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We write weekly on the issues that are top of mind for us as we do the work of driving equity, shifting culture and co-creating inclusion with our clients. To receive these posts via email, join our free weekly email series, Self-coaching for DEI advocates and leaders.

Posts in Co-creating inclusion

An unexpected invitation to be encouraged about DEI in these times

An unexpected invitation to be encouraged about DEI in these times

Wow, I am reeling…. in a good way.

Last week, I attended Blooming Day 2025, a one-day conference focused on the future of social care.

As I shared last week, I became a bit of a hermit during the pandemic. Stepping back into live, in-person spaces like this has been a little more nerve-wracking than I’d care to admit.. and also healing and invigorating. I’m so grateful that Dorella Walters, one of the panel moderators and someone I’ve known since my pre-pandemic days, posted about this conference. I got far more out of attending that I expected!

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickMay 4, 2025#bloomingday2025, #socialcare, #cheeringforDEIComment

Our first DEI brunch (that I didn’t get to attend but got unexpected healing from anyway…)

Our first DEI brunch (that I didn’t get to attend but got unexpected healing from anyway…)

As I write this, Malaika and LaVoya from the CCI team are convening just a few blocks from my house to host our first ever DEI brunch!

Me? I’m down with covid, fortunately a mild case, but in consultation with my PCP, I’m following the original rather than current guidance and quarantining for five days.

And I feel… disappointed, yes of course, but also, surprisingly, I FEEL AMAZING!!!

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickApril 27, 2025#grief, #healingComment

Are people still interested in DEI? Turns out yes.

Are people still interested in DEI? Turns out yes.

After an energizing and engaging week, I was all fired up to write this blog post about sexual harassment in middle school… but after an emotional weekend, I’ve found I don’t have it in me to get all fired up right now.

Rather than pushing myself through, I’ve decided to save that for another time, and instead to share some of our most popular blog posts from the past… which lead me to be curious to look at our website stats (which honestly we don’t look at in the way we probably should) to see if traffic has dropped off this year, what with the DEI pushbacks and all.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickMarch 30, 2025#DEIforthelonghaul, #equity, #learnedhelplessnessComment

If you are feeling dysregulated right now

If you are feeling dysregulated right now

We are not even two months into the current administration in the US and there is a lot going on.

If you are feeling angry, frustrated, scared and dysregulated, that makes sense.

I’ve been feeling strangely calm. And yes, this is partly a trauma response where chaos, danger and the unknown feel familiar.

I also don’t feel like I can really afford to let my nervous system get too dysregulated.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickMarch 16, 2025#history, #context, #seeingwhiteComment

DEI is still legal: separating fact from political fear-mongering

DEI is still legal: separating fact from political fear-mongering

There are so many misrepresentations about DEI right now.

Some are deliberately mischaracterizing DEI in order to justify its dismantling in favor of what amounts to white dominance and re-segregation.

Others are allowing misperceptions to fester because it plays to their fears and insecurities.

Even some who are strongly in favor of DEI are worried that it’s no longer legal.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickFebruary 9, 2025#DEI2025, #DEIislegalComment

Now is not the time to retreat - it’s time to double down

Now is not the time to retreat - it’s time to double down

At a time when the dominant narrative is grossly mischaracterizing DEI to justify its dismantling in favor of what amounts to re-segregation, we believe now is the time to lean into your values and beliefs.

While there’s so much you can’t control, you can ensure that equity, inclusion, and belonging remain priorities in your workplace - so your staff and the communities you serve feel just a little more protected and reassured.

You can make a difference to the people around you who are feeling scared and demoralized.

And you don’t have to do it alone.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickFebruary 2, 2025#DEIpushback, #DEI2025, #selfcoachingComment

Finding “obstinate” healing and joy

Finding “obstinate” healing and joy

We’ve been having a great discussion with one of our client groups about organizational, national and global turmoil, and what to do when we are sick and tired… and sick and tired of being sick and tired.

The idea of being obstinate in the face of overwhelming challenges and a bleak outlook came up.

And so we brainstormed ideas for “obstinate” healing and joy.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickDecember 8, 2024#joy, #healing, #selfcareComment

Inclusive leadership skills: processing emotions

Inclusive leadership skills: processing emotions

A lot of people have been processing a lot of emotions over the past two weeks since the US election, whether publicly, privately, outwardly or inwardly, in large or small, direct or indirect ways… or not at all.

We’ve held group processing sessions for at least some segment of staff at all of our client organizations as well as 1:1 coaching and each conversation has been very different.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickNovember 17, 2024#feelings, #processingemotions, #inclusiveleadershipskillsComment

Concentric circles of safety, trust and grief

Concentric circles of safety, trust and grief

My social media feeds are a cacophony of post-election shock, grief, despair, panic, reflection, analysis, strategizing, wisdom and business-as-usual right now.

