Thank you for joining us for conversation 5 with Adanna. In this episode we explore themes of identity, race and the complexities of defining who we are when we are ‘different’. We look at the ways class & race can give us ideas about ourselves that we need to unravel to truly know ourselves and how these can impact our own children. Please share your own reflections in the comments and also like & share with others who may enjoy this conversation. Adanna is a leadership coach, consultant, speaker and writer. Her work is varied and exciting, including coaching executive headteachers and delivering corporate training on staff wellbeing. She draws on two decades of professional training and experience to create unique and impactful coaching and training, including as an English teacher and school leader. By combining her experience in education, language and narratives (stories we carry about who we are), Positive Psychology (what allows humans to thrive/be well) and Neuroscience (how our brains work), she helps to support the personal and professional development of both adults and young people. Her approach is person-centred, with a focus on the relationship between identity, language and wellbeing Adanna now lives in London with my husband and their two children.

Welcome to our fourth episode of the Complexion Podcast, getting under the skin of what it feels like to be non-white*, by hearing from the voices we traditionally don't - everyday extraordinary Global Majority women's voices. *Please note the term non-white is used to describe the concept of the shared experience, which is the thread to these conversations and not used to describe identity or complexion. In this conversation Benash Nazmeen explores some of the impacts of colourism, how we can be called to professions from our ancestry and how we deal with our triggers when it comes to racism. Benash shares ways she’s found ways to hold and nurture the positive aspects of her complexion, as well as to create change where it’s needed. These conversations are designed to support your own journey, stories and reflections - we’d would love to hear your take-aways, please share in the comments plus of course like and subscribe. If you'd like ways to explore your story or hear more women’s voices visit www.sakinaballard.com Benash Nazmeen is a migrant, a midwife & a mentor. She is currently working in Midwifery Education and is an early career researcher. She is passionate about addressing health inequalities & invested in improving maternity services for those we care for and those who work in them She has co-designed and runs cultural competency and safety workshops for maternity healthcare professionals. She co-founded the Association of South Asian Midwives (ASAM), they work to support marginalised midwives & raise awareness of barriers faced by diverse communities. https://asamidwives.co.uk/

Join me, Sakina Ballard in this third episode of The Complexion Podcast, where I speak to Lucy Zion. We explored being ‘mixed race’, growing up in a dual-heritage household and what it means to mother and belonging and being in a space between 2 communities. From family holidays to hair and moisturising, Lucy explores her experiences of her complexion, as we get under the skin of her being ‘non-white’. This podcast is a space where we get to hear from the voices we seldom tune into, those of Global Majority women. We want these conversations to open up a space of curiosity and reflection, so would love to hear what’s moved you and your take aways.

Welcome to the second episode of the Complexion Podcast, getting under the skin of what it feels like to be non-white*, by hearing from the voices we traditionally don't - everyday extraordinary Global Majority women's voices.

*Please note the term non-white is used to describe the concept of the shared experience, which is the thread to these conversations and not used to describe identity or complexion.

In our second conversation, Sarina Jesudason shares her experiences of growing up in Dunstable, a predominantly white community and how noticing differences that were observable but not discussed.  How community can be created by shared experiences and where this cross over but also where we find ourselves outside, "having a foot in two different worlds" as immigrants and their successors in the UK.  Powerful reflections on the NHS and it's workforce being diverse and post-colonial.

These conversations are designed to support your own journey, stories and reflections and would love to hear your take-aways, please share in the comments plus of course like and subscribe.

If you'd like ways to explore your story and voice more can be found at www.sakinaballard.com

Welcome to the first episode of the Complexion Podcast, getting under the skin of what it feels like to be non-white*, by hearing from the voices we traditionally don't - everyday extraordinary Global Majority women's voices.

*Please note the term non-white is used to describe the concept of the shared experience, which is the thread to these conversations and not used to describe identity or complexion.

Our conversations kick off with me, Sakina Ballard talking to actress Andi Hall about how race impacts the way we are seen and how assumptions about other parts of our identity such as our class, can leave a shadow that we then need to resolve within.  Andi explores what living in her skin has meant for her as British actress and where belonging sits when we no longer feel rooted in our past or fully included in our present worlds.

These conversations are designed to support your own journey, stories and reflections and would love to hear your take-aways, please share in the comments plus of course like and subscribe.