August 6, 2024 • 51 mins
I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to interview Safia Porter and hope you do also. She is warm, caring, and visionary.
She actually selected the same word to describe herself. Safia shared a story from her childhood about her love for the performing arts & music. She believes it helps to awaken our imagination and we should all lean into our inner child. I totally agree with her and have experienced a direct relationship with music and how it impacts my emotions. What about you?
Her life is spent on making a positive impact in the world. She is part of an organization called Easy Water for Everyone. Here is a sobering question - Think about drinking water that is brown?
That should make you pause for a moment. There are 663 million people in the world that lack access to clean water. Easy Water for Everyone delivers clean pure water to remote villages with contaminated water sources. They use simple sustainable technology that does not require electricity and is validated by research. This makes the water safe to consume.
There are now 35 village sites with these water filtration devices in developing countries to provide clean drinking water to the villagers.
Do you want to make an impact? You can, Safia shared that there will be a Water & Health conference in October 2024 at University of North Carolina. The theme is “Imagine a Day Without Water.” https://www.easywaterforeveryone.org/
Lastly, one of my favorite questions is what is the best mentoring advice she would like to share. She took us back to advice her father gave her. “Keep going no matter what life gives you.” Like Dory - just keep swimming.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi. My name is Isabella.
Welcome to the Intern Whisperer.
This is my show, and it's brought to youby Employers 4 Change.
This show is all about the futureof work and innovation,
and we always have amazingthought leaders on the show.
Today's guest is Safia,and I hope I did it right, Porter
who is the executive directorwith the Black Orlando Tech
(00:21):
also called BOT.
So if you're from Orlando,you would know that. Safia is a
marketing expertwho connects brands with social trends
and uses data driven strategiesto achieve measurable ROI.
She graduated from Full Sail University,
everybody loves Full Sail here in Orlando,and now resides in Orlando,
(00:42):
where I just mentioned.
And she leads initiativesto bridge the gap between
technology and community empowerment.
Her leadership at Black OrlandoTech and Easy Water for Everyone reflects
her commitment to driving meaningfulchange for underrepresented communities.
So welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me. So excited.
(01:04):
I have this list of people that I've beenwanting to have for quite some time,
and it's always one of those thingsthat, when I work through the list-
But then I meet new people and it's got-
Okay, I have to build them into the list.
One of them, fun fact, was...you know, one of the Sharks?
Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. Damon.
Yeah. Yeah.
(01:24):
I had met him at a learning eventand he said yes.
So I'm very excited.
I'm going to go and get him on the show.
Yay. That's exciting.
It is exciting.
But we're going to talk about you now.
So, tell us about yourselfusing only five words.
What are those five words?
Passionate was one.
Yes. Yeah.
(01:45):
So, we have Passionate.Why Passionate?
So, when I like to get into-when I get into things that I
just love and adoreand it really just aligns
to my own personal self,I get really passionate about it.
And like I just pour as muchas I possibly can into it.
(02:06):
I understand that. It could be anythingfrom, I'm sure, cooking
Yeah.to what you do in your- your real work.
Yeah.
Like if I come up with an ideaand I just fall in love with it
in that moment, like, you'll find methe next 24 hours just scouring
and trying to findhow to bring it to life or,
etc.That's good.
(02:27):
You mentioned that your second onewas Visionary. Why Visionary?
Visionary since I was a- since I was a child.
Like, I just always lovedlike, the performing arts and arts
in general and music.
So, I find like all those elements,like they really help
in regards to me just working,if that makes any sense.
(02:47):
And it really just helps with awakeningthe imagination, because I truly believe
in like the imagination ofa play, even as an adult.
Sometimes we forget our inner childis there. And so when I-
when I lean into my inner childand just add imagination...that creativity,
a lot of greatthings just tend to happen.
(03:08):
I agree.
I teach Sunday schoolto three and four-year-olds,
and I do that intentionallybecause that's where I get to go play.
Yeah. Like what you described.
And it also helps me to rememberhow to work with adults.
Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
Because everybody doesn't want to lettheir three year old come out of them.
And we're all three-year-olds. Right. Yeah.
(03:28):
Pretty much. Or the terrible three’s.
No matter how old we are, right?
Yes. Yeah. No matter how old we are.
So you mentioned your thirdword was Polite.
I know you to be very polite.
I followed you for a whileon your social feeds, and you're always
so considerate, so polite.
So, why did you pick that one?
Was that just greatparent upbringing on your parents part?
(03:52):
Yeah, so...
I- I'm- so I'm-I am South Asian and African American.
So with both of my parents,they just really have instilled with me
like the whole, you know,I can't think of the term analogy,
but the whole idea of, like,
it’s always great to be the better person insituations or,
(04:13):
being considerate of other people'sfeelings and their thoughts.
So I've just always- that just alwayshas been walked with me in regards to like
it's just always best to be polite andto be seen
as a nice person regardless of whatother people might think of you.
But on the other side ofthe thing is like, okay,
if I am able to project myselfin a sort of way, in the sort of light,
(04:33):
like...good things-you get more people like you. You get more
good people that surround youand keep you grounded.
So. Yep.
I would agree with youon that one for sure.
You know, you reap what you sow,if you want to go with that one.
Yeah. But you also attractwhat you're wanting that you give out.
Exactly.
Yeah. How about Caring. Why Caring?
(04:56):
I just care for everyoneI am- I'm always trying to find ways...
One of the big things in my familyis giving back in philanthropy work, or
just giving somethingmore to others that they may not have.
So I just...I just find when-when you're able to be a caring person
or a caring soul, like to your point,in a previous statement, like
(05:20):
that...
you'll be granted like higher,whatever you believe in,
like you're granted a higher stance,but then you'll always have like that good
juju coming back to you or really helpingyou get to where you need to be in life.
I agree. I think- I knowthat you do a lot of work with nonprofits
and I do too, and I love nonprofitbecause it is- it's one of those things
(05:43):
that it's a constantreminder of selflessness.
It's about serving the greater goodof whatever that organization is about.
Yes. So, I- I'm with you.
Soul sister there.
Intentional.
Now, this word...this word,
I love it when people use this word.
So why did you pick Intentional?
Yeah, so it kind of brings
(06:04):
all those words together to this last-this last word of being intentional.
So, whenever I justwill get into something or become a part
of something or relationships or etc.,I just always want to make sure that
I'm being intentional,
and giving that thing, or whathave you. All...all of me.
Within reason, of course.
(06:25):
But, you know,just making sure I'm making
impact as like, a quality in a sense.
You know, make sure that, again,makes sense and is important.
But also, I just want people to know that
when I say something or do something like,I- I mean it in a way.
(06:48):
So that's why-that's why I would say like intentional.
Like I never want to do something that
might be wasting people's timeor just unsure of my actions.
Like, I always want to make sure, like,hey, this is what I want to do.
This is what we're trying to do x, y, z,and this is how we're going to do it.
Yeah, you-you put a lot of thought into it.
You're thinking about all ofthe positives
(07:10):
and what could happenthat's not so positive.
And it's weighingthose carefully to provide,
just like you said, something with impact.
Exactly, yeah. Yeah.
Those are good words too. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing that.
So, the next question is...how- share whatever you want
about your educational background,the industries that you've been in,
(07:32):
which you mentioned nonprofits,I'm sure we're going to talk about that,
and how you got to where you are nowwith being the ED at Black Orlando Tech.
Yeah. So, starting off with the education.
So, I'm originally from Indianapolis,Indiana in the Midwest.
My college journey actually started therewhere I was
(07:54):
a part of the Indiana University,
Purdue University campuses,where at the time
I was really- excuse me, excuse me.
I was really in love with the idea of
maybe being onthe news as a news anchor.
Getting into Broadcast Journalism.
(08:16):
But at the time, I had realized, like,
this- this may not really alignto what I really want to be doing.
So, that was also at the same time wheresocial media was starting its boom.
So I started universityprobably around 2011...2012.
And I just noticed, like
(08:36):
in this journalism, they weren'ttalking about social media yet,
but they were- like the textbooks in itselfwas already outdated,
just because I was already noticinghow fast and quickly it was moving.
But growing up, even with my education-before university, my
parents had always like, put me throughSTEM camps, actually with the university.
So I had the opportunity,like almost every summer of high school
(08:59):
and middle school,
being able to go to a summer camp,with Purdue University,
learning from aviation, biology,
crime and forensics,I learned how bridges were made, like,
I got through all of those different programs
just to figure out what it was thatI liked.
I knew at that time, like, I did likethe technology side of things,
but I just wasn't sure whatthat was going to be for me growing up.
(09:22):
Because I wasn't, like, reallyinto the engineering and other medical
what-have-you’s of science.
So it was like, okay, I know it's there,but it's not quite what I want to do.
So since then
and then going through a couple of yearsat a regular traditional university
I went in social mediabecoming on the rise, I was like, okay,
I think we have something here.
(09:44):
Because not only-not only do I like the broadcasting,
but I was like, I like technologyand this is like a whole different room.
So, that's where things actually- was-
The wheels were spinningand things started changing for me. So,
eventually, my nephew
had brought attention to meabout Full Sail University at the time,
(10:07):
and when they had came about...and of course, Full Sail had been around
for many years by that point, of course,but they didn't really have a program yet-
yet that had interested me because it wasall still music and movie production.
And I started to think, I was like,I'm not really sure about that.
But he- he kept pushing mebecause he was like, oh, well, they're-
they, at the time, were startinga new program called Media Communications.
(10:31):
And I was like, okay, so this is more alignmentto what I've already been studying.
It's more hands on training,kind of going backwards again.
When I was in high school,it wasn't a traditional stance.
I was a part of a program called New Tech.
And it's a- it's a really great programwhere they take high school students
and instead of learningthe traditional route,
you're actually going through your- it'sproject based learning.
(10:52):
So you're always working
with a set of students or with yourselfwithin a group to building a project.
But it was also technically advancedbecause you're utilizing a laptop, Adobe,
all these different programsto help put these projects together.
And just learning from thatand making evaluations.
So Full Sail, to me...very similar in an aspectwhere it's like, it’s a-
(11:14):
it was a university,
but it wasn't the traditionallike sitting, lecturing sort of thing.
Like they actually do hands on training,
project based, getting to work withother people, collaborating.
They get you prepared for the real worldlife of working.
So, I made switch
in 2012 to online with Full Sail University.
