The Difference a Year Can Have – My year with ansrsource’s Inclusion Institute™

In March of 2021, I left a 22-year-long career in higher education to join ansrsource’s Inclusion Institute™ as an instructional designer and content writer and to work alongside Vani Narayana and Dee Widner. It was not an easy decision to leave a career that’s given me experience working in the President’s Office, the Provost’s Office, the Office of LGTBQ Services, and the Office of Civil Rights, among others. Despite that, the year at ansrsource flew by. Just like any job, there were some bumps and learning curves along the way – but it has been a phenomenal year. As I celebrate my first “ansrversary,” I wanted to share my Top 7 highlights and accomplishments from the year:

1. Learning new skills: Over the year, I learned to build our Granular Educational Module (GEM™) courses in Rise by Articulate. The tool is very user-friendly, but there is both a science and an art behind choosing appropriate interactions to improve learner engagement. Throughout the year, I had the opportunity to build five of our GEM experiences in Rise.
2. Collaborating with brilliant minds: This past year, I have had the opportunity to partner closely with many amazing content and subject matter experts to create modules related to empathy and creating inclusive environments in the workplace. Partnering with these experts provided unique opportunities to research and write content for their review and/or to take their content and adapt it into interactive learner experiences. Some of my favorite collaborations are:
   • S. Bear Bergman provided content for our GEM titled Gender Diversity in the Workplace.
   • Dr. Manuel Del Real provided great insight for the Latina/o Inclusion in the Workplace GEM.
   • Aaric Guerriero provided content for a GEM titled How Stereotypes Impact the Workplace.
   • Tiffani Kelly provided expertise for two GEM experiences, titled the Inclusion of Native Peoples in the Workplace and Not Your Mascot: Rethinking Native Inspired Mascots. We have more planned.
   • Rosemary (Rose) Kreston provided careful guidance and knowledge for two GEM experiences focused on people with disabilities. The first one is called Don’t Assume I Can’t Do That! Workplace Inclusion for People with Disabilities, and the second is Interrupting Ableism. We are working on a few more experiences together.
   • Rasha Kutty provided content for our 13-part GEM series on the power of empathy.
   • Casey Malsam provided in-depth content for a series on addressing sexual harassment in the workplace, and she in the process of developing with us a series on navigating trauma in the workplace.
   • Samuel Offer provided expertise for our GEM series on the importance of focusing on Context Before Content when communicating within and across difference.
   • Kodi Phelps provided content for our GEM series on body diversity. The first GEM is called Body Diversity in the Workplace, and the second is called At Least She Has a Pretty Face: The Impact of Body Size Stereotypes; we have more experiences planned in this area.
   • Andrew Williams provided guidance and expertise for the GEM Don’t Touch My Hair: Building Black Inclusion in the Workplace, and we are looking forward to building more GEM experiences with him in the future.
3. Authoring GEM experiences: I had the privilege of co-authoring the following GEM courses:
   • Understanding Intent vs. Impact with Aaric Guerriero
   • Why We Celebrate Pride Month with Aaric Guerriero
   • Why is There an LGBT History Month? with ansrsource’s Dee Widner
4. Conceptualizing and developing my own GEM experiences – I was overjoyed to have been entrusted with writing and developing my own GEM courses, incorporating nuggets from my 22 years in higher education. I’m proud to have authored the following GEM courses:
   • A three-part series on conducting a successful inclusive search:
     • Inclusive Recruitment
     • Conducting an Inclusive Interview Process
     • Inclusive Onboarding and Retention
   • Have Pride in Your Workplace Through LGBTQIA+ Inclusion
   • The GayBC’s of the LGBTQIA+ Acronym
   • Where Did I Get that Assumption?
5. Continuing my mission to always keep learning: With support from the leadership at ansrsource, I was encouraged to partake in various professional development opportunities. Over the past year, I completed a course at the University of California-Berkley on instructional design. I received my Certificate of Empathic Professional Programme Completion from The Empathy University. I also attended The Conference Board’s DEI conference and completed the DiSC assessment.
6. Sharing knowledge: While I may have switched gears in my career, with the support of my supervisor, Susan Schoenberg, I have been able to continue my own professional endeavors. I was also able to:
   • Teach a 16-week Higher Ed Law course for doctoral students at Colorado State University.
   • Present at several colleges and conferences, including:
     • A series of Transgender/Nonbinary Workshops for Alma College
     • Transgender/Nonbinary Inclusion: A Critical Conversation for Indiana University’s IUPUI annual assessment conference
     • Gender Inclusive Excellence: An HR Focus presentation at the MI-CUPA’s annual conference
7. Making a difference: This past year, my alma mater, Central Michigan University, presented me with the National Alumni Service Recognition Award for my 22 years of social justice and LGBTQIA+ advocacy on campus.

All that I’ve learned and accomplished over the past year would not have been possible without the brilliance and support of the teams that I have been blessed to work with, and most of what I have been able to do in social justice and advocacy work could not have happened without the sacrifices of the trailblazers who paved the way before me.

I’m looking forward to ATTENDING the ATD conference May 15-18 to showcase the Inclusion Institute GEM experiences and TO seeing what the next year will bring!