February Virtual: Getting to the Next Stage of Diversity and Belonging

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Topic

Getting to the Next Stage of Diversity and Belonging

At a time of resistance and corporate austerity, DEI advocates will need to re-energize themselves and their organizations with new ideas, programs, and reasoning for the cause of diversity. What can DEI practitioners learn from companies with consistent success? How are companies changing their policies to respond to court rulings and lawsuits? What practices have brought the most progress in bringing diversity to leadership ranks?

From Day One is a Recertification Provider for SHRM and HRCI. This session is eligible for 3 credits from both organizations. The Activity IDs will be sent to attendees after the conclusion of the session.



SCHEDULE

All times shown below are U.S. Eastern Time

12:00 PM - 12:15 PM

Expo/Networking

12:15 PM - 12:25 PM

Opening Remarks: Nick Baily and Steve Koepp, Co-Founders, From Day One

12:25 PM - 12:50 PM

Taking the Long View Toward Progress in Workplace Diversity (Fireside Chat)

In the face of a DEI backlash, the diversity leader of a company where DEI is a longstanding part of the corporate culture shows how employers can rethink and reframe their initiatives to maintain their progress. Key points: make sure the CFO is on board, provide better coaching for senior leaders, and enhance the influence of employee resource groups (ERGs).

Speaker:

Loren Hudson, SVP, Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Cable

Moderator:

Sharon Epperson, Senior Personal Finance Correspondent, CNBC, NBCUniversal 

12:55 PM - 01:15 PM

What Now? Building a Data-Driven DEI Program in Today’s Landscape (Thought Leadership Spotlight)

There’s no doubt about it: DEI is at a crossroads. Between last year’s Supreme Court ruling and growing social and political divisions, DEI programming is under more scrutiny than it has been in years. In this session, DEI expert Cheryl Boyer and I/O psychologist Dr. Thomas Carnahan will break down how you can use data to build a DEI program that can help withstand these external pressures and position your organization for growth. The speakers will explain how to quantify your company’s DEI efforts using metrics, assessing everything from hires, recruitment and selection to performance management, training and promotions. Attendees will leave this session understanding the importance of implementing DEI programming that is not just qualitative but also built upon metrics that inform your DEI goals and drive results.

Speakers:

Cheryl Boyer, Director, Diversity and Inclusion Services, Berkshire Associates

Thomas Carnahan, Manager, Compensation Services, Berkshire Associates

01:20 PM - 02:00 PM

How Companies Are Embracing Neurodiversity in Innovative Ways (Panel)

Getting past old stigmas, employers have seen how neurodiverse workers can excel in jobs that match their skills and capabilities. Such conditions as autism, learning disabilities and traumatic brain injury don’t preclude meaningful employment and career growth. How can employers build their own skills in acquiring and managing neurodiverse talent, making accommodations as needed, and fostering a culture of inclusion for their neurodiverse workers?

Panelists:

Monica Parodi, VP, Talent Acquisition, the New York Times 

Jackie Reisner,  Senior Manager, Talent Management, Northrop Grumman 

Millette Granville, VP, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2U

Joshua Crafford, VP, Leadership Learning and Development, Synchrony

Hal Lanier, Client Engagement Leader, TextHelp

Moderator:

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, Contributing Editor, From Day One 

02:05 PM - 02:25 PM

How DEI Must Evolve: Highlighting the Challenges and Opportunities (Thought Leadership Spotlight)

In a fireside chat with ReadySet Founder & CEO Y-Vonne Hutchinson, we’ll explore the emergent challenges and opportunities in DEI. Against a backdrop of wavering DEI commitments, legal setbacks, and societal divisions, we'll discuss how current DEI initiatives fall short of addressing complex organizational issues and what we can do about it. The discussion will highlight the need for a more comprehensive DEI strategy to tackle systemic problems such as discrimination, partisan consumer activism, and even health disparities beyond the workplace. Discover why moving beyond performative gestures to robust, data-driven DEI policies is crucial for building resilient, inclusive, and sustainable organizations in the 21st century.

Speaker:

Y-Vonne Hutchinson, CEO, ReadySet

Moderator:

Steve Koepp, Co-Founder, From Day One

02:30 PM - 03:15 PM

Mapping D&I to Skills and Business Outcomes (Workshop)

Diversity results from your lived experience. Inclusion results from skills. Join us as we map inclusion to a set of skills, which you can measure and track over time and correlate to desired business outcomes such as increased productivity, increased retention and decreased conflict and claims.

Speakers:

Janine Yancey, Founder & CEO, Emtrain

Leesa Askew, Enterprise Account Executive, Emtrain

02:30 PM - 03:15 PM

Flex Your Style and Build Emotional Intelligence (Workshop)

At ThinkHuman, we serve our mission by providing leadership development programs that specifically focus on people leadership,  which is the leadership of oneself and others. Based on behavioral science, our leadership programs focus on creating mindset shifts and long-term leadership change in leaders at all levels. Join ThinkHuman for an interactive “Flex Your Style” Learning Jam (a condensed session from one of our core leadership development programs) that will cover how you can elevate your ability to flex your communication style and behavior to enhance your own effectiveness, enhance the effectiveness of others that you interact with, and understand emotional intelligence and psychological safety at work.

Speaker:

Shaun Sperling, Facilitator, ThinkHuman

02:30 PM - 03:15 PM

Why Most Diversity and Inclusion Programs Fail (Workshop)

Too often, workplace DEI programs fail because they simply prescribe behaviors rather than addressing the root cause of bias: mindset. This workshop will explore innovative strategies for addressing the mindset and behaviors that get in the way of creating the culture your organization needs to thrive. During the workshop, participants will be guided through a process of self-discovery to help uncover unrecognized biases at the heart of most undiagnosed organizational dysfunction. Attendees will walk away with a set of practical tools designed to help create an inclusive workplace that celebrates diversity, fosters real belonging, and invites people in rather than calling them out.

Speaker:

Desmond Lomax, Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion, the Arbinger Institute

03:20 PM - 04:00 PM

DEI Will Endure, But Corporate Advocates Will Need to Reframe Their Approach (Panel)

With initiatives toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) enduring a backlash on several fronts, advocates would be well-advised to rethink their goals, strategies, and messaging. If there’s still a strong business and moral case for DEI, what approaches will work better in the current climate of culture wars, corporate austerity, and legal challenges? In an increasingly diverse country, how can inclusiveness be reframed so that fewer workers feel threatened by it?

Panelists:

Gus Viano, VP of Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Brink's

William Rolack, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Management, Kroll

Susan Schmidlkofer, Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion, UPS

Lauren Guthrie, VP, Global Talent and Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, VF Corporation 

Moderator:

Nicole Smith, Editorial Audience Director, Harvard Business Review 

04:05 PM - 04:30 PM

How to Respond to the Pushback to Create More Inclusive Environments That Honor and Value Diversity (Fireside Chat)

The author of a new book from MIT Press draws on her background as a community organizer, her corporate career as a bank president, and now her experience as a leading DEI expert to explain what has been holding organizations back and what they need to do better. 

Speaker:

Malia Lazu, Author, From Intention to Impact: A Practical Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and CEO, the Urban Labs

Moderator:

Jeanhee Kim, Journalist

04:30 PM - 04:35 PM

Closing Remarks