Hello, Hello, everybody. This is Michele Heyward, founder of the tech company positive hire. And I’m here today with another one of our summit speakers. I have Krystal Atha with me today, and we are going to have the opportunity to get to know her even better. Krystal, can you tell everybody a bit about yourself?

Absolutely. Thanks for having me on today. Well, I am an entrepreneur serial, I’m on my second one personally. And I’ve also worked with some other folks to help them launch their own. So I love entrepreneurship. I love organizations, and I like seeing and figuring out how they work. So I love nerding out with you a lot.

Yes, that entrepreneur, the crazy hang around with the crazy. That’s what we say,
we find each other in the dark places. So Krystal, and I Krystal is coming on. And she is talking about harassment in the workplace during our summit. And this is something a lot of women and women of color, especially encounter and a lot of women of color, do not get the support they need in the workplace. So when Krystal and I were discussing what topic would be great and beneficial for her to share and bring to the community, we decided on harassment. I’m over here doing all sorts of other technical stuff. So yeah, remind me. But what’s really important is Chris listed isn’t a diversity, equity, inclusion space. And this is a very, very new space. For a lot of people. A lot of it didn’t exist 1012 years ago. So Krystal, how did you end up in this space?

First of all,you know, I’ve asked myself that same question. So I wrote down some notes. Because it’s a long answer, but it’s very logical to me now that I’ve done some reflection work. So I like to start with my why. And my why really is my personal values of social justice, liberation ethics. And because of that, I was drawn to international development, human rights law, international humanitarian law, I studied for a while I studied the Israel Palestine conflict and became a human rights reporter. So deep, deep inside of me, I just really feel passionate about social justice and making the world a better place in some way, shape, or form. So that is my big why of how I think I ended up here is that driving force, and so whenever people talk about diversity, equity and inclusion, there’s two main reasons or goals of D and I and I am firmly in the Justice case. Although I love that there’s a massive bonus of making your organization work better and and perform better through it. But my wife definitely comes from justice.

So let’s take I’m gonna go a little bit further back. Okay, so you’re in college, what are you majoring in?

Good question, political science and sociology. I started with sociology. And then I thought, Okay, this is all great. But how do we make change, political science entered in and I thought, this is how I’m going to make change. So I worked on the hill. And I thought, all right, yes, this is how you could you know, lever of change really powerful. And it just wasn’t fulfilling. And I got burnt out a little bit. And so I thought, okay, there’s got to be a different way that I can approach this. So I went back to grad school, and I did the Peace Corps. And I thought, okay, where else can I fit in? That isn’t just on the hill and politics with a lot of bureaucracy, it was just so much red tape, it felt like molasses, making things happen. So that’s how I sort of started undergrad with some of that stuff. And then I used it and then I thought, okay, using my degrees and I don’t know if this is really, I don’t know if this is really what I want to keep doing. So I went back to grad school, and I did pee pee score to be like, Alright, how do I morph this into something that feels more like I’m having an impact or that I can feel balanced also.

Let’s talk about the hill for a minute. So this is really interesting, because in start up, we can make a switch like you know what, that really didn’t work. Like we’re like, nobody’s open our emails. Nobody showing up for our LinkedIn live, right? We like we’re gonna go to face but like, we can make a change just like that. Yeah. So you started out in the hell is that sort of how you like molasses to speed of change just started.

So let’s, yeah,great connection. Michelle. You’re right. I think I went like from one extreme and just went to the other one.
So what what were you doing on the hill where you were you were trying, you were attempting or you made some change, because even a scratch, you know, you do something, it just may now just be changing now 12 years later,
planting the seed they have the tree you’ll never see underneath. Yeah, exactly. I kept trying to tell myself that and I still do to this day with some of the social justice work. I mean, there’s no escaping, there’s no magic place where you’re just gonna feel complete impact and like, things are just gonna magically happen. I haven’t found it. So if you have or if you know, someone, let me know in the comments. But um, for me, I think also just really young. So it was my first job out of college, I went to the University of Iowa, I worked for Iowa Congressman, it was a congress person that didn’t take any pac money. So I thought that was really great, you know, so that’s talking to my justice heart. And I just thought, okay, you know, this, this is a moderate, maybe we can bridge the, you know, the gap and talk to each other, and all of that stuff. And then I get there. And I think, oh, my goodness, this is, this is not what I realized what I thought it was, you know, I thought, Oh, this is a lever of change, we can make huge change. And at that point in time, I don’t want to date myself. But here we go. 2006, there was a huge wave, and it was a democratic wave. And so then they took over the house. And then, so it’s like, well, now you push forward this way. So I don’t know, I just can’t even get into the details. But all of all that I know is that it’s impermanent. And so you make two steps forward, and then it feels like three steps back, and then two steps forward, and then three steps back, and I wasn’t prepared for that at the time. And then I was a lowly entry level staffer, who was very excited to work with constituents. And yet to hear those phone calls every day and to want to make changes. And to know that it’s just like, only so much I can do. So I think that was sort of sort of some of the reality. They’re like, Okay, well, what else do I do?

