![]() 15 The Power of Taking Responsibility Quotes.13 Quotes on How Responsibilities And Happiness Are Intertwined.22 Inspiring Quotes About Taking Responsibility & Ownership.To keep up with all our dedicated US coverage, sign up for the free daily briefing newsletter. If everyone in positions of power uses their privilege and access for good, we might finally see some real, meaningful shifts.Įva McCloskey is managing director of the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts It’s been my mission from jumping off – it’s table stakes for me. We all must if we want to create systematic changes.ĭiversifying the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts and the members responsible for judging work from the organization’s multiple award shows is where I can make a difference now. ![]() I’m taking my responsibility to be the conduit of change seriously. I danced with ferocity and intention to change the landscape for those coming next, like my niece and nephew, and rising stars in agency land. So, I danced for all the women who haven’t been as fortunate as me. I’ve benefited from presenting as an attractive white woman. I’m keenly aware that I’ve taken advantage of the system, both directly and indirectly. Having grown up in the ad industry, which has rightly taken a beating for its lack of diversity, I’m dedicated to helping lead the change. Upping my commitment to be a better ally personally and professionally is nearly all-consuming these days. For my diverse circle of friends, and people I don’t know personally but know they’re in desperate need of allies. I swayed against injustice and ended the night with a bit more hope. I danced for the women of color who have been unable to have opportunities like I’ve had. So, I danced on my birthday, for the women who have babies of color and are fearful for their future every day. My bosses, to this day, have always been white men. And, there wasn’t another woman in the building when I started at Barbarian. On top of all the complexities I struggled with around race, there were class issues as well. The lessons learned during my tenure at John Hancock helped me secure fame for the digital production company and the founders and contributed to its meteoric rise.Īdvertising was filled with people who didn’t come from where I came from. ![]() The founders were different, determined to do something different, and were open to me and my perspective. By the time I returned and with Nike as a client, I became The Barbarian Group’s first employee. While in Utah, I wrote a release for some friends who were leaving Arnold Worldwide and starting their own digital agency. At 21, I was in Salt Lake City, helping to write speeches delivered by really important people, and meeting cool athletes and celebrities at the 2002 Winter Olympics. I was lucky because my bosses were all about the work and getting stuff done. I performed well so I didn’t have to change. Conformity, for sure, would be part of the cost of entry. I certainly would have had to present in a more buttoned-up way and left my free expression at the door. If I was a Black person, I am sure I would have had a different experience. Despite the fishnet stockings, nose ring, and a few tattoos, I continued to advance. My nurse mom and school bus driver/musician dad could not provide corporate counseling. It was based in a building I had long passed and wondered what you had to do to make it to the top of that architectural wonder. Right out of high school I got a job as a receptionist at John Hancock Financial in Boston. Smart, tenacious, but allergic to authority, I lived on my own, went to a public pilot school by day, and worked for an answering service at night. Imagine a person of color landing a job in advertising without a college degree? Pretty impossible. Especially because I left my working-class home at 16 to chart my own course. I’m keenly aware of the benefits presenting as white brought to me growing up and throughout my career. With aunts who are Black and brown, one grandfather who is white and one who is Black, I danced to show my son that celebrating diversity to drive inclusion is a mission he, like me, must always embrace. While I grew up with two white parents, my biological father is Dominican. I am a person of color, I’m Latinx, but how many people know that about me? As one of the very few white-presenting students in public school growing up in inner-city Boston, I have had a unique view of hardship and privilege. And we raised $95k through individual and matching donations. Not what I had planned, but I couldn’t have scripted a better night. ![]() On my 40th birthday a few weeks back, big celebratory plans canceled because of coronavirus, I decided to join their Friday night dance party to raise money for the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund.
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