Training, Technical Assistance, and Evaluation: Having Brave Conversations about Race, Culture, and Gender in the Workplace
I have offered a variety of trainings to agencies on issues of race and racism, culture, historical trauma, cultural humility, white anti-racist practice, and having brave conversations about these topics. I was trained in undergrad on these topics and from 2011 - 2013, was trained in Indigenous Dialogue practices by First Alaskans Institute’s Alaska Native Dialogues on Racial Equity project, for which I volunteered, co-facilitating dialogues across Alaska with a variety of audiences. I have also co-created and led trainings on race and culture with Northern philosopher Warren Mairuk Jones (Yup’ik/Gwich’in) and Mark Anaruk (Iñupiaq). In November 2023, I created, upon request from a majority-white environmental organization, an evaluation, training, & technical assistance package to support the organization with “Having Brave Conversations.” This included pre- and post- surveys, a final report with recommended readings and activities, and a live training that addressed the differences between calling in and calling out and when and how to employ either approach and in-depth discussion, role play, and practice.
Feedback on the impact of the training included comments such as:
“I like that we have a shared language for addressing these things and that people are equipped with tools when these situations arise.”
I think having shared the experience of the training, it also creates a social space for someone to initiate a observation of racism. Like, now we all understand what's happening and what the person who brings it up is trying to accomplish.
This training, evaluation, and technical assistance can be tailored for your agency, and can also be conducted via a team approach. The training covers a brief history of racism and historical trauma in the United States and in Alaska, an overview of “calling in” and “calling out,” and how to respond when you are called in or called out. It includes many activities for reflection, discussion, role play, and practice, and can be expanded based on time, budget, and interest.
