I talk with Susan X Jane about Race, Racism, Diversity, Culture and a Willingness to be uncomfortable!!! Susan X Jane is the Principle of Navigators Consulting. She has over 25 years of experience working in the field of culture, diversity and inclusion, providing strategic planning, facilitation, program development, and training to both big and small organizations in Boston and beyond. Susan helped dozens of Boston area organizations grow their capacity to serve diverse audiences during her decade as a senior manager at the YWCA Boston. Most recently, Susan was a professor of Communications and director of Wheelock College’s communication and Media Literacy program where she trained the next generation of activists and leaders to affect change in the public and private sector, teaching courses like Media and Race, Sociology of Minorities, and Organizational Communication. Susan is a skilled facilitator, experienced in making organizational cultures inclusive. She has served on a number of planning committees, including The Youth Voice Collaborative, LiNC, The South End Youth Workers Alliance, The Wheelock College Strategic Realization Team, and The Boston Civic Media Planning Group, to develop and support execution of long-term organizational strategic plans. Susan believes that diversity isn’t about checking a box; it’s about leveraging the best human capital to achieve your organizations mission and goals. She is passionate about helping organizations build sustainable integrated inclusion practices that will help their company, their clients and our world thrive. About Navigators Our country and the communities and audiences we serve are becoming increasingly diverse: By the year 2040, America will become a majority minority country. What does that mean for businesses looking to run lean while building teams, getting work done and serving clients? It means having diversity is a key competency, not just an add-on; it means inclusion is essential to being able to respond to our increasingly diverse constituency. It is no longer a question of whether or not your company should pay attention to diversity and inclusion, it’s now an imperative to do it well. Diversity ensures we get the right people in the room. Inclusion, done right, creates stronger more creative teams. A comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy helps organizations leverage their diversity to work smarter, with more creativity, and successful collaborations, resulting in better production. In order to create inclusive communities prepared to respond to our new reality, companies need to think beyond one-prong approaches and create a multifaceted D & I strategic plan that can operate across their organization, ensuring their workforce, collaborators and work product all represent—and appeal—to their diverse audience. Navigators seeks to empower every member of your organization with the tools and strategies to build an inclusive organization, from front line workers to senior management. Be Sure to Connect with Susan here: Twitter: @susanjane19 Instagram: @susanxjane FB: facebook.com/susan.x.jane Blog: www.smntks.com Consulting: www.culturenavigators.com What you will learn in this episode: The Stories that we tell are the life that we live 17:30 The way power is organized in our world 26:45 Benefits of the system of race 29:30 Limits of Law 31:24 Susan’s work with Organizations 55:54 Karen Kenney is a writer, speaker, and the founder of Fearless Flow Mentoring. She’s a certified...