Building an Inclusive & Values-Driven Brand with Crystal Whiteaker
This episode is sponsored by Bloomerang, a solution that helps nonprofits like ShowerUp, which provides mobile showers and personal care for those experiencing homelessness. Thanks to Bloomerang, ShowerUp increased their volunteer signups by 60% and first-time donors by making it easy to give right on their site. ShowerUp's Executive Director, Paul Schmit, said, "Bloomerang is an ideal marriage of volunteer and donor management. The deeper we get into it, the more we love it." If you want to see how ShowerUp easily manages its volunteers and donors with Bloomerang, go to bloomerang.com/bearing-witness.
In This Episode
Crystal Whitaker, an inclusive branding and leadership development consultant, shares her insights on creating authentic, values-driven brands that foster a sense of belonging.
Crystal delves into the fine line between intentional inclusion and performative actions, stressing the need for consistent, year-round efforts that go beyond tokenism. She provides practical strategies for brave leadership, such as disrupting the status quo, practicing attunement, and incorporating trauma-informed principles into business operations.
Weaving insights from her book Brave Leadership is a Choice, Crystal invites listeners to embark on a journey of self-reflection, aligning their values with their brand messaging and leadership approach.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone striving to create an inclusive, human-focused, and values-aligned brand that celebrates diversity and fosters a true sense of belonging.
About Chrystal Whiteaker
Crystal Whiteaker is an Inclusive Branding and Leadership Development Consultant, and author of Brave Leadership is a Choice: An Inclusive Guide to Creating Belonging. Crystal helps mission-driven brands and leaders create inclusive, human-focused, values-aligned environments. Crystal brings 20 years of practical, creative, relational, process-driven experience across multiple industries. She is a self-described "corporate-trained, creative hippie” and has been honored as the 2024 Empowerment Leader of the Year by BRA Network.
Connect with Chrystal Whiteaker
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Celebrate Consciously Days of Recognition
Connect with Maria
Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email
Transcripts
Maria:
Crystal Whitaker is an inclusive branding and leadership development consultant and the author of Brave Leadership is a Choice, an inclusive guide to creating belonging. She helps mission-driven brands and leaders create inclusive, human-focused, values-aligned environments. Today, we're talking about what it means to build an authentic and values-based inclusive brand.
Crystal, I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to the show.
Crystal:
Thank you. I appreciate the invitation.
Maria:
We’re going to talk about inclusive branding and messaging today, which is such an important part of outward trauma-informed storytelling and marketing. I’d love to hear a little bit about your journey. What brought you to the work of inclusive branding and messaging?
Crystal:
I didn’t plan this, but when I look back, it makes sense. I originally started my entrepreneurial journey as a photographer and dove headfirst into the wedding industry. If you're familiar with that industry, historically it’s been very whitewashed and very straight. I didn’t see a lot of representation in mainstream wedding publications, and that stood out to me.
I built a very inclusive wedding photography business and expanded into brand photography. Around that time, folks in the wedding and event space started asking how I had built such an inclusive business. So I started mentoring and coaching, and it became a ripple effect. I was guiding people on how to build genuinely inclusive businesses. That expanded to creatives, business owners, coaches, and consultants.
Now I go into organizations, speak at summits, and help people understand how to build not just inclusive brands, but also become inclusive leaders.
Maria:
I get this question often when I’m talking about ethical storytelling and marketing: how can we be inclusive without tokenizing? How can we do this in a way that feels authentic and not performative?
Crystal:
Yes, I get this question a lot. You have to do the work from the inside out. In 2020, for example, people rushed to include Black people in marketing campaigns or to release public statements—but if you’re jumping straight to that without doing internal work, it’s inherently performative.
I work with folks from a core values perspective. If you can communicate your commitment to inclusion through your core values and integrate it into every aspect of your business, it won’t be performative. So, when you're creating campaigns that include people of diverse identities, it's coming from a genuine place.
It's also about consistency. Don’t just show support for the Black community during Black History Month—support them year-round. Same with Pride or Disability Pride Month.
Maria:
Right. We need to celebrate these observances without limiting inclusiveness to those months.
Crystal:
Exactly. I actually partnered with a colleague, Cody Hayes from Marketing Mission, and we created a resource called Celebrate Consciously. It includes not just graphics for holidays and days of recognition, but also a guide that explains their significance. We also recorded a workshop that people can access as part of the bundle.
