Latest / Responsibly Different™ / Pride: From Profits to Purpose, the Importance of Inclusive Businesses with Kel Moody

Transcript

Pride: From Profits to Purpose, the Importance of Inclusive Businesses with Kel Moody · Responsibly Different™

• 0:02
  Kel Moody: Use your power.
• 0:02
  Kel Moody: Use that privilege and power that you have to take up space and shift conversations and demand that people are honored and respected.
• 0:35
  Benn Marine: Welcome and join me for an insightful conversation as I chat with Kel Moody, founder of Aluvium Gatherings and the chair of Be Local PDX.
• 0:44
  Benn Marine: Kel is also an advocate for LGBTQ plus rights.
• 0:48
  Benn Marine: We chatted about the importance of visibility, inclusion and support for the queer community.
• 0:54
  Benn Marine: We explore the role businesses can play in fostering equity, the significance of authentic engagement beyond just statements, and the power of collaboration in the purpose driven business community.
• 1:06
  Benn Marine: Kel also emphasizes the value of a strong sense of place and wisdom learned from Indigenous communities.
• 1:14
  Benn Marine: Listen to the full episode to gain valuable insights on how we all can make a positive impact, not just during Pride Month but all year round.
• 1:24
  Benn Marine: Kel, thank you.
• 1:34
  Benn Marine: First off, thank you so much for making the time.
• 1:36
  Benn Marine: I'm super excited to have you on the show and to learn a little bit more about what you do and share that with our audience.
• 1:44
  Benn Marine: So to kind of kick us off, can you share with us a bit about Aluvium Gatherings?
• 1:50
  Kel Moody: Yeah, so I started Aluvium just within this past year and it came out of work that I've already been doing around helping communities organize gatherings and events and community building opportunities, movement building opportunities And I've had quite a lot of fun with the experience that I've developed.
• 2:14
  Kel Moody: Maybe, I don't know, time is irrelevant these days, isn't it?
• 2:18
  Kel Moody: But for the past I'd say like five to six, maybe seven years or so I've been doing work in the event space And I just find it to be one of the most effective ways to build momentum around an idea or an intention or goal or just building community.
• 2:39
  Kel Moody: Shared experiences, to me, are just such a powerful way of getting kind of people to unite around something and to feel validation and feel a sense of belonging, And so I just I'm really passionate about creating those opportunities for people and doing it in a really thoughtful way that's going to maximize their experience and that opportunity to really build those connections and build that community.
• 3:10
  Kel Moody: And so I get really nerdy about spreadsheets and tracking things and all the logistical project management type stuff.
• 3:22
  Kel Moody: But I also just love the design of the experience.
• 3:25
  Kel Moody: So it's really a way for me to share my gift with the world and to offer the skills that I have to kind of help other people move their ideas forward, And so I've been doing that And that's kind of what I view Aluvium as.
• 3:46
  Benn Marine: That's amazing I love that And I'm so curious thinking about events, events, event planning and the way that it can bring people together.
• 3:53
  Benn Marine: I mean, we just came or still navigating the effects of a pandemic.
• 4:00
  Benn Marine: How has that impacted your ability to kind of create those like what I would describe or what I'm hearing is almost like magic right, like to be able to like build those connections and build momentum and movements and all of that.
• 4:18
  Kel Moody: Yeah, i mean hugely affected it, i think.
• 4:24
  Kel Moody: you know it's.
• 4:26
  Kel Moody: I think we really there's a few things I think we realized from that being kind of that forced isolation almost that human connection is so important.
• 4:39
  Kel Moody: I think even introverts I am not an introvert, i'm an extroverted introvert, but I even like introverts I think we're really like wow, it's hard not to even ever have engagement with people.
• 4:55
  Kel Moody: You know, you think about just in your average daily life how many people you just engage with on a normal daily basis, just going out in the world.
• 5:04
  Kel Moody: When you can't do that, it's like it's pretty significant.
