PODCAST
#StopDevaluation Podcast
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ep01: my story with fadzi whande
Fadzi Whande, Global Diversity and Inclusion Strategist, shares her story of abuse of power and her process to discover the value she holds. She is now a champion for many in her nation of Perth, Australia and around the world.
ep02: my story with Annette Dickens
Growing up in North Carolina in the 60’s and 70’s, Annette shares her story of traumatizing racial prejudice. Can you imagine waking up to a burnt KKK cross with cards covering your lawn saying the “‘KKK was out to get you?”
ep03: my story with Karley Daniel
As Karly shares her story she says, “You have to come to peace with your broken pieces.” The majority of Karly’s childhood was filled with the broken pieces of abandonment, neglect, and abuse. How could she come to peace in the midst of such suffering?
ep04: my story with Justin Tucker
Rarely do you hear a story of drugs, gangs, violence, and fear and find a young man whose life exemplifies hope and purpose. What led Justin Tucker to see his worth, his potential, and soften his heart for those hurting from the pain of their past?
ep05: my story with Rose Thomas
Rose experienced many instances of trauma, abusive relationships, and rape. She believed herself to be ugly knowing she would never be loved. She hated herself as depression, anxiety, and self-harm were her outlets for her anger. She later learned that it was not what happened to her but her thought patterns that were her greatest enemy. Today, however, we see a “rose” who has bloomed into a beautiful value-generator reaching out to those who face trauma and disaster.
ep06: my story with Harold Williams
From childhood it seemed that Harold was marked as the one who would never fit in or be accepted. This carried into his twenties where leaders used their position, platform, and authority to control, manipulate, and abuse their power; offering a pseudo success. He shares how he “drank the Kool-Aid” and “sold his soul” to obtain success and connection. This is an amazing story of healing, true success both personally and professionally, and the beautiful opportunities he has to model power used for good.
ep07: my story with Jason Ottley
Jason’s story reveals the lifelong struggle of not being validated. He says, “It does no good to be represented culturally if your voice has no value, power, or privilege. You are nothing more than a cultural representation.” Don’t miss this message of advocacy for voices that are not being heard.
ep08: The Science of Value
Today’s podcast is the first in a four-part series of interviews with Peter Demarest, an expert in the science of Axiogenics, which is the mind-brain science of value generation. He has influenced my life greatly through his book, “Answering the Central Question: How Science reveals the keys to success in life, love, and leadership.”
ep09: Don’t Let Bias Run the Show
Devaluation always has negative impact while validation always brings health . Today’s podcast we will learn about how our biases ‘run the show.’ We’ll learn the antidote to stopping something is to start something. We’ll learn the power of asking the right question, “What choice can I make and action can I take in this moment to create the greatest net value?”
ep10: Prejudice, Evil, & Unjust Actions
Is it possible to see a person’s intrinsic worth when their actions are bad, evil, or unjust. Prejudice and subconscious biases influence our emotions, decisions and behaviors, is there a way for a person to transcend these biases and minimize their effect?
ep11: Validation & the Political Divides
Science tells us that if we continue down the path of divisiveness and devaluation of one group or another ultimately it leads to the complete and utter destruction of all of us. The scientific fact reveals when we allow every form of prejudice, hatred and devaluation unchecked, it becomes self-destructive. This episode will discuss the topic of politics through the science of values-generation. Without the ability to intrinsically love there can be no healing.
ep12: My Story with Larry Putney
Larry’s MY STORY reveals the painful experiences of his parent’s divorce, bullying, and depression. Life events formed mindsets of devaluing self-worth and lack of self-confidence in this young man’s mind. His story leads to confidence and maturity as a husband, business leader, and community influencer.