This is a debt. And you you bring up something, and I get a lot of college students who are like, I have this degree, and I have all of these options under under a degree like everybody thinks wish, you get this degree, this is the thing you’re going to is so many options. And I actually had this, somebody, like, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with it. And I said, everything. They say, What do you mean, I say, try everything until you find the thing that you really like doing. And you’re like, Hell, I got to get up and go to work, if that’s the time to go do something else. But keep trying that. And it’s not only for young people, because we’ve done it, and we’ve been in industry, and we’re still always making change and doing new things. So yeah, so I like that you like I went out like, this is not it. So you’re sitting there and you’re like, Okay, this, isn’t it? What do you do?

So I didn’t have to do much, because my congressmen lost their election for the first time in 30 years. So then I had to get a job. And I worked in the financial services industry, because I just needed to get something to pay my bills. And it was kind of a cool job, I got into technology on accident. Um, they were building a platform for online trading. This is 2008. And I was just thrown into user testing and user groups and advisory board building and getting feedback. And the whole lean model that I didn’t even know existed, I was just doing it. So that was kind of interesting. But working on Wall Street, I didn’t feel like I was really fulfilling my why of making the world a better place. It just wasn’t for me, it wasn’t a good fit. So that’s when I really was applying to grad school, applying to the Peace Corps and figuring out how do I fulfill my way of making this world better, and safer, and more fair, and more just and all of that. So that’s what happened after.

Okay, so then you get into Peace Corps, but you’re here today, I’m so confused once. Yeah, once you make a change,

I make any change? Yes. So turns out, I’m starting to learn life lessons, um, and you make changes, but really, I think I’m not really a religious person. But I think about Mother Teresa, and she says, start at home. You know, someone asks, How do I how do we make change in this world, and it’s like, start at home. So it’s funny to say that with the Peace Corps, but really, it’s starting at home with yourself, and opening your own mind understanding intercultural dynamics, understanding that our culture isn’t the center of the universe, and I had gone to grad school, and I got my master’s in international administration, which is basically an MBA, but for the public sector through an international lens. So it was like MBA style, but we care about the fact that there’s intercultural things happening and international law and things like that. So that that sort of lens I was working from, and I thought, Okay, cool. I’m going to do this. I went To the Middle East, also, with my grad school program, I did human rights work. And I also did reporting in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on human rights abuses. And that was heavy stuff also. And it’s like, how do I make a change in Israel Palestine, I’m like, let me just pick these really difficult problems and go in and then get frustrated that I didn’t fix it as one human. Um, so yeah, that was sort of sort of the next iteration of things. So it was Peace Corps, it was journalism in the Middle East. And that drove me to start my own nonprofit. And so that was working in tech and using technology to keep journalists and human rights activists safe. So I was then diving into safety. So I was like, I don’t want to be the frontline anymore. I don’t want to be the journalist. It was really heavy on my heart to be reporting those things. It was really tough to be in the Peace Corps for two years and working on the ground. And I was like, tough meaning like, I didn’t know how to balance myself. I just my emotions are I was just feeling so much heaviness, so much weight. So I thought, Okay, let me help the helpers on the front line. Let me just step one more step back. And that’s when I said, Okay, I had this practice working in tech, I met a co founder, she had great ideas about using technology to help folks in these conflict zones. And I thought, yes, this is it, you’re speaking to me, this is the next thing I need to do, I got my degree, I know how to start a business and run it. And you have a great idea. Let’s do this, let’s change the world. And this is when I realized D, and I was totally missing from my organization. And this is when I went hard because I reflected and I thought, okay, my whole mission in my organization is to keep people safe. Human rights activists, journalists, then I put the mirror up, whenever there was a lot of issues in my organization, it was a small organization, but enough to start having some conflicts. And I wasn’t keeping my staff safe. And I didn’t. And that was a really hard truth, to just confront. And so my social justice, heart, wanting the best, having the best intentions, having great education, great experiences on the ground starting organizations with the Peace Corps working with organizations abroad. And yet, what happened, that problem got me, they just got me so good. And so I started going deep. And I started going hard with this. I’m like, why did why? Why can I keep my own people safe when my whole mission of the organization is to keep folks safe? So that was really the turning point.

