Speakers and Past Topics
November 2020
Cultural Intelligence for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
As members of an institution that seeks to measure itself by whom it includes and not by whom it excludes, faculty and staff at ASU can uphold inclusive practices through exhibiting culturally responsive behaviors, the result of developing Cultural Intelligence (CI). After recognizing why diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) are foundational for student success, participants will examine what qualities demonstrate CI and how to create inclusive environments, both in person and online. Engaging activities will provide participants opportunities for critical reflection as they investigate antiracism, privilege, implicit bias, and microaggressions. Most importantly, participants will commit to action-oriented steps to become more empathetic, compassionate and effective in their daily practices. Attendees will receive a digital workbook with which to engage material during and beyond the workshop.
Renee Bhatti-Klug
Senior International Educator, ASU Global
Renee Bhatti-Klug brings to her role as Senior University International Educator 17 years of English and ESL teaching experience throughout the U.S. and overseas, most recently with ASU’s Global Launch. Renee's expertise is in building academically rigorous curricula while fostering supportive classroom environments. A graduate with degrees in English literature and writing from Biola University and LIU/Stony Brook Southampton, Renee specializes in working with students from Asia, the Middle East, and India. She has lived in England and France; she has backpacked Europe, kayaked in Fiji, and trained teachers in Madagascar.
Her mission in this role is to work closely with ASU faculty and staff to help facilitate cross-cultural understanding and produce more successful global student graduates by providing strategic training, focused on students’ cultural backgrounds and academic needs.
January 2021
Ecosystem Building and Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Weave together human ecosystems from the many complex systems that emcompass all aspects of human communities integrating multiple factors such as economics, socio-political, technical, cultural, historical, psychological, and physical factors.
Cyndi Coon
Special Projects Contractor, Office of the President, Arizona State University
Cyndi Coon is a producer, writer, storyteller and rule-bender for good. She serves as the Chief of Staff at the Threatcasting Lab, a producer at ASURE (Applied Research Lab), Producing Director at the Weaponized Narrative Initiative and a special projects contractor for the office of the president at Arizona State University. She is a board member of the People Centered Internet, Volunteer Ecosystem Producer for the PCI Global Help Desk. She is the Founder and CEO of Laboratory5 Inc. Cyndi's role is to look at big wicked problems and insert opportunities for humans to collaborate.
February 2021
Reading and Writing Diversity Statements
Search committees at colleges and universities nationwide increasingly require candidates applying for faculty or leadership positions to submit a diversity statement. And while we have begun to make this a requirement, frequently, search committees do not know how to evaluate this component of the application, and applicants do not know how to approach writing a diversity statement.
In this workshop, we offer advice for search committees as they evaluate diversity statements and advice for candidates writing diversity statements. We lay out some of the “red flags” and “key frameworks” to look for when evaluating this significant part of applicants’ statements while offering roadmaps for those writing these important statements.
Pardis Mahdavi
Director for the School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University
Pardis Mahdavi, PhD is currently Dean of Social Sciences and Director of the School for Social Transformation at Arizona State University. Before coming to Arizona, she was Acting Dean of the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (2017-2019), after spending eleven years at Pomona College from 2006-2017 where she most recently served as professor and chair of anthropology and director of the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College as well as Dean of Women. Her research interests include gendered labor, human trafficking, migration, sexuality, human rights, transnational feminism, and public health in the context of changing global and political structures. She has published four single authored books and one edited volume in addition to numerous journal and news articles. She has been a fellow at the Social Sciences Research Council, the American Council on Learned Societies, Google Ideas, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In 2018 she was appointed by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and re-appointed by Governor Jared Polis to serve on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.
April 2021
Effective Mentoring
Mentoring has been shown to be one of the most important factors in career development success. Most of us have never been taught to mentor – we have either good or poor role models whose behavior we emulate or try to avoid their mistakes. In an institution, mentoring is part of a system, and should not be considered something that a faculty member should have to figure out on their own. In the best of circumstances, a mentoring system will utilize a set of tools that are consistent in intent but potentially tailored to different contexts. This workshop will discuss the different tools that might be included in a mentoring system. During the course of the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to create one of the tools in the system.
Deborah Helizer
Dean and Professor, College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University
Deborah Helitzer is a professor and dean of the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University. Helitzer’s research has focused on health outcome improvements through interventions in communities and in clinical settings. She has collaborated with researchers studying diabetes, injury prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, cancer and obesity prevention. Prior to joining ASU in August 2017, Helitzer was the founding dean of the College of Population Health at the University of New Mexico where she led the development and implementation of the nation’s first undergraduate degree in population health. Since 2009, Helitzer has also focused her attention on mentor and career development among women faculty in academic medical centers. She has been an author on more than 90 publications, three books and eight book chapters. As a collaborator, Helitzer is nationally renowned for her expertise in theory, measurement, logic models, intervention design and evaluation and health literacy. She earned her Doctor of Science in international health from The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Washington University and was an ELAM fellow in the class of 2010.
September 2021
Assertiveness
Are you someone who sits back to avoid conflict and are looking for an effective way to change this about yourself? When and how do you stand up for your personal boundaries? There is a fine line between aggressive behavior and behavior that is assertive. Learn the difference and how to use both effectively. This class will give you practical tools and examples of how to use assertiveness to obtain your goals of success without compromising your integrity.
Amber Wonder
Assistant Director, Employee Assistance Office, Arizona State University
Amber Wonder is the Assistant Director of the Employee Assistance Office and received her master's degree in Counseling from Arizona State University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with the Arizona Board of Behavior Health Examiners, and a National Certified Counselor with the National Board of Certified Counselors. Her areas of clinical expertise include individual and family counseling to address anxiety, depression, stress management, relationship issues, workplace consultations, trauma and substance abuse. Amber joined the Employee Assistance Office in 2013, having previously worked as a counselor and supervisor in non-profit community mental health.
October 2021
Engaging Men as Allies
(men only workshop)
Men have a critical role to play in leveling the playing field at ASU and in higher education but are often an untapped resource in gender diversity initiatives. Men can—and should—be partners in educating other men and in moving ASU toward gender equality. Join the ASU ADVANCE male allies team from noon-1p on Oct 22nd to learn about how to be an effective ally and advocate at ASU.
ASU Male Allies
Arizona State University
Speakers: Dave White, Paul LePore, Duane Roen, Lev Gonick, Tim Summers, Eduardo Pagan, Steve Neuberg , Scott Barclay, Ian Gould, Kyle Bowen, Derrick Anderson, Ira Bennett, Josh LaBaer, Bryan Brayboy, Kenro Kasumi, Netra Chhetri and Dan Gruber