• 5:07
  Kel Moody: So I think people were really starving for opportunities to connect with people.
• 5:11
  Kel Moody: So I really I really leaned into the virtual event space, did a lot of work, trying to get good at live streaming and kind of doing something that's beyond just a Zoom event.
• 5:22
  Kel Moody: you know how can we create an elevated production that's going to really feel like a more engaging experience.
• 5:31
  Kel Moody: And then also, you know, did a lot of things where people were having an opportunity to chat with other people and share ideas and stories.
• 5:41
  Kel Moody: And you know it's definitely not the same as being in person, but when that's your only option, it can be a really great way to feel connection.
• 5:53
  Kel Moody: So I did a lot of virtual events.
• 5:56
  Kel Moody: I did like a virtual festival for two of the years, 2020 and 2021.
• 6:04
  Kel Moody: That was five to seven days depending on the year, and had, you know, 40 to 60 different sessions within it And it was called the Festival of What Works, and so it was telling stories of solutions based ideas and what people are doing to kind of solve the challenges of our time.
• 6:24
  Kel Moody: And that also included some like workshop opportunities and some integration opportunities.
• 6:29
  Kel Moody: So they were both presenting presentations of ideas and opportunities to kind of engage and talk with other people about that.
• 6:38
  Kel Moody: So that was a big piece.
• 6:40
  Kel Moody: And then I think, now that we're on this side of it, i think people are so starved for interaction and connection that you know events are.
• 6:53
  Kel Moody: it feels like an adrenaline rush.
• 6:55
  Kel Moody: It's like you get around people that you know you can feel a sense of belonging with and you're like, oh my gosh, this feels so good And I think that that is really an interesting just thing to be aware of, to kind of an observation.
• 7:15
  Kel Moody: It's like, okay, this is a pretty key part of human existence, and so I think it's been.
• 7:21
  Kel Moody: really.
• 7:22
  Kel Moody: I think there's a different level of appreciation for it.
• 7:24
  Kel Moody: now, that's so cool.
• 7:25
  Benn Marine: I'm, i have to ask, i'm so curious.
• 7:27
  Benn Marine: That event sounds amazing.
• 7:29
  Benn Marine: Did you have any like oh my gosh, like did you care about any of those kind of solutions to help shape our future?
• 7:38
  Benn Marine: that really had an impression on you, oh, so many.
• 7:42
  Kel Moody: I think one central line that I'm really inspired by is the like the fact that there's a lot of focus on mentorship for youth.
• 7:54
  Kel Moody: I think in a lot of different spaces particularly I see it a lot in Indigenous communities there's like this huge and beautiful focus on raising youth to be the next leading generation.
• 8:07
  Kel Moody: It's like such an important job for elders and adults And I think that approach is really inspiring And it's something that I think is It really makes a whole lot of sense when you think enough about it that you know time well spent.
• 8:28
  Kel Moody: It's time engaging youth and helping them feel empowered and helping them feel like they have the capacity and the skills and the support to create change.
• 8:41
  Kel Moody: Not to say that we put all of the responsibility onto the youth, but I think setting them up for success is really powerful, and just to see young people get so excited and engage in ways that they might not have done or had the opportunity to do without a little bit of encouragement from some older folks, so I think that's a really great way to approach any solution.
• 9:07
  Benn Marine: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 9:08
  Benn Marine: I know one of my friends, a kid I was just graduated high school which blows my mind when they grow up so fast.
• 9:16
  Benn Marine: but it just you know, hearing just some of the speeches, it's so moving and inspiring how plugged in they are and how keenly aware they are of really how much work we all collectively have left to do.
• 9:30
  Benn Marine: Yeah, yeah, that's huge.
• 9:33
  Benn Marine: I'm curious was there a moment or an experience where you were like would that inspired you to start Aluvium Gatherings, or was it more an evolution of experiences that led to that?
• 9:48
  Kel Moody: I mean it was definitely an evolution and it was also like an opportunity that kind of got dropped to my lap.
