Training and Development for Justice and Performance
In addition to our pro bono events and workshops, URU provides a variety of training, consulting, and leadership development support to clients in business and academics. We have designed and facilitated diversity and inclusion workshops throughout the United States, training company leaders, HR teams, diversity officers, and others. Our clients include Cigna, Case Western Reserve University, Kaiser Permanente, Wellesley College, and Yale University. We have also been engaged as speakers at organizations including the National Security Agency, the National Institutes of Health, TEDx, the National Organization on Disability, and Respectability.
URU’s consulting equips organizations and their leaders to take practical steps to invest in diversity and inclusion, manage stakeholder responsibility, and implement strategies that drive positive change. URU focuses on increasing organizational intelligence on gender and racial diversity and improving inclusion for disabled people of all backgrounds and ethnicities.
Our perspective is that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) goes deeper than cultivating a new set of skills and knowledge. Successful DEIA initiatives create opportunities for social, emotional, and intellectual growth for both leadership and staff. The principles and concepts of diversity and inclusion only come into full coherence and become actionable when they are activated through authentic personal experience. Creating this experience is what we offer.
“Diversity and Inclusion are not synonymous. Diversity invites you to the table, but without inclusion you never get to eat.” -
We have found that successful DEIA initiatives foster shared understanding and a common language, enabling the organization to have deep, open, and honest dialogue about all its members’ experiences. Often, DEIA efforts falter because they take an approach that is too cerebral and depersonalized. As a result, the effort fails to create the space for honest dialogue that is necessary to identify the critical areas the organization must address. URU’s DEIA team specializes in creating safe environments where all participants can share their personal experiences and reflections. This allows the team to learn together and reach common ground, empowering everyone to move forward. The range of disarming and innovative DEIA and leadership workshops that URU offers include the following topics, with each session customized based on the needs and priorities of your organization:
By facilitating candid, sincere dialogue between individuals and groups, URU’s programs build awareness and understanding of the invisible barriers to inclusion. By opening our eyes to these barriers, we open the door for unprecedented personal growth.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, URU has transitioned to offering our workshops through multimedia and virtual platforms. Recognizing that the urgency and need for this work has never been greater, our team has thoughtfully crafted engagement with clients to ensure staff can bring their whole self to our work together. Our variety of multimedia approaches to engagement allows for leaders, teams, and employees across the organization--at any scale--to have successful learning experiences that increase understanding and open avenues to forward progress, without the need to gather in person.
For more information about our services, as well as an initial assessment of your needs and a proposal, please contact us below.