The social justice movement, COVID-19, and the current state of civil discourse have created a new sense of urgency in the nonprofit sector to understand and address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Many organizations are recognizing that they have not made demonstrable progress, and many are struggling with the question, "Where do we begin?"

This interactive, three-part series is designed to jumpstart your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. To make the most of our time together, there will be pre-work for each session, so that participants can deepen their personal journey and engage in constructive dialogue and planning, to advance the work at their organizations.  Each session builds on the next - please plan to attend all 3 sessions!  Bring multiple board members so that you can work together on evolving your organization. 

In Part 1 of this 3-part workshop, we will first deconstruct why this moment in in time is different and the role of systemic racism. We will also lay a foundation for advancing your DEI work. This includes:

Armed with a better understanding of the current environment, this workshop will provide a process and tactical considerations for developing your plan of action. Along the way, we will ask questions and engage the audience in conversations about:

Grounded in best practices and research on DEI, this session will identify various levers and strategies, at the board and staff levels, for effecting change. We will set the stage for the ongoing nature of the DEI journey, with an eye toward how you can integrate DEI in the culture, processes and practices.

In this session, you will start identifying-for your organization-actions to integrate DEI across the organization. Areas of opportunity include, but are not limited to:

Vernetta Walker, J.D., is President and CEO of Walker & Associates Consulting, Inc. For over a decade, Vernetta served on staff with BoardSource,the leading organization on nonprofit governance best practices, as chief governance officer, vice president of programs, and senior advisor on diversity,equity and inclusion (DEI). She successfully curated content for their national conference that engaged over 1000 attendees in learning circles focused on inclusion and equity. More recently, Vernetta co-designed and is leading a racial equity cohort pilot program, for the Meyer Foundation, that includes DEI assessments, training, coaching, and development of short and long term equity strategy plans. Additionally, in response to the recent racial justice movement,Vernetta co-led a webinar series for The Nonprofit Quarterly with over 3,000 registrants.

Vernetta is an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University for the nonprofit management program, a faculty member for NeighborWorks America, and a certified cultural transformation consultant with the Barrett Values Centre. Some of her DEI engagements included T. Rowe Price Nonprofit Symposium,AFP International Leadership Academy, Better Business Bureau, and the Commonfund Institute at theYale University School of Management.Vernetta serves on the board of March for Our Lives Action Fund (founded after the 2018 shootings in Parkland, FL) and is president of the March for Our Lives Foundation. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.

Dr. Robin Hindsman Stacia is President/Principal Consultant of Sage Consulting Network, Inc., and a previous Senior Governance Consultant for BoardSource, and a previous Director of Consulting and Training for Maryland Association of Nonprofits.  Dr. Stacia's consults with nonprofit charities, foundations, associations, healthcare, faith-based, and government organizations. Dr. Stacia has a specific specialty within the work of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Race Equity assessment, strategies and governance practices.  Robin has worked with a broad range of organizations to help guide their DEI strategic implementation. 

Robin is frequent presenter at conferences throughout the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors; Habitat for Humanity International Conference, Southeastern Council on Foundations Annual Conference, NC Center for Nonprofits Annual Conference, the Alliance for a Better Nonprofit- Knoxville, TN, BoardSource Leadership Forum, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Robin has vast webinar experience having presented hundreds of webinars over the past 15 years on behalf of BoardSource and Sage Consulting to help organizations meet their priorities of strengthening the organizational and board leaders' capacity.