Embracing Complexity: Joy, Power, and Transformation, with Mona Khan and Peter Godard
In this episode, our host Beth Berila is joined by the insightful and inspiring guests Mona Khan and Peter Godard. Together, they dive into the importance of creating spaces where individuals can bring their whole selves without the pressure to conform, sharing stories of personal transformation and professional co-creation. With a focus on joy, power shifting, and somatic exploration, they explore the profound impact of embracing diverse identities and experiences in coaching and leadership. Join us as we unravel the power of storytelling, reclaiming all parts of oneself, and the alchemy that occurs when individuals come together for change and liberation.
About Mona and Peter
Mona Khan:
Social Identity Coaching Lab Co-Creator, Mona has worked domestically and internationally, built innovative, participatory models for strengthening organizations, and co-conspired with women’s, LBGTIQ, natural resource and labor rights organizations in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the U.S. She identifies as Brown, Desi, culturally Muslim, GenX, cis-gender, heterosexual and a mother.
A ‘third culture kid,’ Mona grew up in the global south; always aware that education, skin color, and economic privilege reduce her vulnerability to harm. She comes from a family that holds intergenerational trauma and the legacy of Partition (India) in its history. She works with clients to cultivate resilience, bring their whole selves to the table and stand in their power.
Website: https://chironstrategic.com
Peter Godard:
Social Identity Coaching Lab Co-Creator, Peter is a leadership and equity coach who worked for many years in the U.S. K-12 education system. He as a white man, queer, and part of Generation X. From his French Canadian & Irish American farmer lineage, he inherited the ability to grow a delicious tomato; unearned racial, gender and economic privilege; and a commitment to justice. At the core, his coaching and facilitation centers joy, belonging, and justice.
He invites clients to explore identity and power through the wisdom of their emotions and the body. He cultivates joy by co-creating community, a habit modeled by his parents who operated a small town grocery story where neighbors came and went all day long.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greatbearcoach
Stay Connected with Mona and Peter through the Social Identity Coaching Lab:
Resources from the Episode
Pat Parker, “If I could take all my parts with me when I go somewhere, and not have to say to one of them, ‘No, you stay home tonight, you won’t be welcome,’ because I’m going to an all-white party where I can be gay, but not Black. Or I’m going to a Black poetry reading, and half the poets are anti-homosexual or thousands of situations where something of what I am cannot come with me. The day all the different parts of me can come along, we would have what I would call a revolution.:”
“Somatics and Politics,” with Sumitra Rajkumar, Irresistible podcast (formerly Healing Justice Podcast), January 16, 2018. https://irresistible.org/podcast/12
Dr. Bettina Love on the difference between Allies and Co-Conspirators, https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4804332/user-clip-conspirators
Transcript
Image descriptions: mauve background, teal and salmon accents. The far left and right image have white blocks in the middle with text. The middle image has a picture of Beth in a blue shirt with a red scarf, looking at the camera and smiling.