ep12B: Race Consciousness Interview with Dr. Todd Mealy
Every leader, influencer, and societal architect that has a heart to see our nations heal should listen and apply this knowledge in their sphere of influence. Dr. Todd Mealy is a history author holding his Ph.D from Penn State University. He is the Director of Equity and Instruction at The Bond Educational Group. Dr. Mealy is taking steps to launch the Equity Institute for Race Conscious Pedagogy, LLC to advance scholarship in race-centered learning while advocating for social justice. He has been an educator since 2001 and is an adjunct professor in the History Department of Dickinson College. You will learn from his knowledge but also from heart to #StopDevaluation
ep13: My Story with Justin Murrell
Our past experiences want to define us screaming lies, “I will never be good enough.” Justin shares, “I was in an at-risk structure but connected to some people who invested into me. They helped me change my life and now my journey is to do the same and recreate what has happened in my life through different parts of my city.” Justin’s story reveals the ability to destroy the box society tried to put him in making a difference to those living in his former reality.
ep14: The Author’s Show Interview
Dr. Melodye Hilton, author of Unmasking Prejudice: Silencing the Internal Voice of Bigotry, was interviewed by Linda Thompson of The Author’s show. This book was the inspiration to launch the #StopDevaluation movement.
ep14B: MY STORY with Brent Pedro
Brent Pedro (Trinidad and Tobago) shares his story of devaluation through bullying and all the lies that led to suicide attempts, but then the power of validation to shift his perspectives and become a value-generator in the lives of others.
ep15: My Story with Sheila Katusiime
Shiela Katusiime, born and raised in Uganda, shares her open and authentic story of devaluation. It wasn’t until she was 32 years old that she was challenged to see her value. She now has found her voice and contribution to the world as she invests in a young generation.
ep15B: MY STORY with Elizabeth Forbes
Elizabeth Forbes shares her story of loss, sexual assault, and the lies of self-devaluation. Her life was reshaped as individuals saw and communicated value to her leading her into her present vocation as a guidance counselor in Maryland’s public school system. She now offers support and hope for those who have experienced trauma and are suffering with the lies she once believed.
ep16: MY STORY with Eloise Grobbelaar
In today’s episode we will talk with Eloise Grobbelaar who speaks from her own struggles with self-worth when she says, “When you do not find validation in the right places, you will look for it, in all the wrong places.” Growing up in South Africa in the midst of the apartheid, and later moving to the UK with her husband, she found herself working with special needs children and, in the process, learned powerful principles that apply to every child, teenager, and adult.
ep16-B: My Story with Kevin Ikeda
Kevin Ikeda, a successful and influential businessman, shares his story of failure and devaluation. His transparency and authenticity will touch your heart and his wisdom will bring hope to the vision you hold.
ep17: MY STORY with Ahelya Vargas
Emotional manipulation along with verbal and physical abuse has the power to scar the soul and render one powerless. The crippling fear to reach out for help silences the voice as confidence is lost in the sea of shame. Ahelya Vargas’ moving story will touch your heart and reveal the power that unconditional love and safety carries to rescue the broken.
ep17B: Black History & Cellular Memory with Louis Dickens
Gaining knowledge and the wisdom to apply that knowledge empowers us to compassionately be a voice of validation to those hurting from racial prejudice. If you desire to understand a race or a culture, then it is important to know the historical facts which support a collaborative voice of healing to our world. Louis Dickens reveals the painful black history and solutions for healing. If you are a white person and genuinely care, you must hear this interview. Louis and Dr. Melodye have partnered together and modeled diversity and inclusion on a deep heart level for twenty years.
Note: explicit adult description of black history and slavery
ep18: My Story with josiah Centeno
Without connection we can spend our lives trying to fill the void inside of us, often in harmful ways. On today’s episode Josiah Centeno shares his story, the lies that encompassed his thoughts, the fear that drove him, and the simple exchanges of life that brought healing.
EP18-B: My Story Interview with Will Ford
What story line are you going to be a part of? Will Ford’s powerful and poignant life story will astound you. Will has traveled the nation for twenty years with a kettle pot owned by his ancestors. This treasure was passed down to him along with the horror stories of slavery and his family’s suffering at the hands of their slave owners. Yet, this amazing man focuses on racial reconciliation and challenges all of humanity to bring healing to the divides for the sake of future generations. Get out the tissues, this is a story you must hear!
