This Tuesday, North Carolina Chamber is hosting a conference highlighting the strategies businesses should take to build diverse teams and foster an inclusive environment for employees.

The program is designed to appeal to all demographics of attendees, from beginning professionals to high-level execs. Keynotes, panels and a round table discussion will offer insights informing the future of North Carolina’s workforce. Session topics will examine how well-executed diversity and inclusion initiatives can greatly impact an organization’s growth.

Each week, WRAL TechWire highlights an upcoming event that draws together participants from across North Carolina’s entrepreneurial community.

After reading about the Chamber event, be sure to check our interactive calendar and this week’s preview of upcoming events in the Triangle and throughout North Carolina.

Plus, mark your calendar for events coming in July.

North Carolina Chamber, a nonprofit business advocacy organization that interfaces with political and regulatory bodies, held its inaugural Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Conference last June in Durham. The success and response of the event sparked the anticipation of a yearly program, leading the Chamber to design one for 2018.

https://wraltechwire.com/event/2018-workplace-diversity-inclusion-conference/

This year’s event will take place on June 12 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Durham.

The program will kick off with opening remarks from NC Chamber President and CEO Lew Ebert, alongside Amy Baldwin of BASF, the event’s presenting sponsor.

The opening keynote will be delivered by Dr. James H. Johnson Jr., who is UNC’s William R. Kenan Jr. distinguished professor of strategy and entrepreneurship and the director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center. With an expertise in economic and community development, Dr. Johnson’s research has focused on areas such as disruptive demographics and the major trends shaping business. He’ll share these insights at the NC Chamber conference, unpacking the evolving socioeconomic and political shifts in the U.S. and what they mean for the business community in North Carolina.

A panel discussion will follow, focusing on the best-practices businesses can apply to their workplaces. The panel is moderated by David Laboy of Blue Cross NC and includes Rahshek Ellis of Syngenta, Michael Hines of GSK and Courtney J. White of BASF Agricultural Solutions.

Lunch and a performance by Raleigh Little Theater will follow.

Dr. Benjamin Reese Jr., vice president of Duke’s Office for Institutional Equity, will deliver the mid-day keynote. Dr. Reese, a clinical psychologist and adjunct faculty member in Duke’s Community & Family Medicine and Psychology & Neuroscience departments, has more than 45 years of experience studying the fields of race relations and diversity, gaining a particular specialty in implicit bias, conflict resolution and cross-cultural communication. Reese’s keynote will focus on how implicit bias is developed, how it affects decision-making, its contrast from explicit bias, and how it impacts business.

Next will be a talk from Adrienne Smith, program director for the Gender and Sexual Diversity Initiative at Carolina Partners in Mental Healthcare. She’ll share tips on how businesses can increase gender and sexual diversity in the workplace and create a safer and more inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ clients and employees.

An inclusion round table discussion will be led by Gracie Johnson-Lopez, president and principal consultant of Diversity & HR Solutions. Johnson-Lopez will then moderate a panel on the importance of fostering a sense of belonging in the workplace. The panel includes Kate Helin of Pendo, Seth Smiley-Humphries of Lenovo, Gail Manley of Fidelity Investments and Michelle Witherspoon of Cisco Systems.

Ebert will then deliver closing remarks.

You can read more about the conference here and follow along with the event hashtag, #NCTalksDiversity.