LBTQ+ Leaders and the Intersections of Identity in the Workplace
What are the unique challenges of having multiple marginalized identities in the workplace? What do organizations need to do to build more welcoming environments for queer women? In this session, with a specific lens on the experience and gifts of the LBTQ+ community, Jennifer – a member of the LBTQ+ community herself – delivers insight and impact, and facilitates authentic story-telling and panel conversation, to help audiences more clearly understand how organizations should continue to strengthen culture through true inclusion of LBTQ+ talent.
Panelists share their individual stories of intersectional identity and explore the relative impact of experience with psychological safety on their ability to bring their full selves to work. What have their journeys been like, and how have their views about their identities, and the way those identities are received by others in the organization, changed through the years? What power lies in being authentic about intersectionality, and which identities feel more difficult to navigate, depending on the situation and the workplace culture? How can we increase the level of comfort with and awareness of the invisible aspects of our identity, and build cultures of belonging where all kinds of talent can thrive?
Learning Objectives:
- Understanding key career success factors and developing strategies for building leadership presence, influence and effectiveness
- Understanding the specific challenges faced by LGBT leaders and developing strategies for overcoming these challenges
- Applying insights from individual assessments to enhance and maximize career and leadership development
- Developing and honing leadership presence with emphasis on communicating vision, leadership brand, and influencing and motivating others
- Creating individual vision and strategy plans that will be actionable, measurable and socialized with leadership, teams and peers
- Understanding how to create an effective networking and relationship building map in order to influence and gain visibility throughout the organization
Jennifer Brown (she/her/hers)
Jennifer Brown is an award-winning entrepreneur, dynamic speaker and diversity and inclusion expert. She is the Founder and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting (JBC), a strategic leadership and diversity consulting firm that coaches business leaders worldwide on critical issues of talent and workplace strategy. Brown is a passionate advocate for social equality who delves into the “business case for diversity” as she helps businesses foster healthier, more productive workplace cultures.
With over a decade of experience consulting to Fortune 500 companies including Toyota, Starbucks, and Capital One, Brown is a highly sought-after expert source on changing demographics, specific communities of identity including women, people of color, LGBT individuals, generations like Millennials, and the role of male leaders in change efforts.
Brown has appeared in leading media outlets such as The New York Times, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal, and on Fox News. In the past several years, she has been named Social Entrepreneur of the year by the NYC National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), a finalist for the Wells Fargo Business Owner of the Year Award, a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Winning Women Program, one of the Top 40 Outstanding Women by Stonewall Community Foundation, and NYC Controller Bill Thompson’s LGBT Business Owner of the Year. Most recently, she was named one of Databird’s Top Female Executives of the Year for Small Business (2019), and one of Hive Learning’s most influential D&I Leaders (2019).
Brown’s book Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace & the Will to Change (2016) inspires leadership to embrace the opportunity that diversity represents and empower advocates at all levels to find their voice and be a driving force in creating more enlightened organizations that resonate in a fast-changing world. Her second book, How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive (2019), provides a step-by-step guide for the personal and emotional journey we must undertake to create an inclusive workplace where everyone thrives, and is a Shortlist O.W.L. Award winner in Management & Culture, and a Nautilus Book Awards winner in Business & Leadership.
Gearah Goldstein (she/her/hers)
Gearah Goldstein is a nationally recognized Diversity & Inclusion consultant and LGBTQ+ subject matter expert. She is a founder of The GenderCool Project, an awareness campaign and 501c3, that promotes positive conversations supporting young people who identify as transgender or non-binary. She has been featured prominently in national media including: NBC TODAY; The New York Times; Rolling Stone; CBS; NPR national news and many other outlets.
Mx. Dani Dominguez (they/them/theirs)
Dani leads education, training, and consultation work on gender and orientation and intersecting diversity topics. They are frequently invited, both locally and internationally to present to corporate and non-profit organizations, medical and mental health professionals, law enforcement, and educators. Dani is committed to empowering leaders to drive positive individual and organizational change that fosters belonging and inclusion. As a Non-binary Latinx person, they have had to contend with the exclusion, discrimination, and violence that follows many marginalized communities, along with the internal struggles of being seen as "different". They utilize their background, lived experience, and education, to bring a human aspect to conversations of diversity, equity, inclusion, in a way that inspires and moves people to action. Their continued commitment to this work is that no one ever has to question their self-worth or their sense of belonging, and all people are free to be authentically who they are. Dani continues to grow and expand their reach and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Diversity & Equity in Education, with an emphasis on Human Resource Development.
Stephanie Turner (she/her/hers)
Stephanie E. Turner is vice president of inclusion, diversity, and social innovation at MITRE. In this role, she works collaboratively to develop and drive inclusion and diversity strategy within the company, oversee talent acquisition, and establish a new function for social innovation programs, including corporate social responsibility. Under her leadership, MITRE will maximize relationships with external organizations whose perspectives are important in shaping our national social landscape, with an initial focus on STEM education in underserved communities.
Turner has spent two decades championing diversity and inclusion. She brings leadership experience in strategic planning, professional development, process improvement, talent acquisition, multicultural marketing, and employee engagement for global brands. Turner most recently served as Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Engagement at Liberty Mutual Insurance where she optimized sponsorships and brand presence at national diversity conferences, expanded national presence, increased membership in employee resource groups, established governance models to improve customer service and launched a new employee referral program with talent acquisition.
Her previous leadership roles include managing diversity and inclusion, talent acquisition, and employee engagement at Lockheed Martin, Kaiser Permanente, ESPN, and Motorola. Turner also worked in the oil industry for five years as a marketing and diversity consultant.
She represents MITRE on the AMIE (Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering) board of directors and sits on the advisory board for Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. Turner earned her M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and her B.A. in economics from Spelman College.