Cultural Appreciation at Work

Diversifying organizations around the world are increasingly interested in ways to honor the various identities their employees and customers hold.

When we consider the diversity among the intersection of our experiences, we face the reality that every culture is valuable, but knowing every culture is not possible. In this panel, DEI leaders in the field will address how organizational leaders and members can share appreciation for the cultures represented within their walls in ways that uplifts and holds space for the psychological safety of those who identify, as well as educates those who don’t.

 SPEAKERS

Dr. Kiera Penpeci is an organizational and leadership psychologist with a background in people-centered roles within non-profit, higher-ed, and high-tech organizations. The focus of her work is in developing diversifying organizations to improve the quality of their practices, to increase the sense of belonging, and to prime them to operate with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in mind. Kiera spent about a decade of her career in Human Resources (HR) and organizational development (OD) where she has partnered with global organizations in navigating a range of people needs such as diverse talent acquisition, retention, organizational assessment, performance and change management. The focus of her current work in OD and DEI consulting includes leveraging her deep knowledge of people systems to coach, advise, facilitate for, and assess small local non-profits to large multinational corporations. As an educator, Kiera includes academic approaches to her work in the field, and teaches courses related to organizational development, multicultural competence, and inclusive leadership at William James College in Newton, Massachusetts. 

Bria Gambrell is the Manager of Talent and Culture at Giffords. Her experience spans working in the nonprofit and government space, to consulting for colleges and universities on issues of racial equity and racial justice. With a people first approach, Bria seeks to curate intentional spaces for Black and Brown staff to show up as their whole authentic selves and thrive.