(11:36):
And then eventually, after a year,I was like, oh, this is great.
But, personally, I was ready to go onto a whole new venture in life.
And I was like, oh,why don't I just switch to on-campus
so I can at least still get theon-campus experience?
And it’s also in Florida. Hot weather.
And then I just- I just honestlysaw, like, there's a lot more opportunity
(11:57):
than staying in Indiana,at the time, for me and my career.
So I made the switch to goon-campus to go to Full Sail.
And I just hadthe best time going through that program.
It really taught me a lot, especiallywhat I'm doing now in my current career.
If it wasn't for them,I don't know where I would be, honestly.
(12:18):
But I do give a lot of propsto those instructors,
and to those coursesthat I had learned during that time.
But- but fast forwarding onwhat they have really prepared me for.
So I started off my careeroutside of college,
going through a digital marketing agencycalled Your Brand Boys.
Wait, is that Carol Cox?
Did she have it? No.
(12:39):
Okay. So, the owner and the founder,his name is Brian Bruce. I knew him.
Oh. Do you? I do. Okay, yeah.
Awesome. Yeah. But, yeah.
So he was my first boss.
Although, he gave me a chance, actually,
beforeI actually graduated from Full Sail.
He gave me my first job with him
(13:00):
as a social media manager.
So I got to work with him for a few yearsworking my way up
to being more-soproject management and account management.
But it was really him who really, justreally, showcased to me, like, the power
and how you can be so intentionalwith digital marketing in general.
So going through that
(13:21):
whole process- whole process had reallyjust helped me also learn where I was able
to go on, or work on some really greatclient projects that were tech advanced,
from AI to VR,
working in other industries as well,such as small mom-and-pop shops.
did a lot of golfing as well,a lot of hotels,
(13:44):
being able to be exposedto all these different industries,
food, etc., just throughthat digital marketing agency.
So I was able to really figure out like,okay, what is it that I really like to do?
What do I really like to have fun with?
What really gets me excited?
So ever since that
first job that I had, I was like,okay, digital marketing is the way to go.
it's like really just the best place.
(14:06):
And then just transitioning to now.
Well, how did I get to BOT?How did it get to the nonprofit space?
So I did make the switch to, at the time,
I had a little burnout moment.
To be quite honest-Don’t we all?
Yeah.
So I had quite a bitof a little burnout moment.
It was actually when I had my-my first child, my daughter, at the time.
(14:29):
So it's like trying to navigate and juggle
motherhoodalong with a career at a young age.
So it caused the burnoutwhere I was like,
okay, I need to take like a year off.
So I actually did take a yearoff...from working.
And I actually just got a small, little...small little job at Disney,
to be quite honest. Just customer service.
(14:52):
Just so I can just kind ofget my gears back in order
and just really figure out, like, okay,what is it I really want to do?
And how do I wantto continue this journey?
So I had
landed a really good opportunitywith Darden Restaurants,
to work on the Olive Garden teamon their social media team.
But then at the same time, I also, fromone of my instructors at Full Sail
(15:18):
actually introduced meto Easy Water for Everyone.
Yeah, what is that? I like the name.
I don't know what it means,but I definitely want to know more.
Yeah.
So Easy Water for Everyone is a nonprofitthat works in sub-Saharan Africa.
Excuse me.
And what we do iswe have a technically advanced solution,
(15:39):
our water filtration device,that we install in the villages
that don't have accessto power or plumbing, essentially.
So we take where they might be- so far...getting their water sources
from like a lake, a river, or a boreholeor a well,
and oftentimes those water sourcesare very highly contaminated,
(16:03):
causing a lot of waterborneillnesses, diarrhea in children.
Just not
really a great situation at allfor health and well-being.
So we go into these villages...they're usually populations of 300
to 500 people, and we install this waterfiltration device
(16:23):
that really helpswith purifying the water
from a gravity flowtechnique, essentially.
So it pumps up the water into this tank
and in the tank with a gravity flow,flows it through
this water tank, or waterfiltration device that actually is-
I'm probably going to say this incorrectly,but...what it-
(16:44):
the way that the water's filteredis through these filtrations
that are...
These filters that you usefor dialysis in a hospital...
We take those filters and we get themcleaned, we get them re-primed,
and that'swhat we're using to help filtrate the water.
It’s completely safe.
They're just like recycled, essentially.
(17:05):
And out pours
this clean pure water that's also not-
has no chemicals as well,embedded into the water.
So, yeah.
So it's more just helping these villages.
So, we so far have 35 sites
currently that are up- up and running.
(17:26):
I think we're definitely going to haveabout 40 to 50 by the end of next year.
But that's- that'swhat Easy Water for Everyone does.
We are helping provide pure clean waterto disadvantaged
communitiesand Ghana, Uganda, Senegal. Wow.
That's amazing.
How- Now, how did you find this group?
It was from one of my professors.
(17:46):
at Full Sail.
Yeah, I'm-
I'm pretty dialed in usually
to environmental things,and I’ve never heard of this one.
And so that's whyI really wanted to know more about it.
But let's talk about another groupthat you support, MINO.
Yeah.
So, MINO is a fantastic group.
So they...
(18:07):
they started this programwhere they're really trying to help
professional women, or just blackwomen in general, get to the C-suite.
And this came out of-
I was actually a- more-so a cohort, orparticipant into that program.
Because my desire was to getinto the C-suite in the industry.
But the way that this program workedis essentially
(18:31):
they would hold workshops withother women that were in the C-suite
who would give their own, like, life story
in regards to like, how did they get towhere they are, providing resources,
also providing weeklymentorship opportunities,
or like, even just more to like their-it was therapeutic
at times too, where you could have one-on-onewith these coaches.
(18:52):
Really asking them like, hey,I'm going through this thing
at work or, you know,how do I get to A to B?
To help me get closerto my professional goals, and being able
to really, like,talk it out and getting some solutions
to the problems at hand, to help better ourselves.
But it’s- it’s a fantastic programbecause this sort of program doesn't really-
(19:14):
it’s really hard to find, especiallyfor black and brown women as well.
Oftentimes when I personallysee leadership programs,
it's kind of hard to know if
you actually are welcome just due towho is running them or who was in there or
who do you actually seea part of those cohorts?
So it really felt like, with MINO,I was in a-
(19:36):
a safe space along with other black womenaround the nation,
to really get the resourcesthat they need,
to help the community.
You'll also hear like, village as well,
to help support you and go along the way.
So what does the name MINO mean?
I don't mean to put you on the spot but,
(19:56):
you know...This I did not look up.
I'm- I'm guessing minority.
Something in there about that.
I honestly don't know what it was meant- what it means.
I know at the time, before it wasMINO, it was called The Well.
And then they switched to...
MINO, but to be quite honest,I don't remember the definition.
Yeah. You've been therefor a while, I think. Right?
(20:19):
No. So the program
actually ended in 2023.
That's just last year.
Right around the corner.So, many times
one of the things that I experience,I know that you said the concentration
was on black and brown women,but I think that there's always this place
(20:40):
where affiliates,you know, allies come into play.
It's, you know, because you have to havethose, you know, as- as,
you know, we're women and we knowthat we have to have male people there
to help us open some of these doors,because sometimes it's just not possible
Yeah.once we have those people.
I would imagine it's the same.
You probably had allies of all colorsand genders to be able to help women
(21:05):
in circumstances. Yes. Yeah, yeah.
I was looking forit really quick to see if I could find it.
Oh well, no, I cannot find it.
I'll come back to it later.To be quite honest,
and just off the record,
she may have removed some thingsbecause I know she also went on a hiatus.
Hope- we- I think...yeah, I am going to communicate with BOT,
(21:27):
and I'm hoping-
Well, we're trying to do somethingnext year,
honestly, with her.They're bringing back the program.
So maybe next podcast
I can talk more about it.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, that would be good. Yeah.
And it's always one of those thingsthat, you know, organizations, nonprofits,
sometimes they-they don't always stay around,
because the grants that are available...it's always a shrinking pool.
(21:50):
As you will know-it’s very particular too.
Yeah.
Make sure the mission of thatorganization is matching the mission
of the- whatever the funding sourcesthat you're asking for.
Yeah.
So, there's that.
And then it's just a lot of workto have a nonprofit.
It's harder to have- to me, a nonprofit,than it is a for-profit.
(22:10):
Yeah, so like I- So, going back to Easy Water,I’ve been with them now since 2019.
So that's where I was able to get out of my burnout
and make that switch.
But to your point, yes.
Like, funding an internationalnonprofit is so difficult.
Incredibly hard.
Because when you're talking about
Americans going, well,why would I give money to a nonprofit?
(22:34):
When we have people in our countrywe need to help.
That's always the argument.Especially with water.
Yeah.
Cause we have our own water and wash issues.
I go to quite a bit of conferencesfor Easy Water where we're talking
scientific and nonscientific issues.
And it’s incredible-it’s incredible
(22:55):
but also saddened,you know, what I'm able to learn
in these conferences,especially on the US side. It’s like, wow.
It’s like, yes, we'retrying to get funding internationally.
And to see the, you know-of course we would love the grants
from the U.S government.
But I also think like, you know,
(23:15):
we need a lot of help here.
Like, it doesn't- it doesn't make senseto be the leading country in the world.
And we're having these issuesfor people.
Yeah.
Or water poverty issues, essentially.Yeah.
Like there's literally deserts.
Deserts, you know,they call them food deserts
if you don't havehealthy sources of food around you.
(23:38):
But it also applies to water.
And I'm emphasizing the word ‘water’the way that I guess we would say it
if we were British, because...it's interesting.
I've had exchange studentsfrom all over live with me.
And so one of them said,why- say this word, w-a-t-e-r.
Go ahead, say it. Water. Yeah.
(23:59):
She said, why do you say it
as water like there's a D in there.
And I went,that's because we're probably lazy,
is what we are as Americans.
We're not emphasizing.It's not proper English. Yeah.
So I sit here,and because that student, that person,
that exchange student that lived with mewould say that, I- I realize that now
I- I make more emphasisto make sure I'm saying water.
(24:23):
And it sounds so funny to say.
Right?
But I think that the work that they'redoing here, you mentioned that you've gone
to some of the conferences.Are they local?
Is there a local chapter?
Yeah.
So, I go to this onein the University of North Carolina.
It's a water and health conference.
They have it around October.
(24:45):
But this is where a lot of the organi-
a lot of the organizations come togetherjust to learn from each other.