• 9:53
  Kel Moody: The organization that I was consulting with previous basically gave me a six-month entrepreneur in residence opportunity.
• 10:07
  Kel Moody: So they offered me support for six months and some mentorship.
• 10:13
  Kel Moody: But really it was just like space and time to focus on creating Aluvium Gathering.
• 10:20
  Kel Moody: So I just took the opportunity and kind of was able to build it into a continuation of what I was already doing.
• 10:28
  Kel Moody: But I think on some level I've been headed in this path for a while, at least the last five years.
• 10:38
  Benn Marine: Speaking of business, though you've also been on the board of Be Local PDX.
• 10:41
  Benn Marine: I'm curious what drew you to that work and what has that looked like?
• 10:47
  Kel Moody: I mean, it's a huge part of how I'm here, how I'm doing, anything that I'm doing now.
• 10:53
  Kel Moody: I think I remember first finding out about Be Corpse maybe back in like 2012 or something.
• 11:02
  Kel Moody: I saw it on the bag of a local grocery store that is here in the Portland area.
• 11:10
  Kel Moody: I saw the bee with the circle around it and I was like what is this?
• 11:15
  Kel Moody: So I looked into it and started to learn a little bit more about what that means.
• 11:21
  Kel Moody: I was like this is great, this is rad.
• 11:24
  Kel Moody: I think there's really something interesting here, and so I kind of, in the back of my mind, set it in intention to someday work for a Be Corp.
• 11:34
  Kel Moody: And then, at one point in my spiraling, winding career, i decided that I wanted to be a wood worker, and so I ended up just really luckily getting an apprenticeship as a woodworker at a Be Corp furniture maker.
• 11:54
  Benn Marine: I know speaking of your involvement in the Be Corp community.
• 11:56
  Benn Marine: Back in 2019, you and a handful of other Be Corp leaders began developing a toolkit for Be Corp to use to help better support LGBTQ plus workers and community members.
• 12:08
  Benn Marine: I'm curious what spurred the start of that work.
• 12:12
  Kel Moody: I think it was just the idea that there were a lot of ways and different policies and different ways of engaging with employees that could be, let's say, just like more thoughtful for the LGBTQ plus community.
• 12:33
  Kel Moody: I also was having a kind of personally weird experience with my employer at the time coming out as non-binary, and the response was it was just clear that they were like very unaware of what to do.
• 12:48
  Kel Moody: There was no ill intention and, as we know, intent and impact are not the same thing.
• 12:56
  Kel Moody: So I think it just made me realize a lot of people just don't know what to do, they don't have the tools to deal with this And it can cause a lot of harm, which is not ignorance, is not really an excuse for causing harm, but I do think it's an opportunity for education.
• 13:19
  Kel Moody: So I think there was a few folks probably who had had either similar experiences or just could resonate And we all were like, yeah, we are having just a conversation at Champions Retreat one year And I think we just were like wouldn't it be great if there was some standard policies?
• 13:42
  Kel Moody: The B-Corp movement is always about sharing best practices And we thought this could be a really good way to provide an opportunity to educate other businesses around how to show up for that community.
• 13:56
  Benn Marine: That's really, really cool.
• 13:57
  Benn Marine: That's exciting.
• 13:58
  Benn Marine: I'm like torn on if we tease that we're working on it again or not.
• 14:03
  Kel Moody: Yeah, I mean, yes, i think that's worth saying.
• 14:09
  Kel Moody: Yeah, it kind of fell by the wayside when the pandemic happened.
• 14:15
  Kel Moody: Obviously, we were in process of working on it.
• 14:18
  Kel Moody: Pandemic happened, totally shifted everyone's priorities.
• 14:22
  Kel Moody: Everything kind of went back to like what's absolutely necessary right now, so that kind of put it on hold.
• 14:32
  Kel Moody: But I think there is some new energy around it And I think, just with what's been going on in this country and kind of across the world really around just the outright attack against especially trans people, but really the whole LGBTQ plus community I think there's really no more time to be wasted on things like this.
