DEI Leadership Academy

In partnership with Valencia College's Peace & Justice Institute!


Tuesday, June 14, 2022
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM (EDT)

DEI Leadership Academy


DEI Leadership Academy is a set of workshops designed to create a space for engaging in authentic and honest conversations to cultivate a healthy and accountable culture centered on inclusive excellence.

Course Workshops - All workshops are two (2) hours in duration. 

  1. Conversations in Inclusiveness - Friday, March 18th 

  2. Understanding Bias - Friday, April 8th

  3. Reflective Practice and Emotional Intelligence - Tuesday, May 10th

  4. Working with Conflict - Tuesday, June 14th 


Click on the titles below to learn more about what will be covered in each session.

Session 1 - Conversations in Inclusiveness | Session 2 - Understanding Bias | Session 3 - Reflective Practice and Emotional Intelligence | Session 4 - Working with Conflict


Session 1: Conversations in Inclusiveness

In this interactive workshop, participants will be introduced to a set of tools to help them engage in reflective practice and intercultural communication in order to create inclusive excellence in the work environment. Participants will engage in experiential exercises, dialogue, and work with The Principles for How We Treat Each Other. Participants will be introduced to the idea of unconscious bias and be given opportunities in a safe setting to temporarily put aside their own perspectives in order to listen non-judgmentally to the experiences of others. With these new tools in hand, participants will improve their interpersonal relationships, and the work environment, and develop practices of respect and community building.

Session 2: Understanding Bias

Much has been saying recently about the new science of bias. Are you aware of your hidden bias and how it affects you? Learn about the emerging science of implicit bias, along with strategies and tools to skillfully navigate implicit bias, fundamental attribution error, and confirmation bias. Participants will be given opportunities in a safe setting to temporarily put aside their own perspectives in order to listen non-judgmentally to the experiences of others. With these new tools in hand, participants will learn to identify and minimize the impact of bias, improve interpersonal relationships, and develop practices of respect and community building.

Session 3: Reflective Practice and Emotional Intelligence

In this workshop, participants explore the meaning of reflective practice and obtain tools for greater self-knowledge and practical ways to receive and provide feedback through the theory of emotional intelligence by using the Principles for How We Treat Each Other to create a compassionate, nonviolent, hospitable, and respectful workplace. As the pace of the world increases and our environment makes more and more demands on our cognitive, emotional, and reflective resources, emotional intelligence and reflective practice are increasingly critical skillsets for leadership success. Through skill-building exercises and group discussion, this course provides participants with the opportunity to identify their own challenges in maintaining positive environments and collaborative relationships as well as overcoming resistance and negativity.

Session 4: Working with Conflict

It is common to see conflict as something negative, but what if you were able to turn conflict into a win-win situation? Starting from the premise that everyone looks at the conflict in a unique way, this workshop offers a transformative approach to working with conflict as a potential for positive change. Organizational cultures that view conflict as an opportunity are better poised to maximize the benefits of their diverse workforce. In this course, participants will learn about the components, roles, and needs active in conflict; identify their own conflict style, and be introduced to conflict resolution practices for the purpose of more productive and positive outcomes. Participants will engage in various exercises, including role play for the purpose of integrating these skills into a piece of working knowledge.

Presented by Valencia College's Peace and Justice Institute (PJI)


Workshop Objectives

  • Apply the Principles for How We Treat Each Other to create a foundation of connection, trust, honesty, and respect.

  • Create a safe space for dialogue that nurtures an environment of inclusive excellence, one where collaboration and teamwork are prioritized and a more equitable community is cultivated.

  • Create opportunities for self-reflection through small group sharing, individual reflection, and serial testimony.