EP19: The Culture of Validation with Denise DeCou
On today’s podcast the courageous Denise DeCou has made it her life’s work and her personal practice to generate value and provide resources to bring awareness, understanding, and the practical how tos to kindly address the prejudices and assumptions that arise in everyday encounters. You will hear simple and practical steps to be a part of the solution. This episode is one you do not want to miss.
EP19-B: Culture of Validation Interview with Fadzi Whande
The product of authentic inclusion is belonging! Fadzi Whande, a Global Diversity and Inclusion Specialist shares why race matters and how to bring solutions to the table promoting inclusion, healing, and positive change. If you have a heart to be a difference-maker you will learn how to show up generating value in others.
EP20: My Story Interview with Denise DeCou
In this episode Denise DeCou shares her story of growing up multiracial and multicultural. This presented her with unique challenges, which she calls a “bag of burdens.” She also learned many life lessons positioning her to be a voice championing diversity, equality, and inclusion.
EP20-B: Emotional Health in Chaotic Times with Rhonda Lynn, Therapist
What a powerful interview with therapist, Rhonda Lynn. She shares her story and how she found her calling to help both children and adults find healing from trauma. You’ll learn about trans-generational trauma and PTSD and powerful steps of healing that you can apply to your life today, including physiological education, how to handle triggers of trauma, emotional regulations, and cognitive coping. In the middle of the complex challenges our world, there is great hope for healing.
EP20-C: The War of Divided Hearts
A new series launched on the #StopDevaluation podcast channel entitled: Melodye’s Monlogue.
If we disallow diversity of thought and speech we can destroy our nation from within. However, the more self-aware we are the better decisions we make and the healthier our conversations. Melodye provides thought-provoking self-assessment questions to develop the art championing diverse thought.
EP20-D: Is Power Evil?
Power has become a dirty word labeled by many as evil. Melodye speaks into platforms of power and brings a balanced perspective.
EP21: My Story Interview with Jack Hoke
Who are our role models? Who do we want to emulate? When we search for human connecting and find that acceptance through someone who attitudes and behaviors are destructive, it becomes easy to justify their behaviors by following their example. In this episode we hear the MY STORY of Jack Hoke who gained his sense of worth in all the wrong places. From addictions, criminality, and dealing drugs Jack found a void inside that nothing could fill. His journey led him to AA and a new role model. Today Jack’s goal in life is to be a “hope dealer” and go to places others fear to tread.
Update: Just three months after this interview Jack passed away. A horribly sad loss.
EP21-A: What Defines You?
It’s not what happens to us but IN us that directs the trajectory of our lives. Melodye briefly shares how she believed lies about herself and how here identity was redefined.
EP21-B: Why Riots and Violence
In the middle of the ‘why’ we must see ‘what’ and ‘who’ riots and violence harms. Violence generates fear and its results are counterproductive. Hear Melodye’s monologue to hear the importance of justice-power used for good and not for harm.
EP22: Culture of Validation with Dr. Jason Ottley
Today’s episode entitled “From Inequity to Equity” is from the founder of The Bond Educational Group, Dr. Jason Ottley. This amazing pioneer works alongside teachers and administrators who serve all communities, but particularly communities of color. His passion, heart, and strategic solutions will both inspire and empower you. To be a part of the solution we must first become aware, open our hearts to understand, and then be willing to respond appropriately.
EP22A: Freedom of Speech
Melodye remembers the day of when different views were championed and relationships were never divided because of extreme contrasts. We can bring civility back to independent thought. She brings powerful self-assessment questions to cross the divides through validation.
EP22B: Freedom vs Tyranny
Melodye’s Monologue speaks to the responsibility of every citizen to be a voice of justice. When individual freedoms are limited and voices are silenced, it results in the opposite of freedom. When every citizen is bound to an equal (or the appearance of an equal) outcome controlled by an elite power structure, the people become stripped of their own power and individual value.
EP23: MY STORY WITH NIQUIO VALCOBERO
On Today’s episode Niquio Benjo Valcobero shares his childhood hurts, disappointments, and fears but also the power of the one who saw his worth and his potential. This mentor placed a demand on the amazing gift he held and now Niquio is impacting and mentoring people globally.