• 14:59
  Kel Moody: I think anything that we can do as a B Corp community to further the rights and show of support to the queer community, i think is absolutely necessary.
• 15:16
  Benn Marine: Yeah, agreed.
• 15:17
  Benn Marine: I'm so curious on that thread.
• 15:19
  Benn Marine: What are some ways that you've been like, oh gosh, if only companies would do this thing.
• 15:26
  Benn Marine: What are some of the things that for you would be like oh my gosh, it would just be epic and amazing if we didn't ever have to worry about blah again.
• 15:35
  Kel Moody: I mean as simple as it is.
• 15:36
  Kel Moody: I feel like removing the awkwardness around pronouns would be a dream, As someone who uses they then pronouns that's a real tough one for people.
• 15:49
  Kel Moody: It's like, I think, people just they are often really confused and uncomfortable And I think there's even awkwardness around people using, you know, like cis people saying their pronouns.
• 16:10
  Kel Moody: There's certainly lots of people that don't feel awkward about it, which is great, But there is still quite a general awkwardness And it's also, I think, you know, people have a hesitation around asking pronouns.
• 16:24
  Kel Moody: You know, I can see that it might feel like a little invasive for some people, But I think it's.
• 16:33
  Kel Moody: If it were just a non-issue, that would be a dream.
• 16:38
  Benn Marine: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 16:40
  Benn Marine: Yeah, it's a pronoun.
• 16:41
  Benn Marine: Yeah, a pronoun is so interesting too, because it feels like such a simple thing, but it's so huge and so important And it can be so validating.
• 16:50
  Benn Marine: Like you know, something that might feel so small or little to somebody else is so can make or break somebody's day or week you know, Yeah, that's super real.
• 17:02
  Benn Marine: So you know we're in Pride Month.
• 17:06
  Benn Marine: now I'm curious what does Pride mean to you?
• 17:10
  Kel Moody: You know I have gone back and forth on this.
• 17:16
  Kel Moody: I think I have felt a little bit jaded by it at times, just because I do see the kind of let's, you know, go party and wear rainbows and then a bunch of major corporations will create a banner and put themselves in a Pride parade and hand out trash like swag little pieces of things that all, literally, are all going to end up in the garbage, and I'm also like not a big fan of crowds.
• 17:58
  Kel Moody: So there have been times when I'm like Pride, just not my jam.
• 18:03
  Kel Moody: I also feel really adamant about people holding their identities with a lot of complexity.
• 18:13
  Kel Moody: And you know, yes, i am trans, yes, i am queer, yes, i am white.
• 18:20
  Kel Moody: Yes, i am all these different things.
• 18:22
  Kel Moody: I'm a person who has lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life.
• 18:27
  Kel Moody: You know there are certain things I'm a parent, i'm a spouse.
• 18:31
  Kel Moody: You know it's like there's a lot of different identities that I hold And although queerness is a big part of my identity and my transness is a big part of my identity, it's not the only part of my identity.
• 18:43
  Kel Moody: So I think there is this approach that sometimes I feel like Pride can feel like, where it's just this homogenizing of the LGBTQ plus community.
• 18:57
  Kel Moody: It's like, oh, you're all the same, you probably all like to do this thing and here we are and everyone can relate to that.
• 19:05
  Kel Moody: So there's like there's that side of it.
• 19:08
  Kel Moody: But I also think, you know, it is important to create space to honor people's identities, honor their genders, their sexual orientations, especially given that it's in such a, you know, precarious place right now, just that general acceptance and tolerance, and so I think that there isn't.
• 19:37
  Kel Moody: There's something really important about taking space to celebrate and learn and remember the things that the people who have come before us, who have been advocates, who have been, you know, activists, who have pushed and moved things forward, and show some appreciation and respect and honoring their sacrifices.
• 20:01
  Kel Moody: So I think there is a really good place for it.
