Wednesday, August 7 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM Workshops

Self-Inflicted: How Incomplete and Problematic DEI Approaches Are Hurting our Efforts and What to Do About Them • Dan Egol | IDEAS Generation
Session Room: Providence II & III

In the summer of 2020, George Floyd's murder brought Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ('DEI') efforts to national prominence as one remedy to the country's unresolved history of systemic racism and inequity. However, initial enthusiasm, which led hundreds of companies to publicly commit to building more inclusive and diverse workplaces, has since been overshadowed by DEI taking center stage in politicized American culture wars just a few years later.

With its roots in the Civil Rights movement, current DEI efforts have evolved from Equal Employment Opportunity Office initiatives originally confined to federal institutions. In recent years, they've become commonplace across sectors and an expectation especially of younger generations. Yet, the expansion of organizational DEI roles and initiatives has not been accompanied by any checks on the approaches or practices guiding this work. Absent widespread consensus about the substance of DEI and agreement about how DEI professionals come into the this dynamically evolving space, the DEI 'field' today produces wide variability in practitioner efficacy and inconsistent impact. As a result, the best-intended DEI efforts unintentionally fuel many of the critiques against it.

Against this backdrop, this session will examine detrimental practices common in the DEI space which have been since contorted by political actors to give this needed body of work a bad name. Through a series of interactive exercises, we will explore how leaders can address these shortcomings and shift the narrative around DEI as critical for leadership and the viability of 21st century organizations.

About the Speaker: Raised in a multi-cultural home with strong ties to both Cuba and Israel, Dan Egol grew up passionate about social justice, community building, and global affairs. Shortly after visiting his Cuban family in Havana for the first time in 2004, changes in family travel policy prevented him from accessing his family for eight years. This foundational experience taught Dan that an inability to appreciate and navigate diversity with nuance and humility divides communities. To foster more progressive and enduring connections amongst and between different groups of people, Dan studied political science and sociology at Middlebury College while working on campus at the college admissions office, the Americans with Disabilities Act Office, and a research center focused on the comparative study of race and ethnicity.

These experiences, reinforced by internships at the Smithsonian American History Museum, the Washington Office on Latin America, and the ACLU’s Racial Justice Project, led Dan to Cook Ross Inc., a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultancy. Over the course of five years there he held various roles, including Project Manager, Client Success Lead, and Chief of Staff to the Managing Partner. In 2020, Dan completed an MBA at the Yale School of Management as a Point Foundation Scholar, Consortium for the Graduate Study of Management Scholar, Hispanic Scholarship Recipient, and Prospanica Scholarship Recipient. At Yale, Dan served as the Community & Inclusion Officer in student government, co-chaired the Yale Philanthropy Conference, and co-founded '&Society,' a weekly conversation forum for social justice topics not covered by the core MBA curriculum. During both years of his MBA experience, Dan was nominated and selected by his peers for a ‘Teddy Award’ for the student who most embodies the school’s mission to ‘educate leaders for business and society.’ Now the inaugural Executive Director of IDEAS Generation, Dan dedicates his time to building the team, operations, and strategy to ‘connect, support, and elevate the next generation of leaders and communities advancing IDEAS: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Social Justice.’ Most recently, he was selected as a 2023 Roddenberry Foundation Fellow and completed the Leadership Greater Washington Signature Program as the youngest member of the 2022 cohort.

As Gen Z and Millennials are set to make up more than half of the U.S. workforce by 2025, the ability to navigate and optimize cross-generational communication is more important than ever. Is your organization prepared for this shift? This 90-minute interactive workshop will equip you with the tools and insights needed to harness the strengths of a multi-generational workforce, foster a more dynamic and inclusive environment, and ultimately create a future where all generations thrive. 

You will leave with tools to take back to your workplace when you leave this session that clearly illustrate how to enhance intergenerational communication with our 3 Es Formula: Embrace Intergenerational Communication, Engage & Equip, and Empower & Retain. 

About the Speaker: Voted as Young Professional of the Year for the Greenville Chamber in 2021, Small Business of the Year in 2022, and recently awarded the SC Women In Business Award, speaker and consultant Kamber Parker started her company The YoPro Know in 2018, a platform designed to be the bridge between ambitious young professionals and the companies that wish to hire them and most importantly, retain them. Kamber has spent the last 5 years interviewing thousands of young professionals, identifying their key struggles, successes, and, ultimately, ways to make them more successful in the workplace. Her business offers consulting services for companies looking to increase young professional recruitment, retention, and engagement, and she is passionate about supporting workforce development efforts. Kamber is also a graduate of Leadership Greenville (Class 49). 

Self-Care Isn't Selfish. It is your Duty. • Katie McDonald | bnourished
Session Room:  Bristol

 You've heard the term 'self-care.' You probably even know a little bit about it. You know you should prioritize it more. You know you should make healthy decisions, and that your mental and physical health are important. But let's be honest: when it comes to self-care, most of us are sleepwalking until a massive personal tragedy or crisis wakes us up and scares us.

