The Power of We: Building Ally-Focused
Inclusion Initiatives that Engage the Broader
Workforce
Forum on Workplace Inclusion - March, 2015
Shavondalyn Givens, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Jennifer Brown, Jennifer Brown Consulting
www.nasa.gov
diversity & inclusion
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Introductions
Jennifer Brown
Jennifer Brown is the Founder & CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, a certified woman- and LGBT-owned strategic
leadership and diversity consulting firm specializing in the future of the workforce and workplace, and dedicated to building
more inclusive organizations where all kinds of talent can feel Welcomed, Valued, Respected, and Heard℠. Based in New
York City and maintaining a global team, the company partners with HR, Talent Management, D&I and Business leadership
on change management efforts relating to human capital, including the design, development and facilitation of customized,
interactive classroom and online learning events. JBC is known as the creator of the ERG Progression Model℠, a
proprietary development tool that facilitates the transformation of ERGs into true business partners. Employer-of choice
clients include Cisco, Toyota Financial Services, Wells Fargo, Thomson Reuters, AXA, Disney, New York Life, Target, and
many of the Fortune 500. Jennifer is quoted frequently on next generation diversity and inclusion practices, has delivered
two TEDx talks, and is a dedicated and visible change advocate in the LGBT and Allies community.
Shavondalyn Givens
Shavondalyn Givens is a senior Diversity and Inclusion Program Analyst at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
Ms. Givens started her NASA career as a Presidential Management Fellow at NASA Headquarters after graduating from the University
of Texas, School of Law in Austin, TX. Ms. Givens has held positions in the public, private and non-profit sectors including EEOC
Appellate Division, ACLU of Texas, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Texas Civil Rights Project among others.
Ms. Givens is passionate about Diversity and Inclusion and leveraging the power of D&I to create high performing teams and optimize
performance within organizations. Ms. Givens received her BA with honors from Stanford University. She participated in the Semester
at Sea Study Abroad Global Learning Program and taught English in Japan. Ms. Givens lives in the Washington, DC area with her family
and enjoys participating in numerous community service activities.
www.nasa.gov
diversity & inclusion
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Agenda
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Introductions
Current State at NASA and in the World
Setting the Foundation
What We Did
Experiential Learning Demo – Dimensions of Privilege Exercise
What Worked Really Well for Us
What We Learned Along the Way
Making It Real – Putting inclusion practices into our daily work lives
Still to come in the Future
Closing
http://diversity/index.cfm
 Are
you thinking big enough to capture
all of the people who want to be
involved in D&I efforts?
 Are
we using outdated models and
understanding to identify on ramps for
people within the organization to
support and participate in D&I?
 How
do we start the next generation Ally
conversation?
Setting
the
Foundation
What was
going on in the
environment at
NASA
Goddard?
What problem
were we trying
to solve?
What did we
want to
accomplish?
www.nasa.gov
How do we
align this with
other D&I
initiatives and
training already
in place?
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
What We Did
– What were the key steps to get started?
– What were the key questions we had to address?
– How our initial ideas and concepts evolved to where we are
today
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
What We Did – Summary
– Gained Leadership Buy-In from
D&I Committee and senior
leadership and secured a
senior champion for the
initiative
– Formed a team of passionate
volunteers and identified a lead
– Worked with a consultant to
provide overall guidance and
value added advice around
best practices
– Conducted Benchmarking and
Research on Inclusion
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– Developed a Strategic
Implementation Plan,
Objectives and Metrics
– Developed website
– Created a logo and tagline for
branding
– Conducted Focus Groups with
Employees
– Drafted White Paper and
Business Case for Inclusion
– Developed a definition for
Inclusion and identified the
benefits as well as developed a
definition for an Inclusion Ally
– Marketed the initiative through
Directorate Roadshows
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Who is your ally?
 Who is that person that you can go to and you know you can
count on…who you KNOW has your back on a good day or a bad
one?
