We recently connected with Giselle Mota and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Giselle, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

As a futurist and thought leader in the future of work, I have often spoken about artificial intelligence, data analytics, and emerging technology as it relates to work, the workforce, and workplace. Whether on stages such as TEDx, podcasts, articles on Forbes and Yahoo, etc. I’ve always spoken about all of those areas with the underlying theme of the importance of inclusion, specifically highlighting disability inclusion. Being an Afrolatina woman of color who is neurodivergent, the past couple of years shed light on global disparities and discrimination which made me stop and think about ways in which I could use my experience to influence an inclusive future of work. As I saw the next iteration of the internet, Web3, and the advancement of immersive experiences via metaverse, I immediately recognized the need to ensure this is a space that doesn’t exasperate the lack of inclusion, representation, and accessibility there is for people with disabilities. So I founded Versd as a way to help organizations with inclusive ventures and the NFTY Collective. NFTY Collective is a creative project set out to ensure Web3 and metaverse is inclusive of people with seen and unseen disabilities. It uses artificial intelligence, 2D and 3D design, and spatial computing to represent disability inclusion voices and leaders who are global, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and have diverse disabilities themselves. We are on a mission make people like us unhidden in these spaces, and thus, the art and digital identity collection is called The Unhidden Collection.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a futurist, strategist and dynamic presenter with inclusion at the core of all I do. I bring simplicity, humanity and innovative perspective to the sometimes abstract and complex world of the future of work. These areas range from Web3 technologies including artificial intelligence, spatial computing, automation, blockchain, people analytics to topics such as diversity equity and inclusion and many other relevant trends of the ever-evolving world of work. You can find me expressing those passions across various roles, including being the Founder of Versd, Creator of NFTY Collective, Visiting Instructor at UFM, and Principal Consultant on the Future of Work at ADP.

Throughout my career I’ve been a keynote and speaker alongside transformation leaders from Google, Microsoft, IBM, Salesforce, Amazon and LinkedIn and many other organizations. I’ve had the pleasure of presenting at SHRM, Singularity University, Evanta, MIT, Perdue University, Pluralsight Live, among several other global HR, future of work, and diversity conferences and events. I’ve also been featured in Forbes, Cheddar TV, Yahoo, McLean Co. Future of Work Report, ERE, Chief Learning Officer Magazine, TED Talks, various podcasts and publications, and named as a top voice of the future of work in Onalytica’s “Who’s Who in the Future of Work”.

Of all of that, I’m most proud of being able to help pave paths and forge new ones related to how we think about an inclusive future of work for all people. Its important to me that the pace of technological advancement does not continue to leave behind those who are often underrepresented or marginalized. The NFTY Collective project is a chance for me to merge my professional experience, love for technology, passion for inclusion, and creativity all into: making Web3 and metaverse inclusive of people with seen and unseen disabilities.

How’d you meet your business partner?

NFTY Collective is a personal passion project that stems from my work with Versd. There’s an interesting detail to the NFTY Collective; you’ll notice our “love for ice cream” theme in which we describe the project in terms of “serving up” disability inclusion and the like. This theme is a nod to personal stories and inside jokes with the advisors and strategists I work with through Versd, as each one points back to ice cream in one way or another. For example, Trish Uhl and I were both in the space of the future of work and applying artificial intelligence and data analytics for good. We were both invited to present at a tech conference called Pluralsight, where we presented amongst Ellen Degeneres and Trevor Noah that year, and decided to explore the city one evening. On our walk we came up to an ice cream business. What we didn’t know is that the store was not officially open yet, and the staff who were inside were training, sampling flavors, and getting ready for their grand opening. Unbeknownst to me, I proceeded to make our ice cream order and the owner was so kind that he gave Trish and I a first peek into their services, and we became their unofficial first customers and had a blast while we were at it. Our random and hilarious street cone experience is an inside joke we’ve had among us. I coincidentally have similar funny stories related to ice cream with the others as well, and so I knew that whatever creative project I’d pursue would have to have a nod to ice cream in some way. NFTY Collective is about disability inclusion intersecting emerging technologies, and while a passion project, its also full of creativity, community, and fun along the way. Wherever I can connect themes of ice cream, such as partnering with Howdy Ice Cream at events to give back to them as an employer of people with disabilities and special needs, I do.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

We all experienced a global pandemic and cases of racial discrimination over the past few years. So much that we could not turn a blind eye to the socioeconomic disparities exasperated by the pandemic, as well as the proliferation of social and racial injustices. Between such heavy realities, I had both a personal moment of introspection as an AfroLatina woman of color with an unseen disability, as well as one who is working as a voice for how organizations think about the future of work. I simply asked myself how I was best using my time and influence in business, career, and in life. I knew that I had to find a way to merge these areas together because my passion for an inclusive future of work where all people can have a positive experience, mattered to me. Not just my nerdy love for emerging technologies that help shape the future of work, but also the people that are affected by it all. Versd and the NFTY Collective project were birthed from a personal pivoting of deciding to put my energies into what spoke to my heart and mind. Through both, I’m helping to ensure that ventures that are based on emerging technologies are inclusive, and that specifically Web3 and metaverse spaces are inclusive of people with disabilities, such as myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.imnfty.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/nfty.official
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gmota
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/nfty_official
• Other: www.versd.io

Image Credits
For the Cheddar images, those are from their news segment: https://cheddar.com/media/the-evolution-of-workplace-culture