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You’re listening to Tulsa Talks, a TulsaPeople podcast, episode 2.9. I’m Anna Bennett.
This episode of Tulsa Talks is brought to you by the Tulsa Regional Chamber.
Today, a conversation with Kuma Roberts, the Chamber’s self-described renaissance woman.
Then, Morgan Phillips tries her hand at figure drawing in a fully-clothed installment of What the What?!
So let’s talk, Tulsa.
That’s Kuma Roberts, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Tulsa Regional Chamber — and former subscriptions manager for a little publication called TulsaPeople magazine.
Kuma has been a fixture at the Tulsa Regional Chamber since 2011, but her current position is a new one — and one that’s uniquely suited to her experiences across fields like education, workforce development and communications. This culminated into a single nexus that gets her out of bed every morning, energized and focused. Because to understand and advocate for diversity and inclusion both within the Tulsa Regional Chamber and across industries in Tulsa, one must understand the multifaceted ways that economics, race, education, history, gender, politics and so many other elements intersect. And Kumo is clearly ready to take on this role with gusto.
And yes, the Tulsa Regional Chamber is a sponsor of this podcast. But this conversation is authentic and unguarded, and I know you’ll come away with some reactions and thoughts. So let’s dive in.
We’ll be back with more Tulsa Talks but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
When we left off, Kuma Roberts was explaining the way her position at the Tulsa Regional Chamber represents an internal reinvention, an acknowledgment by the Chamber that diversity and inclusion has not always been a priority — but now, it is an integral part of the organization and its continuing relevance in the modern world.
But apart from being the right thing to do, fostering an inclusive environment is just good business. Kuma explains why all businesses should be reinventing their approach to diversity during our interview.
We’ll be back with more Tulsa Talks, but first, sharpen your pencils — Morgan Phillips is headed to ahha to draw a live model during What the What?!
Kuma Roberts is a champion for having difficult conversations about race, gender, age and more as it relates to the workplace. But her personal life is also a fascinating intersection of these very elements. She’s also proof that having earnest discussions and reinventing old presumptions that no longer serve is just as invigorating within a family as it is within a business.
Thanks so much for Listening to Tulsa Talks! If you enjoyed this episode, tell a friend about the show, and leave us a rating or review on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @TulsaPeople, or head to our home on the web, TulsaPeople.com/podcast. There, you’ll find show notes and more info about our guests and topics.
Every episode, we play you out with some local music. Today we play you out with music from Zunis. The song is “Power Be,” off the band’s latest release, the “Earth to Self EP.” Zunis recently released a music video for the song.
Zunis is one of 9 musical acts to perform at “Tribute to Tulsa” this Saturday, May 4, at Gathering Place. Check out more from the band at zunis.net.
