Activating Leaders to Develop Belonging Cultures and Equitable Teams
Strong safety cultures are achieved and sustained when workplace safety is everyone’s responsibility. Building equitable and diverse teams within an organization is no different—it’s all hands on deck.
Vanessa Mathews, Founder & Chief Resilience Officer of Asfalis Advisors, works with safety and security leaders to go beyond guns, gates, and guards to ensure that all people feel included and protected at work. Through her blueprint, she motivates leadership to be culture change agents for their teams and companies.
In this episode, Vanessa breaks down her roadmap for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion to create belonging cultures and equitable teams.
Mentioned in this episode:
- DEI trends to be aware of in the workplace
- Vanessa’s blueprint for high-performing teams
- The book Vanessa considers her “business bible,” Traction, by Gino Wickman
- [Podcast] Business Resilience Decoded With Vanessa Mathews
The Employee Safety Podcast is hosted by Peter Steinfeld, SVP of Safety Solutions at AlertMedia.
You can find this interview and many more by following The Employee Safety Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or subscribing here.

More Episodes You May Be Interested In
-
How to Build a Proactive Protective Intelligence ProgramCorporate security is at a turning point. With rising acts of violence and grievance-driven threats, protective intelligence is no longer confined to executive protection. Melissa Newberg, Global Head of Intelligence at Seerist, explains why it’s becoming the standard operating model for modern security teams. Drawing on her experience building a protective intelligence program at Meta,…
-
Closing Security Gaps With the Zero Trust ModelDell Technologies’ Global Security Investigations Lead, Bo Bohanan, says most breaches start the same way: someone convinces you they belong. In this episode, Bo shares how his team approaches fraud prevention and investigations, and why Zero Trust is as much about culture and process as it is about tools and technology. From role-based access to…
-
Inside U.S. Preparations for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic GamesBehind every Olympic Games is years of careful planning to keep athletes, officials, and spectators safe. As the 2026 Winter Olympic Games kick off in Italy, security efforts stretch far beyond the venues, spanning multiple regions, agencies, and international partners. Nick Fanelli, Olympic Security Coordinator at the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), joins the show to…



