Roundtable Event 2024

Radical Vulnerability

Recognizing the pervasive resistance to building social consciousness, Radical Vulnerability is a teaching method and philosophy created and developed by Dr. Nia Nunn, that helps schools, organizations and institutions engage in a collective self-study to strengthen their culture and sense of community.  People need help unpacking painful social realities to create healthier working environments because many experience a paralysis of discussion and action. Radical Vulnerability helps people establish, repair, and maintain healthy working relationships.  The presentation will provide a brief overview of an emotional and intellectually poetry workshop series that helps people unveil, unpack, and interrupt biases by reflecting on both our individual and collective identities.  The experience will encourage regular rituals to help communities practice compassionate decision-making. The audience will be invited to listen, participate, write, think, feel, and breathe together.

Dr. Nia Nunn is a TEDx speaker (2014) and published author of a series of research articles including Super-Girl: Strength & Sadness in Black Girlhood (2016), a published book called Deep Breath: A Poetry Book and Curriculum (2022), and a recent publication of a digital textbook titled, The Community is My Classroom: A Curriculum of Radical Vulnerability (2024). A teacher, scholar, & Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) consultant for schools, universities, & organizations, Dr. Nia Nunn is both a scholar and scientist-practitioner whose methodology and philosophy of Radical Vulnerability helps strengthen the culture of communities.

After receiving a Ph.D. in School Psychology from Michigan State University and  B.A. in Early Childhood Education from Clark Atlanta University, Dr. Nia Nunn returned to the community that raised her. Wearing multiple head wraps as a homegrown leader in Ithaca, New York, Dr. Nia Nunn serves as an Associate Professor at Ithaca College, Board President of Southside Community Center, Director of the Community Unity Music Education Program (CUMEP), and former School Psychologist at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School.  The synergy of her intersecting roles and craft is rooted in Black consciousness, anti-racist, and abolitionist frameworks. A poet, community leader, and yogi, Dr. Nia Nunn is committed to learning and engaging audiences creatively, intensely, and gracefully.

Best Practices for Inclusive Hiring

with Carolyn Chow and Toral Patel

Carolyn Chow’s career has been devoted to diversity and inclusion in higher education. She came to Cornell after 19 years of serving as Director of Admissions and Student Diversity at the University of Washington School of Nursing.  She joined Cornell University in May 2019 as the Staff Recruiter and Inclusion Program Lead for the College of Veterinary Medicine, before becoming a Talent Acquisition Partner in Cornell’s Office of Talent Attraction and Recruitment in October 2022. 

Toral Patel is a first-generation college graduate from the University of Central Florida where she received a Masters in Management, specializing in Human Resources. She has spent the initial phase of her career in the field of recruiting before transitioning to Inclusion and Belonging.  In her current role of Senior Consultant for Inclusion and Belonging, her responsibilities includes working on DEI-related projects for the staff population that encourage true inclusion and understanding as well as community-building across the University.

Session Summary: This presentation will delve into best practices for inclusive hiring, which prioritizes recognizing and valuing the diverse qualities and perspectives that candidates contribute to an organization. We will explore strategies that go beyond simply recruiting from underrepresented groups or individuals with disabilities, aiming to create a truly equitable process for all applicants. Our focus will be on combating recruitment bias and ensuring fairness throughout the hiring process.

Learning Objectives:

1. Best Practices for Inclusive Hiring
2. Combating Bias and ensuring fairness in the hiring process
3. What’s worked for Cornell

Neurodiversity at Work: Cultivating an Inclusive and Thriving Environment

with Lydia Dolch

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydia-dolch-openthelid/

Lydia Dolch is an Empowerment Coach and the Founder of Open the Lid. She works closely with organizations in the I/DD world, providing in-person and virtual workshops to help support and empower individuals and their teams. Her approach creates inclusive, supportive environments where everyone thrives.

Session Summary: The workshop explores the benefits of a neurodiverse workforce, emphasizing its role in enhancing creativity and innovation. Participants collaborate to identify best practices and improvements using universal design principles, with a focus on creating actionable steps for implementation.

Learning Objectives:

1. Educate participants on the importance and benefits of neurodiversity in the workplace, including its potential to enhance creativity, problem-solving, and innovation.
2. Develop and share best practices for supporting neurodiversity within the organization, with a focus on using universal design principles to improve current practices.
3. Create actionable steps for implementing identified improvements, establishing accountability partnerships to ensure follow-through and ongoing progress.

Psychological Safety at Work

with Shasta Savage

Shasta Savage is a trainer, speaker, consultant, leadership coach and certified accessible yoga instructor. With a background in the trauma-informed lens and human rights prospective, she provides support on topics such as DEIJA, leadership development, non-profit management, employee well-being, and community-care. She integrates leading practices with an intersectional approach to support the greatest outcomes.

Shasta currently serves as Director of Leadership Development & Consulting Services for the Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County and Vice President of the DCTC Board.

Session Summary: Psychological safety is a core concept in fostering inclusion and belonging. Understanding and applying tenets of this perspective may increase employee engagement, motivation, innovation and collaboration. Research illustrates that workplaces that embrace a culture of psychological safety may contribute to employee retention and well-being.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand the Concept of Psychological Safety: Participants will be able to define psychological safety and explain its importance in the workplace.
2. Identify Key Behaviors That Promote Psychological Safety: Participants will learn to recognize and apply specific behaviors that foster a psychologically safe environment.
3. Develop Strategies to Enhance Psychological Safety: Participants will formulate actionable strategies for creating and maintaining psychological safety within their teams.

Land Acknowledgements

with Sachem Sam George

Sachem Sam George is one of 10 Sachems (chiefs) for the Cayuga Nation, representing the Bear Clan. He was condoled in April 2005 Having grown up on Seneca Nation territory (Cattaraugus) and having learned Seneca language and customs, Sachem
George sought out to learn his Cayuga heritage. The
Haudenosaunee people are a matriarchal society, his mother Cayuga, he knew it was important to learn what it meant to be Cayuga. When he moved back to his homeland in 2014, as one of the first important tasks, he oversaw the building of the Cayuga
School House, modeled after a contemporary long house. Sachem George has participated, along with the other returning Cayugas, in learning his language and ceremonies. He is taking that knowledge and wisdom to ensure a good future for his people.
Sachem George sits on the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force addressing environmental degradation in Haudenosaunee communities by developing culturally-appropriate environmental
education, restoration, and protection strategies. He is a member of the Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee which works on political and governmental structures beyond the borders of
Haudenosaunee Nations. Sachem George is on the Elders Council for Native Community Services for Buffalo and Niagara Falls. In 2019 he was awarded the Bundled Arrow Award for his service to Native American communities. Sachem George has felt it important to be good neighbors and promotes the
Great Law which is created and maintained by the Good Mind- a mind that is both “used well” and used for good’, since one will inevitably lead to the other.
Sachem Sam George lives with his wife in Union Springs, Cayuga Territory. He has 2 sons, a daughter and 3 grandchildren that live in the greater Buffalo
area.