S5:E144🎙️ LIVE with Celeste Warren

S5:E144🎙️  LIVE with Celeste Warren
🌟Leadership & Success Podcast with Coach BZ S5:E144

Breaking Barriers: Why Everyone Wins When Equity Works

📅 Wednesday, July 1, 2026
⏰ 6:30 AM PT (San Francisco, CA) | 9:30 AM ET (Schwenksville, PA)
📍 LIVE on LinkedIn → [RSVP & Join the Discussion]

I am excited to welcome my friend, author, speaker, and transformational leader, Celeste Warren, to the Leadership & Success Podcast.

After an extraordinary 28-year career at Merck, where she rose to become Vice President and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Celeste continues her mission of helping organizations create environments where both people and performance thrive. Today, she leads  Celeste Warren Consulting LLC⁠ and co-founded  Destination STEM, Inc.⁠, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding opportunities for students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Celeste is also the author of two outstanding books:

📚 The Truth About Equity: What It Really Is, What It Isn’t, And Why Everyone Wins When We Get It Right

📚 How to Be a Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador: Everyone’s Role in Helping All Feel Accepted, Engaged, and Valued

Her message is simple yet powerful:

Leadership isn’t about lowering standards—it’s about removing barriers so everyone has the opportunity to contribute and succeed.

As a cybersecurity executive and Information Warfare Commander in the U.S. Navy, I believe the best leaders create conditions where people can perform at their highest level. That’s exactly what this conversation is all about.

🎯 What You Will Learn

✅ The truth about equity and why everyone wins when we get it right

✅ The difference between equality, equity, and inclusion

✅ How leaders build cultures where people and performance thrive

✅ Why courageous conversations matter in today’s organizations

✅ The “Fence and Rocks” analogy and what it teaches us about leadership

✅ How to remove barriers without lowering standards

✅ Leadership lessons from nearly three decades inside a Fortune 100 company

✅ Why investing in STEM and the next generation of leaders matters

✅ Practical ways to lead with courage, empathy, and accountability

Whether you’re a military leader, cybersecurity professional, entrepreneur, manager, or aspiring executive, this conversation will challenge you to think differently about leadership, culture, and creating opportunity.

⸻

💬 Join the Conversation!

🗺️ Where are you tuning in from? Drop your city, region, or country in the comments!

🙏🏽 What is one thing you are grateful for today?

💬 Got leadership or networking questions for Celeste? Post them below—we’ll answer them LIVE!

⸻

👇 Your Turn:

➡️ What are your three takeaways from this episode?

➡️ What’s one leadership insight you’re applying this week?

➡️ Tag a colleague, junior officer, or teammate who could benefit from this conversation. ❤️🙏🏾

#LeadershipAndSuccess #CoachBZ #CelesteWarren #BreakingBarriers #TheTruthAboutEquity #Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #WomenInLeadership #Culture #Inclusion #Equity #STEM #DestinationSTEM #CyberLeadership #MilitaryLeadership #ExecutiveLeadership #PeopleFirst #TransformationalLeadership #Podcast #LinkedInLive #Success #LeadWithPurpose #FutureLeaders