Like what's going on,learning about our own personal projects.
But also trying to understand
on international
or national side of thingswhere the need is still needing help.
Where- do you knowwhere in- where in October,
(25:09):
what location would this conference be?
Yeah.
So I want to say it's like the thirdor fourth week of October annually and
is at the University of North Carolina,Chapel Hill with the Water Institute.
I would like to- I definitelywant you to pass that on more.
You know, to me, yeah.
One of the game jams that, you know, for me...Cat 5 Studios, OMG Labs
(25:32):
and Indienomicon, Shameless Plugs,for all of them...
you know, that- those companies
are in the simulationand the game industry. One of the big
type of game jams I would like to do
is something based on environment,specifically water.
Yeah.
Because I really feel like,you know, hey, when it's gone, it's gone.
(25:54):
So, what are we doing?
You know,we can't make coffee without water.
You cannot make beverages without water.
Exactly. What are we going to do? Anyway,
count me in.
Yeah, we actually- I actually had thisreally fun idea for a campaign
and I want to bring it to life so badly.
But really trying to showcaseto the wor- I guess here in the U.S. or
(26:17):
anywhere where everyone's pretty well off,but, like, imagine a day without water.
But imagine if the water out of your sinkcame out as brown at the areas
that we're serving, or washing a carwith the same type of water.
Or...
you'retaking a bath and your water is brown.
Like- it’s like you wouldn't-you couldn't imagine that.
(26:38):
No, we couldn’t. Right?
We cannot.
So like I- I did have
a blessed opportunity last year to goaround this time to see the sites.
And it's definitely been very full circleto be working since 2009,
building up these sites, fundraisingfor them during the holidays,
and seeing them come to life.
But being there in person is justis- is a completely different experience
(27:00):
because you're also seeinglike who's benefiting.
And especially like, with children too,like with me, I have two young kids.
And just like imagining like, whatthe moms would have to go to just
to either fetch water or just to make sureit’s clean or, you know,
also because of the
benefit of our water system,being able to make sure
(27:22):
that your children are going to schooland they're not getting sick or,
you know, diseases or what have you,and you don't have that fear.
So, it's really something that I thinka lot of people
definitely take for granted.
You know, this reminds me of somethingclean
the world used to do too.They had a campaign
that was around safety. Yeah.
(27:43):
And they used water.
And they would make surethat people knew that
by having the abilityto use hand sanitizer or wash your hands,
just washing your hands,it changed the health of a village. Yep.
It would actually be ableto help people more than just
on this little microscopic opportunity.
(28:05):
Yeah.
And it's something that's big,
and especially with what you're proposing,the brown water.
Yeah. Nobody likes to think about that.
Yeah.
For every year in March is World Water Day.
So what we do in the villages iswe actually host a- a large gathering,
and just really, like,it’s really fun, too, because we'll have
like, quizzes for the kids, water facts,water education.
(28:28):
But for the majority of washing,and particularly with hygiene,
really teaching them
like the best practicesand why it's so important to utilize soap.
Why it's important to make surethat it's always available to the kids,
but also it's like changingkind of like the cultural norm
or the culturalthought as well in their household
so that the kids are learning itat school or at our programmings,
(28:51):
they're taking it back hometo teach the- the family as well.
And we've had some really
great success rates as welljust with this nonprofit.
We have- you'll see on our website,you go to easywaterforeveryone.org.
You'll see we have quite a bit ofresearch because honestly,
the majority of our team are eitherthe nephrologists,
(29:14):
doctors, researchers.
So we're also a very data drivennonprofit.
So we back a lot of whatwe're doing up to data.
So we've been ableto, you know, decrease diarrhea,
like, literallyit’s almost close to flatline,
like it feels higher when we- beforewe got there for water testing.
(29:36):
And since installation,they're at the bottom,
which means there's less peoplegetting sick.
Yeah. That's amazing.
I pulled the website up while you were sharingabout it, and I really appreciate you-
you gave it easily to the listeners.
easywaterforeveryone.org. Yes.
So we hope that you guys go visit thereand see how you can make a difference in-
(29:58):
in the world.
So that's- that's valuable there.
So we're going to go and changeto a new question.
How do you define diversity and inclusion?
Two separate definitions, right?
Yeah.
When I- when I think ofdiversity, I just think that...
(30:21):
it’s a word
that I see where everyone's able to be involved
and there's not this...
red tape in politicsthat's getting in the way of it.
And diversity can be- can be many things,not just race,
but it also means gender, and also meanspeople with different mindsets.
(30:43):
Being able to, all of us, to work together
and also just be respectful of each otherfor the better
good or common good.
So that's the part that you haveabout inclusion, right?
Working together for the greatergood? Yes.
Yeah.
I want to thank you for sharing thatbecause everybody has
probably a pretty similar definition.
(31:06):
Mine is- is similar,but I focus on what I call
head smarts and heart smarts,because if I don't see- if I-
if I had no sight,I could not see anything about you.
But if I paid attention to the wordsthat you said,
I would be paying attentionto what's coming out of your head.
You know, how educated you might be.
(31:27):
Things of that nature.
And then if I'm also paying attentionto the words that you're saying, even
your actions, I would see those five wordsthat you use to describe you.
And I use the word ‘see’ very loosely,
because what if we could only seewhat's on the inside of people,
the things that mattered to them,and then, you know, their-
(31:48):
their ability to communicate effectively,their problem solving skills,
those critical competenciesmore than- than, sometimes, knowledge?
Yeah, it'd be a completely different...
So different.eyesight.
Yeah, very much so.
So I read this article in 20-
well, there was an article
that was written in 2023,but I saw this show on Grey's Anatomy
(32:13):
and they talked about the powerposing thing that came out.
So I researched this, I found it,and it said that there was close to 130
experiments that explored power posing,but 10,000 participants.
And this was at the Ohio StateUniversity of Bamberg,
Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg University.
(32:33):
So, the object was to find outwhether consciously deciding
to take a certain powerpose would influence
a person's confidence, their behavior,and their hormone levels.
And so, I don't know what your thoughts areif you have a superhero,
but I actually,
I’m not going to do it here in the studiobecause then I get away from the mic.
But if you stand up listeners, stand up,
(32:56):
put your hands together as like a fistand put them on your hips
and then shouldersback, gaze off into the ether.
You know, whatever the air is, feetare slightly apart.
I'm not kidding.
I feel so strong and so powerful.
Even if I'm sitting down,I still feel it. Yeah.
You have a super- superherothat you lean on for inspiration.
(33:18):
Yeah.
So I'm going to say for my superhero,
I'm going to- I'm going to go withIron Man.
I love Iron Man. So smart. Yeah.
Oh my.
Yeah, I'm going to say Iron Man.
And the reason being, and just like,
I mean,
of course, it's like the actual movieitself, but just the way that the- the...
(33:42):
the character is portrayed,I feel it really aligns with my-
the definitions from earlierand how I see myself.
Whereas, like...
being innovative,
being imaginative, going outside the box,but also making sure that
the due diligence is there,the care is still there.
(34:06):
And all those things, like it's not just,
ooh, how do I say it?
Not just because-just because you have your power,
you know, you're not like,Thanos. Essentially using your power for wrong,
but like,you're using your power for good.
And to actually change the worldto be better.
So that's what I will say. It’s definitely Iron Man because I-
(34:26):
I think that he definitely embodiesthat amazingly.
And I could definitely relatea lot to that.
Oh, I totally agree with you.
Yeah,I kind of like the Spider Man says, ooh,
what was that little quotethat his uncle said before he died?
It's kind of like ‘too much is givinggreat is required.’
(34:47):
I don't know. Spider Man...quote.
Let me find it here about...power.
Okay.
So I think it- ah! “With great powercomes great responsibility.”
That is like summing it up for youright there.
Yeah, yeah,I think it's a proverb out of the bible,
to be honest.
(35:08):
Okay, so we're going to take a momentto acknowledge
our sponsor, Cat 5 Studios,and we will be right back.
The Intern Whisperer is brought to you by Cat 5 Studios
who helps you create games and videos for your training and marketing needs
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Now we're on the second half of our show.
(35:29):
And this usually zips pretty fast,
listeners, and we're herewith Safia Porter, coming back
and into the show. What do you think2030 will look like in the world?
The big picture, your industry,
marketing, creativity and potential jobs?
In 2030, and that's barely five years.
(35:50):
Yeah, but don't count this year.
I- I-
I can see that the world is going to be...
so- I mean, just thinking about technology
and AI, I can- It’s going to be so much differentand something that we
probably- I don't know,I don't know if we're ready for it.
Imagine-it’s not optional. It’s not optional
(36:11):
for sure, butit's definitely going to really change.
I mean it already is, but it's goingto be really embedded and change the way
that our lives are on a daily basis.
I mean, my hope by that time
is that there are some
well, I don’t want to say policing, but...
(36:32):
Regulations.There's some better regulations as well.
By that time,and also like, the people that we do have
an office are going to be able to dotheir due diligence and become educated
about all the wonderful thingsof technology
and AI, but also make sureto make the right decisions
that makes sense for everyone,but also making sure,
(36:54):
even on the ethical side of things, thatthings are aligning as well.
I agree.
You know, when it first came out,you know, ChatGPT,
everybody was really talkinga lot about it and-
and taking jobs,but it kind of reminds me of this.
It was when we first had the written wordand it was on stones.
(37:16):
And then we move- we fast forward.
We have books, right? Yeah.
We skipped a lot of steps there.We have books.
And then we used to use something calledthe Card Catalog to go and buy books.
Yeah. That was the beginning of whatwe would call the internet, if you will.
But it was all very physical. Yeah.
Then we have- we fast forward again,we have the internet,
(37:37):
we had the web, we had the internet.
And then- and that's where people are doingall of these searches
for all kinds of stuff.
Now, what chat is, is a- it'sthis giant, giant,
big card catalog and it can find anythingI want in seconds.
Yeah.
And it can go and saywhatever my searches were
and it can give me informationthat is good and bad.
(37:59):
And it is up to meto use wisdom to discern
what should I say with this giant, quick,
speedy ability to gather informationand spit out a response?
That might have taken me,I don't know, a month
to prepare as a report if I was in school,
(38:19):
or a grant.
Yeah.And I got it in seconds.
Yeah. Four minutes.
So, is it something to be feared?
Maybe, maybe. I would say yes, but maybe.
I don't think so.