EP24: MY STORY WITH CAROLINE JOHNSTON
Caroline Johnston will share life experiences that distorted her perspective and the fears she faced growing up in war-torn Northern Ireland.
EP25: MY STORY WITH CLYDE LEWIS
Clyde Lewis’ life was riddled with domestic violence, poverty, and fear. When labeled with a learning disability, the false belief of ‘not being good enough’ was sadly reinforced confirming to him that he would never succeed. Hear how a group of lawyers and Jesuits helped to reshape his life in order to become a value-generator and identity builder.
EP26: MY STORY WITH ERNEST CRIM III
In today’s episode Ernest Crim shares his life experiences growing up on the south side of Chicago and how a hate crime became a defining moment motivating him to lift his voice and bring solutions to a generation. Ernest is a speaker, radio commentator, writer, activist and an award winning high school social science instructor. Ernest hopes to use his life experiences to inspire others to fight injustice, educate and empower themselves, and resolve conflicts appropriately.
EP27: MY STORY WITH MARCUS DYGERT
Marcus Dygert’s story reveals hardship from childhood throughout his young adult life more heartbreaking than most of us could ever imagine, yet he has overcome. Marcus not only became successful in business but now travels nationally and internationally valuing others and bringing hope.
EP28: MY STORY WITH ANDREA HINSON
In the episode Andrea Hinson shares the identity battle she faced living with prejudice from two very different worlds. She learned to show up differently trying to fit in until an educator saw and affirmed her potential. This powerful story is filled with so many poignant stories of the those treated as insignificant and drawing them into a validating community.
EP29: MY STORY WITH MARISSA SAUNDERS
There are some stories that are so overwhelming that you question if it is possible to overcome. “How could someone survive such horrific injustice?” Marissa Saunders experienced horrific abuse from childhood, was sex-trafficked, went from one abusive relationship to the next, and suffered from extreme racism. Hear how her story unfolds one difficult healing step at a time leading her to a social justice career as a Cultural Awareness Consultant and a partnership with the Alternative to Violence Project. This is an interview that will deeply touch your heart.
EP30: MY STORY WITH MELODY SEATON
In this episode Melody Seaton knows exactly how it feels to face fear-based emotions and their subsequent beliefs because of devaluing prejudice. However, her innate voice of who she was and what she could accomplish as an educator continued to propel her forward to bring courage to the “Melody’s” of this world to see beyond their experience and discover the valuable treasure they hold.
EP31: MY STORY WITH DAVID GONZALEZ
The old adage of “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is false. Perverted actions and negative words will generate fear and cause shame especially within the mind of a child. These hurtful lies promote a false adaptation of self in order to survive. David Gonzalez, growing up in Ecuador and later moving to the United States, shares his story of hiding his embarrassment through isolation and separation.
EP32: MY STORY WITH BEATRIZ ZALDANA
In this episode Beatriz Zaldana was thrust into an all-white English-speaking school and her only language was Spanish. The language barrier brought shame over her beautiful Salvadoran heritage. Hear how her story builds a platform for her to stand out and make a difference in her world.
EP33: MY STORY WITH DONNA SCOTT
It is so easy to judge a person’s actions when you are unaware of their suffering. Donna Scott shares the hidden pain of sexual, physical, and verbal abuse from the age of two through fifteen-years old. These and other events immersed her into the lies of shame and a self-destructive lifestyle. Hear how the hidden things were brought to the light and how a healing journey began for this woman who has become a powerful generator of hope.
EP34: MY STORY WITH DESIREE FOX
Desiree Fox generates such inspiration and wisdom in this powerful interview. Loss brought deep pain and she lived through a mother’s broken heart as her children were confronted with blatant racism and discrimination. What a powerful example of taking the road less traveled empowering her to be a voice of validation and an instrument of justice.
