2023 DEI Webinars

Multi-Generational Teamwork

Speaker: Wynesia Dotson, MBA, CDP®

November 29, 2023

Understanding the needs and norms of different generations and ways to foster effective teamwork.

Strategically Squishy

Speaker: Jasmine ("Jazzy") Bivar-Tobie, CDP®, PHR, MA

November 22, 2023

Positive people practices in leadership development, organizational change, and its impact on the DEI/Culture.

Inclusive Practices in the Workplace for Military, Veterans and Military Spouses

Speaker: Julia Mendez Achée, CDP®

November 8, 2023

According to the latest American Community Survey, veterans comprise 7.1% of the population in the United States. For veterans, military members, and military spouses, there are unique barriers to obtaining and retaining employment as well as challenges that oftentimes employers do not understand. 

During this presentation, we will review:

• Compliance requirements for federal contractors with regards to protected veterans.
• Business case for hiring veterans and military members.
• Tips on attracting veterans and military spouses.
• Best practices for building an inclusive work environment for veterans, persons serving in the national guard and reserves, and military spouses.

The Importance of DEI in the Learning Space

Speaker: Charlotte Morris, HCS, CDP®

October 16, 2023

Learning and DEI should go hand in hand. This webinar will provide an overview of how DEI professionals can promote true change in their organizations with specific learning strategies and methods.

Self-Care Effective and Best Practices for DEI Practitioners, Individuals and Collectively

Speakers: Shirley L. Aldana, MSW, CDP® and Robin Johnson

September 27, 2023

Our presentation is based on our social work and racial equity research and practice. Robin will focus of the Black/African American experience and individual and collective wellness care plan. My perspective will be on Latinx/Immigrant/brown folx experiences, wellness plan, and support for Black colleagues.

A few of the books are: Resmaa Menakem’s book, ‘My Grandmother’s Hands’: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Also ‘Then They Came for Mine’ by Tracey M Lewis-Giggetts, she writes:

"For Black people, I think by trying to hold it all — our personal pain, the hurt of our community, and traumas of the world — something is happening to us, both individually and collectively. We are breaking down.”

Embrace Design Thinking to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices

Speaker: Irma Zoepf

September 13, 2023

Forward Motion! Steer your company towards a path where the DEI work is critical to success and growth. Let’s talk about the Browning and Aging of our population as drivers for the DEI work along with recent events in our nation. Together we will look at a few steps we can take to help steer our work environments to be more diverse and equitable with teams looking at an inclusive future.

DEI Messaging for Executives 

Speakers: Leah Smiley, CDE® and D. I. Lee, PhD, CDE®

September 22, 2023

DEI is essential for organizations that want to be successful. However, many executives struggle with how to effectively communicate their commitment to DEI to their employees and stakeholders.

Leah Smiley, CDE® and D. I. Lee, PhD, CDE® will provide executives with the tools they need to create a shared understanding of DEI within their organizations. They will discuss the importance of managing diversity as an ongoing process, the value of consistent language for trust and credibility, and how to ensure unbiased assessments.

This webinar was open to the public.

Diversity in Healthcare Leadership – Why It’s So Important Now!

Speaker: Pamela McAfee

August 30, 2023

A presentation that identifies the challenges to being a woman of color in healthcare leadership that can help organizational leaders determine why there is not enough diversity at their leadership levels. Once challenges are identified, opportunities will be discussed to create diverse biographical and neuro-genetic leadership groups that can create successful initiatives within the organization. Being Different Does Matter and It Shows!

The Language of Diversity

Speaker: Greg DeShields, CHE, CDE®

August 9, 2023 

The Language of Diversity is evolving and requires awareness, understanding, and skill, much like other areas of diversity competencies. Language provides a means for communication among and between individuals and groups.

Learn to Leverage the Strength Found in Each Generation

Speaker: Allison Newcomer

August 4, 2023

We tend to think our goal is to simply tolerate people from other generations: They don’t dress like us, they don’t talk like us, they don’t work like us, we have nothing in common except the idea they will never appreciate me.

The goal of this conversation is to understand the different generations on your team. Using material from Tim Elmore’s A New Kind of Diversity, we will explore how different generations may approach work, authority, and careers. We will discuss practical strategies to not only bridge the generational gap but leverage the value each generation brings to the team.