• 20:05
  Kel Moody: I think it just, you know, comes with a lot of complexity which I think any any sort of identity honoring month has right.
• 20:18
  Benn Marine: Yeah, that's real And I, you know, something that's come up for me in some of my conversations with folks about pride is, you know, especially just giving the current political climate, is also this idea or concept of having to navigate fear and vulnerability And in trying to find community and where is actually safe and safe, right, like a lot of times we'd like say it's a safe space, right, but like no safe.
• 20:56
  Benn Marine: No space is ever actually safe right, cause we don't know what traumas people are bringing to spaces and all of that.
• 21:06
  Benn Marine: I'm curious like how have you navigated?
• 21:08
  Benn Marine: you know and just speaking for myself, i know fear has been a lot more present for me in recent months and maybe years Yeah, and I'm just so curious like how are you?
• 21:25
  Benn Marine: is that coming up for you?
• 21:26
  Benn Marine: And if so, how are you navigating that?
• 21:29
  Kel Moody: Yeah, i mean, i think I am really privileged to live in a place that is generally fairly tolerant of trans identities and the queer community in general.
• 21:44
  Kel Moody: I think you know the Portland metro area is easily one of the safest in quotes places to be LGBTQ plus in the country.
• 22:01
  Kel Moody: You know both.
• 22:02
  Kel Moody: I mean, i technically live in Washington, but both Washington and Oregon have pretty rigid protections for people like me And they also have a lot of policies that allow me to be who I am.
• 22:15
  Kel Moody: You know, it wasn't a whole.
• 22:17
  Kel Moody: It wasn't a huge deal for me to get my name changed.
• 22:20
  Kel Moody: It wasn't a huge deal to change the gender marker on my ID.
• 22:23
  Kel Moody: It was made pretty easy.
• 22:26
  Kel Moody: I mean, you know, yes, there are hoops, but it was.
• 22:28
  Kel Moody: I didn't have to, you know, go through endless amounts of trauma to get that done, and so I think that feels really like a privileged place to be in.
• 22:43
  Kel Moody: So I think, on a daily basis, it's not something that I'm confronted with as much as probably lots of other people in different places are, but I will say there are places that I just will not travel.
• 22:55
  Kel Moody: I don't feel like I can.
• 23:02
  Kel Moody: I don't want to put myself in that experience of feeling fear and discomfort, but I do have a good amount of family who live in Montana and I'm going to be going there this summer And you know I think there is some fear there.
• 23:22
  Kel Moody: However, i will also say, as a white person who is now leaning towards male passing, there is a huge amount of safety and privilege on that And actually in some ways I feel safer that now that I have a beard than I did when I was just a queer looking person.
• 23:42
  Kel Moody: You know I was visibly queer.
• 23:45
  Kel Moody: That felt less safe than I do now in a lot of places.
• 23:51
  Kel Moody: So I think there is something that's really important.
• 23:55
  Kel Moody: I think about the transmasculine especially white, transmasculine identities, that there is almost this reversal of power that you end up sitting in And, yes, i still experience, you know, versions of marginalization and oppression.
• 24:19
  Kel Moody: However, in some ways that experience has been reduced by being a male passing person, and that also is challenging because then sometimes I feel like my queerness is invisible, which at certain points, i like that because it provides me safety.
• 24:42
  Kel Moody: You know, if I'm in Montana in a bar out of town and I walk into the bathroom the men's bathroom I'm probably okay.
• 24:56
  Kel Moody: You know, before Not so much.
• 25:02
  Kel Moody: So there's a lot of kind of nuance, I think, in that.
• 25:08
  Benn Marine: Yeah, no, that's super real And I feel like I've had a very similar experience That you know.
• 25:17
  Benn Marine: I feel like I had a probably solid two or three years of my transition between where I was very visibly queer and like there was no options about it, like it just was.
