Meet Zachary Nunn: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Executive

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zachary Nunn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zachary, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Both sides of my family are from Mississippi and both were sharecroppers. I’m the first man to start and graduate from a four year university on my Mother’s side and a 2nd generation reader on my Father’s side.

When I started working as a fresh-faced college grad in 2011, I didn’t have uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. who could help me navigate majority white working spaces. Now, I’m a gregarious person, so I put myself out there over and over again to be mentored by anyone that would give me their time. I was often turned away, ignored, etc. but between the “L”‘s, I have picked up enough wisdom to hobble together a decent career thus far.

All of that said, about two years ago I asked myself “what does it look like for folks that look like me, with my experiences, who aren’t gregarious and who don’t want to put themselves out there and be rejected — they don’t know what they don’t know, how do they get insight so that they can thrive at work?” That’s where the idea of creating a platform that took the whispered points of meaningful advice Black and brown people infrequently receive and have them out loud.

Since launching in April of 2018, we’ve had hundreds of published media pieces where we’ve interviewed Fortune 500 leaders, activists, authors, professors, creatives, elected officials, entrepreneurs and influencers, all of them centering the perspectives of marginalized employees (e.g., Black, brown, LGBTQIA+, trans/non-binary, disabled).

What should our readers know about your business?
Living Corporate is a multimedia company and we’re focused on Equity, Inclusion and Diversity. We’re known for having incredible guests on our podcast who aren’t afraid to be transparent and share “real talk” for our audience of black and brown millennial and gen-z professionals (folks that come to mind are Ellen McGirt, Zander Lurie, Roy Wood Jr., Pamela Fuller, Antoine Andrews, Arlan Hamilton, and Nikole Hannah-Jones).

What sets us apart from the others and what we continue to be most proud about is…

1) We don’t shy away from having authentic conversations about the real challenges marginalized professionals face and we don’t apologize for it – here’s an example: we had Jennifer Brown, world-renowned Diversity and Inclusion expert on our podcast and instead of having a surface discussion on diversity, we got into the challenges of Diversity and Inclusion programs in really creating substantive changes for black and brown employees. We believe courageously grappling with the nuance and reality of lived experience not only better reaches our audience because they feel seen, but gives us a distinct level of credibility – engaging on our platform means you are willing to go beyond the buzzwords and general nice-talk that is standard in corporatized D&I spaces.

2) The amount of content that we produce. We are truly a network, so we have multiple podcasts, web series, blogs, and white papers we’re publishing on a regularly pushing out. Every Monday you have The Leadership Range hosted by Neil Edwards and Liberated Love Notes hosted by Brittany Harris. Tuesday, you’re getting a 1-1 conversation with an exec, entrepreneur, activist, professor, etc. about navigating majority white spaces that is not only helpful for Black and brown folks but leaders of any background. Weds you have Amy C. Waninger who’s talking to senior black leaders across a variety of industries to inspire our listeners to pursue a career in a space they may not be familiar with. Thursday, you’re getting a 2-3 min career tip from Tristan Layfield, our resident career consultant.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Houston’s food scene is incredible and I’d be focused on showing them the staples of the city. Here’s my list: – Turkey Leg Hut
– Chachos
– Breakfast Klub
– Frenchy’s
– Amy’s Ice Cream
– Star Pizza
– Green Seed Vegan
– Cool Runnings Jamaican Grill
– Barnaby’s
– Downhouse
– Fat Bao
– Uchi

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother, Valarie Kendrick.

My father, Edwards Nunn

My wife, Candis Nunn

My daughter, Emory Nunn

Living Corporate’s Operational Manager, Aaron DiCaprio and the entire Living Corporate team

My mentors, Matamba Austin, Liz Sweigart, Mary-Frances Winters, and Neil Edwards

My friends, Eric Ward, Deun Ivory, David Dawkins, and Regina Austin

Website: http://living-corporate.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingcorporate/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/living-corporate

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LivingCorp_Pod

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livingcorporatepodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingCorporate