I do a lot of stuff that may be considered a bit ‘woohoo’ to help with my emotional well-being and this poem delves into that a little bit. 🧘🏻‍♀️🪐✨💫

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Shining a light on the next Generation Talent in the broadcast media industry... last episode of this series!

Dee Hassan was someone I had interviewed for a Runner role whilst I was working at Icon Films. She was successful during the interview process and started her new position in February this year. 

I was really impressed by Dee when we first met - she has this quiet determination about her and I just know that whatever else she goes on to do in future, she will be absolutely brilliant at it! 

Her 'Keeping It Reals' led to a truly wonderful conversation with a young woman who is insightful beyond her years and that's because of her experiences as a Somali woman growing up in Sweden, having moved to the UK when she was 14 years old. 

Dee's x3 KIRs 

1️⃣ Never compromise on your professional values 

2️⃣ How can I be of benefit of a project and how can I benefit from it? 

3️⃣ Big picture - does the work serve a worthwhile purpose?

Links I said I'd share in the episode:

https://www.creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk/dee-hassan

https://www.rifemagazine.co.uk/author/deqa-hassan/

https://www.rifemagazine.co.uk/2020/01/who-are-the-silent-voices-in-the-green-movement/

13th Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com 

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Stefi Popescu is a Scrum Master for the NOW TV app at Sky. What’s a Scrum Master? Well - it’s the term to describe a person leading a team of software developers, to ask act as a facilitator and coach, a person who enables the team to work in a productive environment and removes any blockers. Stefi leads a team of front-end developers who look after the NOW TV app on TVs and gaming consoles. In addition to that, she is responsible for other management related tasks such as creating personal development plans for her team.

Interesting fun fact - Stefi’s hometown in Romania has less people in its population than the number of employees working for Sky - so Sky has around 25,000 employees and Stefi’s home town has a population of just 16,000 in comparison!

Her three x3 KIRs are 👇🏼


1️⃣ Learn from everyone - take in the good things and the bad      

2️⃣ Realising change doesn’t happen overnight

3️⃣ Embrace your mistakes

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Nalini Mistry is an Assistant Producer, based in Bristol, working in the wildlife film making industry. Since 2013 she has worked on landmarks and blue chip natural history content for digital and TV for the likes of the BBC and other major production companies. She has also worked on household favourites such as Springwatch and Countryfile.

Her x3 KIRs:

1️⃣ Enjoy what you do, and discover the things that surround your passions – doors will always open

2️⃣ Don’t give up, if you don’t fit in somewhere it might not be the right environment. Keep going

3️⃣ Accept you can’t control everything, and accept change

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Charan is now working as a third assistant director at Twickenham Studios...to say getting to this point has been a challenge is an understatement. She did not have the support of her family to pursue a career in TV and film - she used to work in the criminal justice system and spent several years studying for a degree in Criminology and a masters in Criminology and Criminal Justice

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Charan risked losing her family to follow her dream and ran away to Prague to study film there

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I’m well proud of Charan. She’s done good 😁🙌🏼👍🏼💪🏼

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Her x3 KIRs

1️⃣ Take a chance on yourself and don’t look back

2️⃣ Don’t aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference

3️⃣ Pay it forward

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Another brilliant chat with another brilliant person. I love how my podcast brings me to these kind of people!

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

This is a rather special episode since it’s been a year since my #podcast launch

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ONE WHOLE YEAR!

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And to celebrate my one year anniversary of being a #podcaster I have decided to share one of my most joyful and high vibing listens to date

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I hereby introduce to you…Dorsa Nam - another Wonder Women in TV mentee and Development Producer in Entertainment and Factual Entertainment for TV.

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💅🏼

💁🏻‍♀️

Dorsa’a x3 KIRs

1️⃣ Don’t forget where you came from

2️⃣ Believe in your sauce (my fave one)

3️⃣ Be coachable

Upon listening to the episode Dorsa’s reaction was:

“OMG Tanya! I really enjoyed listening to it. That was such a fun listen. I am honoured to be the first anniversary episode”

And I am honoured that she featured as my first anniversary episode because I’m telling ya… she is one to watch in our industry because one day “She WILL run TV” 📺 ⚡️📺

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Barbara Lange is the Executive Director of the Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers aka SMPTE. Founded in 1916, SMPTE is the global professional association that supports the technical framework and professional community which makes quality motion imaging available to consumers in a variety of media formats.

She has been in this role since 2010 and in 2015, she led the acquisition of the Hollywood Professional Association - who focus on the application of technology in the creation, distribution and consumption of professional media content.

So Barbara is one very cool woman and what makes her even cooler is that earlier this year, she has been honoured by TVB Europe as a 2021 Technology Leader to Watch and was also a recipient of Broadcast and Cable’s 2021 Tech Leadership Award.

She shared really personal ‘Keeping It Reals’ with me and for that I am #grateful because we had the most moving conversation as a result

Barbara’s x3 KIRs

1️⃣ Her ability to be resilient no matter what

2️⃣ Always remembering the death of her mother

3️⃣ Working in a ‘man’s world’ inspires her to encourage girls to go farther

I always ask my guests to be as open as possible in the spirit of ‘Keeping It Real’ and Barbara really did bare her soul to me

Hope you enjoy listening as much I enjoyed talking to Barbara.

https://www.smpte.org/

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Humble Bee Films is an independent production company based in Bristol. In case you’re not familiar with what a production manager does - they oversee the logistics of a TV production - booking travel and accommodation, arranging for equipment to be delivered on shoots, organising contributors, staffing for productions, health and safety on location, clearing rights - basically anything that involves organising. 💁🏻‍♀️💅🏼 They usually work with a team of production co-ordinators and production management assistants.

Production Managers are absolutely ace and an integral member of a TV production team. I was super happy to have secured Elena as a guest because of her impressive CV and the fact that she is of East Asian heritage - I’ve wanted to have someone of this background for ages!

Elena’s credits include Attenborough’s Life in Colour 🌱🍃🍂🍁🌳🌍 🌈 which aired on BBC 1 and Netflix and she’s working on a blue chip natural history series for a subscription video on demand service which we can’t talk too much about because she’s under an NDA!

Elena has been a production manager for 8 years now for a number of Indies as well as for Aardman Animations.

Her top 3 KIRS:

1️⃣ Being Kind - to both others and yourself

2️⃣ Listening to others (even if you might not agree with them)

3️⃣ Being aware of the positive and negative aspects of my heritage and actively applying that to how I learn and grow as a person

We talk about emotional well-being, taking in opposing views to get the big picture and our mutual love for Russell Brand and his podcast. ❤️🎧🎙

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

I met Cathy at an international virtual event for creatives and she was one of the speakers. I was immediately captivated by Cathy’s presence as her good vibes came shining through the ether and warmed me! I know that sounds incredibly cheesy 🧀🧀 but it’s true. And as she was presenting with such charisma and wit, I just kept thinking I need to get this woman on my podcast! And so here she is!

Her 3 KIRs:

1️⃣ If you’re going to bother doing something that matters to you, do it well, and do it to the best of your ability – every time

2️⃣ Find the fine line between self-belief and arrogance

3️⃣ Feed your soul

There are parts here where I end up sounding very inarticulate! 🙄😬🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

I refer to Captain America 🦸🏻‍♂️🤨 instead of Mrs. America (a great BBC drama about the Equal Rights Act in the US back in the 60s/70s - well worth a watch!), I call a painting 🎨🖌🖼 a photo 📸❌😩, I keep tripping over my words and when I start talking about nature 🌱🍃🍂🍁🌳🌍 I just can’t seem to get my words out 😶😐🤭. BUT…it’s not all about me! Cathy is incredibly articulate in it throughout and absolutely wonderful. I guarantee you will feel her positive energy rubbing off on you as you listen to her.

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

In today’s episode, Samantha talks to Christine Chang, relationship author and speaker who wrote the book “Show Up: Finding Love for the Independent Woman.”

Starting as a lifestyle photographer, Christine was drawn to events but more so the wedding scene because of the connections you can make with the families.  When COVID hit, she took it as her opportunity to move on to something even greater and decided to write her book, to help strong independent woman find true love.

We Cover:

• Self-work and feeling good about yourself
• How she met her husband
• Three important questions to ask when picking a partner
• Recommendations on how to make the first move
• How to know if you are with the one
• How she navigates woman to feel good in front of the camera
• More tips when going to photoshoots
• What’s next for Christine

Connect with Christine Chang:

Instagram: @CChangandCo

YouTube: @Christine Chang

Podcast: Show  Up with Christine Chang

Her book Show Up: Finding Love for Independent Woman is available on Amazon.

Connect with Samantha Ruberto:

Website: www.samantharuberto.com

Instagram: @hellobeyoutifulpodcast

Join Hello BeYOUtiful's Facebook Community: @hellobeyoutifulpodcast


 

I'm back !!!
Thank you to everyone who checked up on me, as I hope you all know, I take hiatuses VERY seriously.

This week, we try to unpack the animosity towards women in Kenya by men on social media with the lovely Joanne Mbataru , the host of the Creative Captive Podcast.

Of course I talk about some books including:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
The Hidden Power of Fucking Up by The Try Guys

Eminem stylee; 🎤🎶🎵🎼 Guess who’s back? Back again? Uschi’s back, tell a friend!

Uschi used to be my counsellor and I think she would be mortified that I have introduced her this way, but then she knows that I am the funny one ☝🏼😅🤣 or am I the 🦇💩 crazy one??? 🤔 Yeah I am 😜 but in a good way… obvs 💁🏻‍♀️

In this podcast episode we talk about Afformations vs Affirmations. Noooo… that’s not a typo… autocorrect has not got the best of me… this time 😅

So what are Afformations? They are questions you form around the things you want instead of making firm statements which can be jarring - especially if you don’t believe them

We talk about the benefits of both and why Afformations are more helpful than Affirmations. We also talk about acknowledging that these tools are more useful when your basic needs are met…given that much of the world’s population are living in poverty, I was mindful that our discussion on this was grounded in a healthy dose of realism as well as optimism.

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Tom is 19 years old…I am going to be bold and tell you that he is a rising star of the #broadcastmedia industry 🌟 🎥 🎬 🌟

I remember being 19 (just about 😅) and I can tell you that I didn’t have a smidgen of the self awareness that this young man possesses at that age 😅🤪😅

Tom also identifies as being part of the LGBTQ+ community 🌈🌈🌈

I wanted to showcase next gen talent on my podcast…and so I have! 💁🏻‍♀️💪🏼💅🏼💁🏻‍♀️

Tom shared his top three KIRs as being 👇🏼

1️⃣ Accepting who he is + growing in confidence = being real with everyone

2️⃣ Being open to new experiences and people

3️⃣ Finding comfort where there is difference

It was such a joy talking to Tom… #mediaindustry folk… keep your eyes peeled… he is ☝🏼2️⃣ 👀

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Dershe Samaria is Co- Founder and Creative Director of Nuwave Pictures, who was announced one of ten ethnically diverse stand out indies alongside the likes of David Olusoga’s Uplands, Romesh Ranganathan’s Ranga Bee and Lenny Henry’s Douglas Road to officially partner with Channel 4 and The TV Collective on the Indie Accelerator. Fast tracking their ideas to broadcast commission

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Like me, Dershe is also a Wonder Women in TV mentee and that’s how we met. We were in a Zoom Room together and hit off pretty well so I did my usual thing of boldly asking if she’d appear on my podcast

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Her x3 KIRs were around knowing her values and boundaries, being conscious of what she consumes whether that’s food, media and people and finally… one of my fave KIRs I’ve had a guest say… having FUN!

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I loved talking to Dershe and I hope you love listening to this episode...

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Steven Jay Cohen describes himself as a storyteller. He narrates audiobooks and is also owner of Spoken Realms - an audio publishing business which is one of the largest producers of classic, public domain, literature on Audible, iTunes and Amazon. Spoken Realms has over 2500 titles to their credit and they help to connect storytellers from around the world with a global audience through the production of their audiobooks.

Steven also sits on the Diversity Committee of the Audio Publishers Association and is on a mission to try and diversify the voices we hear in the audio publishing world. We met at The Creative Coalition event delivered by The Creative Industries Federation back in November 2020. He had posted a comment about the audio publishing industry looking for diverse voices! He shared some links (I’m looking into becoming an audio book narrator) and I then asked him to appear on my podcast! So here he is!

His x3 KIRs are around his commitment to diversity in the audio publishing world, knowing that unlike other ethnically diverse people he has a choice as to whether or not he ‘can pass’ and helping good people do good work.

You can find out more about Steven here: https://www.spokenrealms.com/

At the age of 16, Stephanie was diagnosed with pilocytic astrocytoma - a brain tumour that occurs mostly in children and young adults. On the week of diagnosis she had surgery to remove the tumour. Radiotherapy and months of rehabilitation followed and during this time she was not going to school. She recovered well and remained at stable level of health for 15 years, although whilst stable she didn’t have the same level of health as the average person. 

At the age of 30 Stephanie began experiencing a loss of strength and balance. The tumour had not returned but her body was degenerating and still continues to degenerate, with no clear or fixable reason why. The long term effects of the tumour she had and subsequent treatment of it caused damage to her central nervous system. It’s only in the last 5 years that Stephanie has come to accept that she doesn’t have the ability to do many things and it took her a long time to come to terms with describing herself as living with a disability. She told me that “there are lots of us with disabilities whose details are unique to each person and I’m proud to speak up for all of us.” 

Stephanie is a Key Account Manager for Warner Bros. at Deluxe Media, working on the distribution of pre-release and catalogue titles, and servicing high-security content to broadcasters and platforms.

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Rishi set up Paus TV - which has been dubbed ‘The Netflix if Independent Film’ - as his own personal mission to democratise the film industry. You can watch films without committing to a monthly subscription. Instead you pay a tip of your choice - which is uncapped - and 80% goes to the filmmaker. Check out their website for more details on how to download the app to support the independent film sector and start watching a whole host of truly diverse and eclectic stories 👉🏼 https://paus.tv/ ⏸ 📺 ⏸

Rishi’s top 3 Keeping It Reals are around telling untold diverse stories to the masses, balancing work life and personal life and being present.

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

I met Sue at Wildscreen Festival as she was speaking on a panel event about the craft of natural history/ wildlife filmmaking. She was wearing a cool t-shirt that I commented on...you’ll have to listen to this episode to find out more! I then had the gumption to ask her to be a guest on my podcast and, well, as you can see, she agreed!

Sue has filmed in many extreme environments such as the Oman desert, tracked Pallas cats on the Mongolian steppe, hung out with apex predators in the Masai Mara and has also filmed in the roughest seas around Cape Horn. Her most recent filming adventure was in Kenya filming lions. How cool is that????!!!! 😎💁🏻‍♀️

Her top three keeping it reals were around equality, conservation and stoicism. It was a fascinating conversation and therefore, I reckon it’ll be a fascinating listen!

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

Because we evolve don’t we? And therefore, our words are forever tinkered and tweaked…

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @diversityofme

I don’t want to describe this one for two reasons. Reason number one: I want it to leave a lasting impact and I don’t want to give away the subject matter beforehand - although I did share the poem on my Insta. Reason number two: Because it’s another one of the best pieces I’ve ever written.

Intro & outro music credit: Dawn Awaits by Cody Martin, obtained from www.soundstripe.com

I’m on social if you’re interested…primarily Insta and occasionally Twitter: @thediversityofme