Hello everyone, welcome to Beyond Clinical Walls. This is Dr BCW and I am excited for you to meet Dr Christopher Riddick. He is my guest today and he comes with just a wealth of information. I want to share just a little bit about him and then we'll get to the conversation.

Dr Christopher Riddick is a proud son of Gates, north Carolina. He has nearly 15 years of experience in the management consulting industry. He is currently a principal technical advisor for diversity, equity, inclusion and Accessibility at Logistics Management Institute, headquartered in Tysons, virginia, where he is responsible for leveraging his subject matter expertise to influence employee engagement and improve organizational culture. Prior to this, dr Reddick served as the principal and head of client experience at ReadySet, a boutique DEIA consulting firm. He also comes with an amazing pedigree of education. He has a bachelor's of arts in public policy analysis and a master of public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also holds a master of science and education degree from Indiana University, where he completed his doctor of education in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California in 2017. His focus throughout all of his education has really been focusing on barriers to racial and ethnic staff diversity and nonprofit organization. When you put all of that together.

I'm just going to add one more piece, because it's just fantastic to hear about, not only from the educational piece, the work experience, but also a love for really giving back to his community and being invested in nonprofit organizations and really amplifying all the areas of specialty when we talk about DEIA, and so that's ableism, accessibility, allyship, bias, bystander intervention, cultural intelligence, as well as inclusive communication, and I want to end this with sharing you know one thing that was also exciting to me to hear he is a lover of music, bacon and bourbon, and I get that. I like that very much. So even as a doctor, I do endorse that in moderation. So welcome, dr Riddick, to Beyond Clinical Walls, please. I know I shared a little bit about you, but I would love for you to introduce yourself to the listeners as well.

I think you appreciate that. So you know that was pretty thorough job. I sometimes it's a little awkward to hear those things, but I am certainly proud of the path. I came from a very rural town in North Carolina. I was fortunate enough to get accepted into the one and only school that I applied to the University of North Carolina, chapel Hill, and honestly had some challenges there. So to be able to continue that academic path once upon a time I wasn't exactly sure what the future was going to look like. It's tremendous.

So, even though it is sometimes awkward, I think, to hear some of what has happened and what I would imagine some people would call some degree of success. I know that once upon a time I was not on that path, so that's something I sort of have to bask in, hearing those things. But the one thing that is missing that's probably for me the most important is that despite these things, despite the schools, despite the places I've worked and certainly the fun things that you've mentioned being proudly married for we're going to be entering year 17 this year and having three wonderful children Our oldest just celebrated his 11th this past weekend those are the things that give me the most tremendous joy and where all of those things would be for naught if I did not have a family to share in all of that with. So I'll stop there.

Excellent. I always like to start with one question Dr Riddick share with me. You know why you do what you do. Where does that love come from?

It's a good question, right. So let's be honest, right, so I do diversity-focused work. I was not always in this field overtly, but I felt like I was always doing this work. I was always concerned about equity and inclusion in organizations. I was always concerned about employee engagement, particularly those barriers that would prevent folk from feeling engaged. I was always concerned with the composition of organizations right. But if we want to be honest, we know the landscape that we're in right now. We know that diversity, equity, inclusion, work is under attack. We know there's somewhat of a pendulum swing away from it. We've had to be thoughtful, mindful about the terms that we use, because some of the terminology has been politicized, weaponized, in my opinion.

Folks who are doing this work, we do this because we're, in my opinion, we're, called to do this work. So why do I do this? Because I believe that I was placed on this world to do this work. I mean, who chooses, on a Sunday night, to help to get your mind mentally prepared for the fire you're going to jump into on a Monday, right? Who chooses to progress through a week where, at the end of the week, on a Friday, if you were to liken it to an image, sometimes I think of a person who has nothing but arrows in their back and they need their loved ones to pull those things out and take that bomb and salve and try to heal them up for a weekend. You have to feel as though that you're called to do this work. It's beyond just having a passion for it, right, because that passion can go away. You have to feel as though that there's something that's higher than oneself and that's why I do this work.

I do this work because I have witnessed what inequities, what inequalities. I've witnessed it, I've experienced it myself. I've seen the opposite, what happens when opportunity enables a person to have a good life. And I just want to ensure that people have opportunity to pursue whatever their version of the American dream is and to call into question those systems that stand in the way of that. This is the United States. When we say towards a more perfect union, I think that towards is important, like it means that we're not there yet. We're still moving towards it. So there's work to be done. So I do this work because I you know, I believe I'm called to do it and there were a long ways away from realizing sort of what, that final, that realized state of what inclusion really is. So that's why I'm here.

Was there a specific moment in time, through all of the education that you've been able to, you know, have the opportunity to take in, was there a specific moment where, when you mentioned, you were called to this, whether it was a negative or a positive experience? Can you share with the listeners that calling, because I think that could really allow those listening to have a deeper understanding of that definition of a calling.

Yeah, it's an interesting question. I think sometimes when there is something that's placed on you, you have to accept it and in my opinion, if you try to shy away from it, if you try to do the other things, your life is going to somewhat be encouraged. Some hardships that sometimes are reminders of you that, like, where the direction you're going is not the direction that you're meant to go. I think I've known for at least my high school years that I had a passion for equality. I was always that person in high school asking the questions to my teachers why are we learning this? Why did we emit these stories? I always seemed to have a voice and people would go to me because they knew that I had a voice for certain issues. I think that crystallized a bit more when I was an undergraduate in my undergraduate studies, even at a public university that is known to be a liberal institution, it's known to be, you know, for the people Right. It's one of the things that Charles Corral said, that there were still some things I saw there Right In Chapel Hill that clearly indicated that there was this notion of haves and have-nots and some folks have opportunities, some people do not, and because of that it takes someone on a path. My own personal experience, you know, I had some hardships in college and I believe that my mother sort of intervened at times in one particular time, and I think about that right. I think about if I would have decided to leave my undergraduate, where would I be now right, and sort of persisting through. And when I relate that from an equity and inclusion standpoint, what happens when there are people who have hardship and we're not given, you know, sort of that support, that we sort of write that individual off, that we don't think of them as valuable, and when I think of so many of the sort of the pathways that people have gone on from a diversity perspective and I think to myself if only that person was given an opportunity, if only someone had invested in that.

So I think my own experiences in undergrad also helped me realize that there was something greater that I needed to sort of go to it, because the farther I was trying to get away from it, the more difficult. I think sometimes life would be right, life would become. It was almost like I had to see certain things in order to be brought back to it. If that made sense. And I think, as I further materialized when I went to graduate school at Indiana, I looked at higher education and student affairs what's the degree program that I was in and we looked at a lot of issues regarding the differences and sort of different identities on college and university campuses. All of that collectively really sort of confirmed that I had a life ahead of me that really focused on access and equity, right and equality because those are two things that are unique but they're not the same and I think, realizing that I needed to like listen to what was probably being communicated to me and placed on my heart as far back as even ninth grade and high school.

Once I actually gave way to that right, I moved a bit away from change management, which was sort of the direction that I was sort of trying to go professionally, and it was always these hardships and when I finally realized that there was a calling on me, or not realized when I finally accepted it, it was a few years ago Honestly, it was 2020, right, when all of the things were happening. I was a change management consultant, I was a change management practitioner and there was something moving in me in a way that said, hey, you have a voice and all of these things that are going on. You need to use it a little bit more effectively, not just pontificating on social media, but actually trying to do something to help organizations, to help people. And so it's a long road, right? So all of these signs were sort of showing themselves, beginning way back when in high school, and it took me all the way into the year 2020 to say that this is exactly the place that I'm supposed to be, this is exactly the profession that I'm supposed to pursue, and I'll be honest, like, I'm not going to say the carpet got rolled out, but like, there was certainly like a confirmation of like, if you would have just listened years ago.

