Champions: Building Your Internal Network
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Looking for a way to get your equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives threaded throughout your organization? In this short session see how one large organization utilized their passionate workforce to pull each other in, create a network that supports continuous communication and progress. Then walk away with tools and techniques that can be converted for small- or large-scale operations.
Learning Objectives:
- Discover how crafting an internal structure of staff that actively support your DE&I goals can help create sustainable progress.
- Discuss best practices for setting up a framework that is flexible to fit the diversity of division, department, and services within a large organization.
- Learn how empowering others with educational and learning opportunities about diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence encourages all staff to play a role in addressing behavior that is not supportive of diversity and inclusion.
Taryell Simmons
Taryell Simmons is an HR Services Manager for the Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Division in the County of San Diego. The Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Division aspires to help create and sustain a countywide culture of belonging and interconnectedness. Taryell and his team have collaborated with various stakeholders to craft a future where all members can fully realize their potential through our diversity, strategic initiatives, partnerships, training, and policy development.
After working in building workforce programs and Talent Development for over eight years, he became more involved in efforts to integrate EDI as internal support, specifically in recruitment, hiring, professional development & career advancement.
Taryell Simmons is also a Board Of Director for Village UP, powering inclusivity in the San Diego Startup Space. Village Up is a collaborative initiative to increase diversity and access to the San Diego innovation economy. After winning a startup weekend pitch competition hosted by Google and Techstars, Taryell became more involved in D&I efforts to help bring diversity to the Tech Startup space.
He is a RISE Urban Leadership graduate and a 2020 Rockwood Leadership Institute fellow. With an obsession with lifelong learning, he has worked with thousands of students, employees, entrepreneurs, and startups, supporting them through workforce development, employee training, strategic data-based strategies and partnership, execution of workforce program development, and vital alliance-building.
Holly Norton
Holly Norton is a Program Manager with the Department of Human Resources’ Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) division. She has worked as a learning and development professional for over 15 years across academic, secular, corporate, and government. In every position, she has found ways to leverage her passion for creating opportunities for transformational growth and connection.