[Antiracism] May 22-23, DC training: Diversity for Environmental and Social Change

[Rose Sackey-Milligan]

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Diversity for Environmental and Social Change Training Series Session 1: May
22-23, 2006 Washington, DC

What is diversity?
Why does it matter to environmental and social change organizations?
What does it mean to leverage diversity to create a stronger environmental
movement and to renew efforts for social change?
What do you need to know before you launch a diverse partnership or reach
out to new constituencies?

DIVERSITY MATTERS, launched in 2005, provides a hub for people and
organizations that want to leverage diversity and inclusion to strengthen
institutions and build leadership for high-impact environmental and social
change. 

The Diversity for Environmental and Social Change Training Series is a
5-part program designed to foster knowledgeable and skilled leadership to
make diversity a hallmark and fundamental asset of environmental and social
change efforts.

SESSION 1 is a two-day workshop that provides foundational concepts and
experiential learning to:

·      Demystify diversity and clarify diversity’s relevance to
organizational effectiveness and movement building.
·      Understand the dynamics of power that impact organizational
productivity, performance, and the ability to sustain diverse partnerships.
·      Develop skills for observing and diagnosing diversity issues in work
teams, organizations, and coalitions.
·      Assess organizational phases of development on diversity.

OUR TRAINING TEAM – Mark Kaplan, Amber Mayes, and Angela Park -- brings
decades of collective experience in diversity training and consultation,
organizational development, and leadership skills building. They have worked
with a wide range of nonprofits, companies, foundations, and educational
institutions and understand the needs and histories of environmental and
social change organizations and movements. 

Participants in our trainings have said:

“This training has to be one of the highlights of my year. You all are so
adept at bringing people along in their awareness of diversity issues, group
membership, and competence working across difference. It really is an
inspiration. This training has rekindled my desire to work on these issues.”

“This work has been an extraordinary asset in my push to enhance our
internal diversity work within my organization. Although we have been
working in the area of diversity for years, you have provided outstanding
resources, training, and networking opportunities that would not have been
available to us otherwise. We have begun exploring areas of the organization
that would not have received this level of attention, resources, or time
without your help. Discovering new things about our organization will,
undoubtedly, make us stronger and better able to attract, hire, and retain
people of color into our workforce in the future.”

“I am very glad to have participated. It has enriched my life personally, as
I am now far more comfortable and fluent in engaging with people across
group differences. At work, I am also fully committed to training and
diversifying my team as a sign of excellence in the workplace. I'm in a
place where complacency is no longer an option.”

“Your flexibility and skill is nothing short of excellent.”

REGISTRATION and LOGISTICS

Training fee: $495 per person, payable to “Diversity Matters.”  We offer
sliding scale fees in the hope of enabling all to potentially participate;
contact us at info at diversity-matters.org or 202.306.3766 for details.

Logistics: The training will be held on May 22-23, 2006, near Dupont Circle
in Washington, DC, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both days. The fee includes
lunch on both days. 

Registration: E-mail your name, title, affiliation, full contact
information, and a bio for each participant to
info at diversity-matters.org. The training fee should be mailed to Diversity
Matters, 7 Linden Road, Hartland, VT 05048. Upon receipt of your
registration and fee, we will send you a logistics packet with final
details.

** We encourage you to register as soon as possible as the program will be
limited to 30 participants.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact us or join our mailing list to receive updates and
announcements:  info at diversity-matters.org or 202.306.4766.

Sessions that comprise the Diversity for Environmental and Social Change
Training Series are offered regularly across the country. The five sessions
of the Training Series are sequential.  (Session 1 is a prerequisite for
Session 2;  Session 1 and 2 are a prerequisite for Session 3, etc.)  You may
elect to participate in as many or as few of the sessions as you like, in
order.  Graduates of all five sessions receive a Certificate, upon
completion of the Training Series.

Training Series Sessions 2 through 5 provide in-depth learning, additional
concepts, and skills development and practice on topics
including:

• 	Implementing diversity interventions at the organizational level.
• 	Defining and addressing culture change.
• 	Succeeding in recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce.
• 	Understanding the impact of social identity groups (including race, 
class, gender, and sexual orientation) on environmental and social change
work.
• 	Building diverse partnerships and coalitions.
• 	Leadership in diverse organizations.
• 	Developing diversity competence as a foundational skill.

DIVERSITY MATTERS PROGRAMS include:

·      Training that brings the best in diversity theory and practice from
other sectors to a broad cross section of environmental and social change
practitioners with the goal of increasing diversity skills and laying the
groundwork for organizational change.

·      Diversity consultation providing hands-on guidance to help leaders
institutionalize diversity throughout their organizations. 

·      Diversity Leadership Networks provide support and leadership
development to individuals within specific social identity groups. In 2006,
we will launch a national People of Color Network, with regional subgroups,
to be followed by Networks for White Allies,
Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender individuals, and promoting Women in
Leadership.
	o     People of Color Networks provide personal and professional
support and leadership development for environmental and social change
practitioners of color who are often a significant numerical minority within
their organizations. We believe this support will make a significant impact
on the retention of people of color in the environmental and social change
fields and that leadership development will nurture their work at higher
levels.

·      Diversity Learning Communities convene regularly and sponsor special
events creating dynamic, place-based communities focused on promoting
diversity in environmental and social change. They serve as a hub for
diversity resources, collaboration, and ongoing learning at the individual,
organizational, and movement levels. Our first Diversity Learning Community
will be launched in Boston in June 2006.

·      Diversity Pipeline Initiatives aim to increase both the number of
people from underrepresented groups working in and serving on boards of
environmental and social change organizations and their retention
rates. Importantly, Diversity Matters’ work inextricably ties recruitment to
culture change, going beyond numerical representation within organizations. 

·      Communications programs and the Diversity Matters resource hub
articulate well-crafted presentations on diversity’s importance to the
long-term impact and success of environmental and social change
organizations and provide a central hub for information on diversity within
these fields. 

 * * *

DIVERSITY MATTERS:  catalysts for environmental and social change
7 linden road, hartland, vt 05048
202.306.4766, info at diversity-matters.org

Coming soon!  Our web site at www.diversity-matters.org