Katie McDonald believes it doesn't have to be that way. If you're ready to stop sleepwalking (and you are), Katie's speech 'Self-care isn't selfish. It is your duty.' will hit you like a sound-barrier-shattering alarm clock with a busted snooze button. You'll learn how to liberate yourself from destructive, self-sacrificing habits by being deLIBERATE in your self-care. This speech will challenge you to take action in your own life-immediately-and it'll give you the tools you need to do it.

True leadership begins with how you lead yourself and sustainably manage your energy through self-care. You want to have an impact but maybe worry whether you have the stamina to pull it off. Martyrdom is so last century. What if you stopped apologizing and started advocating for yourself? Aren't you curious about what life would be like when you are truly nourished by your habits and mindset? When you walk out of this speech, you'll emerge refreshed, alive with purpose, and a contagious passion for showing up for yourself the way you show up for everyone else in life.

About the Speaker: Over two decades ago, the demands of Katie McDonald’s corporate career occupied her every waking moment. She was left feeling depleted and depressed - suffering from spiraling mental and physical health crises that threatened her life. Left with no choice but to transform her body-mind relationship, Katie abandoned her corporate job and finally started applying her knowledge of self-care, alternative health, and plant-based nutrition. Since then, Katie has been on a revitalizing journey of lifelong self-care. Fully recovered from years of self-neglect, Katie now helps fellow doers embrace self-care so they can do more and be more while leading healthier, more intentional, and more nourished lives.

Katie leads with tough love to inspire, empower, and challenge audiences. She dispels the destructive myth that self-care is an obstacle to productivity and teaches that self-care is, in fact, a tool to create a more powerful and impactful legacy.

Expansion: Your Toolkit for New Program Development • Aaron Miller | Leadership Louisville, KY
Session Room: Kent

Looking to expand your community impact? Unsure where to start? Program expansion generates revenue, creates more alumni, and helps you grow your organization. Aaron Miller, VP of Leadership Louisville Center, shares insights from their expansion journey over the last decade, growing from four community leadership programs to seven (and then back to six) and adding a training division. Along the way, they built a roadmap and innovation toolkit that might help you in your growth journey.

In this workshop, learn how to develop, launch, and adapt new programs for success. Dive into concepts, naming, curriculum, and recruitment strategies. This is a working session, so bring collaborators to help greenhouse new ideas (and we’ll explain what greenhousing is too) or make new friends.

About the Speaker: Aaron Miller is the Vice President of the Leadership Louisville Center, overseeing the execution of CLPs, Signature Events, Member and Alumni Events, and the skills-training offerings of the LeadingBetter brand. Miller has been with the organization since 2011, following a 17-year run in morning radio. He is a certified Crucial Conversation trainer, former city council member for Lyndon, KY, and serves on several boards and commissions in the Louisville area.

One Day, Endless Opportunities: Rethinking High School Programming • Nicole Susdorf | Leadership Toledo, OH
Session Room: Newport/Washington

Explore innovative ways to connect with local high schoolers without the commitment of a full 10-month program. Whether you already have a 10-month program or are looking to enhance your offerings without the additional overhead, this session unveils the power of one-day opportunities. From workshops to conferences and round table discussions, discover how these impactful experiences can shape your community. Gain practical ideas and strategies to seamlessly integrate these one-day opportunities into your own organization. Walk away ready to revolutionize high school engagement in just one day!

About the Speaker: Nicole Susdorf (she/her) is the Program Director for Youth Programs at Leadership Toledo and has been working in education spaces for over 15 years. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Adolescent and Young Adult Education as well as her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Dayton. Nicole is active in her community through board service with Toledo YES Project and Partners in Education and as a member of the City of Toledo’s Human Relations Commission: Youth Empowerment and Engagement committee.

Best Practices Panel • Panelists | Various Leadership Programs
Session Room: South County

This is a very interactive session, explicitly tailored to the needs/questions of those present. All panelists are highly experienced Community Leadership Program professionals. For this session, the panelists will focus on questions related to alumni engagement and program curriculum. Come with your questions, and be prepared for a lively conversation!

Panelists:
Alfred Degrafinreid II | Leadership Tennessee
Catherine Lautenbacher | Leadership Perimeter, GA
Jennifer Trevino, Leadership Fort Worth, TX

About the Moderator: Jessica Hendricks is the Executive Director of Leadership Unlimited in Grand Island, Nebraska. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science  from Doane University. Jessica is a Certified Community Leadership Practitioner through the Association of Leadership Programs. Jessica has been involved in the Grand Island Young Professionals, Toastmasters, and the Grand Island Little Theatre. Before joining Leadership Unlimited, Jessica served as the Director of Workforce and Community Development for the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce and as the Community Liaison for Congressman Adrian Smith.