Show Up and Be Real with Stevie Thuy Anh Nguyen
In Episode 9, we talk inclusion riders, the importance of pronouns, and how all of us can better support folks from marginalized communities.
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If there’s one thing we’re sure of, it’s that we’ve got to stick together — and that means supporting and centering the voices of folks with less opportunity and privilege us. In this episode, we talk with designer and educator Stevie Thuy Anh Nguyen about how listening, and finding community, can help us do just that. They also share how parenting shaped their career path, what it was like to come out at work, and why they see allyship as something we practice, not something we have. Listen up.
If I show up at work as myself, then I’m in a state of being in my greatest power. And I think if you can find a workplace where they want you to be there in your greatest power, then like, yeah, show up. This is how you do it.
— Stevie Thuy Anh Nguyen, designer and educator
Here’s what we get into — and of course, there’s a full transcript, too.
Show notes
If you didn’t catch the Oscars, don’t worry — we start the show by filling you in on our favorite parts. Of note:
- (Ahem) Janelle Monáe’s pantsuit (photo)
- Jordan Peele’s win for Get Out and the amazing fan art he posts on Instagram
- Frances McDormand’s acceptance speech mentioning inclusion riders (hell yeah)…
…which we go on to explore:
- Did you know Justin Bieber requires that his dressing room be filled with carnations? Riders can be wild.
- More important: Nicole Sanchez writes about taking inclusion riders beyond Hollywood and into fields like tech — and apply them to everything from speaking gigs to job offers. Yep.
- We also touch on Lara Hogan’s wonderful piece about applying inclusiveness to your hiring process, the Enterprise UX Conference’s journey through inclusive programming, how the Design & Content Conference put together a diverse conference production team, and Women Talk Design’s mission to empower organizers to create more diverse events.
Interview: Stevie Thuy Anh Nguyen
It’s not hyperbole to say it was an honor and a pleasure to talk with UX designer and educator Stevie Thuy Anh Nguyen. Stevie tells us about the causes that drive them, establishing a career in design, navigating coming out as queer, and what it really means to practice allyship. We talk about:
- Where Stevie lives in Vancouver, which is the unceded land of the Coast Salish people, particularly the Squamish, the Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
- Stevie’s work with Out in Schools, a program that engages students on issues of homophobia, transphobia, and bullying.
- How having a child while establishing a career — and then making choices about your career and your future — become intertwined in a way you never expected.
- What it means to realize you’re queer at 27 — and what happens next.
- How we can better support marginalized people by practicing ongoing allyship, and provide safer spaces for those communities. (More on the idea of practicing allyship from Mariame Kaba.)
- Demystifying and sharing pronouns — and deconstructing the hard-coded way we think about each other.
FYOTW
We end the show with a little self-love and high-five because, fuck yeah! — we made the New & Noteworthy list on Apple Podcasts! AND it reminds us of all the amazing women-hosted podcasts we listen to and love — including a show you should definitely check out, called Good As Hell hosted by Lizzo.
No, You Go is a weekly podcast about being ambitious, building a career that won’t make you miserable, and finding friends who’ll high-five you along the way. Hosted by Jenn Lukas, Katel LeDu, and Sara Wachter-Boettcher. Produced by EDITAUDIO. Made with ❤ in Philadelphia.
This episode of NYG is brought to you by:
