I Know I Belong When...
Bold voices. Curious stories. Authentic Impact. What does it really mean to belong? Not just to be invited... To be seen. Heard. Needed. "I Know I Belong When…" is more than a podcast; it’s a movement. A mirror. A megaphone. It’s where raw truth meets radical hope. Each episode brings you unfiltered conversations with people who’ve wrestled with the question of belonging in the spaces that shape our lives: workplaces, schools, communities, and digital worlds. From the boardroom to the breakroom, from the sidewalks to our living rooms, our guests share the exact moment they knew they were in, and the moments they knew they weren’t. ______ This is not about feel-good soundbites. It’s about radical accountability. We explore: ~ Where equity is the foundation, not a divider. ~ The steps it takes to build diverse cultures, not only to survive, though to prosper. ~ Ensure inclusion is not just a checkbox; it is a commitment. ~ Where accessibility is not an afterthought, but the amplification to thrive. ______ At the heart of our conversation is the Belonging Formula: "Belonging = (Inclusion × (Diversity + Equity)) ^ Accessibility." It’s not just math; it’s a mindset. A blueprint. A challenge to every leader, builder, and changemaker: Are you creating spaces where every identity is not only welcomed, however, is valued and respected? ______ Here’s how we do it: [ We Say Names ] Names are not nicknames. They carry legacy, identity, and power. Inspired by #AlwaysChristopher #NeverChris, we explore how honoring someone’s name is the first act of belonging. [ The Moment of Belonging ] A defining story. A turning point. The moment our guest knew: I belong here. We unpack how that moment shaped their confidence, creativity, and connection. [ Navigating Non-Belonging ] We don’t shy away from the hard stuff. Guests share what it felt like to be excluded, erased, or underestimated, and how they reclaimed their space and voice. [ Sustaining Belonging ] What does it take to keep that feeling alive? We explore the systems, rituals, and leadership practices that make belonging a daily reality, not a one-time event. ______ Why it matters: This podcast is for anyone who’s ever asked: Do I really belong here? And for every leader who’s ready to answer: Yes, and here’s how we’ll prove it. Whether you’re building inclusive teams, designing accessible tech, or rethinking your own role in equity work, these stories will challenge you to show up differently. To lead with intention. To listen with humility. To act with courage. Because belonging isn’t a destination, it’s a practice. And it starts with listening.
Episodes
What if everything you have been told about accessibility, inclusion, and the so-called trade-off between doing good and doing well is wrong?
In this episode of I Know I Belong When, host Christopher Bylone sits down with Daniel Hodges — lawyer by training, nonprofit founder by calling, and living proof that when someone tells you no road exists, that is simply the opening line of your comeback story. As a kid, Daniel was functional...
"What does authentic leadership look like when the person in the corner office decides that the boldest move available is telling the truth about who she is? In this episode of I Know I Belong When, host Christopher Bylone sits down with Katherine Dudtschak, former president and CEO of Home Equity Bank and former executive vice president at RBC, to explore what happens when more than thirty years of elite corporate performance...
Last week, you met the father. This week, meet the son who did not just inherit a mission. He built his own lane inside of it.
In this episode of I Know I Belong When, Christopher sits down with Jake Ross, founder and CEO of Belong Together, banjo player, former COO of an AI startup, and co-author of the second edition of Everyday Bias with his father, Howard J. Ross. Jake holds a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley in...
What if belonging is not a program or slogan, but the daily discipline of honoring humanity even when the cultural winds shift against it?
In this episode of I Know I Belong When, Christopher sits down with Howard J. Ross, writer, facilitator, meditation teacher, musician, and one of the most influential voices on unconscious bias and belonging alive today. Howard is the author of Everyday Bias and Our Search for Belonging, and he i...
What does it really take to create belonging in the workplace when pressure rises, resistance shows up, and silence feels safer than speaking up?
In this episode of I Know I Belong When…, host Christopher Bylone sits down with Mike Davis, a global diversity and inclusion executive with nearly three decades of experience navigating the hardest conversations organizations avoid. This is not a surface-level conversation about inclusion...
What happens when a leader walks onto a stage to accept an award and walks off holding a tie because no one imagined a woman could be leading the company? In this episode of I Know I Belong When…, host Christopher Bylone sits down with Simona Scarpaleggia, former CEO of IKEA Switzerland, United Nations co-chair, author, and a leader whose career has redefined authentic leadership when the room was not built with you in mind.
Through...
What if the clearest blueprint for belonging in the workplace did not come from corporate playbooks, leadership models, or culture decks, but from a global movement rooted in creativity, community, and care?
In this episode of I Know I Belong When…, host Christopher Bylone sits down with Manny Faces—award-winning journalist, cultural strategist, TEDx speaker, and founder of the Hip Hop Can Save America! ecosystem—to explore how Hip ...
What if the reason your culture initiatives are stalling has nothing to do with motivation, engagement, or vibes, and everything to do with systems, accountability, and how leaders show up every single day?
In this episode of I Know I Belong When…, Christopher Bylone is joined by Joe Machicote, retired CHRO, organizational culture engineer, executive coach, and author of Own Thy Stuff. Joe brings more than three decades of...
What does it actually mean to feel valued at work, not in theory, not in policy language, but in lived experience? In this deeply human episode of I Know I Belong When…, host Christopher Bylone sits down with Dr. Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander, a pioneering legal scholar, educator, and culture shaper whose life’s work helped define how organizations understand fairness, dignity, and people’s experiences.
From creating the first...
The belonging movement starts here: Bold voices, curious stories, and the future of inclusive culture
Tune into "I Know I Belong When..." Season 3, and be a part of the movement.
An Innovation Unbiased Production
What does inclusive leadership look like when performance drops, language gets honest, and ordinary moments become the measure of everything?
That is the question Season 2 of I Know I Belong When… answered across twelve extraordinary voices who shared something rare: their receipts, their scars, and their strategies. Together, they offer a masterclass in what it actually looks like to live and lead in ways that make belonging in the...
Psychological safety is often treated as a feeling. This episode turns it into a leadership practice you can name, measure, and repeat.
In this episode, host Christopher Bylone welcomes Mike Lynch, founder of MJL Consulting Group and author of From Ally to All In, for a human, leadership-credible conversation on belonging in the workplace and what it takes to move from supportive intentions to creating belonging at work through visi...
Belonging in the workplace is not a slogan. It is the lived experience of being invited, seen, heard, and needed. In this episode of I Know I Belong When, host Christopher Bylone sits with Dr. Cornell Verdeja-Woodson, former head of DEIB and talent development at Pixar Animation Studios and an organizational change leader. Together, they turn workplace belonging into leadership practices you can repeat: honor names, clarify values,...
You are not alone if you have searched for another word for belong or for synonyms of belonging. You are trying to name the feeling that drives workplace belonging. In this episode of I Know I Belong When, host Christopher Bylone welcomes Courtney Turich, med tech executive, certified coach, and the voice behind “be bold, be confident, be you,” to give you language for belonging you can use immediately.
Courtney shares bold moves fr...
When headlines say one thing and lived experience says another, leadership starts with repair. In this episode, host Christopher Bylone sits with Nancy Levine Stearns, journalist and founder of Impactivize, to name what is really happening behind the noise. If you are seeking language for belonging in the workplace, this conversation also delivers it through first-person storytelling and boardroom evidence.
Nancy Levine Stearns trac...
Repair is leadership, and it is how belonging becomes real. In this episode of I Know I Belong When, host Christopher Bylone sits with Denitresse Ferrell (Deni) to move beyond hope and hustle and into accountable, human-centered innovation that builds trust on purpose. Deni is a culture architect and CEO of Culture Refinery, and her stories give listeners language for belonging that leaders can use in the moments that matter most. ...
What if the most radical act of leadership is learning to trust yourself again? In this powerful episode of "I Know I Belong When...", host Christopher Bylone sits with Dr. Jade Singleton, culture strategist, researcher, and systems-change architect, to explore how belonging in the workplace is shaped not only by policies and practices, but also by our inner world.
This conversation moves beyond surface-level inclusion to ...
Belonging at work is not created by good intentions. It is created through decisions, accountability, and everyday actions that either invite people in or push them out. In this episode of I Know I Belong When, host Christopher Bylone is joined by Stacey Gordon, globally recognized bias disruptor, author of UNBIAS, and a trusted voice in authentic leadership and people experience design.
This conversation goes beyond performative in...
Joy is not a distraction from the work of inclusion; joy is the work. In this energizing conversation, Vernon Wall invites leaders to treat joy as protest, community as strategy, and belonging as a practice. From his decades shaping inclusive culture in higher education to real‑time lessons from Semester at Sea, Vernon offers language for belonging that is honest and actionable. Listeners will hear how authentic leadership transfor...
What if creating belonging in the workplace begins with a laugh—and a promise to learn your name the way you say it? In this episode of "I Know I Belong When...", Global Head of HR Chris Courneen joins host Christopher Bylone to translate a first-person story into leadership practice. From stagecraft to strategy, Chris shows how humor, trust, and authentic leadership unlock voice and performance in an inclusive culture. H...
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