Psychological Safety: The Key to Unlocking the Potential of Our Multi-Generational Workforce

Speaker: Melissa Castro, CDP®

July 26, 2023

Discover the power of psychological safety in leadership and how it can create a supportive environment for a multi-generational workforce. In this presentation, Melissa Castro will share her expertise on the impact of psychological safety on workplace dynamics and provide practical strategies for fostering a culture of psychological safety in teams. Melissa will also explore how different generations experience psychological safety and provide insights into how leaders can support and engage employees of all ages and backgrounds.

Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of the following:

1. What is psychological safety and its importance in creating a positive workplace culture?
2. Practical strategies for cultivating psychological safety in teams and organizations.
3. How to support and engage employees of all generations through fostering psychological safety.

Decoding DEI Terms and Acronyms

Speaker: Theresa Brown Fletcher, CDE®

July 12, 2023

Have you ever attended a presentation or webinar and the speaker started throwing around words and phrases like cisgender, BIPOC, DIB, and nonbinary and you didn’t understand their meaning? You are not alone. Increasingly, DEI language is evolving and creating a generational divide in how we talk about identities in the workforce. In this webinar, we will discuss the ABCs of DEI and learn to use the terms and acronyms fluidly to bridge that generational divide.

In this workshop for DEI Trainers and Practitioners Dr. Cobb will explore why lifesaving and life impacting technologies have been and for the foreseeable future are racist -- through a review of the historic and current systemic and systematic bias in healthcare, education, media, and psychological fields.

Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Speaker: Dr. Mary McConner, CDE®

June 28, 2023

Dr. Mary "MJ" McConner, CDE® will provide an overview of the different types of neurodiversity, highlight the strengths and challenges, and review different ways to establish a neuro-inclusive work environment for neurodiverse professionals.

This webinar was open to the public.

The Power of Inclusive Storytelling

Speaker: Dr. Mary McConner, CDE®

June 14, 2023

Stories allow us to understand real and honest personal experiences beyond our own. When we highlight peoples’ stories, it is important to assess if some voices and perspectives are disproportionately overrepresented and if some voices and perspectives are disproportionately underrepresented. In this webinar, Dr. Mary J. McConner – founder and principal of Inclusive Excellence Consulting, LLC – will provide an overview of different ways we can showcase authentic diversity through strategic amplification and inclusive storytelling.

Cultivate Courage: How Courageous Conversations Build Cultures People Celebrate, Not Tolerate

Speaker: Antoinetta Mosley, CDP®

May 31, 2023

Think your culture is perfect and your employees are all happy and content? It might be time to take a second look. Gathered over the past six years of doing cultural audits, Antoinetta has seen just how different leadership’s understanding of their organizational culture can be from the reality of employees’ experiences. By facilitating courageous conversations with employees and their leadership, Antoinetta led many of those same organizations forward. Sharing her valuable findings from that work in this talk, Antoinetta is encouraging more organizations to create equitable and inclusive spaces for these courageous conversations with the goal of moving them from courageous to commonplace.

Audiences will learn: 

• Why courage is an action and choice that must be cultivated and celebrated and how teams, leaders and organizations can embrace it.
• How courageous conversations can move your organization forward by hearing success stories.
• Why we need equitable and inclusive spaces to have effective, courageous conversations.

Mental Health: Building Awareness and Belonging in the Workplace

Speaker: Julia Mendez Achée, CDP®

May 24, 2023

In the United States, Mental Health Awareness Month is celebrated in May to raise awareness of mental health in the lives of millions of Americans. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, the estimated number of adults living with any mental illness is estimated at 52.9 million. During this presentation, attendees will

• Learn the top diagnosed mental illnesses and their symptoms.
• Tips for making the workplace a safe place where all feel welcome.
• Hear from the presenter’s first-hand experience methods that can assist individuals.

Shifting Toxic Workplace Cultures: Insights and Best Practices 

Speaker: Dr. Deborah Hazzard, DBA, MBA, CDE®

May 10, 2023

Is a toxic workplace culture negatively affecting productivity, employee engagement and your organization’s ability to thrive? Are you concerned about employee well-being, low morale, or inability to attract or retain quality talent? Is your organization struggling to achieve its diversity and inclusion (D&I) goals, or have you failed to set any goals relative to D&I for fear of disagreement or backlash from some employees?

How to Create Equitable Systems that Align with Your DEI Strategic Plan

Speaker: Wilton Waverly

April 26, 2023

How can you create equitable systems that align with your DEI Strategic Plan while avoiding the common mistakes many organizations make? You’ll leave with a step-by-step playbook to take you from plan to process to equity.

