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Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world without? Remember, everyone not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo and share storeys that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show.

So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.

And today is episode 194 with the title Love In Motion. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Denise Cesare. Denise is a published author, a keynote speaker and social emotional learning specialist who champions disability rights, mental health and body positivity. She brings her lived experience of spasmodic dysphonia and inclusive fashion to T suite. T suit. Actually, we got that wrong in the green room as well. T suit. There's no E on the end to inspire change.

And when I asked Denise to describe her superpower, she said it is turning compassion into practical, inclusive actions across classrooms, communities and fashion. Hello, Denise. Welcome to the show.

I am so happy to be here on Inclusion Bites and I am so happy to be in this moment with you today.

Isn't that funny how I. In the green room, I was reading through those show notes and I said, t sweet. He said, oh, well, the second person to say t sweet is actually T suit. And I did the same mistake when I was reading it out. It's something how my brain just couldn't process that, could it?

Because I'm so sweet.

So sweet. You are. Yes, you are. To a T. Sweet. To a T. And also your name, because it's Caesar, but you were saying in the green room that it's Italian root, so it was probably historically Cesare.

Exactly. Cesare. Is the pronunciation Italian?

Yeah. So I was musing whether it was actually Julius Caesar. It was actually Julius Cesare, and probably Julius isn't even pronounced correctly. So hail Caesare.

Right? Yes, Hail Caesare. Yeah, exactly. But Caesar, you know, even on a menu in a restaurant, if you say.

Or Caesare salad, it's a fire.

It is. But people say Caesar, right? Because that's what the brain knows in the American version of it. If it's a real Italian restaurant, they'll spell it the way my name is spelled. The way that it's named, yeah.

So your name is spelled C E S A R E. So that's the Italian spelling.

Exactly.

So how did you get the name?

So, you know, you get married, right? You take a name and my husband, his identity. Right. That's his name, his father. You know, I. I gather, you know, you come to America from Italy and then they Americanize it so it's Caesar. So when I met him, as being his speech pathologist, I'm like, oh, no, Cesare. But, you know, you have to keep. He grew up like that.

That's what people call him. And I have a son. I can't change the name. It's like a brand. You can't change it. You can't do that.

It's a very old Italian name, isn't it? So, yeah, be proud of it, I guess.

And Caesar. Hail Caesar. Maybe he. He changed it, right? He changed it. Maybe, maybe, maybe. We don't know. We don't know.

He may have gone to America for his holidays and while he was there, he changed his name and came back and planted Europe.

Exactly. We don't know. But maybe we should investigate that way. I don't know. We have something to search about.

Yeah. Thousand years before Columbus, we had Julius Caesar. Popped over, made a few pizzas, left some salad.

But now I'm getting hungry, like, oh, yeah, now we have to go. Now we go. Have to go meet for a meal. Excited.

So your accent sounds like New York, but you're not living in New York anymore.