Notable (Trailer)

Get ready for our new interview podcast series, Notable! Join host, Adrienne Beckham as she talks to leaders with disabilities, about their work as board members and access champions.

Music by Eric Stewart, “Cloud Anthem”
Pop! Pop! Pop! Records / Center For Creative Works

Thanks for support from Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Transcript

Adrienne Beckham

Thank you for joining me on the floor. I’m Adrienne Beckham, she/her pronouns. I’m a black disabled woman with black curly hair and black glasses, sitting snuggled in a blanket, cross-legged atop my floor pillows, next to my lamp and plant friends. And we’re here, patiently waiting for you. Welcome to Notable, an exploration into what disability leadership looks like in a systemically ableist society. Shall we get started?

No table. No table. You might be wondering why I’m sitting on the floor, and that, my friend, is an excellent question. As a person in disability justice space, when we talk about representing presentation, a lot of times, we express a desire for a seat at the table. But more and more, we’re starting to think deeper about what happens when we have a seat at the table and how that table is set. What do we do from the table? Do we need that seat at the table, or do we even need a table at all? And while there may not be a table here in front of me, on this notable journey, we are going to be talking all about one table in particular. The Board of Directors table.

The world of board service often exists exclusively within reach of a particular class and lived experience, excluding disabled people, or worse, relating to disabled people from a charity or moral rather than as peers. Notable is a podcast series that hopes to not only investigate if disability representation at the leadership and board level is enough to affect meaningful change in an organization, but also Where did the Board of Directors System begin? And who does it serve?

Joining our notable journey are disabled individuals with varying experiences, both at the board table and within organizations being affected by the decisions made at the table. Over the course of this series, we will hear their stories and their perspectives on board leadership spaces and navigating organizations under board leadership as a member of a marginalized community. It is my hope that you will join me when our season begins for monthly episodes. Sound fun? Great. Go ahead, get comfortable, and pull up a seat. No table required..