Services
Historically Authentic Racial Equity Engagement
While current DEI initiatives address many areas of disparities, Diverse Minds Consulting, LLC intentionally focuses on the ‘root’, that being racism, knowing that when embedding a framework focused on addressing racism all other disparities can be addressed.
We guide organizations, groups, and individuals in developing institutional racial self-awareness, knowledge of inequitable policies and practices, and skills that empowers organizations and institutions in effective collaboration with employees, participants and other relationships while serving with and working among diverse populations.
Diverse Minds Consulting, LLC will help your organization become equipped to make the choice to view your working relationships through the lens of racial equity and to achieve equity in all facets of our lives. This requires education, commitment, sacrifice, vulnerability, patience, and discomfort. We accomplish this by ‘immersive and disruptive’ dialogue groups, trainings, presentations.
Assessments & Trainings
Diverse Minds Consulting, LLC specializes in providing organizations, groups, and individuals with specialized training in racial competency by guiding them in the study of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Anti-Racism. Our Assessments and training tools are individualized to organizations, groups, or institutions and specific to their needs and goals.
Quantitative Equity Assessment
Our quantitative research will provide your organization with holistic data and information to quantify the racial practices and policies of your organization. Our quantitative data will provide a baseline for your organization to begin addressing and correcting any disparities that may be found. The assessment will include a survey and review of policies and hiring/retention practices.
Qualitative Equity Assessment
Our qualitative one on one 30 minutes informal conversations will provide your organization with invaluable real time opinions, experiences and perspectives that may contradict or confirm the quantitative assessment, again leading to a baseline for your organization to begin addressing and correcting any disparities that may be found. It is highly recommended that organizations do not omit the qualitative equity assessment. This assessment can also include focus groups.
Entire Staff Training
Organizations that begin on the journey of racial equity leading to cultural competency and effective cross racial awareness will benefit from the presentation and lecture style of these sessions. These are ideally conducted with no more than 40 - 50 individuals at a time and allow staff to participate in professional development that leads to awareness of deeply embedded bias, empathy training, and best practices around ally-ship and becoming antiracist.
To truly develop authentic racial and cultural competency staff must go beyond diversity training and build from the root of all bias – racism. This training is designed to introduce staff to long hidden history, interrogate their racial identity and address their racial bias. While these are interactive, they are designed more for lecture and intergroup conversation than discussion and are offered in 4-hour increments.
Coaching
Coaching is designed to offer a bias free learning zone. We have found that part of the angst around understanding this work is ‘fear’. Fear of what one does not know, fear of what one has been taught and fear of how one has contributed unknowingly to these issues. Coaching provides a courageous space for one-on one or small group conversations to freely examine, explore, and resolve unique knowledge gaps, address fears, and face challenges to embracing and creating an antiracist workplace. These are generally offered in 1-hour increments for no more than 3 individuals at a time.
Discussion Group Facilitation
Discussion is an effective tool for helping individuals become proficient and confident in conversing on sensitive and complex topics, gain mastery of sociological concepts related to race and develop an increased commitment to supporting and promoting racial equity. A primary goal of group discussion is to help staff overcome learned avoidance of discussing race and disavowal of its ongoing existence. We discuss structural racism, racial privilege, individual experiences with racial privilege, oppression and promote greater awareness for all who identify as human.
We conduct these discussions with similar categorical groups and sometimes as mixed category groups. Similar category groups often feel more freedom to express learned ideology, biases, and perspectives toward reducing these. Mixed category groups have potential to heal racial divides, dispel stereotypes, and increase appreciation with a sense of connectedness with all others. These discussions are generally conducted in 2-hour increments but can vary. These are usually conducted with no more than 25-30 individuals at a time. These may include book club.
‘Fly on the Wall’ Conversations
One of our more wildly successful services. The ‘Fly on the Wall’ conversations are relaxed but intentional conversations centering the lived experiences and concrete recommendations of Black, Brown and other marginalized people.
Diverse Minds Consulting, LLC recognizes as Glenn E Martin states, "Those closest to the problem, are closest to the solution but often furthest from the resources and power" – typically resulting in specifically not being heard and generally not being heard unfiltered.
Because of the sensitive nature of these 'a la carte' conversations - this service is only open to groups who have shown a demonstrated commitment to anti-racism and as a way of expanding the internal work groups have already begun.
Questions and clarification of conversation could be discussed at a later event if desired but this would be an opportunity for majority culture individuals to sit, hear and learn from the centered experiences of Black and brown individuals from the unadulterated perspectives of minoritized individuals
Please 'Contact Us' to schedule your free consultation.