Inclusion: Guiding Organizational Change

How do you achieve a truly inclusive workplace?  One that sees diversity at every level within the institution...where the many cultures, traditions, beliefs, languages, and lifestyles that are prevalent in both the workforce as well as in consumer populations are respected without judgment?  In today’s highly diverse organizations, the ability to work with people having varied values and cultures is extremely important...and simply hiring people of different races and hanging a training certificate on your wall isn’t going to get you there.  

As a predominantly white-led organization, Centerboard has dedicated more than 8,500 staff hours towards embracing and understanding a multicultural perspective over the past eleven years. Are we perfect?  No. Do we have all of the knowledge and the solutions?  No. What we do have is the practical, hands-on (at times messy) experience of embracing differences interpersonally, culturally, and institutionally - and some amazing successes...as well as some epic failures. Learn from our story, our truth, and our journey.

 Why Centerboard?

• 11 years of participating in DEI awareness and training within the organization via outside consultants trained in the VISIONS model

• 11 years of experience in the implementation of DEI work within a nonprofit organization

• We use storytelling as a road map

• Trained in Dr. Ross Greene’s Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) Model; International CPS Trainer on staff

• Certified trainer in the VISIONS, Inc. model of DEI on staff

• Staff that serve on the Providers’ Council’s Race, Diversity & Inclusion Committee

• Success in making effective change within an organization, for example, improving the retention and promotion of people of color by

  • Utilizing a multicultural lens when revising policies, such as our dress code and drug/alcohol use policy

  • Strengthening employee support procedures and turning to the cooperative process when an issue arises

The Impact of DEI Work at Centerboard

What We Offer

Ready to do more than hang a certificate of training on your wall?  Ready to roll up your sleeves and dive in?  Great!  Our work with you is based on the understanding that we all must first build awareness of unconscious beliefs, assumptions, and behaviors…and then the stage is set for a conscious and lasting shift in those behaviors without shame or blame.  

What you won’t get from us: shame, blame, guilt, confrontation.

What you will get from us:

• Practice applying evidenced-based tools for doing real DEI work as it relates to situations you are encountering

• The knowledge to have courageous, necessary conversations about differences

• Setting the stage for all to speak their truth

• The support and constructive feedback to keep on keepin’ on when the work gets messy 

• The development of internal capacity to put new knowledge and insights into practice on a daily basis organization-wide

• Sharing of resources, including two slots for your staff to attend Centerboard’s DEI orientation

Learn more about our Guiding Organizational Change consultants here.

Worried about cost? See if you qualify for a DEI scholarship through our partnership with the Tower Foundation - click here.

Our Influence

Beginning in June 2022, we are partnering with the Tower Foundation to offer inclusion training to 15 Essex County nonprofits over the next three years! Learn more here.

Participated in MOVA Victim Rights Month Workshop - Creating an Organizational Culture of Inclusion on April 20, 2021 10AM - 11:30AM.

Our work was featured in the December 2020 edition of The Provider.

On November 30, 2020, Gary Lyon and Kim Hopkins presented Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Organizational Culture as part of the People’s United Nonprofit Consortium Series in partnership with the Essex County Community Foundation.

In October 2020, Gary Lyon and Kim Hopkins presented Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Organizational Culture at the Providers’ Council’s virtual 45th Annual Convention & Expo: SpeakUp4Equity.

In 2020, our lead DEI consultant, Gary Lyon, represented Centerboard on the Providers’ Council’s Race, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee which authored this important Call to Action on Racial Equity.

Testimonials

“I’ve had the privilege of working with Gary in person and as we’ve transitioned our sessions online. Gary engages with the leaders in our program with thoughtfulness, respect, and care. He balances his firm grasp of the core concepts around culture, identity, and inclusiveness with empathy, allowing for participants to grapple with concepts that for them may be new or challenging. His approach in the online context has maintained that consistent care and openness he demonstrated in person and team members have felt safe to open up in the break-out sessions he’s led. It’s been a continued pleasure to partner with him in providing an environment for learning for our leaders at SNHU. Thank you, Gary!” - Brian Sollenberger, Director of Talent Development, Southern New Hampshire University.

“Great mix of stories and high-level context, applicable to my organization, and EXCELLENT presenting. This really set a high bar for the conference. I learned a lot and took lots of notes to aid in future decisions.” - SpeakUp4Equity Conference participant.

Contact Us for a Free Phone Consultation

Please contact Kim Hopkins, LICSW, Director of Innovation & Planning, by phone or fill out the form below: