The Inclusive Workplace: An Empathetic Approach Through Storytelling
Session seating is first come, first served. Thank you for your cooperation.
We leverage the neuroscience of storytelling to stimulate empathy and courageous conversations to underline inclusive behavior. In this session, we will be calling attention to our capability of contributing to diversity, inclusion, and well-being within our communities through allyship and action. The session is led by the award-winning founder of StoryBolt, Dr. Nassim Abdi, a storyteller and evangelist dedicated to finding the intersection of entertainment and learning in the area of DEI. She has 12 years of academic experience researching identity and intersectionality as they relate to systems of discrimination or disadvantage. Nassim will kick off the session with an engagement activity, and then we will watch a brief documentary, Woman in Motion, about Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols, the woman who changed NASA.
Learning Objectives:
- Understanding DEI as a facet of basic human and professional development, a soft skill required of all employees, resulting in innovation ROI for the organization.
- Understanding our role in promoting diversity and inclusion effectively in the workplace.
- Being able to cite specific examples of individual and collective acts that lead to an increase in diversity.
- Understanding effective allyship and identifying specific personal actions to be a better ally.
- Becoming familiar with a new method of addressing implicit bias that uses storytelling and empathy as the primary focus.
Nassim Abdi
Nassim Abdi, Ph.D. is the CEO and Co-founder of StoryBolt, an innovative corporate inclusion training company sparking empathetic, guided conversations in the workplace with the power of storytelling through film. Nassim is a storyteller and evangelist dedicated to finding the intersection of entertainment and learning in the area of DEI. She has 12 years of academic experience researching identity and intersectionality as they relate to systems of discrimination or disadvantage. Nassim's vision for StoryBolt was shaped while on the promotional circuit for her starring role in the internationally-acclaimed film Secret Ballot (2001). After seeing how film could change perspectives and facilitate courageous conversations, she and co-founder Babak Shahmansouri coined their novel active learning approach to addressing inclusion issues in the workplace.
Syeria Smith
Syeria Smith is Belk’s Sr. Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and Campus Recruiting. Syeria joined Belk in 2017 on their Talent Acquisition team supporting the companies West Division. Prior to joining Belk, Syeria spent 14 years with Macy’s, Inc. where she began in a Retail Development Program and built a well-rounded background through her work on buying and planning teams, store leadership as well as district, region, and corporate Human Resources functions. In addition to her prescribed role, she has always been an active participant in shaping company culture by serving on the Corporate Diversity Council and leading employee resource groups. In her current role, Syeria is responsible for leading Belk’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) efforts and recently assumed responsibility for early talent program recruiting. She is extremely passionate about creating access to opportunities for others and leaving every situation better than she found it. Syeria holds a B.S. in Fashion Marketing and Management from Stephens College in Columbia, MO. She resides in Kansas City, MO, with her husband, Marcus, and their three children, Khloe (12), Maddox (7), and Lennox (4).
Fun fact #1: If you’re an iPhone user, when you call Syeria’s name, your phone (Siri) will respond 9 times out of 10.