Professional development is a career-long obligation for practicing professionals, which delivers benefits to the individual, their colleagues and to the students the serve. ODI staff members have taken advantage of many professional development opportunities this semester including opportunities offered by GW, ODI and the Atlantic.
The Office of Diversity & Inclusion includes the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, Disability Support Services, The Multicultural Student Services Center and the Title IX Office. The entire ODI staff meets several times a year to discuss our work and learn from each other. During our staff meeting on December 3, Dr. Quinetta Roberson spoke to the group regarding the Science of Inclusion. Dr. Quinetta Roberson currently holds the position of the Fred J. Springer Endowed Chair in Business Leadership at Villanova University and has research interests centering on contextual investigations of organizational justice issues – particularly fairness in work teams and specific human resource contexts.
On October 28-30, GW held the 14th annual Celebration of Excellence. This year the keynote speaker was Steve Burd, CEO of Burd Health, presenting a lecture called 'Live Longer, Feel Better, and Make More Money'. Many ODI staff members took advantage of the varied sessions, attending seminars like My Career: Which Way Do I Go?, Courageous Leadership and Money at Work 1: Foundations of Investing.
The Atlantic Magazine has held two conferences recently that have been applicable to the work at ODI: Race and Justice in America and the LGBT Summit.
The Atlantic's inaugural LGBT summit convened wide-ranging conversations on queer identity in America, at the end of a game-changing year in arenas from politics to pop culture. The Atlantic gathered policymakers, activists and leaders driving the news to discuss critical issues across the spectrum of LGBT communities. Notable speakers were Tammy Baldwin (US Senator), Layshia Clarendon (WNBA Player), Cynthia Nixon (star of Sex and the City, director), and many others.
On November 12, ODI staff joined hundreds of other leaders for Race and Justice in America: An Atlantic Summit. In his October 2015 cover story, "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,” Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the devastating impact decades of mass incarceration has had on African-American families. Throughout the Race and Justice in America Summit, participants heard from leaders such as Steve Cook (President- National Assoc. of Assistant US Attorneys), Karen Freeman Wilson (Mayor- Gary, Indiana), and Valerie Jarret (Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama).
Lastly, the Washington Regional Task Force Against Campus Prejudice (WRTF) hosted Dr. Kumea Shorter-Gooden, Chief Diversity Office and Associate VP at the University of Maryland on the GW Campus in November. Dr. Kumea Shorter-Goode’s work and ideology are trans-formative and she is behind the very successful University of Maryland diversity campaigns: "Beyond the Ism's" and "#ITOOAMMD". Her presentation “Rewriting the Script” highlighted best practices in Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Maryland.
At this event, WRTF also featured the documentary on the blacklivesmatter movement and hosted a representative to discuss the project.
The ODI staff will continue to participate in professional development opportunities whenever possible, events like these cultivate a greater appreciation of the implications and impacts of ODI’s work.