What does systemic change in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and justice entail? For us as individual change agents, the work begins with our own personal education and sphere(s) of influence, and expands outward at the speed of trust with our partners and allies. For organizations, systemic change requires buy-in and action from community members at every level. The road to becoming an equity-centered organization means working through some well-studied phases of dysfunction - which requires thoughtfulness, courage, trust, empathy, and patience.
In this session, attendees will consider their own institution's positionality in a culture-shifting framework synthesized by lead presenter and social justice scholar, Dr. Neenah Estrella-Luna.
To be walked through the framework, watch Neenah's 20-minute video here. (You're welcome to attend the session if you haven't watched this video, but the video will provide an extra-helpful foundation for you to jump right in to the work.)
Following an overview by Dr. Estrella-Luna, a panel of LTER site presenters will discuss systemic actions their site has undertaken, challenges they've overcome, lessons they've learned, and questions that remain. The panel will spend a total of ~30 minutes covering:
- Clarisse Hart (Harvard Forest LTER): the role of leadership - responding to a top-down catalyst for change
- Dr. Corinn Rutkoski (Kellogg Biological Station LTER): grass-roots action - community relationships as change agents
- Dr. Lydia Zeglin (Konza Prairie LTER): iterative measures of accountability, such as codes of conduct, for keeping us moving forward
For the remainder of the session, individual and small-group discussions will guide participant inquiry into opportunities for change at their own sites.
As common themes emerge, we’ll ask: Could specific resources or trainings help facilitate these changes? What might the LTER DEI committee and Network Office provide? Are there resources and opportunities outside of the network that sites can leverage to address key challenges?
-
- how one organization responded to a top-down catalyst (an org review) for change
