Meet Abby Ray!

Video Transcript

Catherine Avart 0:05 I'm Catherine Avart of Cohort 10. And I have Abby Ray of Cohort 9 here with me to talk about her Cohort's project Envision 2040. I have a few quick questions whenever you're ready.

Abby Ray 0:17 Amazing, yeah!

Catherine Avart 0:17 So the first question is, why is the Envision 2040 project important?

Abby Ray 0:23 Yeah, so the previous two cohorts before mine, their big projects looked at embracing change, and the upcoming digital transformation. So we wanted our topic to kind of address how we can embrace change in the imminent digital transformation over the next 20 years, because, you know, with all the research we've done, we've realized that there's a lot that is going to change within the next 20 years, and specifically in the three topics that we've kind of broken our project up into, which is advancements in technology, embracing inclusion and human interaction. So our we really wanted to focus on like, how we can we know, all these things are happening. And we know that they're gonna change life as we know it, and how we interact together and what, you know, work looks like. But we really want to help to prepare people for when all this change happens.

Catherine Avart 1:27 And so then the second question I have is, what insights have you gotten in exploring this topic? And I guess more specifically, part of your project that you're specifically working on?

Abby Ray 1:42 Yeah, so I am paired up with Rachel Duke, and we're focusing on allyship, which is within the embracing inclusion, subtopic. And something that, with all the research we've done, we realize how much demographic of our nation is going to shift within the next 20 years. So one of the biggest things is that our current minorities, that we know of today are actually going to shift to the majority, which is very interesting to think about, but what we're exploring is how does that shift affect how we work with each other? And what are the ways we can create a more cohesive and understanding in an inclusive environment within the workforce?

Catherine Avart 2:28 That's great to hear. That's really good to hear. And so then my last question for you is, what are you going to do to prepare for the future?

Abby Ray 2:39 Um, I think personally, what I am learning is, especially in terms of allyship, but what I can be preparing for is being open-minded and willing to learn, as we've explored through allyship and you know, learning about others around us is the best allyship is a journey. It's not a, there's no real end goal. There's no way to like say, here's your certificate, you're now an ally. It's constantly learning, evolving and with the goal of wanting to understand others and be the best either, you know, partner, peer, you name it, best teammate possible by trying to understand others.

Catherine Avart 3:27 Really cool I really appreciate all your insights that you've given me today. Thank you so much for your time. And good luck with your cohorts.

Abby Ray 3:39 Thank you, and thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

Catherine Avart 3:44 Have a good day.

Abby Ray 3:45 You too.