I mean I don't know-I don't think we should be fearful of it.
I mean we could be-It depends on how it’s used. Yeah.
It depends on- of course.
(38:40):
Like it definitely dependson how it could be used.
I don't believe that
AI can eliminate
all the jobs,because you still need the human element.
As humans,we still want to feel connected
from, like you said earlier,from the mind to the heart.
(39:01):
Like we still want to feel connectedin that sort of way, and not just
connected by robotics or the mimication of
human beings. Like you’ll-
You can always kind of, like, sense whensomething is fake versus real, you know?
So it's like, I don't think that
A- I know that people are very nervousabout AI and jobs.
(39:24):
But I just- I just can't fathom to see thatit'll take over things
because you're still going to needthat human element to be a part of it.
Yeah, I agree, I agree. So, many times
I've seen four of the five episodes,or nine episode
seasons of Black Mirror, and BlackMirror was like, so dark.
(39:44):
Yeah. I sat there and I-I actually stopped watching one of them
because I could not watch it
as they were drilling into the skullof this person to implant something.
And I went, you know, if it's out there
on a sci- sci-fi channel, then yes.
Do I think it's really happening?
Oh heck yeah,it's happening somewhere in the world.
I may not know about it,but it's in somebody's experimental room.
(40:09):
But those are the things that I sit hereand I go, yeah,
there's always going to be peoplethat will use it for good.
Yeah. And those that will not.
So I feel like,something that was out there
was a show that I had seen on 60 Minutes,
Geoffrey Hinton, he was interviewedand he's the godfather of AI.
He stated that one of the waysin which these systems might escape
(40:31):
control is by writing their own computercode to modify themselves.
So, you know, he said,that's really something
that we need to take seriously and-and be worried about.
And I would agree with himbecause just like anything, I mean, people
created the nuclear bomband it was supposed to be there for what?
(40:51):
You know,it can destroy and kill, and it did.
But there's always good thingsthat could potentially come out of it.
Just the threat of it could keep,you know, the world in check.
There's always good and bad.
Yeah. It reminds me,
this quote reminds me of the show Westworldthat was on, I think, on HBO.
Yeah.
Where it was
(41:12):
essentially robotic people,but eventually they did rewrite their code
and were thinking for themselvesand doing all the madness themselves.
So that is somethingdefinitely to make sure to be careful of,
because it's kind of like a virus
in a sense, where it could just kind oflike take over and do its own thing.
But that's where I say, like,there should definitely be safeguards,
(41:33):
because at the end of the day,we are the ones who are creating all this.
Where, where do humans create all this?
So there should still be safeguardsto make sure, like stuff like that...
Yeah.doesn’t happen or get out of hand. Exactly.
Yeah I agree. Yeah.
I don't know if you've noticed,but I've been taking notes of everything
that you're saying here becausethis is how I build the show notes.
I just want you to know why I'm writing this.Oh, you’re fine.
(41:56):
Yeah, because it's- sometimes people go,what is this person writing?
I could definitely go back to your BOT-
More BOT questions. I realized I kind oftook over with the Easy Water stuff.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I do-
I do have time.
Yeah. No we are- we are totally good. Okay.
So, but you know, the thing about-I had a client that was a nonprofit,
(42:17):
and I'm going to go to that pointthat you mentioned about water, but
they do mission trips on the Amazon River.
And the same thing that you mentioned,drinking the water, that was,
you know, really it was brown.
And how can you drink it?
And, you know, it's just filled with,you know, human waste as easily
as it is the-the decaying leaves that are in there.
(42:40):
And it's like human waste, crop waste,animal waste.
Yeah.
All those things. Pharmaceuticals,I mean, they are there.
We know they're there.There's all kinds of stuff that's in it.
But, you know, people need toto be aware of those things for sure.
I- I'mgoing to go and jump back into the
ethics of- of this whole thing about AI.
(43:01):
Do you think that there's anything elsethat we haven't covered?
Because honestly, when we talk about AI,when it first came out, I was going, well,
I want to be on the committees.
If there’s committees about this,I want to be on there to talk about that.
Yeah.
And I also know that I've hada lot of guests that come on the show,
and they talk about how they don't believethat any- any type of
(43:23):
an AI tool can take the place of a human.
Yes and no,
because there are places in the world.We have those that have disabilities.
We have people who, as you know,not as...their-
they may have mental and,you know, some type of issues.
There's always going to be somebodythat we have to be mindful of.
(43:44):
And remember,not everybody's going to be a programmer.
Yeah. Not everybody can do those things.
I could not be a programmer. Yeah.
But you know, I- I am also not somebodythat has some type of a challenge
in my life that requires that I-I can't have any skills.
So the greeter at Walmart,I like that person.
(44:04):
Yeah.
There's a McDonald's that's here in town.
And they have no humans in there.
I go, I like seeing the kidthat's- or the person, forget the kid.
It could be a senior citizen now.
You know,I like that person saying hello to me.
Yeah.I feel like there's a place where we...
we should not- just because
we can take jobs away from peopledoesn't mean that we should.
(44:26):
Yeah, I agree,
and yeah, to your point.
Like a lot of these
fast food restaurants or grocery storesare all self-checkout now.
Yeah.
You know. They trained usto check ourselves out, right?
Yeah. They have,which is very interesting, though.
Target is reverting on that.
They told me that.
They said yes.
They said that-that from their customer feedback,
(44:46):
the customers would rather interactwith a human.
Yeah. Yep.
Because now they- they limitto like, ten items to go through self-checkout.
But anything more than thatyou have to go through a regular
check out and talk to someone,which is totally fine.
That's how it should be.
But there- that's where it goesback into the whole checks and balances.
Like it's- it's like...and I get like generational, but I’m like
(45:10):
I would say even my generation and below,we still care
socially about things and we still thriveoff of those social interactions.
And I think to be quite honest and frank,I feel like a lot of these corporations
and businesses, when you'rebringing in technology and especially AI,
it seems like this cookie cutter wayto just get out of paying people
(45:33):
or dealing with people's attitudesor what have you. It’s like, okay, it’s just best
to just have a robot on your screenand we don't have to worry about anything.
You know,you’re just worrying about the computer.
But I feel like they are doing adisservice because it's like
then like how as human beings do
we talk to strangers and interact? See,that's the point. You know, like that-
(45:55):
You- you can't really work upthose social skills
anymore, you know, outside of your friendsand family
if you don't have- if you can’t talk to other people. That is true,
because, well, first off,we're humans were made for a relationship.
Secondly, that is how we gainsocial skills to interact with people
and having, whether it's a seniorcitizen or, a teenager
(46:19):
learning those skills in customer serviceat...pick a restaurant.
Yeah. That's really valuable. It is.
Yeah, it is.
You know, paying them, of course, something so that they can
havesome standard of living is important.
But if I'm going to go to a McDonald's,I'm not expecting
to pay, you know, $20 for a burger,you know?
Right.
I go to McDonald'sbecause it's affordable and it's quick.
(46:42):
Yeah. You know, that's what they're knownfor and they're everywhere.
And consistency is supposed to beone of the key things with the product.
So I do like interacting with a human.
And I hope they do keep humans in placebecause, you know,
my favorite place to gowill always be Chick-fil-A
because they do such a great jobwith customer service.
(47:04):
Yeah.
So I'm glad you brought that upbecause I was going to go on
to the next thing of where,because of technology and AI,
and how rapidly it’sable to move and be utilized,
I feel like we have a- a very unhealthy
assumption that everything in lifeneeds to be like- be like that.
(47:24):
Or quick and, you know,
over- you're just overloadedas human beings as it is.
And it's like, okay,maybe some people feel like,
oh, well, you don't really have time
to talk to actual human beings. You just want to order your food and keep it moving.
But that's the unfortunate thing,it’s like kind of like technology,
like it's been good and badbecause, like, even for me,
(47:46):
because I'm so busy, I actually enjoygoing to the grocery store.
I do too. But because I'm so busy,I have been reverting to grocery delivery.
So like, you're missing the whole elementof, like, picking out your own food.
Like the simple things of life,how it used to be.
Yeah, like the experiment is gone.
It’s like, okay, well, my groceriesjust show up and it's like, it's great.
(48:07):
But it’s like, to the point, it's just like,
what's the point of being human if we'rejust being treated like robots as it is?
You know?But Chick-fil-A does have
a really great model where they mixboth those elements together very well.
Like, even if I'm ordering on my phone,I'm still going to be talking to
a human being regardless if I'm goingto a drive-through or if I'm in person,
(48:29):
or if I do the whole, like, you don't even have to go to the register.
You can just order on your phoneand they bring to the table,
but it’s still like, a humancoming and talking to you.
Yeah, so. Love that too. Okay.
Well, it is hard to believe,but we really are at the end of the-
the time for the show.
So my last question for you is,what is the best
mentoring advicethat you want to share with our listeners?
(48:51):
Yeah.
So the best mentoring adviceI would have for you guys,
and honestly, it just comes from my-my dad,
where in lifeyou need to just keep going, keep pushing.
Kind of like Dory. Yes.
Just keep swimming. Exactly.
I think oftentimes,because our lives are so fast paced,
or we're just very hypercriticalof our own individual performance
(49:14):
that we feel like maybe one bad repcould be like the end of it all, but
it’s- it's not. You know, you like, you keep going,you keep pushing.
There's always- I always believe that thereis a light at the end of the tunnel.
But the other adviceI would have to give to you from a mentor
is like also making sure
that you are surroundedby people who want to see you win as well.
(49:37):
You know? It's okay to be hypercriticaland really evaluate the circles
that you're in and really just figure outlike, well, do I need to be here?
Are these people really for me,or are they more-so
trying to get something out of mefor their own gain?
Or are they genuinely here for me? Yeah.
So I think that's very importantto evaluate
as you're going through life.Good advice.
Really good.
(49:58):
How can our listeners find you?
Do you have social channelsthat you want to share with us? Yes.
So you can find me on LinkedInand Instagram.
by @safiaporter
And then on Xyou can find me by @safiaalice.
All right listeners,that is how you can reach her.
I want to tell you thank you so muchfor being a guest on this show.
(50:18):
This has been great.
I have never had this much timeto be able to chat with anybody,
and that's whyI do like the full hour format.
Yeah, yeah that's great.
Yeah, it just flies by too, honestly.
Well, I want to thank you again and Ilook forward to having more conversations.
Thank you, thank you for having me.
(50:38):
Thank you to our sponsor, Cat 5 Studios,and thank you to our
video production and editing team, Erika Ulman and Gavin Staley.
Music is by Sophie Lloyd.
The Intern Whisperer is brought to youby Employers 4 Change, helping
hiring teams to recruit and upskilltheir intern talent and employees.
Learn more at www.e4c.tech
(51:01):
and become a member to reduce hiring bias
and improve your company culturethrough head and heart
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Subscribe to The Intern Whisperer todayand show your support by sharing our show,
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(51:22):
channel or streamingfrom your favorite podcast channel.
Hi. My name is Isabella.
Welcome to the Intern Whisperer.
This is my show, and it's brought to youby Employers 4 Change.
This show is all about the futureof work and innovation,
and we always have amazingthought leaders on the show.
Today's guest is Safia,and I hope I did it right, Porter
who is the executive directorwith the Black Orlando Tech
(00:21):
also called BOT.
So if you're from Orlando,you would know that. Safia is a
marketing expertwho connects brands with social trends
and uses data driven strategiesto achieve measurable ROI.
She graduated from Full Sail University,
everybody loves Full Sail here in Orlando,and now resides in Orlando,
(00:42):
where I just mentioned.
And she leads initiativesto bridge the gap between
technology and community empowerment.
Her leadership at Black OrlandoTech and Easy Water for Everyone reflects
her commitment to driving meaningfulchange for underrepresented communities.
So welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me. So excited.
(01:04):
I have this list of people that I've beenwanting to have for quite some time,
and it's always one of those thingsthat, when I work through the list-
But then I meet new people and it's got-
Okay, I have to build them into the list.
One of them, fun fact, was...you know, one of the Sharks?
Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. Damon.
Yeah. Yeah.
(01:24):
I had met him at a learning eventand he said yes.
So I'm very excited.
I'm going to go and get him on the show.
Yay. That's exciting.
It is exciting.
But we're going to talk about you now.
So, tell us about yourselfusing only five words.
What are those five words?
Passionate was one.
Yes. Yeah.
(01:45):
So, we have Passionate.Why Passionate?
So, when I like to get into-when I get into things that I
just love and adoreand it really just aligns
to my own personal self,I get really passionate about it.
And like I just pour as muchas I possibly can into it.
(02:06):
I understand that. It could be anythingfrom, I'm sure, cooking
Yeah.to what you do in your- your real work.
Yeah.
Like if I come up with an ideaand I just fall in love with it
in that moment, like, you'll find methe next 24 hours just scouring
and trying to findhow to bring it to life or,
etc.That's good.
(02:27):
You mentioned that your second onewas Visionary. Why Visionary?
Visionary since I was a- since I was a child.
Like, I just always lovedlike, the performing arts and arts
in general and music.
So, I find like all those elements,like they really help
in regards to me just working,if that makes any sense.
(02:47):
And it really just helps with awakeningthe imagination, because I truly believe
in like the imagination ofa play, even as an adult.
Sometimes we forget our inner childis there. And so when I-
when I lean into my inner childand just add imagination...that creativity,
a lot of greatthings just tend to happen.
(03:08):
I agree.
I teach Sunday schoolto three and four-year-olds,
and I do that intentionallybecause that's where I get to go play.
Yeah. Like what you described.
And it also helps me to rememberhow to work with adults.
Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
Because everybody doesn't want to lettheir three year old come out of them.
And we're all three-year-olds. Right. Yeah.
(03:28):
Pretty much. Or the terrible three’s.
No matter how old we are, right?
Yes. Yeah. No matter how old we are.
So you mentioned your thirdword was Polite.
I know you to be very polite.
I followed you for a whileon your social feeds, and you're always
so considerate, so polite.
So, why did you pick that one?
Was that just greatparent upbringing on your parents part?
(03:52):
Yeah, so...
I- I'm- so I'm-I am South Asian and African American.
So with both of my parents,they just really have instilled with me
like the whole, you know,I can't think of the term analogy,
but the whole idea of, like,
it’s always great to be the better person insituations or,
(04:13):
being considerate of other people'sfeelings and their thoughts.
So I've just always- that just alwayshas been walked with me in regards to like
it's just always best to be polite andto be seen
as a nice person regardless of whatother people might think of you.
But on the other side ofthe thing is like, okay,
if I am able to project myselfin a sort of way, in the sort of light,
(04:33):
like...good things-you get more people like you. You get more
good people that surround youand keep you grounded.
So. Yep.
I would agree with youon that one for sure.
You know, you reap what you sow,if you want to go with that one.
Yeah. But you also attractwhat you're wanting that you give out.
Exactly.
Yeah. How about Caring. Why Caring?
(04:56):
I just care for everyoneI am- I'm always trying to find ways...
One of the big things in my familyis giving back in philanthropy work, or
just giving somethingmore to others that they may not have.
So I just...I just find when-when you're able to be a caring person
or a caring soul, like to your point,in a previous statement, like
(05:20):
that...
you'll be granted like higher,whatever you believe in,
like you're granted a higher stance,but then you'll always have like that good
juju coming back to you or really helpingyou get to where you need to be in life.
I agree. I think- I knowthat you do a lot of work with nonprofits
and I do too, and I love nonprofitbecause it is- it's one of those things
(05:43):
that it's a constantreminder of selflessness.
It's about serving the greater goodof whatever that organization is about.
Yes. So, I- I'm with you.
Soul sister there.
Intentional.
Now, this word...this word,
I love it when people use this word.
So why did you pick Intentional?
Yeah, so it kind of brings
(06:04):
all those words together to this last-this last word of being intentional.
So, whenever I justwill get into something or become a part
of something or relationships or etc.,I just always want to make sure that
I'm being intentional,
and giving that thing, or whathave you. All...all of me.
Within reason, of course.
(06:25):
But, you know,just making sure I'm making
impact as like, a quality in a sense.
You know, make sure that, again,makes sense and is important.
But also, I just want people to know that
when I say something or do something like,I- I mean it in a way.
(06:48):
So that's why-that's why I would say like intentional.
Like I never want to do something that
might be wasting people's timeor just unsure of my actions.
Like, I always want to make sure, like,hey, this is what I want to do.
This is what we're trying to do x, y, z,and this is how we're going to do it.
Yeah, you-you put a lot of thought into it.
You're thinking about all ofthe positives
(07:10):
and what could happenthat's not so positive.
And it's weighingthose carefully to provide,
just like you said, something with impact.
Exactly, yeah. Yeah.
Those are good words too. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing that.
So, the next question is...how- share whatever you want
about your educational background,the industries that you've been in,
(07:32):
which you mentioned nonprofits,I'm sure we're going to talk about that,
and how you got to where you are nowwith being the ED at Black Orlando Tech.
Yeah. So, starting off with the education.
So, I'm originally from Indianapolis,Indiana in the Midwest.
My college journey actually started therewhere I was
(07:54):
a part of the Indiana University,
Purdue University campuses,where at the time
I was really- excuse me, excuse me.
I was really in love with the idea of
maybe being onthe news as a news anchor.
Getting into Broadcast Journalism.
(08:16):
But at the time, I had realized, like,
this- this may not really alignto what I really want to be doing.
So, that was also at the same time wheresocial media was starting its boom.
So I started universityprobably around 2011...2012.
And I just noticed, like
(08:36):
in this journalism, they weren'ttalking about social media yet,
but they were- like the textbooks in itselfwas already outdated,
just because I was already noticinghow fast and quickly it was moving.
But growing up, even with my education-before university, my
parents had always like, put me throughSTEM camps, actually with the university.
So I had the opportunity,like almost every summer of high school
(08:59):
and middle school,
being able to go to a summer camp,with Purdue University,
learning from aviation, biology,
crime and forensics,I learned how bridges were made, like,
I got through all of those different programs
just to figure out what it was thatI liked.
I knew at that time, like, I did likethe technology side of things,
but I just wasn't sure whatthat was going to be for me growing up.
(09:22):
Because I wasn't, like, reallyinto the engineering and other medical
what-have-you’s of science.
So it was like, okay, I know it's there,but it's not quite what I want to do.
So since then
and then going through a couple of yearsat a regular traditional university
I went in social mediabecoming on the rise, I was like, okay,
I think we have something here.
(09:44):
Because not only-not only do I like the broadcasting,
but I was like, I like technologyand this is like a whole different room.
So, that's where things actually- was-
The wheels were spinningand things started changing for me. So,
eventually, my nephew
had brought attention to meabout Full Sail University at the time,
(10:07):
and when they had came about...and of course, Full Sail had been around
for many years by that point, of course,but they didn't really have a program yet-
yet that had interested me because it wasall still music and movie production.
And I started to think, I was like,I'm not really sure about that.
But he- he kept pushing mebecause he was like, oh, well, they're-
they, at the time, were startinga new program called Media Communications.
(10:31):
And I was like, okay, so this is more alignmentto what I've already been studying.
It's more hands on training,kind of going backwards again.
When I was in high school,it wasn't a traditional stance.
I was a part of a program called New Tech.
And it's a- it's a really great programwhere they take high school students
and instead of learningthe traditional route,
you're actually going through your- it'sproject based learning.
(10:52):
So you're always working
with a set of students or with yourselfwithin a group to building a project.
But it was also technically advancedbecause you're utilizing a laptop, Adobe,
all these different programsto help put these projects together.
And just learning from thatand making evaluations.
So Full Sail, to me...very similar in an aspectwhere it's like, it’s a-
(11:14):
it was a university,
but it wasn't the traditionallike sitting, lecturing sort of thing.
Like they actually do hands on training,
project based, getting to work withother people, collaborating.
They get you prepared for the real worldlife of working.
So, I made switch
in 2012 to online with Full Sail University.
(11:36):
And then eventually, after a year,I was like, oh, this is great.
But, personally, I was ready to go onto a whole new venture in life.
And I was like, oh,why don't I just switch to on-campus
so I can at least still get theon-campus experience?
And it’s also in Florida. Hot weather.
And then I just- I just honestlysaw, like, there's a lot more opportunity
(11:57):
than staying in Indiana,at the time, for me and my career.
So I made the switch to goon-campus to go to Full Sail.
And I just hadthe best time going through that program.
It really taught me a lot, especiallywhat I'm doing now in my current career.
If it wasn't for them,I don't know where I would be, honestly.
(12:18):
But I do give a lot of propsto those instructors,
and to those coursesthat I had learned during that time.
But- but fast forwarding onwhat they have really prepared me for.
So I started off my careeroutside of college,
going through a digital marketing agencycalled Your Brand Boys.
Wait, is that Carol Cox?
Did she have it? No.
(12:39):
Okay. So, the owner and the founder,his name is Brian Bruce. I knew him.
Oh. Do you? I do. Okay, yeah.
Awesome. Yeah. But, yeah.
So he was my first boss.
Although, he gave me a chance, actually,
beforeI actually graduated from Full Sail.
He gave me my first job with him
(13:00):
as a social media manager.
So I got to work with him for a few yearsworking my way up
to being more-soproject management and account management.
But it was really him who really, justreally, showcased to me, like, the power
and how you can be so intentionalwith digital marketing in general.
So going through that
(13:21):
whole process- whole process had reallyjust helped me also learn where I was able
to go on, or work on some really greatclient projects that were tech advanced,
from AI to VR,
working in other industries as well,such as small mom-and-pop shops.
did a lot of golfing as well,a lot of hotels,
(13:44):
being able to be exposedto all these different industries,
food, etc., just throughthat digital marketing agency.
So I was able to really figure out like,okay, what is it that I really like to do?
What do I really like to have fun with?
What really gets me excited?
So ever since that
first job that I had, I was like,okay, digital marketing is the way to go.
it's like really just the best place.
(14:06):
And then just transitioning to now.
Well, how did I get to BOT?How did it get to the nonprofit space?
So I did make the switch to, at the time,
I had a little burnout moment.
To be quite honest-Don’t we all?
Yeah.
So I had quite a bitof a little burnout moment.
It was actually when I had my-my first child, my daughter, at the time.
(14:29):
So it's like trying to navigate and juggle
motherhoodalong with a career at a young age.
So it caused the burnoutwhere I was like,
okay, I need to take like a year off.
So I actually did take a yearoff...from working.
And I actually just got a small, little...small little job at Disney,
to be quite honest. Just customer service.
(14:52):
Just so I can just kind ofget my gears back in order
and just really figure out, like, okay,what is it I really want to do?
And how do I wantto continue this journey?
So I had
landed a really good opportunitywith Darden Restaurants,
to work on the Olive Garden teamon their social media team.
But then at the same time, I also, fromone of my instructors at Full Sail
(15:18):
actually introduced meto Easy Water for Everyone.
Yeah, what is that? I like the name.
I don't know what it means,but I definitely want to know more.
Yeah.
So Easy Water for Everyone is a nonprofitthat works in sub-Saharan Africa.
Excuse me.
And what we do iswe have a technically advanced solution,
(15:39):
our water filtration device,that we install in the villages
that don't have accessto power or plumbing, essentially.
So we take where they might be- so far...getting their water sources
from like a lake, a river, or a boreholeor a well,
and oftentimes those water sourcesare very highly contaminated,
(16:03):
causing a lot of waterborneillnesses, diarrhea in children.
Just not
really a great situation at allfor health and well-being.
So we go into these villages...they're usually populations of 300
to 500 people, and we install this waterfiltration device
(16:23):
that really helpswith purifying the water
from a gravity flowtechnique, essentially.
So it pumps up the water into this tank
and in the tank with a gravity flow,flows it through
this water tank, or waterfiltration device that actually is-
I'm probably going to say this incorrectly,but...what it-
(16:44):
the way that the water's filteredis through these filtrations
that are...
These filters that you usefor dialysis in a hospital...
We take those filters and we get themcleaned, we get them re-primed,
and that'swhat we're using to help filtrate the water.
It’s completely safe.
They're just like recycled, essentially.
(17:05):
And out pours
this clean pure water that's also not-
has no chemicals as well,embedded into the water.
So, yeah.
So it's more just helping these villages.
So, we so far have 35 sites
currently that are up- up and running.
(17:26):
I think we're definitely going to haveabout 40 to 50 by the end of next year.
But that's- that'swhat Easy Water for Everyone does.
We are helping provide pure clean waterto disadvantaged
communitiesand Ghana, Uganda, Senegal. Wow.
That's amazing.
How- Now, how did you find this group?
It was from one of my professors.
(17:46):
at Full Sail.
Yeah, I'm-
I'm pretty dialed in usually
to environmental things,and I’ve never heard of this one.
And so that's whyI really wanted to know more about it.
But let's talk about another groupthat you support, MINO.
Yeah.
So, MINO is a fantastic group.
So they...
(18:07):
they started this programwhere they're really trying to help
professional women, or just blackwomen in general, get to the C-suite.
And this came out of-
I was actually a- more-so a cohort, orparticipant into that program.
Because my desire was to getinto the C-suite in the industry.
But the way that this program workedis essentially
(18:31):
they would hold workshops withother women that were in the C-suite
who would give their own, like, life story
in regards to like, how did they get towhere they are, providing resources,
also providing weeklymentorship opportunities,
or like, even just more to like their-it was therapeutic
at times too, where you could have one-on-onewith these coaches.
(18:52):
Really asking them like, hey,I'm going through this thing
at work or, you know,how do I get to A to B?
To help me get closerto my professional goals, and being able
to really, like,talk it out and getting some solutions
to the problems at hand, to help better ourselves.
But it’s- it’s a fantastic programbecause this sort of program doesn't really-
(19:14):
it’s really hard to find, especiallyfor black and brown women as well.
Oftentimes when I personallysee leadership programs,
it's kind of hard to know if
you actually are welcome just due towho is running them or who was in there or
who do you actually seea part of those cohorts?
So it really felt like, with MINO,I was in a-
(19:36):
a safe space along with other black womenaround the nation,
to really get the resourcesthat they need,
to help the community.
You'll also hear like, village as well,
to help support you and go along the way.
So what does the name MINO mean?
I don't mean to put you on the spot but,
(19:56):
you know...This I did not look up.
I'm- I'm guessing minority.
Something in there about that.
I honestly don't know what it was meant- what it means.
I know at the time, before it wasMINO, it was called The Well.
And then they switched to...
MINO, but to be quite honest,I don't remember the definition.
Yeah. You've been therefor a while, I think. Right?
(20:19):
No. So the program
actually ended in 2023.
That's just last year.
Right around the corner.So, many times
one of the things that I experience,I know that you said the concentration
was on black and brown women,but I think that there's always this place
(20:40):
where affiliates,you know, allies come into play.
It's, you know, because you have to havethose, you know, as- as,
you know, we're women and we knowthat we have to have male people there
to help us open some of these doors,because sometimes it's just not possible
Yeah.once we have those people.
I would imagine it's the same.
You probably had allies of all colorsand genders to be able to help women
(21:05):
in circumstances. Yes. Yeah, yeah.
I was looking forit really quick to see if I could find it.
Oh well, no, I cannot find it.
I'll come back to it later.To be quite honest,
and just off the record,
she may have removed some thingsbecause I know she also went on a hiatus.
Hope- we- I think...yeah, I am going to communicate with BOT,
(21:27):
and I'm hoping-
Well, we're trying to do somethingnext year,
honestly, with her.They're bringing back the program.
So maybe next podcast
I can talk more about it.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, that would be good. Yeah.
And it's always one of those thingsthat, you know, organizations, nonprofits,
sometimes they-they don't always stay around,
because the grants that are available...it's always a shrinking pool.
(21:50):
As you will know-it’s very particular too.
Yeah.
Make sure the mission of thatorganization is matching the mission
of the- whatever the funding sourcesthat you're asking for.
Yeah.
So, there's that.
And then it's just a lot of workto have a nonprofit.
It's harder to have- to me, a nonprofit,than it is a for-profit.
(22:10):
Yeah, so like I- So, going back to Easy Water,I’ve been with them now since 2019.
So that's where I was able to get out of my burnout
and make that switch.
But to your point, yes.
Like, funding an internationalnonprofit is so difficult.
Incredibly hard.
Because when you're talking about
Americans going, well,why would I give money to a nonprofit?
(22:34):
When we have people in our countrywe need to help.
That's always the argument.Especially with water.
Yeah.
Cause we have our own water and wash issues.
I go to quite a bit of conferencesfor Easy Water where we're talking
scientific and nonscientific issues.
And it’s incredible-it’s incredible
(22:55):
but also saddened,you know, what I'm able to learn
in these conferences,especially on the US side. It’s like, wow.
It’s like, yes, we'retrying to get funding internationally.
And to see the, you know-of course we would love the grants
from the U.S government.
But I also think like, you know,
(23:15):
we need a lot of help here.
Like, it doesn't- it doesn't make senseto be the leading country in the world.
And we're having these issuesfor people.
Yeah.
Or water poverty issues, essentially.Yeah.
Like there's literally deserts.
Deserts, you know,they call them food deserts
if you don't havehealthy sources of food around you.
(23:38):
But it also applies to water.
And I'm emphasizing the word ‘water’the way that I guess we would say it
if we were British, because...it's interesting.
I've had exchange studentsfrom all over live with me.
And so one of them said,why- say this word, w-a-t-e-r.
Go ahead, say it. Water. Yeah.
(23:59):
She said, why do you say it
as water like there's a D in there.
And I went,that's because we're probably lazy,
is what we are as Americans.
We're not emphasizing.It's not proper English. Yeah.
So I sit here,and because that student, that person,
that exchange student that lived with mewould say that, I- I realize that now
I- I make more emphasisto make sure I'm saying water.
(24:23):
And it sounds so funny to say.
Right?
But I think that the work that they'redoing here, you mentioned that you've gone
to some of the conferences.Are they local?
Is there a local chapter?
Yeah.
So, I go to this onein the University of North Carolina.
It's a water and health conference.
They have it around October.
(24:45):
But this is where a lot of the organi-
a lot of the organizations come togetherjust to learn from each other.
Like what's going on,learning about our own personal projects.
But also trying to understand
on international
or national side of thingswhere the need is still needing help.
Where- do you knowwhere in- where in October,
(25:09):
what location would this conference be?
Yeah.
So I want to say it's like the thirdor fourth week of October annually and
is at the University of North Carolina,Chapel Hill with the Water Institute.
I would like to- I definitelywant you to pass that on more.
You know, to me, yeah.
One of the game jams that, you know, for me...Cat 5 Studios, OMG Labs
(25:32):
and Indienomicon, Shameless Plugs,for all of them...
you know, that- those companies
are in the simulationand the game industry. One of the big
type of game jams I would like to do
is something based on environment,specifically water.
