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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – Lizette Arias – Speaking Out About Speaking Out

Welcome back to the Great Women in Compliance podcast. In today’s episode, Lisa talks with Lizette Arias, who went through this and is now thriving. Today, she is the Director of Ethics and Compliance at Conagra and was recognized as an Emerging Leader in this year’s Diversity MBA Top 100 Under 50.

Providing a safe environment for people to raise concerns is a priority for any Ethics & Compliance officer, but what happens when that person learns first-hand that the safe space does not exist?

Like many of us, she raised concerns about an individual’s expenses. However, her experience was one where she was stonewalled, told to stop investigating, and then suffered from retaliation. During all this, she stood up for what she believed was right, and the lessons she learned made her better understand what a whistleblower goes through. She talks about how she brings that insight and empathy into all her investigations.

Lizette hopes that her willingness to “speak out about speaking out” will inspire others to feel comfortable doing the same, and Lizette and Lisa (as well as Hemma, Sarah, and Ellen) all want to support anyone who has or is going through this and to connect you all.

The Great Women in Compliance Podcast is on the Compliance Podcast Network with other Compliance-related offerings. GWIC is also sponsored by Corporate Compliance Insights, where we have a page where you can hear every episode. If you enjoy this episode, please rate it and/or review it.

Corporate Compliance Insights is a much-appreciated sponsor and supporter of GWIC, including affiliate organization CCI Press, publishing the related book, “Sending the Elevator Back Down, What We’ve Learned from Great Women in Compliance” (CCI Press, 2020). If you enjoyed the book, the GWIC team would be very grateful if you would consider rating it on Goodreads and Amazon and leaving a short review.  Don’t forget to send the elevator back down by passing on your copy to someone who you think might enjoy reading it when you’re done, or if you can’t bear parting with your copy, consider it as a holiday or appreciation gift for someone in Compliance who deserves a treat.

If you enjoyed the book, the GWIC team would be very grateful if you would consider rating it on Goodreads and Amazon and leaving a short review.  Don’t forget to send the elevator back down by passing on your copy to someone who you think might enjoy reading it when you’re done, or if you can’t bear parting with your copy, consider it as a holiday or appreciation gift for someone in Compliance who deserves a treat.

You can subscribe to the Great Women in Compliance podcast on any podcast player by searching for it, and we welcome new subscribers to our podcast.

Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn here.