DEI Explained: What Leadership Is Not Being Told 

Speakers: Leah Smiley, CDE® and D. I. Lee, PhD, CDE®

April 21, 2023

Join Leah Smiley, CDE, and Dr. Delmar Lee, CDE, will discuss DEI work from the lens of executive leaders and highlight four 4 important points in respect to achieving sustainable, bottom-line outcomes. We will address the challenges of operating in this complex and volatile business environment, as well as explore opportunities to change the game.

This webinar was open to the public.

State of Workplace Inclusion in SMEs and How to Improve It 

Speakers: Maritza Guerra, CDE® and Sonya Sepahban

April 12, 2023

Sonya Sepahban will discuss the early insights on the state of workplace inclusion in small and medium organizations based on insights from the first ever workplace inclusion study focused on organizations with less than 2,500 employees which represent over 99% of all employers in the United States. This will be followed by a step-by-step proven process, success factors and best practices. Topics will include:

• Challenges small and medium organizations face today.
• Early insights from study of workplace inclusion in small and medium organizations.
• Proven process, success factors and best practices.

Mitigating the Impact of Microaggressions in the Workplace 

Speaker: Dr. Maria Green

March 29, 2023

Provide an overview of the types of microaggressions that occur in the workplace.

Share when microaggressions occur in the employee lifecycle.

Increase awareness of the organizational impact of microaggressions.

Present evidence-based strategies that leaders can implement to mitigate microaggressions and support employees who experience microaggressions.

Class Diversity in the Workplace 

Speaker: Bernice Maldonado

March 22, 2023

The importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace has been well-established, but social class has been left out as a diversity dimension. Join us for a deep dive into this critical DEI opportunity. We'll cover the impacts of social class origin at work, why organizations should address class diversity, and how to partner to break the class ceiling.

This session is based on research co-led by Bernice Maldonado and featured in Harvard Business Review (HBR), How Does Your Company Support “First-Generation Professionals?”. Through her research, Bernice aims to increase awareness of the experience of First-Gen Professionals or white-collar professionals who come from working-class backgrounds.

Implicit Bias: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know 

Speakers: Sheri Bender, CDP®

March 8, 2023



Everyone has biases, whether we choose to acknowledge them or not. Our brains are naturally trained to establish patterns to improve the way in which we make decisions. Most of the time, these unconscious biases are harmless, and a bias might even be positive. However, they’re not always accurate and can have negative consequences if we don't pay attention.

Once a bias has surfaced, you have choices with how you choose to handle that information. As a leader, you need to know what you can do on both a managerial and individual level to improve the equity and objectivity of your decision making. If left unchecked, unconscious biases have a compounding effect over time. In this session, we take a unique approach to exploring our own biases and discuss ways that each of us can make an impact in our interactions (if...we choose to).

Gender Bias and Microaggressions at Work

Speakers: Tiffany Sturdivant and Leesa Hill

March 3, 2023

Understanding gender bias and microaggressions, and how to respond to transgressions.

Tame Your Tongue and Transform Your Organization: How to Close the Employee Inclusion Gap

Speaker: Dr. Linda Bing Wiley

February 22, 2023

Organizations around the world are looking for ways to increase feelings of inclusion and belonging among their employees. Most look at policies and practices but few consider the way we speak to one another. Words have the power to build people up, encourage, and motivate them. We help people believe in themselves and their abilities by what we say to them. Conversely, words can also tear people down. You can create situations where people feel unworthy, unskilled, unmotivated, and more. This webinar will introduce the “4 tongues” which are common patterns of communication. We will explore their potential impact, and tips for how to tame your tongue and transform your organization.

Hope and Hospice: Holding onto Faith at the End of Life

Speaker: Heidi L. Barham

February 8, 2023

Understand the historical perspective of race and the impact of perceived health care disparities on end-of-life care in the African American community. Identify factors influencing decision making for end-of-life care and examine the role of hospice and palliative care at the end of life for patients/families in the African American community. Explore ways to overcome objections/barriers to providing quality end-of-life care.

The Who, What, and Why of DEI

Speaker: Michelle Cantor

January 25, 2023

An interactive session that will help DEI professionals understand and define the Who, What and Why of an effective DEI Strategy.

What You Need to Know About Diversity Recruiting in 2023

Speaker: Jenn Tardy, CDE®

January 11, 2023

Join Jenn Tardy, CEO of Jennifer Tardy Consulting and LinkedIn Top Voice, as she discusses the top five diversity recruiting trends to watch for in 2023. In addition, she will share effective way to partner with your recruiting team to increase diversity.