Yeah.
Because I really feel like,you know, hey, when it's gone, it's gone.
(25:54):
So, what are we doing?
You know,we can't make coffee without water.
You cannot make beverages without water.
Exactly. What are we going to do? Anyway,
count me in.
Yeah, we actually- I actually had thisreally fun idea for a campaign
and I want to bring it to life so badly.
But really trying to showcaseto the wor- I guess here in the U.S. or
(26:17):
anywhere where everyone's pretty well off,but, like, imagine a day without water.
But imagine if the water out of your sinkcame out as brown at the areas
that we're serving, or washing a carwith the same type of water.
Or...
you'retaking a bath and your water is brown.
Like- it’s like you wouldn't-you couldn't imagine that.
(26:38):
No, we couldn’t. Right?
We cannot.
So like I- I did have
a blessed opportunity last year to goaround this time to see the sites.
And it's definitely been very full circleto be working since 2009,
building up these sites, fundraisingfor them during the holidays,
and seeing them come to life.
But being there in person is justis- is a completely different experience
(27:00):
because you're also seeinglike who's benefiting.
And especially like, with children too,like with me, I have two young kids.
And just like imagining like, whatthe moms would have to go to just
to either fetch water or just to make sureit’s clean or, you know,
also because of the
benefit of our water system,being able to make sure
(27:22):
that your children are going to schooland they're not getting sick or,
you know, diseases or what have you,and you don't have that fear.
So, it's really something that I thinka lot of people
definitely take for granted.
You know, this reminds me of somethingclean
the world used to do too.They had a campaign
that was around safety. Yeah.
(27:43):
And they used water.
And they would make surethat people knew that
by having the abilityto use hand sanitizer or wash your hands,
just washing your hands,it changed the health of a village. Yep.
It would actually be ableto help people more than just
on this little microscopic opportunity.
(28:05):
Yeah.
And it's something that's big,
and especially with what you're proposing,the brown water.
Yeah. Nobody likes to think about that.
Yeah.
For every year in March is World Water Day.
So what we do in the villages iswe actually host a- a large gathering,
and just really, like,it’s really fun, too, because we'll have
like, quizzes for the kids, water facts,water education.
(28:28):
But for the majority of washing,and particularly with hygiene,
really teaching them
like the best practicesand why it's so important to utilize soap.
Why it's important to make surethat it's always available to the kids,
but also it's like changingkind of like the cultural norm
or the culturalthought as well in their household
so that the kids are learning itat school or at our programmings,
(28:51):
they're taking it back hometo teach the- the family as well.
And we've had some really
great success rates as welljust with this nonprofit.
We have- you'll see on our website,you go to easywaterforeveryone.org.
You'll see we have quite a bit ofresearch because honestly,
the majority of our team are eitherthe nephrologists,
(29:14):
doctors, researchers.
So we're also a very data drivennonprofit.
So we back a lot of whatwe're doing up to data.
So we've been ableto, you know, decrease diarrhea,
like, literallyit’s almost close to flatline,
like it feels higher when we- beforewe got there for water testing.
(29:36):
And since installation,they're at the bottom,
which means there's less peoplegetting sick.
Yeah. That's amazing.
I pulled the website up while you were sharingabout it, and I really appreciate you-
you gave it easily to the listeners.
easywaterforeveryone.org. Yes.
So we hope that you guys go visit thereand see how you can make a difference in-
(29:58):
in the world.
So that's- that's valuable there.
So we're going to go and changeto a new question.
How do you define diversity and inclusion?
Two separate definitions, right?
Yeah.
When I- when I think ofdiversity, I just think that...
(30:21):
it’s a word
that I see where everyone's able to be involved
and there's not this...
red tape in politicsthat's getting in the way of it.
And diversity can be- can be many things,not just race,
but it also means gender, and also meanspeople with different mindsets.
(30:43):
Being able to, all of us, to work together
and also just be respectful of each otherfor the better
good or common good.
So that's the part that you haveabout inclusion, right?
Working together for the greatergood? Yes.
Yeah.
I want to thank you for sharing thatbecause everybody has
probably a pretty similar definition.
(31:06):
Mine is- is similar,but I focus on what I call
head smarts and heart smarts,because if I don't see- if I-
if I had no sight,I could not see anything about you.
But if I paid attention to the wordsthat you said,
I would be paying attentionto what's coming out of your head.
You know, how educated you might be.
(31:27):
Things of that nature.
And then if I'm also paying attentionto the words that you're saying, even
your actions, I would see those five wordsthat you use to describe you.
And I use the word ‘see’ very loosely,
because what if we could only seewhat's on the inside of people,
the things that mattered to them,and then, you know, their-
(31:48):
their ability to communicate effectively,their problem solving skills,
those critical competenciesmore than- than, sometimes, knowledge?
Yeah, it'd be a completely different...
So different.eyesight.
Yeah, very much so.
So I read this article in 20-
well, there was an article
that was written in 2023,but I saw this show on Grey's Anatomy
(32:13):
and they talked about the powerposing thing that came out.
So I researched this, I found it,and it said that there was close to 130
experiments that explored power posing,but 10,000 participants.
And this was at the Ohio StateUniversity of Bamberg,
Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg University.
(32:33):
So, the object was to find outwhether consciously deciding
to take a certain powerpose would influence
a person's confidence, their behavior,and their hormone levels.
And so, I don't know what your thoughts areif you have a superhero,
but I actually,
I’m not going to do it here in the studiobecause then I get away from the mic.
But if you stand up listeners, stand up,
(32:56):
put your hands together as like a fistand put them on your hips
and then shouldersback, gaze off into the ether.
You know, whatever the air is, feetare slightly apart.
I'm not kidding.
I feel so strong and so powerful.
Even if I'm sitting down,I still feel it. Yeah.
You have a super- superherothat you lean on for inspiration.
(33:18):
Yeah.
So I'm going to say for my superhero,
I'm going to- I'm going to go withIron Man.
I love Iron Man. So smart. Yeah.
Oh my.
Yeah, I'm going to say Iron Man.
And the reason being, and just like,
I mean,
of course, it's like the actual movieitself, but just the way that the- the...
(33:42):
the character is portrayed,I feel it really aligns with my-
the definitions from earlierand how I see myself.
Whereas, like...
being innovative,
being imaginative, going outside the box,but also making sure that
the due diligence is there,the care is still there.
(34:06):
And all those things, like it's not just,
ooh, how do I say it?
Not just because-just because you have your power,
you know, you're not like,Thanos. Essentially using your power for wrong,
but like,you're using your power for good.
And to actually change the worldto be better.
So that's what I will say. It’s definitely Iron Man because I-
(34:26):
I think that he definitely embodiesthat amazingly.
And I could definitely relatea lot to that.
Oh, I totally agree with you.
Yeah,I kind of like the Spider Man says, ooh,
what was that little quotethat his uncle said before he died?
It's kind of like ‘too much is givinggreat is required.’
(34:47):
I don't know. Spider Man...quote.
Let me find it here about...power.
Okay.
So I think it- ah! “With great powercomes great responsibility.”
That is like summing it up for youright there.
Yeah, yeah,I think it's a proverb out of the bible,
to be honest.
(35:08):
Okay, so we're going to take a momentto acknowledge
our sponsor, Cat 5 Studios,and we will be right back.
The Intern Whisperer is brought to you by Cat 5 Studios
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Now we're on the second half of our show.
(35:29):
And this usually zips pretty fast,
listeners, and we're herewith Safia Porter, coming back
and into the show. What do you think2030 will look like in the world?
The big picture, your industry,
marketing, creativity and potential jobs?
In 2030, and that's barely five years.
(35:50):
Yeah, but don't count this year.
I- I-
I can see that the world is going to be...
so- I mean, just thinking about technology
and AI, I can- It’s going to be so much differentand something that we
probably- I don't know,I don't know if we're ready for it.
Imagine-it’s not optional. It’s not optional
(36:11):
for sure, butit's definitely going to really change.
I mean it already is, but it's goingto be really embedded and change the way
that our lives are on a daily basis.
I mean, my hope by that time
is that there are some
well, I don’t want to say policing, but...
(36:32):
Regulations.There's some better regulations as well.
By that time,and also like, the people that we do have
an office are going to be able to dotheir due diligence and become educated
about all the wonderful thingsof technology
and AI, but also make sureto make the right decisions
that makes sense for everyone,but also making sure,
(36:54):
even on the ethical side of things, thatthings are aligning as well.
I agree.
You know, when it first came out,you know, ChatGPT,
everybody was really talkinga lot about it and-
and taking jobs,but it kind of reminds me of this.
It was when we first had the written wordand it was on stones.
(37:16):
And then we move- we fast forward.
We have books, right? Yeah.
We skipped a lot of steps there.We have books.
And then we used to use something calledthe Card Catalog to go and buy books.
Yeah. That was the beginning of whatwe would call the internet, if you will.
But it was all very physical. Yeah.
Then we have- we fast forward again,we have the internet,
(37:37):
we had the web, we had the internet.
And then- and that's where people are doingall of these searches
for all kinds of stuff.
Now, what chat is, is a- it'sthis giant, giant,
big card catalog and it can find anythingI want in seconds.
Yeah.
And it can go and saywhatever my searches were
and it can give me informationthat is good and bad.
(37:59):
And it is up to meto use wisdom to discern
what should I say with this giant, quick,
speedy ability to gather informationand spit out a response?
That might have taken me,I don't know, a month
to prepare as a report if I was in school,
(38:19):
or a grant.
Yeah.And I got it in seconds.
Yeah. Four minutes.
So, is it something to be feared?
Maybe, maybe. I would say yes, but maybe.
I don't think so.
I mean I don't know-I don't think we should be fearful of it.
I mean we could be-It depends on how it’s used. Yeah.
It depends on- of course.
(38:40):
Like it definitely dependson how it could be used.
I don't believe that
AI can eliminate
all the jobs,because you still need the human element.
As humans,we still want to feel connected
from, like you said earlier,from the mind to the heart.
(39:01):
Like we still want to feel connectedin that sort of way, and not just
connected by robotics or the mimication of
human beings. Like you’ll-
You can always kind of, like, sense whensomething is fake versus real, you know?
So it's like, I don't think that
A- I know that people are very nervousabout AI and jobs.
(39:24):
But I just- I just can't fathom to see thatit'll take over things
because you're still going to needthat human element to be a part of it.
