The events of the last few weeks have been a catalyst for humans around the world to engage in courageous conversations that have the capacity to change our culture. Open, raw, necessary and difficult dialogue about racism, discrimination, police brutality, prejudice and privilege. White privilege, to be exact.

Rarely discussed in “mixed company” and typically relegated to the ranks of “we don’t talk about this”, these incendiary topics are now front and center, from social media to the family dinner table to corporate boardrooms, and everywhere in between. And that’s a good thing. It’s a critical step on our journey toward understanding and acceptance of our fellow humans, and equality for all who walk this earth.

So, how do we begin these challenging conversations? It’s a question to which I gave considerable thought as I embarked upon this new series on Our Voices Matter. My first guests are a Black female entrepreneur and executive coach, a White female oil and gas executive and a White transgender male executive for a multinational tech company.

As is our mantra on OVM, we agreed to give each other permission to speak, and have the courage to listen with an open mind. And as for the answer to the question I posed — we agreed that the best way to begin a #courageous conversation is to start where we are.