• 25:30
  Benn Marine: I was a very visibly queer person, but then it was like as soon as I could grow facial hair, you know, and had some of that passing privilege, it was amazing how much safer I felt, you know, which is a privilege a lot of folks don't have.
• 25:48
  Benn Marine: So that's super real.
• 25:51
  Benn Marine: I'm curious how would you like to see businesses engage with pride?
• 26:08
  Kel Moody: I think, in the same way that I think businesses should be engaging with any underrepresented or marginalized population which is showing up with time and capacity and money, but letting the folks that are in that space, with those identities in leadership positions, direct and guide how you're engaging.
• 26:35
  Kel Moody: I think, unfortunately, we still live in a capitalist world, which means that money is a resource in the sense that it provides ways for us to create other resources with that money and to move things forward, move ideas forward, programs forward projects.
• 27:04
  Kel Moody: Whatever.
• 27:05
  Kel Moody: That's also how we honor people's time.
• 27:09
  Kel Moody: I think money is a huge piece of it.
• 27:19
  Kel Moody: I think statements are not meaningless.
• 27:25
  Kel Moody: I think saying something about what it means to your company to show the queer community's support is great, as long as it's then backed up with action.
• 27:38
  Kel Moody: I think commitments like I commit to doing this and this and this and then following through on that great.
• 27:47
  Kel Moody: I think the things that we're doing with the toolkit having policies in place that are supportive to the community, making sure that your workplace is a place that people feel like they can show up fully as their host selves, things like that.
• 28:14
  Kel Moody: I think there's a lot of things.
• 28:15
  Kel Moody: That also depends on where you are, If you're in a place like Florida.
• 28:20
  Kel Moody: Engage your lawmakers, engage those elected officials.
• 28:28
  Kel Moody: Use your power.
• 28:31
  Kel Moody: Use that privilege and power that you have to take up space and shift conversations and demand that people are honored and respected.
• 28:44
  Benn Marine: I love that.
• 28:45
  Benn Marine: I love that.
• 28:46
  Benn Marine: I'm curious with your work in the B Corp space.
• 28:50
  Benn Marine: are there certain policies or things that you've seen businesses institute where you're like, oh that's super cool That maybe we're a little bit out of the box.
• 29:02
  Kel Moody: I think the one thing and maybe it was you that brought this up in one of our calls I thought the idea of having relocation like funding for people who are in places that it's not safe to be who they are, or they can't access care, or their kid is trans and then, all of a sudden, their kid might be taken away.
• 29:27
  Kel Moody: If they are going to provide their kid with gender-affirming care, that kind of thing, it's like okay, i can't live here anymore.
• 29:34
  Kel Moody: If your company values you as an employee, paying for relocation that's pretty radical.
• 29:45
  Kel Moody: I would say that's like okay, you're a person.
• 29:50
  Kel Moody: We value you.
• 29:51
  Kel Moody: We acknowledge that this is not a safe place for you to be, but we don't want you to lose your stability of your income and we appreciate the work that you do, so we'll help you get to a safer place.
• 30:06
  Kel Moody: That is an amazing idea and concept.
• 30:09
  Kel Moody: That's like that difference between equity and equality.
• 30:14
  Kel Moody: It's like, okay, well, we wouldn't be able to do that for everybody.
• 30:19
  Kel Moody: It's like, okay, well, that's not what it's about.
• 30:21
  Kel Moody: It's about making sure that all of your employees are in a safe living environment.
• 30:30
  Kel Moody: I think, that's a pretty cool one.
• 30:32
  Kel Moody: I think there's a lot of little things that you can do that kind of add up to a larger whole, but that's probably the one that I would be like whoa, that's really cool and meaningful.
• 30:44
  Benn Marine: Yeah, absolutely.
• 30:45
  Benn Marine: What are some actions that you think listeners can take, regardless of what their role is in their company, to help support the LGBTQ plus community during Pride, but also all year round, in a really meaningful way?
• 31:04
  Kel Moody: It sucks to feel like all you can do is call your elected officials, but I think it's important to hold your elected officials accountable.
• 31:14
  Kel Moody: That's definitely just keeping yourself aware of what's going on.
• 31:21
  Kel Moody: If there's policies that your lawmakers are supporting and a lot of the stuff is going on in states it's not necessarily at the national level.
• 31:33
  Kel Moody: Some of it is, of course, but most of the legislation right now is state-based.
• 31:40
  Kel Moody: I think getting involved in your state's politics and your local politics and your school boards, like that stuff a lot of these fights are in your own backyard.
• 31:54
  Kel Moody: These are not things that are out there.
• 31:58
  Kel Moody: Even in progressive places, there's still things that you can do.
• 32:05
  Kel Moody: I think engaging in not just assuming that the only thing that's important is federal elections, your local school board, your local city counselors, those your mayor all these things that's important It's actually it can have huge impact on your daily life.
• 32:29
  Kel Moody: I think engaging in those ways is really valid.
• 32:34
  Kel Moody: Also, i think just being present and showing up for a community, supporting your local drag community, going to their events, giving them money tips If there's an ask in the world, show up for that.
• 32:57
  Kel Moody: There's a lot of trans people who have to raise money for their gender-affirming care, if that's a capacity, that's direct mutual aid, i think, stuff like that.
• 33:13
  Kel Moody: I think also, just because it's something that's not necessarily your own experience or your own identity doesn't mean that you can't learn about it.
• 33:27
  Kel Moody: There are, you exist in a world where there are many, many different identities.
• 33:35
  Kel Moody: As much as we need to know ourselves really well, it's also valuable and can be really eye-opening to engage and learn about other identities.
• 33:47
  Kel Moody: I think there's that too.
• 33:49
  Benn Marine: A lot of that.
• 33:50
  Benn Marine: Self-learning, self-education Yeah, absolutely.
• 33:55
  Benn Marine: Any tips for folks looking to use business as a force for good in general.
• 34:05
  Kel Moody: I think what I love so much about the B Corp community is just that there's this mutual support, and I think I think the biggest differentiator with a purpose driven business community is that you don't come at it with this idea of being competitive.
• 34:32
  Kel Moody: That's a scarcity mindset That's not going to get us anywhere.
• 34:37
  Kel Moody: Agression, guilt, shame and all of these valid but maybe not constructive emotions and feelings are just not going to be a successful approach.
• 34:59
  Kel Moody: I think to me there's all these logistical, pragmatic and governance factors that play into what it means to be a using business as a force for good.
• 35:11
  Kel Moody: I think it's also about what is the energy you're bringing?
• 35:14
  Kel Moody: How are you showing up as a person?
• 35:17
  Kel Moody: Can you be authentic?
• 35:18
  Kel Moody: Can you be your whole self?
• 35:19
  Kel Moody: Can you acknowledge that your success is my success and our success is everyone's success?
• 35:32
  Kel Moody: I think I love that there is that willingness to be open to that.
• 35:42
  Kel Moody: I think there's not this like oh, you do the same thing as me.
• 35:47
  Kel Moody: Are you going to take my clients?
• 35:49
  Kel Moody: Can I take your clients?
• 35:52
  Kel Moody: There's not that vibe.
• 35:53
  Kel Moody: It's like, oh, my gosh cool, we do the same thing.
• 35:56
  Kel Moody: Is there a way that we could collaborate?
• 35:58
  Kel Moody: or maybe we could learn from each other What has worked for you.
• 36:02
  Kel Moody: Oh great, that's a great skill.
• 36:04
  Kel Moody: Thanks for teaching me that.
• 36:05
  Kel Moody: It's very collaborative.
• 36:08
  Kel Moody: I think that's the way you got to approach it.
• 36:13
  Benn Marine: Yeah, that's super real.
• 36:14
  Benn Marine: I think that's one of my favorite things about this community.