You know I haven't had perfect days, right. I've certainly had some trying days and you know, I think you know, when we talk personally, you know a little bit about some of those different chapters in my life professionally, but I think that's part of it. And I have not been more satisfied. I have not felt more joy. Even today, someone sent me a message saying look, this is truly your calling, right? I haven't had the affirmation ever before until 2020. And I'm really, really happy that I finally found a listen to this calling. So I would say, all of that leading up to 2020 and finally finally giving into it was what you know sort of confirmed that this is the work for me.

Excellent, you know, and there's a couple of things, dr Riddick, that you mentioned that are really important. You mentioned those influences in your life that your mother being able to access and have equity within that. You need to have equity within your resources to be able to take in that opportunity, or even hear that calling, because we hear about people stating I've always wanted to do this or I thought about this, or I was on the wrong path. And when you hear those stories, you often hear about someone intervening. Hear those stories. You often hear about someone intervening, some sort of exposure or something that was taken in that changed that trajectory. And the other piece that I want to highlight is the fact that, within the title of change management, which is what you were doing, how amazing is it to think about you having that internal change in management for yourself.

And I think it's important to mention that, because here you can be in front of something, immersed in something, and that title still needs to resonate so you can see it and hear it. So all of these things that happen in our lives happen for a reason, but when we talk about equity, we need to have that opportunity for those to happen for a reason and that can change the dynamics of what the haves and haves not. I think this work is so important, and the dialogue and the conversation, so people can hear these messages and think about what they can do.

Is that right?

Yes, and so the other piece that I want to talk about is because, when we talk about all the intersectionalities, all the things that make up who we are, one thing, dr Reddick, I loved about your story and what you put forward in your work is your intent and your respect towards your family, and that that always needs to be at the forefront.

And you know, in this day and age, we hear about all of these things and different types of challenges in the workplace, and I, I, I love the fact that you're bio, your CV, your work that you put forward has, at the top, your family, and I think we all can think about how it's challenging to have different things happen in our lives. But when you prioritize, that can also be a part of you being able to do the work that you love, have that passion, and so can you share with those listening. How did you do that? How did you? You know, I know it sounds simple, of course we always hear family first, but you actually embody that in all of your work, whether it's a social media post, whether it's your interaction with your employer or advocating for those that you work with and creating a space. That it's fine, and it's not just fine that you should have you know your family take priority.

I appreciate the question, right, because you know it certainly has been an evolving sort of perspective for me. I think earlier on in my career I thought, you know, my children were young. There were no children at first, and then there was a one kid and I thought he was young enough that he wouldn't remember, right, you know, if I'm up late, or you know he wouldn't remember, like, what presence and engagement looked like. And when I finally started to realize that the children absolutely pay attention is when I was pursuing my doctorate degree and you know I would say things to you know, my son at the time that you know I have to start class now, I have to start writing on things. And he would say things like I don't like it when you go to school, right. And what he was meaning was I don't like it when something's taking you away from me, right, I don't like it when you're not able to focus on me. And when I was talking about a dissertation for them, I called it the big paper, that is working on this big paper, right. So they would say things and I say they because another kid came on in the process I don't like it when you have to work on your big paper, right. So I realized again they saw that there was something that was taking me away from them.

You know, I always thought of what I did as a different kind of sacrifice. Some people sacrifice but they're not at home because they're literally at work in the evenings doing what they need to do to take care of their family. And I sort of thought of things sort of the same. Like I might be home and if they see me they know I'm here. But there are going to be some times when I need to either go upstairs, downstairs, be somewhere else, maybe I need to go to the library, I need to go back into the office because that space just to be quiet, and I thought of that maybe as a sacrifice. I'm going to sacrifice this time because when they're older I will have gotten through those sacrifices and now we can just enjoy sort of the fruits of that labor.

I had to realize that I was wrong. I was thinking they wouldn't get it then. But as early as folks can realize they want time with their father, they sort of like soaked it up right Like they were sponges, like getting daddy time. I had to start changing perspectives. I had to realize that it wasn't just being in the room. Sometimes I thought if I was just visible that meant something. But my son would say multiple times, dad, get off your phone. Or he would say something. And then I realized I had no idea what he said and I would say that's great, buddy. And then you could see this exacerbation, like he didn't even know what I said, right, or even just like my middle child, skylar, just going away, right. So I realized there was a difference between presence and engagement. But really, really, what did it for me was my previous, my previous place of work, and they saw that, the impact it was having on me.

