Conversations is produced by Coopwood Diversity Leadership & Education Universal.
Mr. Don Wettrick
CEO & Co-Founder
STARTedUP Foundation
Intersectionality & Internationality:
Building Bridging Across Sectors - Part 3
October 5, 2023
Mr. Don Wettrick honored the Transformative Conversations on Intersectionality and Internationality on October 5, 2023! Don was the third personality in Coop Di Leu’s inaugural series. He provided a vibrant and insightful exchange, especially after a recent trip to Australia, where he completed international work for the StartedUp Foundation.
After welcoming remarks, Mr. Wettrick shared insightful thoughts about the series concept words, intersectionality, and internationality. Listeners immediately learned that words have considerably different meanings abroad than in the United States. In fact, the quest to gain sustainable economic footing is the frontrunner concern abroad. At the same time, in the US, we
“have time” for concern about differences in race, gender, and ethnicity. He also informed listeners about the unique lens used by various countries to understand what is “intersectional.”
The three core questions were posed to Mr. Wettrick as they were to previous
guests.
​
-
How do you describe the usage of the words intersectionality and internationalism in your scope of responsibility? And how does this usage help increase diversity according to your definition?
-
How do you see the different structures (intersectionality and internationalism) working together - not in concept, but in function?
-
What are you doing in your current role that represents a gain from previous DEI experiences?
​
Mr. Wettrick asserts that although issues differ within countries, as does the
use of the words intersectional and international, a battle remains for equity
among inhabitants. In this podcast, listeners learn how travel significantly
contributes to one’s sense of what is international and intersectional and that
the quest to “get mine” is universal.
​
However, first-world problems allow “space” to dig into core social and economic issues. Not so true for second and third-world countries. Thus, the progressive achievement within the US disarms travelers for the “culture shock” they experience when visiting second and third-world countries, which brings about a broader appreciation for issues each country has to deal with.
In his work with students, Wettrick helps young people “get theirs” by introducing them to personal and professional entrepreneurial development. His foundation’s program, Innovate WithIN, brings students from around the state of Indiana to experience Innovation Workshops, partner with educators, and engage with community-focused organizations. This work, and more, makes for ample intersectional and international experiences and possibilities for Indiana high school residents. This podcast has an enlightening effect on the listener yet spells out specifics
about why perspectives about internationality and intersectionality are vast but not without common components.
.
​
KEY POINTS:
​
-
Progress for one group too often means a lack for others.
-
StartedUp helps high school students and is not yet ready to support younger students. Therefore, support is needed for them, but one organization must compete against the other to survive.
-
It is essential to the survival of organizations to engage in organizational alignment. They must recognize when the collection of purposes will serve individual purposes better.
-
The terminology may be too broad, which causes confusion among companies that want to support various sectors of minoritized groups.
-
It’s possible to create a “reciprocal success” scenario with competing groups to advance common ground – it could be great or just a wish, depending on circumstances.
-
People who put together the best plan with the best ideas may get funding in a competitive market.
-
We should be careful not to analyze the needs of others by coalescence to the “sound bite of the month” or the “argument of the week.”
-
Offering a curriculum in innovation and entrepreneurship to inner-city and rural kids can transform their success from non-competitive to winning statewide competitions.
QUOTABLES:
“Even when underfunding exists, we need programs that would be happy to work with competing groups.”
“The matter of “who has it worst” regarding jocking for a position is a universal thing no matter where you go.”
“I’ve seen groups that should be working together have tension because one’s thing is outshining the others’ thing.”
“The danger of the term intersectionality is that people relegate to “our thing is just serving
us” regardless of whether they like other groups that need assistance or not.”
“Through the generosity of some of our sponsors, we were allowed to get our curriculum into
schools that kids didn’t have to pay for.”
“For us, it starts as a mindset – the ability to see a problem as an opportunity.”
“Social media has been good for us, but it’s also been blinding people to think that the
world is full of nothing but problems.”
“People who succeed are uploading [gathering information]; the rest of us are scrolling [the
internet].
Other Resources:
Venn Diagram - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venn_diagram
Indiana Department of Education - https://www.in.gov/doe/
Products/Resources:
Visit the Coop Di Leu website: coopdileu.com or follow us on social media:
Transformative Conversations is produced by Coopwood Diversity Leadership & Education Universal.
Dr. William (Bill) Harvey
Distinguished Scholar
American Association for Access, Equity, & Diversity
Intersectionality & Internationality:
Building Bridging Across Sectors - Part 2
May 17, 2023
Dr. William (Bill) Harvey was the second national expert to take part in our series of Transformative Conversations on Intersectionality and Internationality: Building Bridges Across Sectors. Ken “Dr. Coop” Coopwood hosted. Bill Harvey has long been regarded as a transformative
speaker, educator, and activist. The conversation between these two national experts has been ongoing for over twenty years. However, the context of these conversations has challenged both for more compelling and forward- thinking solutions for listeners and change agents.
