Episode 5: Pride 2025 - Trailer: A Tsunami of Emotions in 2025

This is our fifth Pride Series of the Fiftyfaces Podcast. We have been proud of the deeply personal stories that we have shared from a diverse group of the LGBTQ+ community – we have discussed the importance of allyship, how workplaces have changed, the gestures that matter, and have thrown in a tremendous among of career advice along the way. This year presented some challenges – as policies change and some companies pull back from openly supporting this and other less represented groups, we asked previous guests whether this was the year to pull back and lie low or to proceed as usual. The answer was a resounding yes, so we got to work.

 

This year’s series contains a collection of heartwarming stories of validity, empowerment and triumph. We start with an introduction by me and Tom Soto, one of the original guests in the series, who was so affirming in his reasons for doing the series, that I wanted our listeners to hear it from him. 

Then, moving on to this year’s guests, we hear from Luigi Lewin, who is Senior Vice President and Head of Partnerships at GLAAD, the largest and most visible non-profit advancing LGBTQ+ acceptance.

 

We then meet Taryn Talley, who is a marketer with over 20 years of experience, and she relates her transgender journey and the spiritual awakening that taught her that validation comes from within.

 

This series is packed with marketing tips as well as insights from people in Board roles. We hear first from Rob Smith, who is Founder and CEO of the Phluid Project, a brand that recognizes the shifting attitude of Gen Z and young Millennials, merging fashion with community and education. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Steve Madden. Next up is Meghan Stabler, has been a member of the board of directors of Grindr since May 2022. She has had a series of marketing and strategy roles over the course of her career and is a keynote speaker on a range of topics. 

 

We then meet a new friend of mine, Claire Williams, who is CEO of Oasis Domestic Abuse Service. We got to know eachother over LinkedIN when I responded to her popular LinkedIN post about Lesbian visibility week, in which she described her life with her partner and their six children and the changing climate and political backdrop.

 

Finally we go back to the Board of Grindr to hear from Nathan Richardson, who has been a member of the board of directors there since November 2022, prior to which he held a series of roles in financial services and industry.

 

So tune in from next week as we release our Pride Series over the entire month of June. Because our work goes on, even when it is no longer news. 

 
WIth sincere thanks to Latimer Partners LLC for supporting production costs of this series.