 There are people, your coworkers and mine, whose perspective
and whose capabilities, for whatever reason, are not fully
available to the Center
 We all have allies. They are “in our corner”….”on our
side”. They help us to understand and to be understood. They
defend us when we are down. They are a safe place. We need
allies. So does everyone else…….
 Well, we need to BE an Ally as well. The diversity of YOUR work
unit…YOUR facility…YOUR Center… YOUR Agency gives you a
great opportunity to be an Ally
Jay Pittman, Inclusion Ally member, WFF
www.nasa.gov
diversity & inclusion
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Dimensions of Privilege Exercise
 How
do you teach privilege…
 to
the privileged?
 in
the workplace?
 How
do you create a learning exercise
on privilege that is accessible across a
wide spectrum of D&I awareness?
 How
do we tie privilege to the concept
of Ally in a way that resonates?
What groups/identities do I
belong to where I experience
privilege?
• Race
• National Origin
• Gender
• Religion
• Sexual Orientation
• Age
• Socio-economic class
• Ability
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What Works Really Well – JBC
Best Practices and Next Practices
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
What Worked Really Well for Us
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Simplicity of concept - something everyone could get behind
Kicking off the initiative with senior level sponsorship
Tying into our core value of Safety for launching the initiative
Having representatives on the core team from multiple campuses
Enabling different teams to implement at their location: Tailor the
presentation to the organizational workplace culture
Core team included employees, supervisors and senior
management.
Practice D&I Principles – example: how we selected team lead
Talking to JBC early to understand who else is working on this
and what are the best practices in this area
Ice cream and Free Books – quarterly book club idea
Fun. Make sessions engaging and easy to meet new people
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 What
is a core value of your
organization that you could leverage for
your Inclusion efforts?
What We Learned Along the Way
– The significance of greeting people as they walk into a room
– Diversity of opinions about meaning of signing a written pledge
– Address confusion on what it means to be an Ally and
expectations for being part of the initiative
– Create different roles for various levels of engagement
– Challenges in keeping the momentum going
– Be prepared to explain how the new initiative builds on the
past ones and aligns to current initiatives and activities
– Use a spokesperson who is articulate, engaging and focused
in presenting the initiative
– Have passionate and engaged senior champions both formal
and informal
– Find ways to re-energize team members and recalibrate plans
if needed along the way
www.nasa.gov
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Making It Real –
Putting Inclusion Practices Into our Daily
Work Lives
• Starting core team meetings with accountability to model the
behavior - what have you done to be an Inclusion Ally this week?
• Incorporate the same level of interactive activities at all campuses
• Participating in Random Acts of Kindness
• Celebrating Thank You Month
• Posting Inclusive Meetings Flyers in conference rooms and using
While you Wait Slides to convey key Inclusion Messages
• Developing Email Tags/Signatures that incorporate Inclusion Tips
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Still to Come in the Future
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Monthly Newsletter and Resources
Message to Contractors
Planned training seminars – Ally 101 and 201
Partnering with our Employee Resource Groups for sessions on
how to be an ally for specific constituencies
• Storytelling with senior leaders and Inclusion Allies
– Why am I an inclusion ally? What does it mean as a person?
What does it mean for the organization?
www.nasa.gov
diversity & inclusion
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Closing
Here’s to the Dreamers
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The
troublemakers…The ones who see things
differently…They change things. They push the human
race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy
ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy
enough to think they can change the world,
are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs
Be the Change: Awareness, Respect, Advocacy
Contact Info
Jennifer Brown
Read more about the Jennifer and the company at www.jenniferbrownconsulting.com.
jennifer@jenniferbrownconsulting.com
20 E 9th St, Suite 4U
New York, NY 10003
Phone + Fax:
1-888-522-1599
Shavondalyn Givens
Senior Diversity and Inclusion Program Analyst
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD
shavondalyn.givens-1@nasa.gov
301-286-9601
Connect with me on Linked In: linkedin.com/in/shavondalyngivens
Learn more about NASA Goddard’s D&I program at http://diversity.gsfc.nasa.gov/
www.nasa.gov
diversity & inclusion
National Aeronautics and Space Administration