So now you’ve exited that startup. And you realize that DNI is a part of every organization from the ground up. And reflecting on what you didn’t do, right? reflecting growing through what you’ve seen out in the world. Where are you today?

 

Good question. So while I was running my organization, helping folks be safe in conflict zones, and also not worrying about if my own personal staff of my organization is safe. Guess what I was doing on the side, Michelle, I was teaching workshops on how to respond to public harassment and assault, how to make safe how to create safe spaces in our community. So once again, looking outward, trying to make safe spaces, still not looking inward. And now where I am today is I’m transitioning, four years of working with an organization in DC teaching workshops on how to create safer spaces in our community collectively, into how do we create safer spaces in the workplace collectively. I also talk about policies and procedures. Don’t get me wrong, I still studied international humanitarian law, I love laws, I love thinking about processes and systems that can really help keep us safe. But I also strongly believe in the power of a collective group of people being able to create a safe space or a safer space for everyone. So that’s why I do both of these and I’m transitioning it into the workplace because it was my blind spot honestly. big heart. Big blind spot still.

 

Yes. So I love your how you went through your journey of explaining this I want it to always make the world a better place. I that’s those are my words. And having the and I love when we have fresh, refreshing young, and we have these great ideas and like wait, I didn’t know this is really high work. But why can’t we do it even to change the smallest thing? It feels like you have to be Atlas and half the world on your shoulders to make it happen. Went through your life thus far, figuring out what is it that Krystal can actually do to come full circle, like I have to work on me. And my, it’s internal to organizations in which I build and create and help other leaders in organizations do the same. So I, I commend you, because a lot of people will have not do the internal work, they will not look at what they did wrong in order to make changes, to have a better future, especially when it comes to their, their teams, their employees, and really improving the culture in our organization. So I applaud you for their cell processes. I’m a process person, I love practices, they’re really helpful laws, it depends on them,

I needed to meet us or like baseline bare minimum, when in certain aspects, I think we can and should and have the ethical responsibility to do way more above and beyond that. So that’s, that’s the point of view I come in from. So if that’s sort of how you feel as an entrepreneur, or as a leader in your organization, I would love to talk to you work with you collaborate, because that is that’s where we’re going now. We can’t just lean on laws. I mean, we know how slow it is, we know how much gridlock there is, you know, we got to have a multi prong approach. You know, let’s keep working on that line. But let’s also try in our spheres of influence, you know, what can we what can we do,

and technology is moving faster than laws can keep up? Absolutely. And that that, in turn, we’re looking at the ethics and morals of individual people or the lack thereof, when we build those inside of our businesses, that really then helps us create safer workplaces. And I say this because everybody assumes people around that. And I don’t just mean like their friends, but their neighbors or people they went to school with were raised the same way as me that is obviously not true. So it is really important that you set those expectations within your organization from day one, you also exhibit it and practice it in your organization. So people who do not who appreciate it, and really understand like, you know what, I’ve never felt this before. I’ve never felt safe. I’ve never felt I belonged in organization really have that. And I love the work that you do. And that’s why we partner up on so many D and I projects. Okay. So just gone full circle, because we I wanted everybody to get to know the speakers for next week’s summit, we kick off Sunday night at 7pm. Krystal  is our last speaker, she is on a Friday. And I know y’all did not want to talk about harassment in the workplace. Nobody wants to talk about it, period. But it happens. And usually people want to talk about it after this happened. Yeah. And what we are doing, or Krystal is doing rather is talking about it. Hopefully before it’s happened to you, or maybe it has happened to you, and tactics and methodologies you can use in the workplace to protect yourself. Yep, to address the issue. Um, because honestly, in my just just my limited experience, the harasser is no within that organization and is protected in the organization. And people who complain, especially women are removed from the organization. So we want to give tactics that will protect and support women of color, especially. Because they’re often attacked more especially on social and less and less often. less likely, they’re less likely to be believed. So I’ll put it I’ll put it that way. So Krystal, can you give like, I don’t know, 10 words about what she’ll be talking about on on Friday, next week?

