May 28 – June 1, 2008
The Westin Alexandria

4 Day Workshops Thursday, May 29 – Sunday, June 1, 2008 Thursday 2:00 pm – 5:15 pm Friday – Saturday 9:00 am – 5:15 pm Sunday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

A. Training Of Trainers I: Developing Introductory Diversity Workshops

Level: Introductory
Juan José Callejas, PhD and Sue Brotherton, PhD

The purpose of this workshop is to enable participants to design and deliver a basic, one-day Exploring Our Cultural Assumptions workshop for the workplace. After an introduction to fundamental workshop components (including exercises, lecturettes, simulations, videos, and handout materials), participants will work in teams to design a full, one-day workshop. They then will walk through the entire design, present one module in detail and receive feedback from the group. Participants will be introduced to the challenges of working in a multicultural team, examine their own “hot buttons,” and learn to facilitate possible workshop predicaments such as heated discussions, anger, denial, and inappropriate comments.

PREREQUISITE: Participants should have experience in facilitating workshops in the workplace, and must have participated in personal cultural awareness training. Registration subject to approval.

Dr. Callejas, a Senior Associate with NMCI, is a consultant and trainer with expertise in human resources, organizational development, and research and evaluation. His clients include NASA, the U.S. Department of State and Freddie Mac. He specializes in cultural diversity, sexual harassment prevention, conflict resolution, and the prevention of violence against women. He has helped organizations with issues related to cross-cultural conflicts and communication and facilitates meetings and retreats related to strategic and action planning.

Dr. Brotherton is a Professor of Educational Psychology and Counseling at California State University, San Bernardino with extensive experience as a diversity and ethics trainer. She teaches courses on Multicultural Counseling Issues, Legal and Ethical Issues, and Multicultural Counseling Fieldwork. She is the Diversity Leadership Forum Ethics Chair and is active on her campus and community promoting social justice. Her most recent book is entitled, Counselor Education for the 21st Century.

B. Training Of Trainers II: Developing Cultural Competency and Facilitation Skills

Level: Intermediate
Karyn Trader-Leigh, PhD and Eva Young, MS

This session is designed to enable individuals to develop and deliver a workshop in Building Cultural Competency. It will provide individuals with exercises, lecturettes, simulations, and experience in delivering workshops that address many of the skills necessary for working effectively in today’s diverse workplace. The areas of skill development include cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution, facilitation, and team building. Participants will work in small groups to develop a workshop and present one module in detail. The session will include a trainer development component and participants will also be introduced to the principles of selecting different training techniques and practice dealing with difficult situations.

PREREQUISITE: Individuals must have participated in Workshop A, Developing Introductory Diversity Workshops, or its equivalent and should have experience facilitating introductory diversity awareness workshops in the corporate, education, government or non-profit sectors. Registration subject to approval.

Dr. Trader-Leigh, a Senior Associate with NMCI, has over 25 years of experience in NGO and public sector organizations. She has held positions as the Director of Human Resources for Network Solutions and served with TRW as Director of Organizational Development and Training. Her clients have included IBM, AT&T, NASA, the United Nations, U.S. State Department and the Rockefeller and Knight Foundations.

Ms. Young, a Senior Associate with NNMCI, is an Organizational Development Practitioner who designs and delivers strategic interventions. Her work is about creating inclusive workplaces, effective multicultural teams, and culturally competent leaders. She works with clients from the private, public and non-profit sectors, including SodexoUSA, Teaching for Change, and Northrop Grumman.

C. Developing Strategic Diversity Initiatives

Level: Advanced
Manny Brandt and Dolores H. Fridge, MS

Many organizations are now embarking on wide-ranging diversity initiatives that may include such efforts as organizational assessments, diversity councils, recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce, staff orientation and training, community outreach, mentoring, and cross-cultural conflict resolution.

In this workshop, participants will explore models and tools to organize the elements of a diversity initiative, as well as link diversity to bottom line issues and develop the business case for their organization. They will also learn what a successful diversity initiative “looks like,” address ways to obtain buy-in from senior management, discuss approaches to overcoming roadblocks and resistance to diversity initiatives, and develop strategies to ensure the sustainability of the initiative.

This workshop will be hands-on and interactive. Participants will have the opportunity to design or enhance an initiative for their own workplace, obtain feedback from presenters and participants on their plan and anticipate issues that will arise in implementation.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Individuals who have experience in the diversity field and are working on a diversity initiative within their own organization. Registration subject to approval.

Mr. Brandt, Lead Trainer for NMCI, has worked extensively with international institutions, colleges and universities, school systems, health care organizations, corporations and associations. He has extensive experience helping organizations to create and implement strategic plans for their diversity initiatives. Recent clients have included Sodexho, Valdosta State University, and Georgia Power.

Ms. Fridge is serving as the Chief Resolution Officer for Medtronic, Inc. at their headquarters in Minnesota. She is the former Associate Vice Chancellor of Equal Opportunity and Diversity in the Office of the Chancellor for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. She assisted Presidents, Diversity Specialists and faculty to design and implement institutional plans and workshops addressing diversity. She is also the former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

D. Transforming Cross-Cultural Conflict through Sustained Dialogue

Level: Intermediate
Reena Bernards, MPA and Shahanna McKinney-Baldon, MA

Dialogue between groups in conflict is an important way to bridge the gap between people who need to work together but who differ in their life experiences, cultural values, needs or expectations. In this workshop participants will learn the spectrum of facilitation and conflict resolution techniques, including the five stage Sustained Dialogue Process. Participants will learn how to initiate, organize and facilitate dialogues across cultural, racial and ideological boundaries.

Experiential exercises, model dialogues, videos and other methods will be used to explore the goals of dialogue, ways to sustain dialogue beyond the initial phases. The workshop will also address how to overcome obstacles, and move from dialogue to action to create real change. Participants will develop an individual action plan that will be relevant to their community or workplace.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Individuals in all fields who wish to enhance their ability to resolve cross-cultural conflicts.

Ms. Bernards is a conflict resolution and diversity trainer. Through grants from the U.S. Department of State, she has trained women non-governmental leaders in Middle Eastern countries, including Syria and Morocco. She conducts peace dialogues between different ethnic groups in North America including Jews and Palestinians, and African Americans and European Americans.

Ms. McKinney-Baldon is a faculty member at Community High School in Milwaukee, WI. She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education, Hebrew and Communications from the University of Wisconsin. In addition to teaching at the elementary through college levels, she works locally and nationally as an organizational consultant and has directed a number of education and social justice programs.