Welcome to ALI and Brilliant Ink's 2nd virtual conference on Building an Equitable, Anti-Racist Workplace.

We ask that you turn your camera on during this session as you are broken into small groups. Take this time to discuss with your communication and HR peers the biggest challenges you're currently facing and what you hope to achieve by attending this event.

Increasingly, organizations are evolving their diversity and inclusion efforts to include equity with a renewed focus on structurally removing and eradicating biased processes and systems. Communicators play a critical role in communicating this evolution by helping to turn intention into meaningful progress. Hear Freddie Mac’s journey to communicate their DEI efforts and ways that communicators can advance an organization’s DEI goals.

In this session, we’ll discuss:

• How to start your own personal journey to understanding DEI
• Best practices to communicating an organization’s equity journey
• Identifying opportunities to advance equity within communication processes such as the use of inclusive language

2020 highlighted both challenges and opportunities for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Starting with protests and performative gestures, individuals and organizations started asking for performance and proof of true change personally and professionally.  Internal Communication Professionals can play a leadership role as a strategic advisor that can support during challenges and enable opportunities.

In this session, we'll discuss:

• The importance of representation
• How to turn awareness into action when it comes to diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging
• The important role of communication professionals and the profession itself in supporting and driving change
• What you’re probably doing wrong

Individually and collectively, it's time to lead ourselves and our organizations through a fundamental shift that demands actions that match promotions and promises.

Take a moment to turn off your camera, refuel, and digest all that you've heard.

• Learn how to create an anti-racist community as a catalyst for change at work
• Understand topics and frameworks to use when having these discussions
• Leverage technologies available to your advantage, not disadvantage

This session is designed to give you the floor. In small groups you will have an opportunity to help your peers solve their biggest DEI challenges as well as propose your own and gain practical advice you can apply.

Leave this session with new ideas to help you define your own DE&I initiatives, including:

• What is your Equity Framework?
• Have you been transparent about your organization’s commitments and guidelines?
• How do you define and measure success?

• Make It: Courageous conversations are hard to have...and that's ok.
• Break It: Tone is important but honesty is critical.
• Make It: Assume positive intent.
• Break It: What happens when you don't understand your culture.
• Make It: Walk the walk to sustainable outcomes and business benefits.

In the wake of recent incidents of assault and the rise of xenophobia toward the Asian community, hear how Lisa Lee and Sueli Shaw have supported employees at DoorDash and how they’ve led their company to take action.

Grab a notebook and get your questions ready.

During this session we will hear from a variety of speakers and their advice on how to go beyond checking the box of creating a DEI strategy, but actually making change happen.

In this safe space we will stop recording and give you the opportunity to ask your questions. You can ask the audience, prior speakers, or panelists available.

We have designated this time to be sure you leave this event without any questions unanswered.

You've heard a lot of stories and received a lot of advice, so what next?

Hear advice on how to move forward and how to set achievable goals throughout the next year.