This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Lily Shaw, a powerhouse actress, an expert writer, and an award-winning motivational speaker who was rescued and inspired by the make-believe world of cinema at the age of seven.
When Lily was just starting out, her first Hollywood agent told her,
“If you only had the right look, you could be Sandra Bullock.”
Despite this subtle racism, Lily had some initial success as an actress of color in Hollywood.
But none of her talent and skill and hard work seemed to create lasting success. The #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements woke her up to the ways racial and gender discrimination had stifled her voice and presence.
Lily is demanding to be treated equally, with dignity and respect, and to be valued for her talent. She is choosing roles where women are empowered and where different voices are celebrated.
As a first-generation Indian American and the first woman in her family to step away from tradition to pursue a creative profession, Lily has been a powerful voice for women’s empowerment since childhood. She is using her grit and resilience to find her fertile ground, standing for social justice and equal representation.
As an intuitive and conscious speaker, she leads by example and inspires audiences to use their voice, own their gifts, and become who they were born to be. lives. Lily is on a mission to spread a message of self-empowerment and share her life story in a way that inspires people to turn their pain into their superpower.
Next week on the Companies That Care podcast, I interview Ross Ching of Mama and Happa’s Zero Waste Shop here in Portland, Oregon.
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Marie Gettel-Gilmartin, founder and principal of Fertile Ground Communications LLC, is a writer and marketing communications consultant who loves to take the pain and stress out of writing for her clients. She specializes in making the complex clear, using dynamic, accessible language to explain and communicate important issues. She positions her clients as experts in their fields and helps them communicate about pressing issues. Writing communications that boost employee engagement and thought leadership, she also coaches leaders and executives on how to strengthen communications and leadership. She loves to connect people and resources or solve seemingly impossible problems.
As a podcaster for justice, I stand with my sisters from the Women of Color Podcasters Community. We are podcasters united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many others at the hands of police.
Fertile Ground Communications LLC is a certified women-owned business enterprise, disadvantaged business enterprise, and emerging small business.