​
Dr. Harvey delivers essential thoughts about the foundation of American education and the current assault on DEI progress, all within the frame of intersectionality and internationality. He also raises practical questions about today’s role of the CDO and the responsibility to become adequately equipped for today’s higher education context. Dr. Harvey brings over fifty years of higher education leadership experience to our conversation.
This series raises three core questions for listeners to consider. These questions will be raised in all four parts for comparison across sectors.
-
How do you describe the usage of the words intersectionality and internationalism used in your scope of responsibility? And how does this usage help increase diversity according to your definition?
-
How do you see the different structures (intersectionality and internationalism) working together - not in concept, but in function?
-
What are you doing in your current role that represents a gain from previous DEI experiences?
​
The concepts and precepts about intersectionality and internationality run rampant in American social and political arenas. However, there are fundamental ways to understand why the words have been coined with condescending and uplifting views. Dr. Harvey brings us from base descriptions in the dictionary to more active adaptations and applications in the Journal of American Medical Association and elsewhere.
​
KEY POINTS:
​
-
Negative impact of discrimination has caused the death of more than 1.6 million in the Black community over the past twenty years.
-
In 2018 alone, failing to achieve health equity resulted in a 248 billion-dollar loss to the American economy.
-
When we live engrained in our day-to-day lives, we often miss the big picture or larger-scale considerations of our immediate circumstances.
-
To dig deeper into the American experience, we must examine what we want to see happen that aligns with the country’s mantle, “liberty and justice for all.”
-
Organizations historically promote the mantra yet work against those principles.
-
In some states, people are escaping the realities many others have faced.
-
The responsibility or onus for diversity does not fall squarely on the shoulders of an institution’s diversity professional.
-
The pushback on DEI today should have been anticipated to keep DEI leaders from being placed into autocratic positions.
-
Institutions should be called upon to articulate what they stand for regarding DEI because the articulation feeds policy and day-to-day behavior expectations.
-
Institutions are now being pushed increasingly to exclusionary practices, which can never be good for long-term societal growth.
QUOTABLES:
“The general well-being of all of us depends on how society and the economy operate.”
“We’re all in this together. It makes sense for us to try and change the conditions that certain groups are facing that are disproportionality negative.”
"It is not uncommon for persons to be victimized by members of society in order for them to maintain their status in the hierarchy of social order. This exists in many societies around the world, certainly in the US.”
​
“We tend to run away from conversations that address the deep structures of discrimination.”
​
“The fact that many people have not brought to the table the experiences of certain groups makes them a supporter of the status quo.”
“It’s incumbent upon [higher education], which plays a huge part in the way in which intersectionality gets examined, to bring the truth to the table.”
“Historically, every time there has been an action or movement on behalf of a minority group, there has been a reaction to that.”
“If DEI values are seen on an institution’s website, then the institutions ought to have planned to stand up for them, defend them, and maintain ways to examine and implement those values as well.”
​
“We may need organizations outside the academy to save the academy.”
“We have a responsibility to make sure higher education does, in fact, reaffirm its commitment to the things that are going to make society the one that we say that we want.”
Other Resources:
​
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama
Products/Resources:
Visit the Coop Di Leu website: coopdileu.com or follow us on social media:
Transformative Conversations is produced by Coopwood Diversity Leadership & Education Universal.
.png)
Dr. Sylvia Carey-Butler
Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity
Brown University
Intersectionality & Internationality:
Building Bridging Across Sectors - Part 1
March 2, 2023
Dr. Sylvia Carey-Butler began our series of Transformative Conversations on Intersectionality and Internationality! This inaugural series is themed: Building Bridges Across Sectors and was hosted by Ken “Dr. Coop” Coopwood. The conversation between these two national experts proved compelling and forward-thinking about the conditions in higher education that make the fight for diversity, equity, and inclusion a national imperative.
After welcoming remarks, Dr. Carey-Butler brought forward some of the most central thoughts about today’s DEI environment. She informed listeners about the intersectional and international initiatives happening at Brown University, where she serves as the Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity.
This series raises three core questions for listeners to consider. These questions will be raised in all four parts for comparison across various sectors.
​
-
How do you describe the usage of the words intersectionality and internationalism used in your scope of responsibility? And how does this usage help increase diversity according to your definition?
-
How do you see the different structures (intersectionality and internationalism) working together - not in concept, but in function?
-
What are you doing in your current role that represents a gain from previous DEI experiences?