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so we’re gonna be talking about microaggressions. We’re going to be talking about harassment. We’re going to talk about how to be an active bystander. So we’re going to be talking about very specific strategies. And I’m going to give you scripts, I’m going to show you some examples. And we’re going to talk about what you can do and not just strategies that’s like one size fits all. I’m going to show you a bunch of them. We’re going to talk about them. And then you can choose the one that works best for you or more than one. And it’s gonna be great. We’re gonna have stuff you can walk away with. It is super empowering. The first time I took this workshop was from this organization that I ended up working with in DC because it was so powerful. I was the the definitely the person that was like, oh, getting to dinner meeting up with my friends. It’s like you won’t believe that what just was said to me on the phone We hear you know, like, I, it’s fine, to complain to vent to be upset, absolutely 100%. But I’m also like, how do I make this? How do I change this, I don’t want to experience this anymore. And so I think even in the workplace, I had a terrible experience in the workplace recently, and I thought, Oh, my gosh, I was stunned. And I hadn’t practiced these strategies in a while. And I thought, Oh, my gosh, I hadn’t started doing converting the strategies into workplace strategies or creating workplace strategies. So I thought, Oh, my gosh, she has so much opportunity, but we got to practice it, we got to know it when it happens. You know, we can fight flight or freeze, we’re gonna talk about some of that stuff. So a lot of good things and some self care. So when we feel these microaggressions, sometimes we judge ourselves, or sometimes we talk ourselves out of it, or whatever the case may be, you know, that just builds up knots inside of us. And we’re just re harming ourselves. So we’re gonna talk about all sorts of stuff. I hope you all come and join us and take away some strategies, and then you can create safer spaces in your organization. Even if you are not able to make policy changes, you can still make a huge difference.

I absolutely agree. So we have one comment. From Tiffany, thanks, we’re talking about it. We know it’s happened yet, we absolutely do. And it continues to happen over and over again. What I would like to say Krystal gives us so much value, every single time she comes on into our community here at positive hire, be sure to join her on Friday, you want to go to bi T dot L y, or slash w OC, stem summit 2022. summit is free if you join live. And if you watch the 24 hour replay, we do this summit twice a year, first time in a winter in February, which coincides with engineers week, if you’re trying to figure out if we’re trying to figure out when we’re gonna do it again. And then we do it in November, and in November, it coincides with national stem day. So if you keep those two things in mind, you can generally kind of figure out when we’re gonna do this. They’re really close together. I know this. But it’s for a reason, I promise you and those are primary reasons. Maybe one day we’ll change it. The other part is a lot of women and a lot of conferences do not occur in February, and in November. So I’m not competing with a lot of other conferences I did last year, November sided Women Engineers national convention was to say weak, but it’s going to happen, but a lot of times we don’t have as many people traveling. So everybody, thank you, Krystal, I look you know, I always look forward to talking about the topics nobody else really wants to address, and really providing help. nobody really wants to provide the help, the tactics, the methodologies to strategies the way you do and I really do appreciate the work you do.

You’re welcome. I’m excited. Can’t wait for next Friday,either.

Alright, everybody, I will be back tomorrow at 12pm Eastern Time to reintroduce myself to some and introduce myself to others. I will be the last speaker you have me this week before we kick the summit off at 7pm East Coast time every night. We will go live at 7pm starting on February 16. I know it’s Valentine’s Day weekend, but if they didn’t love you before this weekend, um, I’m sorry, it’s just not good. And we will in next week, Friday, February 21. With Krystal Atha and talking about harassment in the workplace. everybody. Have a great day and I’ll talk to you later. Bye