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A World of Difference

A World of Difference

By: Lori Adams-Brown
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 A World of Difference: Leadership, Culture & Travel Podcast Welcome to A World of Difference, a top 3% global podcast where authentic leadership meets cross-cultural wisdom. Host Lori Adams-Brown, a strategic transformation executive and multilingual global leader, brings you real conversations with bestselling authors, nonprofit changemakers, C-suite executives, and thought leaders who are redefining what it means to lead with purpose. This isn't surface-level leadership content. We dive deep into psychological safety in leadership, organizational culture transformation, differentiation strategies, global leadership development, and how cross-cultural communication shapes the future of work. Whether you're a CEO navigating organizational change, an HR leader building inclusive cultures, or a manager seeking authentic leadership skills, these conversations will challenge how you think and lead. From travel as cultural education to ethics in business to emotional intelligence for executives, each episode offers actionable insights for leaders who believe our differences make us stronger. If you're tired of cookie-cutter business podcasts and want meaningful conversations that bridge culture, society, and leadership, you're home. Pull up a seat at the table with us.© 2023 Lori Adams-Brown Art Economics Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • From Farm to Silicon Valley: How One Turkish Immigrant Turned Grief, Grit, and Education Into a Life Beyond Imagination with Nuray Krein Yilmaz

    From Farm to Silicon Valley: How One Turkish Immigrant Turned Grief, Grit, and Education Into a Life Beyond Imagination with Nuray Krein Yilmaz
    Mar 11 2026
    What does it look like to build a life from scratch, not once, but again and again? Nuray Krein Yilmaz has done it more times than most people ever will, and her story is one of the most quietly extraordinary ones we've shared on this podcast. Nuray grew up in a small farming village in eastern Turkey, the eleventh of twelve siblings, in a community where girls' futures were largely pre-written. She lost both parents to cancer before she turned 13. She taught herself to dream inside boarding school libraries and across chess tournaments — and she never stopped. In 2018, she moved to the United States through a cultural exchange program with limited English, no safety net, and an enormous amount of courage. Today she is a content analyst in tech, a published author, and the founder of What If You Can — a community for people navigating immigration, grief, career transitions, and the question of whether they belong. In this episode, Lori and Nuray explore: How losing both parents to cancer before age 13 became the unlikely foundation for a life built on education and agency The role her father played in naming a different future for her — in a place where most men didn't What chess taught her about being underestimated, competing, and winning on her own terms The layers of learning agility required to navigate new languages, new cities, new countries, and new cultures Practical advice for first-generation immigrants: mentors, community, salary negotiation, and the courage to ask for help Why storytelling and community are not soft extras — they are the infrastructure of belonging The vision behind What If You Can and what she most wants to say to the girl she once was Nuray Krein Yilmaz is a first-generation immigrant, content analyst working via Highspring at Google, a published author, and founder of the What If You Can community. She holds a degree in business administration and builds spaces for people navigating uncertainty with curiosity and hope. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Introduction & welcome 02:00 — Growing up on a farm in eastern Turkey; losing both parents before 13 05:00 — Her father's pivotal role; chess as a gateway to confidence and travel 10:00 — Arriving in the United States in 2018; navigating visa challenges and a new culture 18:00 — Education, self-learning, and tools for first-generation immigrants 22:00 — Salary negotiation, unwritten rules, and asking for help 24:00 — How storytelling builds belonging and motivation 29:00 — What If You Can community and the difference Nuray is making 33:00 — Where to find Nuray, her book, and her community Find Nuray Krein Yilmaz at: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nuraykreinyilmaz Instagram: @nuraykrein Book: Notes From My Mind (available on Amazon) Subscribe, leave a review at https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/reviews/new/, and share this episode. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • Rebranding the Brain: Neurodiversity, Psychological Safety & the Future of Hiring with Dave Thompson

