Ep 1: From Homelessness to Hopefulness with Charisse Fontes

This season we focus on highlighting the different experiences around getting laid off. All of our guests will be sharing stories of how this often difficult circumstance turned out to be some sort of a blessing. In this episode, we are joined by Charisse Fontes, the Founder of CultureCircle and Humanity Power, where she works to create inclusive workplaces and professional environments that move past the -isms that still plague our society. Charisse has worked at multiple Silicon Valley startups as well as companies like PlayStation. We get the inside scoop on her winding journey and the transitions that characterized her upward trajectory. Before getting hired by PlayStation, Charisse was both homeless and pregnant, but through perseverance and some fortuitous circumstances, she found her next job and started on the path that led her to her companies today. The focus of our discussion is the moment she was laid off from PlayStation and how this led to her bouncing back even stronger, despite the initial shock. Charisse gives us insight into her reaction to these times and the values and the inspiration that kept her going. We also look at the specific steps she took in order to move forward, so listeners can expect to leave with both her story as well as some actionable steps they can apply themselves. Tune in hear it all!
 

Key Points From This Episode:

• The foundation of Charisse's story; looking for work while pregnant and homeless.
• Charisse's feelings around the time of getting laid off by PlayStation.
• Looking for work while staying in a shelter and struggling to get callbacks.
• Moving to transitional housing after finding work — a big moment and step up.
• Charisse's 'on-ramp moment' and setting out to find the right place for her and her family.
• The joy and surprise of the job offer that Charisse received from a startup.
• Situating the lay-off in a larger story of transition and the significance of the number 11.
• The impact that witnessing a good company culture had on Charisse's ideas moving forward.
• The founding of CultureCircle as a way to foster ideals of humanity and opportunity.
• Extending the work of CultureCircle through the Humanity Power project.
• The common motifs of Charisse's motivation — understanding purpose, speaking truth, and more!
• Charisse's understanding of success and its relation to her humanity.
• The pride that Charisse feels for her determination and how this has served her and others.

Tweetables:

“After that it all made sense. While I was still very hurt and sad from the lay-off piece of it, I also saw that there was more to the story.” — @CharisseFontes [0:21:40]

“The culture was so good that they saw through everything and just saw me as this human that could do an amazing job there.” — @CharisseFontes [0:23:12]
“You want to make sure that your margin for error on humanity is very, very low, and I help companies do that.” — @CharisseFontes [0:26:04]

“I believe that every day that I wake up and honor my humanity is a day of success.” —  @CharisseFontes [0:29:22]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Silicon Valley Bank

Arteen Arabshahi

Arteen Arabshahi on Twitter

Charisse Fontes on LinkedIn

CultureCircle

Humanity Power