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Listen "Sarah & John Alaimo on Figuring Out how to Overcome Addiction, becoming Authors and Disability & Inclusion"
Episode Synopsis
Welcome to episode number 16 of the FITFO Podcast, where I have conversations with amazing dads, moms, and thought leaders of all different industries to help me figure out how to become the father I want to be for my young girls.
I'm pumped to have you all here for another amazing conversation and this is another first for me, having a husband and wife duo on the pod. These two are accomplished authors, high achievers in their respective industries, new parents and all around resilient individuals who have overcome alcoholism and drug addiction together.
Sarah Alaimo is a Career Happiness Coach specializing in serving women in recovery. Sarah is also an International best-selling author, Human Resources leader and Recovery Advocate. She is a Southern California native massively deprived of sunshine while living in the Pacific Northwest. She is a mom to baby son Jack and one-eyed black Pomeranian, Baron. Among her favorite things in life, she would list ice cream, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball, travel adventures and of course, John. While she would love to say that she has learned moderation since getting sober in 2015, the fact that she listed ice cream before her husband really says it all.
John has over twenty years of professional experience developing solutions that improve operational excellence across multiple industries. He is a connector of people and ideas and a passionate innovator invested in pioneering initiatives that contribute to meaningful change.
He is also a veteran of the US Navy, identifies with having both apparent and non-apparent disabilities, is neurodiverse, and is in
recovery from a history of mental illness all of which play a key part of who he is and the value he delivers. As a result, John has become a leader advocating for mental health and disability inclusion driving innovations across government, healthcare, and business to help create a culture shift with how employees are supported in the workplace.
John serves as the Vice President of Amazon’s People with Disabilities (AmazonPwD) Affinity Group and is the Founder of Amazon's Mental Health & Well-Being Affinity Group. He holds a BS in Nuclear Engineering Technology and Graduate Certificate in Systems Design and Management from MIT.
Time stamps:
Intros: Sarah 3:30 and John @ 5:45
8:20 John’s new book - and talking unconscious biases and mental health as component of DEI
12:15 how they are approaching inclusion in the household
17:50 Book writing, launches and group publishing
21 how the writing process helped the recovery
24:42 Mental health and addressing that in public
33 how they approached coming out and admitting they had a problem
34:19 how they would recommend someone talking to a loved one battling addiction
37:42 how can companies approach hiring, and engaging with their employees on these topics?
38:53 business toolkits for companies to use with recovery friendly workplace, mental health, disability inclusion and more
42 DUI on background and how to overcome that when looking for a new job
Referenced in the Show:
Sarah Alaimo.com
IG: Sarahdianealaimo
LinkedIn:
John - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-alaimo-shrm-cp-46097024
Sarah - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdalaimo
📚 The Diversity in Humanity: A New Vision for Creating Harmony in the Workplace https://a.co/d/7zj3acz
📚 Pearls and Probation: Adventures of an Alcoholic Good Girl https://a.co/d/1CAVw1J
📚 The X-Factor: The Spiritual Secrets Behind Successful Executives & Entrepreneurs https://a.co/d/altIVx5
Book writing course: Soul excellence publishing - https://soulexcellence.com/
ToolKits:
Hazelden Betty Ford - Addiction and recovery: https://hope.hazeldenbettyford.org
Disability In: https://disabilityin.org
Business Disability forum: https://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk
I'm pumped to have you all here for another amazing conversation and this is another first for me, having a husband and wife duo on the pod. These two are accomplished authors, high achievers in their respective industries, new parents and all around resilient individuals who have overcome alcoholism and drug addiction together.
Sarah Alaimo is a Career Happiness Coach specializing in serving women in recovery. Sarah is also an International best-selling author, Human Resources leader and Recovery Advocate. She is a Southern California native massively deprived of sunshine while living in the Pacific Northwest. She is a mom to baby son Jack and one-eyed black Pomeranian, Baron. Among her favorite things in life, she would list ice cream, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball, travel adventures and of course, John. While she would love to say that she has learned moderation since getting sober in 2015, the fact that she listed ice cream before her husband really says it all.
John has over twenty years of professional experience developing solutions that improve operational excellence across multiple industries. He is a connector of people and ideas and a passionate innovator invested in pioneering initiatives that contribute to meaningful change.
He is also a veteran of the US Navy, identifies with having both apparent and non-apparent disabilities, is neurodiverse, and is in
recovery from a history of mental illness all of which play a key part of who he is and the value he delivers. As a result, John has become a leader advocating for mental health and disability inclusion driving innovations across government, healthcare, and business to help create a culture shift with how employees are supported in the workplace.
John serves as the Vice President of Amazon’s People with Disabilities (AmazonPwD) Affinity Group and is the Founder of Amazon's Mental Health & Well-Being Affinity Group. He holds a BS in Nuclear Engineering Technology and Graduate Certificate in Systems Design and Management from MIT.
Time stamps:
Intros: Sarah 3:30 and John @ 5:45
8:20 John’s new book - and talking unconscious biases and mental health as component of DEI
12:15 how they are approaching inclusion in the household
17:50 Book writing, launches and group publishing
21 how the writing process helped the recovery
24:42 Mental health and addressing that in public
33 how they approached coming out and admitting they had a problem
34:19 how they would recommend someone talking to a loved one battling addiction
37:42 how can companies approach hiring, and engaging with their employees on these topics?
38:53 business toolkits for companies to use with recovery friendly workplace, mental health, disability inclusion and more
42 DUI on background and how to overcome that when looking for a new job
Referenced in the Show:
Sarah Alaimo.com
IG: Sarahdianealaimo
LinkedIn:
John - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-alaimo-shrm-cp-46097024
Sarah - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdalaimo
📚 The Diversity in Humanity: A New Vision for Creating Harmony in the Workplace https://a.co/d/7zj3acz
📚 Pearls and Probation: Adventures of an Alcoholic Good Girl https://a.co/d/1CAVw1J
📚 The X-Factor: The Spiritual Secrets Behind Successful Executives & Entrepreneurs https://a.co/d/altIVx5
Book writing course: Soul excellence publishing - https://soulexcellence.com/
ToolKits:
Hazelden Betty Ford - Addiction and recovery: https://hope.hazeldenbettyford.org
Disability In: https://disabilityin.org
Business Disability forum: https://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk
In God we trust