The concepts and precepts about intersectionality and internationality run rampant in American social and political arenas. However, there are fundamental ways to understand why the words have been coined with condescending and uplifting views. Dr. Carey-Butler helps us better understand some of the approaches used in higher education.
​
Key Points
-
We all show up every day with multiple identities. These identities makeup how we do the work that we do.
-
Intersectionality is not about hierarchy in race relations or the special treatment of any group or creed. Instead, it is a practice of selflessness and awareness of divisional impact at personal and systemic levels.
-
Wanting people to become more selfless and more aware of the impact of division does not equate to the rise of one group over another.
-
The effort to divide the nation is an act of power and an attempt to advance one’s agenda.
-
Intersectionality is also about global atonement among and between groups, reconciliation for revelation (about past, present, and future injustices), and reform.
-
We must think about how to cascade down resources to our communities.
-
The DEI space really is about global atonement and opportunity among and between groups, reconciliation for revelations about the past, present, and future injustices if we don’t reform.
​
Quotables:
“In order to get students and administrators to think about “the other,” you have to get them to engage.”
​
“We need to always look at our work, regardless of where we are situated, through an international lens.”
​
“Internationalism, as a concept, gives the term “inclusion” its value.”
​
“When we get a chance to hear the story, understand people’s differences and different perspectives, that really draws us closer together.”
​
“We cannot do DEI separate from academics.”
​
“If you care anything about the future of educating our young people, then you must speak up and amplify our voice.”
​
“Diversity is mostly about composition; inclusion is about the opportunity, but the harder element of this work that we do is the equity piece.”
​
“There’s something “freeing” about being at a private institution at this point in time. We’re not in an inflection moment in this country. Quite frankly, we are at a very dangerous moment in this country.”
​
Other Resources:
Dillard University in Louisiana
​
Products/Resources:
Visit the CoopDiLeu website: coopdileu.com or follow us on social media:
Transformative Conversations is produced by Coopwood Diversity Leadership & Education Universal.
With Dr. Christine Priddie
Assistant Research Scientist
National Survey of Student Engagement
Center of Postsecondary Research
The DOIT Survey Results and Implications
April 1, 2022
In this episode, Ken “Dr. Coop” Coopwood welcomes Dr. Christine Priddie. Dr. Priddie is the Coop Di Leu Researcher. She’s affiliated with the American Education Research Association (AERA) and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Dr. Priddie shares her comments about the significance and importance of the Diverse Organization Impact and Transformation (DOIT) research.
​
Several institutions were part of the DOIT pilot effort to validate and circulate this ground-breaking instrument (survey) for infrastructural auditing and scrutiny. The pilot cohort received their grades, which were confirmed by Dr. Priddie, and several questions surfaced about the results. This podcast addressed those questions and more.

Understanding what the certification is all about, what bad grades mean, and its important implications round out this Coop Di Leu Transformative Conversations segment. Drs. Coopwood and Priddie clarify that institutions need to establish their positions on the A to F survey continuum. Grades matter, and they tell an insightful and revealing story about diversity infrastructure issues.

The difference between transformative progress and transaction progress is a core principle to progress toward diversity milestones. An institution’s historical narrative of inclusivity to the importance of being honest about what should be a best practice for transformation. Listen in as Dr. Priddie reviews comments on the preliminary DOIT results.

​
Key Points
-
Several institutions are doing well to transform their campuses, but they may not know it.
-
A score of “B” or better resulting from preliminary survey distribution means an institution has a jump start towards attaining the DOIT national certification.
-
After taking the DOIT survey, some institutions learn that they may not be as far down the road to transformation as they think.
-
Results from the survey can be categorized to meet an institution’s level of budgetary, personnel, and collaborative resources.
-
It’s more challenging to respond to diversity-related red flags while institutions maintain a homogeneous leadership population.
​
Quotables:
“We need to look at institutions that scored well on the preliminary surveys and determine how they could score well and incorporate these efforts at other institutions.”
​
“Bad grades simply mean that areas within the DEI space need improvement, not that an institution is racist or fundamentally flawed in its approach or beliefs about diversity transformation.”
​
“Areas found to need improvement should be considered as “targets” instead of trying to improve the whole institution at one time.”
​
“If an institution achieves the same diversity-related results for the past five years, there must be an assessment that questions why their approach is considered a best practice.”
​
“A grade that is below expectations should signal that an institution may be more heavily engaged in diversity transactions than diversity transformation.”
​
Other Resources:
​
​
​
Products/Resources:
Visit the CoopDiLeu website: coopdileu.com or follow us on social media:
Transformative Conversations is produced by Coopwood Diversity Leadership & Education Universal.