2022 Session Descriptions

Keynote Address - Centering Wellness In The Margins: Challenges and Opportunities
Presenter: Dr. Tammy Lewis Wilborn - Owner and Chief Clinical Officer of Wilborn Clinical Services, LLC, President and CEO of Dr. Tammy Lewis Wilborn, LLC

While there has been considerable discussion about the professional implications of experiences of marginalized groups with bias, stereotypes, and discrimination in the workplace, less attention has been given to the mental and physical health implications of these experiences. 

During this interactive and inspiring keynote mental health and wellness expert, author, and keynote speaker, Dr. Tammy Lewis Wilborn will provide practical strategies that not only help culturally-diverse employees be well, but flourish.   

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Cultural Dynamics in the Workplace™:  5 Key Factors for DEI Success
Presenter: Kelly Lockwood Primus - Chief Executive Officer at Leading NOW

The Center for Diversity & Inclusion, a research institute of Leading NOW, has re-engineered Cultural Dynamics for the Workplace. This ground-breaking research has identified the five (5) key factors necessary to deliver successfulDiversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives that produce measurable Business Outcomes.

In this session, Kelly Lockwood Primus, CEO of LEading NOW, will present this research, delve into each of the five key factors, and provide best practices of why & how to incorporate Cultural Dynamics into your organizations.

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How to Overcome Resistance to DEI
Presenter: Dima Ghawi - Leadership Consultant & Executive Coach

Through storytelling and personal narratives, Dima guides the attendees to address common workplace resistance to DEI). She deconstructs these conscious and unconscious biases and demonstrates how to address them in order to build a safe and inclusive workplace culture. Dima shares specific tips that equip the attendees with the tools needed to overcome the leadership team’s resistance to DEI initiatives, helping ensure that the positive ripple effect of DEI can expand across all their organization’s levels.

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Mental Health in the Workplace: When Toxic Behavior Causes Mental and Legal Problems
Presenter:  Michelle Craig, J.D. - Managing Partner at Transcendent Legal, LLC

More and more workplaces around the U.S. and around the world are dealing with issues that center around cultural competency, bullying, sensitivity, toxic work environments and work environment issues that may not fit squarely into a Title VII hostile environment investigation. These issues are having a significant impact on the mental health of employees. In fact, employees are leaving at alarming rates around these very issues. A 2019 SHRM article indicated that turnover because of toxic workplace cultures costed companies 223 billion dollars. This article was written before the social and political unrest of 2020, the pandemic, and the Great Resignation that we are currently experiencing.  Employers can no longer afford to ignore toxic employees in their workplaces. Our presentation will focus on the mental health issues this type of behavior creates and it will create a roadmap on addressing the following: 1) The mental health issues associated with this type of behavior 2) the language employees use when they are engaging in this type of behavior, 3) the language, and behaviors, such as micro-aggressions, dog whistles, etc., that employers should be aware of and what to do when they see it happening, 4) the legal obligations of employers as it relates to mental health and 5) when to call-in third-party assistance from those who can help change the culture of the organization and turnaround workplaces that are headed in the wrong direction. The goal is to help attendees identify ways to stop the behavior before the attendee organizations create mental health issues for their employees and become the latest casualties in the very public cultural corrections happening to several organizations around our country.

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Psychological Safety: The Holy Grail of DEI, Teamwork, and Success
Presenter: Victoria Person - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Consultant for OutSolve

The past two years, organizations have had to face multiple new challenges: a social justice revolution, the pandemic, and remote work, to name a few. Challenges like these have revealed both the strengths and the cracks in both our institutional and personal foundations. We know we need to do and be better, but we’re often afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing – or worse, we do nothing at all.

Research shows that the most successful teams are those in which employees can speak up, admit concerns, ask questions, and offer dissenting opinions without fear of negative consequences. That is psychological safety. This interactive session will help you assess your own team, recognize roadblocks, and identify ways to transform into a psychologically safe work environment. Attendees will learn to:

• Recognize and respond to microaggressions
• Incorporate microaffirmations into communication
• Evolve from being a bystander in the presence of inappropriate behavior to being an upstander
• Integrate behaviors that boost psychological safety

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.More Sessions Coming Soon!

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Thursday Night Immersive Networking Program

To Be Announced

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