Leo Caldwell is an inclusion educator and consultant at Empathy by Design, and an assistant lecturer at Ball State University School of Journalism, where he teaches visual communication courses in the Journalism Department. He also teaches podcasting and strategic social media communication in the graduate program at Drexel University.

Rob Smith is Founder and CEO of the Phluid Project, a brand that recognizes the shifting attitude of Gen Z and young Millennials, merging fashion with community and education. He has served on boards for over a decade, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Steve Madden, following a career in marketing in which he held a series of executive roles. He chairs the development committee for the LGBTA+ Board Directors, is a TEDX speaker and is currently working on his first book.

This is our fifth Pride Series of the Fiftyfaces Podcast. We have been proud of the deeply personal stories that we have shared from a diverse group of the LGBTQ+ community – we have discussed the importance of allyship, how workplaces have changed, the gestures that matter, and have thrown in a tremendous among of career advice along the way. This year presented some challenges – as policies change and some companies pull back from openly supporting this and other less represented groups, we asked previous guests whether this was the year to pull back and lie low or to proceed as usual. The answer was a resounding yes, so we got to work.

Marci Bair, CFP® has spent over 30 years working with women in leadership, LGBTQ+ couples and progressive business owners to align their investment portfolios with their values and provide fee based financial and retirement planning. Based in San Diego, she was previously Chairperson of the South Bay Alliance and a Board Member of the Greater San Diego Business Association.