The University of Washington Bothell is hosting its second annual Diversity and Inclusion Conference on April 8 in partnership with T-Mobile.
The Director of Diversity says the workshop topics planned for this conference are relevant to the critical diversity and inclusion work going on now throughout the Puget Sound region in education, industry and the communities.
“Current events have pushed the discussion around diversity and inclusion to center stage across the country,” says Ross. “UW Bothell is excited to partner with T-Mobile in taking on difficult issues at this conference. We want attendees to leave with new knowledge and skills that will change their experiences in personal and professional interactions and influence more meaningful diversity and inclusion work in our region.”
Attendees, including students, diversity professionals, police officers and community members will have the opportunity to network and take part in three workshops: Courageous Conversation, Advocacy and Action, and Allyship.
Courageous Conversation will offer strategies and tools to communicate with others when cultural tension and conflicts exist. Advocacy and Action will teach how to collaborate with others to move from advocacy to action in an increasingly diverse society. Allyship will be led by T-Mobile’s diversity and inclusion leaders who will share what it takes to be an effective ally for an inclusive work environment
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Longtime community advocate and Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission Vivian Phillips will be the keynote speaker.
Also at the conference, the students vying for a grant of up to $5,000 aimed at solving a diversity issue will present their proposals in a Shark Tank-like competition, and conference attendees will choose the winner.
The winning team will receive coaching from T-Mobile executives at their Bellevue campus to bring their project to fruition. T-Mobile also will feature the project on its internal diversity and inclusion web page and create a video showcasing the project's progress over a year.
"The greatest thing about this conference and the project competition is the opportunity for leadership to come from all of us — the nonprofit, education, corporate sectors and especially students," said Holli Martinez, T-Mobile director of diversity and inclusion.
Register for the conference on the campus diversity website.
