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DEI in 2026 Keynotes & Virtual Workshops
Thank you for leading your workshop on how leaders can create a more inclusive and equitable workplace. This session was instrumental in our ongoing efforts to cultivate a work environment that brings out the best in our staff. Your workshop equipped managers with practical strategies to grasp the concepts and apply them immediately within their teams. Your facilitation style enabled a diverse group of leaders to understand how empathy and communication can enhance performance and foster a more engaged team. Bonnie Lobert, Vice President and Chief Talent Officer, The Henry Ford, Dearborn, MI |
Putting the ROI Back Into DEI
This is a difficult time for diversity, equity, inclusion and belongingness. In the past year, there has been tremendous political and legislative backlash toward DEI programs, including 4 Executive Orders signed by President Trump in the first 48 hours of his second term. While this backlash may be politically motivated, that does not mean it’s completely wrong. There have been problematic elements in DEI programs for years, so it behooves us to take a closer look at the current state of organizational DEI and ask ourselves, are we truly taking actions that improve individual, team and organizational performance? Are we taking actions that help us achieve our strategic objectives? Because of this session, you'll be able to:
Audience: Supervisors, managers and senior leaders
Format: 60-75-minute interactive keynote presentation OR virtual workshop
This is a difficult time for diversity, equity, inclusion and belongingness. In the past year, there has been tremendous political and legislative backlash toward DEI programs, including 4 Executive Orders signed by President Trump in the first 48 hours of his second term. While this backlash may be politically motivated, that does not mean it’s completely wrong. There have been problematic elements in DEI programs for years, so it behooves us to take a closer look at the current state of organizational DEI and ask ourselves, are we truly taking actions that improve individual, team and organizational performance? Are we taking actions that help us achieve our strategic objectives? Because of this session, you'll be able to:
- Apply 3 actions that will enhance the quality of DEI efforts and boost your organization’s return on investment (ROI).
- Identify what works (and what does not) when it comes to DEI interventions and apply metrics to measure key DEI outcomes.
- Apply a simple paradigm that will reduce the controversy inherent in DEI discussions.
Audience: Supervisors, managers and senior leaders
Format: 60-75-minute interactive keynote presentation OR virtual workshop
The Behavioral Interviewing Workshop
An individual interview is the least effective selection method we can use in a hiring process. The typical interview is unstructured, relies on building rapport with a candidate, is grounded in first impressions, can be significantly impacted by unconscious bias and because of its lack of structure, makes comparisons between candidates more difficult and unreliable. Worst of all, there is a low correlation between interview performance and job performance meaning the predictive validity of a standard interview is very low. Behavioral interviewing addresses many of these concerns. It is a structured interviewing process that significantly improves predictive validity, reduces bias and increases fairness in the selection process, offers improved differentiation amongst candidates for a particular position and provides a more objective and defensible evaluation process. Specifically, as a result of this highly interactive workshop, participants will be able to:
Audience: Staff members, managers and senior leaders who are responsible for the hiring process
Format: Half-day or full-day interactive workshop for full program. Shorter versions are available.
An individual interview is the least effective selection method we can use in a hiring process. The typical interview is unstructured, relies on building rapport with a candidate, is grounded in first impressions, can be significantly impacted by unconscious bias and because of its lack of structure, makes comparisons between candidates more difficult and unreliable. Worst of all, there is a low correlation between interview performance and job performance meaning the predictive validity of a standard interview is very low. Behavioral interviewing addresses many of these concerns. It is a structured interviewing process that significantly improves predictive validity, reduces bias and increases fairness in the selection process, offers improved differentiation amongst candidates for a particular position and provides a more objective and defensible evaluation process. Specifically, as a result of this highly interactive workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe the 4 phases of a behavioral interview (opening, responding, questioning and closing).
- Identify valid criteria to be used in an interview process.
- Effectively develop behavior–based questions for the identified criteria.
- Devise benchmark responses for the interview questions.
- Evaluate responses to interview questions and make effective selection decisions.
Audience: Staff members, managers and senior leaders who are responsible for the hiring process
Format: Half-day or full-day interactive workshop for full program. Shorter versions are available.
Equity, Empathy and Your Role as An Ally
Organizational equity, which is the E in DEI, can be defined as creating environments that maximize the likelihood of success for a diverse array of individuals. It’s shaping the circumstances that consistently facilitate the success of people from different backgrounds, who may bring diverse skillsets and ways of thinking to the workplace. Unconscious bias can have a significant impact on the creation of such environments. The primary purpose of this session is to identify specific steps we can take to mitigate the negative impact of these biases and to serve as an ally to potentially disenfranchised individuals. Because of this session, you'll be able to:
Audience: Staff members, managers and senior leaders
Format: 60-75-minute interactive keynote presentation OR virtual workshop
Organizational equity, which is the E in DEI, can be defined as creating environments that maximize the likelihood of success for a diverse array of individuals. It’s shaping the circumstances that consistently facilitate the success of people from different backgrounds, who may bring diverse skillsets and ways of thinking to the workplace. Unconscious bias can have a significant impact on the creation of such environments. The primary purpose of this session is to identify specific steps we can take to mitigate the negative impact of these biases and to serve as an ally to potentially disenfranchised individuals. Because of this session, you'll be able to:
- Define equity and describe specific types of unconscious bias that can negatively impact organizational equity (e.g., proximity bias and beauty bias).
- Identify specific steps we can take to reduce the negative impact of unconscious bias on organizational equity.
- Define ally and identify specific steps you can take to advocate for and support underrepresented group members.
- Describe the impact of empathy in the creation of equitable environments where members are able to be their true, authentic selves.
Audience: Staff members, managers and senior leaders
Format: 60-75-minute interactive keynote presentation OR virtual workshop
Trump's DEI Executive Orders: Much Ado About Nothing?
In the first 48 hours of his second term, President Trump signed 4 Executive Orders designed to eliminate “illegal DEI programs and restore merit-based practices” within the Federal Government and to an extent, the private sector as well. This raises the question, to what extent does this impact the diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belongingness initiatives in your organization? Perhaps, not as much as you think. In fact, for many organizations it will have little to no impact whatsoever provided they are engaged in 3 specific practices. Because of this interactive session, you will be able to:
Audience: Staff members, managers and senior leaders
Format: 60-75-minute interactive keynote presentation OR virtual workshop
In the first 48 hours of his second term, President Trump signed 4 Executive Orders designed to eliminate “illegal DEI programs and restore merit-based practices” within the Federal Government and to an extent, the private sector as well. This raises the question, to what extent does this impact the diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belongingness initiatives in your organization? Perhaps, not as much as you think. In fact, for many organizations it will have little to no impact whatsoever provided they are engaged in 3 specific practices. Because of this interactive session, you will be able to:
- Better understand the core focus of the 4 DEI Executive Orders.
- Describe and successfully apply 3 actions that will ensure compliance with new law and enhance the quality of current DEI practices.
- Apply a simple paradigm that will reduce the controversy inherent in DEI discussions.
- Describe specific examples of “safe” interventions and metrics that can be used to enhance individual and organizational performance and restore confidence in DEI work.
Audience: Staff members, managers and senior leaders
Format: 60-75-minute interactive keynote presentation OR virtual workshop
