Session: Ready to EXHALE
In this session, Katara dives into the importance of emotional well-being for Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC), and how prioritizing it can save lives. Due to systemic racism, BIWOC have added stressors, anxiety and trauma. The Black community has been holding its breath, waiting for the next video of police brutality, the next microaggression or the next negative health impact statistic. It’s time to exhale – to breathe out all that isn’t serving BIWOC and breathe in healing, energy and love.
BIWOC in tech have an opportunity to become greater allies for their own community and unite in shared experiences to support and uplift each other. As the tech industry is a white, male-dominated space, Katara will speak to the oppression and systemic racism that BIWOC face in these predominantly white spaces and how to manage the impact and effects of this oppression.
Bio
From out of the realities of abandonment by her biological mother, being bi-racial and growing up in a Black home, Katara McCarty realized early in life that the color of her skin mattered. After becoming a single mother at 19 and finding the courage to leave an abusive relationship, Katara became an entrepreneur holding leadership positions in both non- and for-profit organizations.
Today, Katara is a sought-after coach, author and podcast host dedicated to cultivating brave spaces where all Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC) belong. As a Black woman, she is committed to amplifying the richness of BIWOC and their stories, while also advocating for and providing emotional well-being resources for BIWOC, through her app EXHALE. In just eight months, EXHALE has nearly 4,000 downloads and users in 45 countries.