Episode 178: Leilani Raglin | Standing Up For What You Believe
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Passionate about empowering women of color leaders, Leilani Raglin is a leadership coach, people strategist, and Founder of the EmpowerWOC Project who believes in advocating for positive change in our community.
In this episode, Leilani discusses with me her journey from accounting to teaching leaders how to lead while empowering women of color. Leilani is a true representation of being unapologetically dedicated to impacting the entire world, not just stopping at healing her friends and family. We recorded this back in March and though so much has transpired since then, this discussion is more relevant than ever. Leilani's hard work and dedication prove that by combining healing and passion, true leadership emerges.
LEILANI’S BIO:
Leilani is a social entrepreneur with a robust background in business, leadership, organizational development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). A seasoned professional speaker, facilitator, writer, leadership coach, and people strategist, Leilani works diligently to facilitate understanding and healing across racial lines. She specializes in growing radically authentic, empowered, and equity-minded organizations, leaders, parents, and families, while creating intentional, positive change in the community.
Leilani has a robust business and leadership background, having designed and deployed several enterprise-wide leadership development programs for a Fortune 50 company, with a focus on authenticity, DEI, and mindful leadership. She has years of experience as an emotional intelligence instructor and coach, partnering with Dr. Bill Weis of Seattle University to facilitate the MBA course domestically and abroad. Leilani is an expert on the mixed race experience, supporting parents and communities in understanding how to engage mixed race children thoughtfully in order to promote healing and self-acceptance.
Leilani has worked with a number of corporations, non-profits, schools, and organizations to advance various social and racial justice causes. A brilliant strategist, innovative visionary, and daring activist, Leilani regularly challenges systems of authority and oppression for more equitable outcomes. She describes herself as someone who aims to bring light to even the darkest of spaces.
QUOTABLES
“It’s part of our culture as people of color to have a stable job around a priority rather than what actually fuels you.”
“I want to have a positive impact on the world.”
“Noticing unfairness is something that I was trained to do.”
“I’m really good at celebrating myself.”
“If I see a vision and I feel strongly about it, I will create it.”
THE FINAL FIVE:
- What are some of the things you do to recharge your energy? “Mindfulness first and foremost and belong on solitude. Journaling, writing, hanging out with my dog and my family and yoga.”
- What is one quote that has impacted you or that you live by? “From the movie Vanilla Sky, Penelope Cruz says “Every passing moment is a chance to turn it all around.” I love that notion of ‘we have the power’ ‘we are so powerful’ Every single moment of our day is a choice and that’s the way that I live my life.”
- What do you think makes someone a good leader? “Some of the best leaders that I’ve had see me as a human that may or may not be similar to them. They see me as an individual with individual needs and individual motivations. The best leaders I’ve had have gotten a chance to get to know those needs and have helped me be seen, especially as a woman of color. It’s easy for us to assume that all women of color are the same and want the same things and it’s just not true.”
- What are some of the things that when you do them, you feel most like yourself? “The one thing that comes to mind is rolling around on the floor playing with my son. I think that I have this child-like spirit and it’s not anything that I’ve really been in touch with growing up because I had to take care of my siblings, so i had to grow up really quickly. Being on the floor playing with my son is my ability to go and be a kid. So he enriches my life so much in that way.”
- We are all weird in certain ways. What is something that makes you weird? “Something that most people find weird is that I feel most at home when I’m eating with my hands. It’s a cultural thing. It’s a comf thing. Philipinos don;t use chopsticks, we use our hands. It’s almost physically impossible for me to eat it with a knife and fork.”
How you can connect with Leilani Raglin:
Website: empowerwocproject.org
Email: leilani@wocproject.org
Instagram: @raglinconsulting and @empowerwocproject
Facebook: @raglinconsulting and @empowerwocproject
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