EP35: MY STORY WITH WILT BERNARD
What can wound a heart, distort an identity, and bring shame and fear? It is not just what happens to us that shapes our beliefs but what has been withheld from us. Wilt Bernard shares his longing for a father-figure in his life and how his healing journey continues to be a work in progress. His life is now one who lives under the covering of the “HAT “of Humility, Accountability, and being Teachable.
EP36: MY STORY WITH CANDICE MURRELL
Can you imagine the pressure to choose your racial label? Candice Murrell born to a Black father of the Christian faith and a White Jewish mother left her struggling with who she was and believing she could not ‘fit in.’ Life was not fair to Candice as she struggled constantly with the lie “I am not good enough.”
EP37: MY STORY WITH AISHA OYAREKHUA
“Practicing law and doing justice are not always the same thing,” says Attorney Aisha Oyarekhua. Growing up in Nigeria in difficult situations has positioned Aisha to get close enough to see those who are suffering, understand the issues, and provide solutions. This amazing woman uses her career to fulfill her calling to be an instrument of justice to the marginalized. You are never too powerless to act.
Thank you Aisha for you embodying what Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
EP38: Releasing Your Voice in the Midst of Crisis with Josie Saldana
Desiring to be a change-agent in her world, Josie Saldana shares the important of listening to others, helping those who have experienced trauma, and those struggling to discover and release their voice. She shares a powerful Stanford University study on how empathy and listening help people heal physically as well as emotionally.
EP039: My Story Interview with David “The Cadillac Counselor” Brooks
What a poignant story that reveals the why behind David Brooks destructive habits, actions, and criminality. David’s courageous choices which changed his life’s trajectory in response to key influential leaders who challenged him asking, “What happened to you?” He now dedicates his life through his experiences and expertise in health services, substances abuse, criminality, and trauma to journey with people caught in the hidden ‘whys’ behind their actions.
EP40: My Story with William Wood
Growing up in a broken home, surrounded by alcohol and drugs, led William Wood to believe he was inadequate, incompetent, and his voice did not matter. Finding community among the drug dealers in his preteen years lead him to a drug overdose and close to death until two individuals cared enough to invest in his value and potential.
EP40: My Story Interview with ANNIE GICHURU
It takes courage to stand out, be the first, and model the way for others. Annie Gichuru moved from a dominant black culture to a dominant white culture and was faced with being the only black person in the crowd. Annie brings solutions to self-limiting beliefs as a life coach and producer and host of Uplifting Studios TV in Australia. She asserts, “You cannot be what you cannot see!” The narrative must shift from one of struggle to one of inspirational leadership.
EP42: Healing the Deep Wounds of Trauma: Marlaina Centeno
Marlaina Centeno has become a voice for those who have a story of trauma and pain. She authentic shares her story as well as steps that each person can make as they acknowledge the pain, find healthy ways to calm strong emotions, find a community, and discover what you need to feel safe. You can find Marlaina, founder and president of Wholehearted Women at wholeheartedwomen.net
EP43: My Story Interview with Joy Renee Arnold
Gang raped at eight years old and years of blocked memories left Joy Renee Arnold angry, depressed, and suicidal. This along with 20 years of 15 pills a day, being institutionalized, and living in self-hatred screams a destroyed life; but Joy shares how she got to the other side and how her life is one of loving people authentically and genuinely. Powerful and poignant story!
EP44: Leadership Principles of Justice and Validation
A black male millennial, Justin Murrell, interviews Dr. Melodye, a white female baby boomer, about her core leadership principles. It’s not hard to enjoy generational, racial, and gender partnership when we focus on an exchange of life.
EP45: Inclusion in the Marketplace with Harold Williams
Inclusion is more than external but an internal honoring and valuing the person, their skills, and their thoughts. Harold, VP in a large lending institution, shares how he provides an inclusive culture.
EP46: Confronting Generational Competition with Dr. Melodye Hilton and Harold Williams
Harold Williams asks Dr. Melodye pointed questions about intimidation concerning a younger generation and the fear of them taking leadership roles from the Baby Boomer generation. You must realize that what you carry will never be wasted, you are irreplaceable, and you must never stop contributing.