I’ve been taking the time to curl inwards, rest, and remain steady, not that a total and utter freakout isn’t justified, but here’s what has been coming up for me.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickNovember 10, 2024#grief, #election2024, #ringtheoryComment

We are all worthy of protection

We are all worthy of protection

There is always grief and trauma around us, at a local, national and global scale. Organizations often grapple with acknowledgements - what events should be acknowledged, and how can you possibly cover them all?

We’ve been talking about this at Co-Creating Inclusion as well, and have been considering the idea of a “grief acknowledgement.” We may not be able to acknowledge every single thing that is going on, but we can acknowledge that we are all likely struggling with varying degrees of grief and trauma, including secondary trauma.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickOctober 6, 2024#griefacknowledgement, #mythofscarcity, #worthofprotectionComment

Involuntary childlessness

Involuntary childlessness

My sister wrote this heartbreaking yet beautiful article for the Wall Street Journal.

This is a tender topic for me as well so please, no advice, thanks. Shared experiences from your own perspective are invited.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickSeptember 2, 2024#involuntarychildlessness, #childlessnotbychoiceComment

Grieving is necessary for change

Grieving is necessary for change

A few months ago I wrote about how every memory hurts and everyone is traumatized.

Every memory still hurts.

And what I along with our team at Co-Creating Inclusion have been exploring is how grief is necessary for change.

The ability to grieve, then, is a rarely articulated leadership skill, if we are aspiring for creativity, innovation and transformation towards equity, inclusion, justice and liberation.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickAugust 11, 2024#grief, #traumainformed, #wildedgeofsorryComment

Diversity should not be your first or only metric of success

Diversity should not be your first or only metric of success

We’ve been talking about this for years actually. In fact, one of our running “jokes” is that organizations often come to us thinking we are “D consultants” and forgetting the “E” and the “E” or any of the other letters that might be included like “J” or “B.”

The fact is, this field did start out with “diversity consultants” so it is not entirely surprising those expectations linger.

We now make it a practice of being very explicit up front that this is NOT who we are.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickJune 16, 2024Comment

Four principles for trauma-informed communication

Four principles for trauma-informed communication

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how everyone is traumatized.

To be human is to be, to some degree, traumatized - that has not changed.

Nor has the fact that marginalized communities have long been living with the impact of intergenerational, historical and systemic as well as individual trauma.

What has changed is that we have ALL - globally - been through the collective trauma of the pandemic at a scale unprecedented in the span of our careers.

For leaders, this means understanding, expecting and accounting for the fact that we and our workforce, while not all equally traumatized, are all traumatized.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickMay 19, 2024Comment

The “no work” work retreat - how it went

The “no work” work retreat - how it went

Last week I shared about some of the planning and lead-up into our No Work Work Retreat. Today I want to talk about how it actually went.

First of all, I want to note that we weren't calling it a No Work Work Retreat before the retreat. This was more something that only started to come to my awareness in the last few days before the retreat, and it wasn’t until afterwards that I reflected on the experience of the retreat and the feedback from the team and I realized how radical it was.

What was important and radical was that we, CCI, paid not just for that time for people to rest and recover, but we also took care of expenses and logistics in order for us to do no work.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickMay 12, 2024Comment

The “no work” work retreat - planning

The “no work” work retreat - planning

Last week, I talked about vacationing and how our team retreat set me up for one of the best vacations I’ve ever had.

So, about that retreat - the “no work” work retreat. How did we plan it?

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickMay 5, 2024Comment

What does vacationing have to do with DEI?

What does vacationing have to do with DEI?

There are hard things going on in the world right now (when are there not?) which makes rest and recuperation more important than ever, especially for those of us actively working towards equity, inclusion, justice and healing.

I’ve been thinking about this as I just got back from a week’s vacation and I think I’ve discovered the secret to vacationing, at least for me right now.

And by “discovered” what I mean is that we have intentionally planned and designed and iterated on this over many years.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickApril 28, 2024Comment

Acceptance is not endorsement

Acceptance is not endorsement

We’ve been talking and thinking a lot about change recently, both within the team at CCI and with our clients. DEI is, to us, inherently about change, not for the sake of change, but in order to shift towards equity and inclusion.

Change work, however, by necessity involves grief work, which by necessity involves acceptance work.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickMarch 10, 2024#acceptance, #change, #griefComment

Transparency can create more trust than it prevents

Transparency can create more trust than it prevents

People and orgs tend to shy away from transparency out of fear of opening themselves up for critique or creating distrust.

However, what I've experienced and observed is that lack of transparency itself creates more distrust than it prevents. People tend to have a sense for when they are being lied to, gaslit, or handled, even if they can't necessarily put a finger on it.

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickMarch 4, 2024Comment

Goals we can control

Goals we can control

Try this - think about three things that would make the rest of your day great. Jot them down on a piece of paper or a note on your phone or computer.

Now, take a look at them and consider, how many of the things you wrote down are completely within your control?

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickFebruary 25, 2024#needs, #systems, #goals, #atomichabitsComment