Talent walks
Your best people quietly leave for competitors with cultures that actually include them.
LGBTQ+ workplace training · speaking · consulting
Practice allyship. Transform culture.
Award-winning LGBTQ+ training and consulting for HR, DEI, and ERG leaders — turning good intentions into confident teams and measurable culture change.
- Confident leaders
- Higher retention
- Measurable inclusion
20+years of LGBTQ+ training & organizing
MSWUniversity of Southern California
DEI certificate, University of South Florida
DEI certificate, University of South Florida
1000sof youth & adults trained globally
4×nominated, award-winning podcast host
Sound familiar?
Good intentions aren't protecting your people — or your organization.
Legal exposure
Uninformed HR decisions around identity and inclusion create real, avoidable legal risk.
Morale drains
LGBTQ+ employees and their allied colleagues disengage when support stays theoretical.
Managers freeze
Leaders avoid important conversations because they're terrified of saying and doing the wrong thing.
Performative policies
The handbook says the right things, but people are still getting hurt because they don't follow The Trust Stack.
Missed talent
Top diverse candidates research your culture before applying — and choose elsewhere.
Every quarter this waits, it costs you people, trust, and momentum. It doesn't have to.
How I help
Three paths to a culture people don't want to leave.
Reduce legal risk & HR incidents
Interactive, scenario-based workshops built on real workplace situations — so your team practices before it counts.
- Workshops from 1 to 8 hours, in-person or remote
- Q&A — every question welcome
- Post-training assessment tools
Attract & retain top diverse talent
Strategic policy assessments and leadership coaching that move inclusion from the handbook into daily practice.
- Comprehensive policy review & recommendations
- Leadership coaching and strategy sessions
- Website inclusivity reviews
Build confident allied champions
Resources, creative programs, and ongoing support that turn allies-in-spirit into allies-in-practice.
- ERG development and support
- Customized resource guides and toolkits
- Manager-specific coaching sessions
Programs & formats
The plan
Three steps. Zero guesswork.
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1
Book your free strategy call
30 minutes, no pitch. We talk about where your culture is and where you need it to be.
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2
Get your custom program
A proposal designed for your people, your industry, and your starting point — never an off-the-shelf module.
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3
Watch your culture transform
Confident leaders, engaged employees, and inclusion you can actually measure.
Your guide
Hi, I'm Charlie Ocean and my pronouns are they/them.
I've spent 20+ years helping organizations get allyship out of the mission statement and into the room — across social work, tech, and LGBTQ+ community organizing. I hold an MSW from the University of Southern California, a DEI certificate from the University of South Florida, and I host Allyship is a Verb, an award-winning, four-time-nominated podcast.
I'm proudly ADHD, autistic, trans, and nonbinary — so the perspective I bring is both professional and lived. In 2009 I was honored as LA Pride's second-ever Outstanding Youth Leadership recipient.
My sessions are a fun, safer space to learn: humor, pop culture, and personal storytelling balanced with data. Questions are encouraged. Mistakes are normalized. That's how real change sticks.
Based in Denver, CO ·
Available nationwide, in person or remote
Learn with me
Upcoming events.
Jun18
Neuroqueer: Supporting Our LGBTQ+ and Neurodivergent Youth
The overlap between LGBTQ+ identity and neurodivergence. Pay what you can, from $10.
Aug20
Allyship Is a Verb Conference
A dedicated space for the people doing inclusion work inside organizations. Real scenarios, no hypotheticals. Pay what you can, from $47.
Questions
Asked & answered.
What if employees resist LGBTQ+ training?
Resistance is normal — and planned for. Sessions are built as safer spaces where every question is welcome, mistakes are normalized, and nobody gets shamed. Anonymous Q&A (where possible) means even skeptics get their real questions answered.
How is this different from online compliance modules?
Modules get clicked through; this gets practiced. Workshops are interactive and scenario-based, built on real workplace situations your team will actually face — with coaching, toolkits, and tools to make it stick.
We're just beginning our inclusion journey. Is this for us?
Absolutely. Every program is custom-built for your starting point — from foundational sessions for teams new to the topic, through advanced work for organizations ready to go deeper.
Do you work with large enterprises?
Yes — experience spans Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, mental health practices, and small businesses. Format and depth scale to fit, from a single keynote to a multi-month consulting engagement.
What does it cost?
Every engagement gets a custom proposal after a free needs assessment — so you only pay for what your organization actually needs. The strategy call is free and there's no obligation.
Your culture change starts with one call.
Free 30 minutes. No pitch deck. A custom plan for your organization.
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