Yeah, I agree, I agree. So, many times
I've seen four of the five episodes,or nine episode
seasons of Black Mirror, and BlackMirror was like, so dark.
(39:44):
Yeah. I sat there and I-I actually stopped watching one of them
because I could not watch it
as they were drilling into the skullof this person to implant something.
And I went, you know, if it's out there
on a sci- sci-fi channel, then yes.
Do I think it's really happening?
Oh heck yeah,it's happening somewhere in the world.
I may not know about it,but it's in somebody's experimental room.
(40:09):
But those are the things that I sit hereand I go, yeah,
there's always going to be peoplethat will use it for good.
Yeah. And those that will not.
So I feel like,something that was out there
was a show that I had seen on 60 Minutes,
Geoffrey Hinton, he was interviewedand he's the godfather of AI.
He stated that one of the waysin which these systems might escape
(40:31):
control is by writing their own computercode to modify themselves.
So, you know, he said,that's really something
that we need to take seriously and-and be worried about.
And I would agree with himbecause just like anything, I mean, people
created the nuclear bomband it was supposed to be there for what?
(40:51):
You know,it can destroy and kill, and it did.
But there's always good thingsthat could potentially come out of it.
Just the threat of it could keep,you know, the world in check.
There's always good and bad.
Yeah. It reminds me,
this quote reminds me of the show Westworldthat was on, I think, on HBO.
Yeah.
Where it was
(41:12):
essentially robotic people,but eventually they did rewrite their code
and were thinking for themselvesand doing all the madness themselves.
So that is somethingdefinitely to make sure to be careful of,
because it's kind of like a virus
in a sense, where it could just kind oflike take over and do its own thing.
But that's where I say, like,there should definitely be safeguards,
(41:33):
because at the end of the day,we are the ones who are creating all this.
Where, where do humans create all this?
So there should still be safeguardsto make sure, like stuff like that...
Yeah.doesn’t happen or get out of hand. Exactly.
Yeah I agree. Yeah.
I don't know if you've noticed,but I've been taking notes of everything
that you're saying here becausethis is how I build the show notes.
I just want you to know why I'm writing this.Oh, you’re fine.
(41:56):
Yeah, because it's- sometimes people go,what is this person writing?
I could definitely go back to your BOT-
More BOT questions. I realized I kind oftook over with the Easy Water stuff.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I do-
I do have time.
Yeah. No we are- we are totally good. Okay.
So, but you know, the thing about-I had a client that was a nonprofit,
(42:17):
and I'm going to go to that pointthat you mentioned about water, but
they do mission trips on the Amazon River.
And the same thing that you mentioned,drinking the water, that was,
you know, really it was brown.
And how can you drink it?
And, you know, it's just filled with,you know, human waste as easily
as it is the-the decaying leaves that are in there.
(42:40):
And it's like human waste, crop waste,animal waste.
Yeah.
All those things. Pharmaceuticals,I mean, they are there.
We know they're there.There's all kinds of stuff that's in it.
But, you know, people need toto be aware of those things for sure.
I- I'mgoing to go and jump back into the
ethics of- of this whole thing about AI.
(43:01):
Do you think that there's anything elsethat we haven't covered?
Because honestly, when we talk about AI,when it first came out, I was going, well,
I want to be on the committees.
If there’s committees about this,I want to be on there to talk about that.
Yeah.
And I also know that I've hada lot of guests that come on the show,
and they talk about how they don't believethat any- any type of
(43:23):
an AI tool can take the place of a human.
Yes and no,
because there are places in the world.We have those that have disabilities.
We have people who, as you know,not as...their-
they may have mental and,you know, some type of issues.
There's always going to be somebodythat we have to be mindful of.
(43:44):
And remember,not everybody's going to be a programmer.
Yeah. Not everybody can do those things.
I could not be a programmer. Yeah.
But you know, I- I am also not somebodythat has some type of a challenge
in my life that requires that I-I can't have any skills.
So the greeter at Walmart,I like that person.
(44:04):
Yeah.
There's a McDonald's that's here in town.
And they have no humans in there.
I go, I like seeing the kidthat's- or the person, forget the kid.
It could be a senior citizen now.
You know,I like that person saying hello to me.
Yeah.I feel like there's a place where we...
we should not- just because
we can take jobs away from peopledoesn't mean that we should.
(44:26):
Yeah, I agree,
and yeah, to your point.
Like a lot of these
fast food restaurants or grocery storesare all self-checkout now.
Yeah.
You know. They trained usto check ourselves out, right?
Yeah. They have,which is very interesting, though.
Target is reverting on that.
They told me that.
They said yes.
They said that-that from their customer feedback,
(44:46):
the customers would rather interactwith a human.
Yeah. Yep.
Because now they- they limitto like, ten items to go through self-checkout.
But anything more than thatyou have to go through a regular
check out and talk to someone,which is totally fine.
That's how it should be.
But there- that's where it goesback into the whole checks and balances.
Like it's- it's like...and I get like generational, but I’m like
(45:10):
I would say even my generation and below,we still care
socially about things and we still thriveoff of those social interactions.
And I think to be quite honest and frank,I feel like a lot of these corporations
and businesses, when you'rebringing in technology and especially AI,
it seems like this cookie cutter wayto just get out of paying people
(45:33):
or dealing with people's attitudesor what have you. It’s like, okay, it’s just best
to just have a robot on your screenand we don't have to worry about anything.
You know,you’re just worrying about the computer.
But I feel like they are doing adisservice because it's like
then like how as human beings do
we talk to strangers and interact? See,that's the point. You know, like that-
(45:55):
You- you can't really work upthose social skills
anymore, you know, outside of your friendsand family
if you don't have- if you can’t talk to other people. That is true,
because, well, first off,we're humans were made for a relationship.
Secondly, that is how we gainsocial skills to interact with people
and having, whether it's a seniorcitizen or, a teenager
(46:19):
learning those skills in customer serviceat...pick a restaurant.
Yeah. That's really valuable. It is.
Yeah, it is.
You know, paying them, of course, something so that they can
havesome standard of living is important.
But if I'm going to go to a McDonald's,I'm not expecting
to pay, you know, $20 for a burger,you know?
Right.
I go to McDonald'sbecause it's affordable and it's quick.
(46:42):
Yeah. You know, that's what they're knownfor and they're everywhere.
And consistency is supposed to beone of the key things with the product.
So I do like interacting with a human.
And I hope they do keep humans in placebecause, you know,
my favorite place to gowill always be Chick-fil-A
because they do such a great jobwith customer service.
(47:04):
Yeah.
So I'm glad you brought that upbecause I was going to go on
to the next thing of where,because of technology and AI,
and how rapidly it’sable to move and be utilized,
I feel like we have a- a very unhealthy
assumption that everything in lifeneeds to be like- be like that.
(47:24):
Or quick and, you know,
over- you're just overloadedas human beings as it is.
And it's like, okay,maybe some people feel like,
oh, well, you don't really have time
to talk to actual human beings. You just want to order your food and keep it moving.
But that's the unfortunate thing,it’s like kind of like technology,
like it's been good and badbecause, like, even for me,
(47:46):
because I'm so busy, I actually enjoygoing to the grocery store.
I do too. But because I'm so busy,I have been reverting to grocery delivery.
So like, you're missing the whole elementof, like, picking out your own food.
Like the simple things of life,how it used to be.
Yeah, like the experiment is gone.
It’s like, okay, well, my groceriesjust show up and it's like, it's great.
(48:07):
But it’s like, to the point, it's just like,
what's the point of being human if we'rejust being treated like robots as it is?
You know?But Chick-fil-A does have
a really great model where they mixboth those elements together very well.
Like, even if I'm ordering on my phone,I'm still going to be talking to
a human being regardless if I'm goingto a drive-through or if I'm in person,
(48:29):
or if I do the whole, like, you don't even have to go to the register.
You can just order on your phoneand they bring to the table,
but it’s still like, a humancoming and talking to you.
Yeah, so. Love that too. Okay.
Well, it is hard to believe,but we really are at the end of the-
the time for the show.
So my last question for you is,what is the best
mentoring advicethat you want to share with our listeners?
(48:51):
Yeah.
So the best mentoring adviceI would have for you guys,
and honestly, it just comes from my-my dad,
where in lifeyou need to just keep going, keep pushing.
Kind of like Dory. Yes.
Just keep swimming. Exactly.
I think oftentimes,because our lives are so fast paced,
or we're just very hypercriticalof our own individual performance
(49:14):
that we feel like maybe one bad repcould be like the end of it all, but
it’s- it's not. You know, you like, you keep going,you keep pushing.
There's always- I always believe that thereis a light at the end of the tunnel.
But the other adviceI would have to give to you from a mentor
is like also making sure
that you are surroundedby people who want to see you win as well.
(49:37):
You know? It's okay to be hypercriticaland really evaluate the circles
that you're in and really just figure outlike, well, do I need to be here?
Are these people really for me,or are they more-so
trying to get something out of mefor their own gain?
Or are they genuinely here for me? Yeah.
So I think that's very importantto evaluate
as you're going through life.Good advice.
Really good.
(49:58):
How can our listeners find you?
Do you have social channelsthat you want to share with us? Yes.
So you can find me on LinkedInand Instagram.
by @safiaporter
And then on Xyou can find me by @safiaalice.
All right listeners,that is how you can reach her.
I want to tell you thank you so muchfor being a guest on this show.
(50:18):
This has been great.
I have never had this much timeto be able to chat with anybody,
and that's whyI do like the full hour format.
Yeah, yeah that's great.
Yeah, it just flies by too, honestly.
Well, I want to thank you again and Ilook forward to having more conversations.
Thank you, thank you for having me.
(50:38):
Thank you to our sponsor, Cat 5 Studios,and thank you to our
video production and editing team, Erika Ulman and Gavin Staley.
Music is by Sophie Lloyd.
The Intern Whisperer is brought to youby Employers 4 Change, helping
hiring teams to recruit and upskilltheir intern talent and employees.
Learn more at www.e4c.tech
(51:01):
and become a member to reduce hiring bias
and improve your company culturethrough head and heart
smart recruitment and learning.
Subscribe to The Intern Whisperer todayand show your support by sharing our show,
tagging a friend to listen,and leaving us comments.
You can find the Intern Whisperer podcaston Employers 4 Change YouTube
(51:22):
channel or streamingfrom your favorite podcast channel.
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