At this point in time, my kids would have been roughly around nine, my oldest approaching 10. And my younger, my middle child, would have been around what like six or seven, around six. And I asked them like hey, do you all know what a two weeks notice is? And it's like no, we don't know. The two weeks notice is when I submit a notification to where I work to intend to leave within no more than two weeks and they sort of look at us like I am leaving my job in two weeks and they let out a yell. They said, yay, right, yeah. So here I am with a nine-year-old and a six-year-old cheering that I said I was leaving my job.

I had no idea that they even observed like the amount of time I was working, that they, like that really impacted like their mood because of my mood, like that they can feel my energy impacted their energy. And when they exclaimed celebration, like to me that was the sign of all signs that I truly needed to do something different. I used to say things like please do not disturb me when the door is closed, right, and that sort of famous sort of thing where the guys on this call and this kid walks in and the mom comes and scrambles to try to get them out. I used to put my hands on all of that Right. And now I tell them you can access me at any time, like even right now. If my son were to come on, we probably had to say pause or something. If I'm teaching a class, I like literally I'm going to show you my class, my kids. If I'm in a client meeting my youngest, who's three right now, she'll come sit on my lap if she needs to.

I realized that my life and my work is all integrated at this point. There is no work here and home here, and if that's the case, my job needs to understand my family as much as my family needs to understand my job. Right, it's all together. So those are the things that really made it a priority. I started seeing some behavioral things, right.

I started seeing some more challenging parts of homework If I wasn't participating in the homework. I started seeing some acting out type behaviors and you know, my son certainly responds to me, I think, a little differently than he responds to my wife and I realized that I need to be more present in all of this. I need to be more present in homework, I need to be at these school assemblies, I need to be part of a parent-teacher conference, I need to play with them, right, not just be in the same room with them. Those are the things that gave me that really true, and I just decided that I didn't want them to grow up ever saying that I wasn't around. Client, I do some vignette that includes them. Every class that I teach, I refer to them at some point in time. And beyond my children, like you know, my wife, my extended family it was that realization that my work was taking me was away from, for my children, even for my wife, and I had to do different.

And the fact that you weave them into every piece of what you are putting forward with work, with every single thing. And we talk about bringing our true selves to work. Having a place that can really envelope or embrace is a better word. That opportunity to do it doesn't always live in all the places we talk about or hear about it, and so the fact that you just say this is what I'm going to do, this is who I am and this is who really reflects who I am, I think is so powerful.

And when I look back at this kind of change in remote work granted, there were some people who were always doing remote work before we even had the pandemic how that really led to. You know what is this balance, if a balance ever existed of work life and home life? And one thing I embrace is the fact that I've got two little girls, as you know, where the home is their space, that is their safe space. And when we start to divide and say, no, you may not come in, when they have all of these rules, all of these things and rules are good, but at school, where they can and cannot go, but your home is supposed to be your safe zone, and so we have to be mindful of putting up barriers when we're home, and this interaction is supposed to be fostered and really have the opportunity to share and hear about stories and be present. So I applaud you on that, that you are living that truth and putting it forward in all areas of your life, and I think this is such a important thing for people to hear, because sometimes just having representation or hearing that narrative or also hearing that action, can help someone feel like this is something that I can do, and so I thank you, dr Reddick, for joining me today.

This conversation was so thoughtful, mindful and, I think, will help so many people listening today to take different pockets, different things that you mentioned and apply it in their own life with a lens of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in all areas. So I thank you for joining me, and can you share with the listeners how they can get in touch with you? Thank you, dr Riddick. Well, this is Dr BCW. Well, this is Dr BCW. As always, I'd like to send gratitude for taking the time to listen to Beyond Clinical Walls. Thank you.