• 36:17
  Benn Marine: I don't know, i feel like every opportunity to meet folks or be in community or in space, it always just this is going to sound so cheesy, but it just feels like a big warm hug.
• 36:28
  Benn Marine: Yeah, i don't know, i love that.
• 36:32
  Benn Marine: I love that.
• 36:33
  Benn Marine: Anything else you'd like to share, any parting wisdom or any other things that you want to touch on, i don't know.
• 36:41
  Kel Moody: I think that one of the things that I'm most passionate about that kind of ties into why I do event planning for a living is just the importance of having a really strong sense of place.
• 36:56
  Kel Moody: It's part of my theory of change.
• 37:00
  Kel Moody: It's just that I think the best way to get people to feel like they want to be contributing positively to the world is for them to have a positive attachment to their community and the place that they're in and an understanding of it and knowledge of it.
• 37:21
  Kel Moody: I think that's something that globalization and capitalism and colonialism have ripped away from us in a lot of different ways People they don't know much about where they are or the land that they're on or what the primary ecology is in a space where the places that have cultural significance, who's in your community?
• 37:56
  Kel Moody: who are they?
• 37:57
  Kel Moody: do you know them?
• 37:58
  Kel Moody: Who are you?
• 38:00
  Kel Moody: What is your place in this community?
• 38:02
  Kel Moody: Do you have a trust in a relationship with your own identity that ties you to a place?
• 38:09
  Kel Moody: I think having a strong sense of place is what gives people to feel like they care.
• 38:16
  Kel Moody: It's that healthy attachment and feeling of responsibility.
• 38:22
  Kel Moody: It's not necessarily ownership.
• 38:24
  Kel Moody: I think more like I am responsible for being my best self for this place so that we can all thrive.
• 38:35
  Kel Moody: I think, coming at it from that perspective Again, it's also like another abundance versus scarcity mindset.
• 38:44
  Kel Moody: But I think having that connection, that knowledge and that intimacy with place is maybe one of the best things that we can do for humanity at this point.
• 39:01
  Benn Marine: I love that.
• 39:01
  Benn Marine: I feel like and this is something that you also had on your site too that really resonated with me.
• 39:07
  Benn Marine: I feel like there's also an inherent piece of reciprocity in that too.
• 39:11
  Benn Marine: That is also so powerful.
• 39:17
  Benn Marine: I'm so glad you said that.
• 39:19
  Kel Moody: I think, just to be clear, this is all knowledge and wisdom that has been held by Indigenous peoples since time immemorial.
• 39:27
  Kel Moody: We're learning from that wisdom and that wisdom has existed and has been carried down and passed down for thousands of generations.
• 39:42
  Kel Moody: I think that that's.
• 39:45
  Kel Moody: I'm not coming at this from a.
• 39:47
  Kel Moody: I made this up and this is my idea, and this is really cool.
• 39:51
  Kel Moody: This is what I think It's coming from.
• 39:53
  Kel Moody: A really deeply resonates with me, based on my own life experience personal experience, but also from what I've learned from, particularly from Indigenous people.
• 40:05
  Kel Moody: That, to me, is just important to say that.
• 40:16
  Benn Marine: Thank you so much for tuning into this series.
• 40:18
  Benn Marine: If you want to learn more about alluvium gatherings, i've provided a link in the show notes for you, and if you're enjoying this content, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.
• 40:27
  Benn Marine: It helps more people just like yourself.
• 40:29
  Benn Marine: Find this content.
• 40:30
  Benn Marine: Till next time, be responsibly different.
• 40:35
  Benn Marine: This episode was produced by yours truly, ben Marine, with music from B Corp Certified Marmoset Music.
• 40:47
  Benn Marine: To learn more about responsibly different, visit responsiblydifferentcom.
• 40:51
  Benn Marine: This podcast channel is a production of the B Corp Certified and 1% for the Planet Member Media Consultancy Deergo Collective.
• 40:59
  Benn Marine: To learn more about Deergo Collective, visit Deergo.
• 41:03
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