Maria:
That’s beautiful. We can be intentional without being performative. I love how you focus on core values—sometimes we need to step back and ask, “Why did we put this panel together with no diversity?” And then take steps to prioritize that as a value.
Crystal:
Yes. And even if you recognize that and decide to diversify the panel, you still need to ask: why are we doing this? Is it because we’re afraid of being perceived as non-inclusive? Or because we truly care about hearing diverse perspectives?
Maria:
And uplifting those voices.
Crystal:
Yes.
Maria:
What I’m really hearing is that inclusion needs to be consistent. It’s not a one-time thing and it’s not limited to Black History Month. It needs to be part of how we do business, storytelling, and marketing.
Crystal:
Absolutely. It’s a continuous practice. I had a coaching client recently who said, “I’m realizing inclusion is an adjective.” And I said, “Yes. Yes, it is.”
Maria:
I love that. You wrote Brave Leadership is a Choice, an inclusive guide to creating belonging. How can storytellers be brave leaders in this context?
Crystal:
That’s a juicy question. I think the first step in brave leadership is getting grounded in yourself—what you value, how you want to show up, how you want people to feel when they engage with you.
You’ll likely be one of the first to disrupt what’s considered “normal.” Inclusion and belonging work disrupts long-standing systems and practices—whether it's how an organization is structured or something as simple as updating a contact form to include pronouns or accessibility needs.
These changes may seem small, but they disrupt the status quo. If you accept that and still choose to move forward, you’ll inspire others around you.
Maria:
Yes. I’m seeing a lot of marketers, storytellers, and business consultants doing things differently. You and I both, at different times, took Katie Kurtz’s Cultivate program on trauma-informed space holding. That might not seem related to inclusive branding and leadership—but it is. What prompted you to become trauma-informed as a business owner, and how do trauma-informed principles show up in your work?
Crystal:
Trauma-informed care is inherent in inclusion work. Some people haven’t adopted that perspective, but I don’t believe you can be inclusive without being trauma-informed.
I loved Katie’s program. I already had a lot of trauma-informed practices because of my lived experience and time in therapy. The training affirmed a lot of that for me and also gave me more tools.
I wanted to ensure that the spaces I create for clients are grounded in trust. The work I do isn’t effective if people don’t feel safe. I’ve had negative experiences with past employers and even in coaching containers that felt off—I never want someone to feel that way in my space.
Maria:
Yes.
Crystal:
I want people to feel safe enough to do the work. I want us to co-create spaces that feel supportive, not like something they’re dragging themselves through out of obligation.
Maria:
Are there any practical, trauma-informed tactics that you use in your work or in the spaces you hold?
Crystal:
Yes. I always start sessions with a check-in to see where people are at emotionally. If I’m feeling high energy and they’re low, I need to attune.
Attunement is something I practice all the time. Even in Zoom calls, I notice body tension or a deep sigh. I’ll pause and ask what we need to do in that moment.
I also give people space—especially if they’re sharing something vulnerable. I don’t rush them.
Pricing is another big one. I’ve wrestled with how to approach it. It drives me bananas when I can’t find pricing info on a website. People have different relationships with money. I try to be transparent and never push.
I loathe the idea of “overcoming objections.” If someone says, “This looks great, but I’m not sure I can afford it,” I won’t say, “Just put it on a credit card!” That’s not my business to promise.
Maria:
As a trauma-informed storyteller, I’ve found it affects every part of my business. I’ve rewritten my website so many times. There are so many ways we can be more transparent and respectful.
Like you said, people assume that if they get you on the phone before telling you the price, you’ll be more likely to say yes. But that may actually trigger a trauma response—not a smart sales tactic.
Crystal:
Yes. And as a person selling something, I think it’s important to ask more questions and listen more than you speak or pitch.
Maria:
For folks who want to learn more about your book or how to work with you, tell us what you’re up to and how people can connect.
Crystal:
Everything’s linked on my website: crystallily.co. People can work with me one-on-one through aligned coaching, which is based on my Aligned Values Framework (outlined in the book).
I’ve also reopened VIP Days because people were asking for them. If you run a group program, I also offer guest coaching, speaking, and workshops.
And for folks who want to go all the way, I also offer brand photography to support the visual storytelling aspect.
Maria:
Crystal, thank you so much for holding space with me today and sharing your wisdom and guidance with our listeners.
Crystal:
Thank you so much for the invitation.
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