Events Calendar

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The Iowa City (I.C.) Better Bridges Institute is a one-and-a-half-day event designed for business owners and managers to learn more about identity, bias, and strategies.

Included are core concepts, strategies, and resources for you to build your knowledge and develop your skills based on the Institute's four area's of focus:

• Equitable hiring practices and retention efforts
• Socially just customer service
• Leading and managing diverse teams
• Inclusive marketing

As a participant of this institute, you will receive a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” toolkit/participant packet, signed certificate, and recognition of institute completion on our website. Coffee, pastries, and a boxed lunch will be provided.

Session #2: Socially Just Customer Service
Thursday, February 10 from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. with no cost to attend 
Facilitated by Erin Stresow Ph.D. Division of Diversity Equity and Inclusion

In this session, we'll explore interactions and challenging conversations with customers, universal design, providing service from the heart, building relationships with customers, and supporting social justice causes. Interactions with the people we serve can run the gambit of emotions: excited, exhausted, frustrated, happy, uncomfortable, concerned. Given this wide array of feelings, we need to stretch beyond the solo experience customers will have in your establishment and think about a larger impact our interactions can have on their everyday existence. Some initial points to consider to start this process include:  

• Do you have a code about how staff should interact with customers?
• Are your staff trained to "think about what they say and how they say it"? 
• Do your staff ever consider the inclusion and equity issues that arise in their jobs? 

We'll also explore the concept of universal design, foundations of how to provide service from the heart, the importance of building relationships with customers, and how and why to support socially just causes.  

Session #3: Leading & Managing Diverse Teams
Wednesday, March 23 from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. with no cost to attend
Co-Facilitated with Michele Williams Ph.D., Tippie College of Business and Erin Stresow Ph.D., Division of Diversity Equity and Inclusion

Session #4: Inclusive Marketing
Wednesday, April 13 from 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. with no cost to attend
Facilitated by Erin Stresow Ph.D. Division of Diversity Equity and Inclusion

*Prerequisite for Supplemental Sessions: Completion of the 1.5-Day ICBB Institute. Participants will receive a“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” toolkit/participant packet, signed certificate, and recognition of institute completion on our website.   Coffee, pastries, and/or snacks will be provided at all sessions.

Brought to you by Division of Diversity Equity, and Inclusion, Iowa City Downtown District, Tippie College of Business, Office of Outreach and Engagement, City of Iowa City, Iowa City Area Development, and Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce.

We appreciate your dedication to making more inclusive spaces in your companies and organizations and in our community.