From Research to Implementation: Professional Development Opportunity for D&I Practitioners

Last month, the new diversity and inclusion guidebook, Five Essential Leadership Competencies of an Effective D&I Practitioner was announced. This practical guide outlines what a D&I officer needs to know and be able to do to be successful in their role. To support D&I practitioners and organizations across West Michigan to advance in this space, we will host a series of workshops to better understand the competencies needed to be an effective D&I leader. The workshops will be framed based on the content of the guidebook.

Workshop Goals

1. Support the professional development of D&I practitioners and the field overall.
2. Facilitate discussions and activities that lead to practical application of the content shared during the meetings and in the guidebook.
3. Amplify the voices of D&I leaders in the region. During these meetings, leaders will present content, facilitate discussions, and share leading practices and/or new standards.
4. Create a space where D&I practitioners can network, listen, learn, and grow together.

Target Audience

Workshops are designed for D&I officers in West Michigan. A D&I officer is defined as any internal leader responsible for D&I efforts within their organization. This looks different in every organization and could include HR leaders, organizational development, executives, and others.

Workshop Details

Each workshop will be scheduled for 1.5 hours from 1-2:30 pm (EST) and will focus on one of the competencies in the guidebook. Workshops will feature presentations from D&I leaders across West Michigan who served as contributing authors.  We encourage your designated D&I leader to attend all five workshops, as each will cover new content. Registration links are embedded into each of the dates below.

• March 3^rd – Personal Characteristics
• March 31^st – Knowledge
• April 21^st – Planning
• May 19^th – Leading
• June 30^th – Communication

Registration is required for each workshop. D&I practitioners can use the links above to register for each session at no cost through Eventbrite. Space is limited. An agenda and details to access a Zoom meeting will be sent prior to each event.

The D&I guidebook project is a collaboration between Talent 2025 and TalNet. It was generously funded by the Doug and Maria DeVos foundation. A paperback version of the guidebook can be purchased from Amazon by clicking here.

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