    Rebranding the Brain: Neurodiversity, Psychological Safety & the Future of Hiring with Dave Thompson
    Mar 4 2026
    What if the way we’ve been thinking about brains at work is fundamentally broken? What if accommodations aren’t about fixing people, but about unlocking talent we’ve been filtering out for decades? In this powerful episode, Lori sits down with Dave Thompson to explore how neurodiversity is the biggest shift in human capital in a generation, and why the companies that get it right will lead the future of work. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why “rebranding the brain” matters, and how moving from a deficit model to an ecological, strength-based framework changes everything for individuals and organizations The four levels of psychological safety (inclusion, learner, contributor, and challenger safety) and what they actually look like when done well — not as buzzwords Why hiring is broken for everyone, and how job descriptions, ATS systems, and rigid requirements filter out some of the most brilliant talent before they even get a chance The difference between accommodations and “success enablers” and why Dave’s “desk tour” approach unlocks self-advocacy without labels or paperwork How ERGs can become true business resource groups, and why emotional labor and self-advocacy deserve recognition, not just a bullet on a job description About Dave Thompson: Dave Thompson is a strategist, author, and internationally recognized speaker focused on redesigning systems that support the full range of human cognition. A program coordinator and visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University’s Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, two-time TEDx speaker, and advisor to Fortune 100 companies, he translates lived experience as an early-identified ADHDer and dyslexic thinker into practical change. His book Brainstorm: Neurodivergent Talent and the Future of Work is available now wherever books are sold. Timestamps: [00:00] Cold open — What if brains at work are fundamentally misunderstood? [01:10] Intro — Meet Dave Thompson [02:00] Dave’s why — From cheese club to systems change [04:30] Rebranding the brain — The rainforest analogy for neurodiversity [08:00] Belonging & psychological safety — The four levels explained [14:30] Hiring is broken — Job descriptions, ATS bias & filtering out brilliance [21:30] Success enablers vs. accommodations — Dave’s desk tour approach [26:00] Self-advocacy & recognition — Not everyone wants a birthday party [33:00] ERGs that actually work — From afterschool clubs to business drivers [40:00] Brainstorm the book — What Dave hopes readers take away [43:30] Outro — Patreon exclusive teaser + calls to action Want more? Dave joins us in the Difference Makers community on Patreon for an exclusive: watch here. Find Dave Thompson at: Website: brainstormneurodiversity.com Book: Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org, and wherever books are sold Subscribe, leave a review at https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/reviews/new/, and share this episode. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    47 mins
  • Unlocking Hidden Brilliance: How Neurodivergent Talent Is Transforming the Tech Workplace with CEO Tara May

    Unlocking Hidden Brilliance: How Neurodivergent Talent Is Transforming the Tech Workplace with CEO Tara May
    Feb 25 2026
    What if the key to innovation in your workplace isn't finding people who fit your culture, but transforming your culture to unlock brilliance that's been overlooked? Tara May, CEO of Aspiritech, has spent her career proving that when organizations create truly neuro-inclusive workplaces, everybody wins. In this conversation, Tara opens up about her personal journey, including raising an autistic son and her own OCD diagnosis in her 40s, and shares the practical frameworks any organization can use to go beyond diversity buzzwords and create real, measurable change. In this episode, you'll discover: Why 80% of autistic adults face unemployment, and what employers are missing The 'spiky cognitive profile' advantage and why neurodivergent talent can be 150% more productive What the 'ROI of Kindness' really means for your bottom line Three concrete steps to become a neuro-inclusive organization starting this week The canary in the coal mine: how accommodations for neurodivergent employees benefit everyone Why psychological safety isn't a soft skill — it's the engine of innovation About Tara May: Tara May is the CEO of Aspiritech, a tech services organization built on the belief that neurodivergent talent is a competitive advantage. With 25 years leading digital transformation at major media companies, Tara brings both executive credibility and lived experience to the movement for neuro-inclusive workplaces. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro — What if inclusion is the real innovation strategy? [01:24] Tara's origin story: An autistic son, a C-suite career, and a new mission [05:05] Neurodiversity belongs to all of us — the 86 billion neuron truth [06:56] Tara's own OCD diagnosis: 'It's okay to have needs' [10:03] Accommodations demystified: the water bottle story [13:20] The spiky cognitive profile and the strengths employers overlook [17:03] The index card meeting: introverted leadership in action [20:44] Universal design and the canary in the coal mine [25:27] 3 steps to becoming a neuro-inclusive organization [30:00] Psychological safety as the engine of digital transformation [35:11] How Aspiritech measures success — employees ARE the mission [38:54] One action you can take this week: ask 'what do I need?' [41:08] Where to find Tara and connect with Aspiritech Find Tara May at: www.aspiritech.org | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tara-may Subscribe, leave a review at https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/reviews/new/, and share this episode. Visit our website for more resources. Mentioned in this episode: The Human Score — https://thehumanscore.org Find out how human-centric your organization really is with our 40-question survey and live dashboard. Get clear insights and practical steps to strengthen culture, trust, and performance. Host Lori Adams-Brown is one of the consultants in the Human Score Consultant Collective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 mins
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