Courageous Conversation Facilitators' Community of Practice 4.16.21 hosted by NICNE & UWNI

Community of Practice Session 1 for Courageous Conversations Facilitators on 4.16.21, made Possible by the Healing Illinois Initiative.

About this Event Series:
NICNE, in partnership with United Way of Northwest Illinois (UWNI) and United Way of Rock River Valley (UWRRV) offered FREE courageous conversation facilitator training on March 19, 2021.

This training, made possible by funds awarded by the Healing Illinois Initiative, was facilitated by Dr. Traci D. Ellis, JD, SHRM-SCP of Candid Conversations Matter, LLC (CCM). Dr. Ellis is a senior leaders in her organization working to address bias and inequities in access and opportunity for historically marginalized groups, and helping organizations create equitable, diverse, and inclusive work environments.

Dr. Ellis of Candid Conversations Matter (CCM) led a Facilitator training workshop for individuals interested in leading challenging conversations within their organizations or communities utilizing the four agreements of Courageous Conversations and the Crucial Conversations framework.

CCM worked to provide the skills necessary for Facilitators to engage in and lead healthy discourse around issues of diversity and inclusion, barriers to anti-racism, and patterns of inequity that exist within an organization and the broader society.

Facilitators who completed the March 19 training, and who are interested in continuing to share and learn from one another, have shifted to continue their honing their facilitation skills during monthly Community of Practice sessions, which are co-facilitated by local facilitators Ellyn Ahmer and Tretara Flowers, with support from Traci D. Ellis. Community of Practice sessions are progressive and build upon one another:

• April 16 Courageous Conversations Observation & Debrief

• May 21 Courageous Conversations Observation & Debrief Part II

• June 18 Courageous Conversations & Anti-Racism Sustainability

Candid Conversations Matter, LLC (CCM) is a company created by Dr. Adrienne Coleman in the late fall of 2018 to advance DEI work among clients outside of her full-time employment. Dr. Coleman invited Traci D. Ellis, JD, SHRM-SCP to work with her as an independent consultant. Together, they have a combined expertise of over 30 years in leading deep and impactful diversity, equity and inclusion work in government, nonprofit, K-12 and higher education sectors.

Dr. Coleman and Dr. Ellis are senior leaders in their respective organizations specifically addressing bias and inequities in access and opportunity for historically marginalized groups, as well as helping organizations create equitable, diverse and inclusive environments. They are equally adept at addressing systems on the institutional and societal levels and provide workshop focused on DEI, Implicit Bias, Cultural Competence, Social Justice and services and assessments focused on DEI research, DEI policy development, DEI strategic planning, coaching, talent acquisition, e-curriculum development and other related topics.