Why Participate in the Summit?

With workplace environments experiencing ever-changing dynamics around societal changes, political movements, and biases related to race, gender and generation, it is more important than ever to have the skills and tools necessary to drive strategies for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion.

SUMMIT SCHEDULE

Click Here to Download Program Descriptions PDF

Monday, August 9, 2021 from noon to 1:30 pm

Maximizing Opportunity Promotes Freedom, Equality and Value

Presented by Judy Mares-Dixon

Description: A disability is not the characteristic that defines a person.  Every day many of us work hard to raise the expectations of people with disabilities, because low expectations create obstacles between disabled people and their dreams.  This session, led by nationally-renowned mediator Judy Mares-Dixon, who is blind, will examine challenges, myths, and opportunities related to the success and inclusion of people with disabilities in the legal field.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021 from noon to 1:30 pm

General Counsel Roundtable

Description:  This year we are delighted to include an additional perspective from the Attorney General’s Office.  This roundtable will guide the legal profession as it relates to who they hire as outside counsel and why.  Counsel will set forth their expectations regarding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) and the firms they hire, specific expectations related to EDI, and accountability measures.  Counsel will further discuss their own EDI initiatives and provide practical tips and best practices.  This roundtable will be moderated by WilmerHale’s Chalyse Robinson and will feature:  David Fine, General Counsel for Metro State University; Natalie Hanlon Leh, Chief Deputy Colorado Attorney General; and Michelle Lucero, General Counsel for Children’s Hospital.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021 from noon to 1:30 pm

Intergenerational Trauma and Its Impact Today

Presented by Michelle Johnson

Description:  The legacy of ancestral trauma is an issue that must be explored in depth to rectify the history of systemic racism in the legal system.  When trauma is left unprocessed, it is passed on from one generation to the next and impacts every aspect of an individual’s life.  This program, led by Michelle Johnson, author of Finding Refuge, will define intergenerational trauma and collective grief and its effect on daily living.  Solutions, strategies, and skills will be discussed to respond to this trauma in the current cultural, political, and legal context.

Thursday, August 12, 2021 from noon to 1:30 pm

Research Reveals the Vital Importance of Changing Your Mind

Presented by Matt Bodnar

Description:  Uncover groundbreaking psychological research that can transform your life and career.  Starting with the scientific data, we will look at how our perceptions of ourselves and others can impact our realities and discover the conscious and unconscious biases shaping our behavior and beliefs.  Matt Bodnar, from the Science of Success Podcast, will share expansive research that demonstrate exactly how these hidden beliefs can shape your behavior.  You will receive the tools and resources needed to uncover, investigate, and transform beliefs that may be holding you back and keeping you from embracing current best practices as it relates to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity.

Friday, August 13, 2021 from noon to 1:30 pm

Equity in the

Wake of 2020

Keynote Speaker Professor Eli Wald

Description:  Learn exactly why your Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) programs and strategies prior to 2020 are now outdated and must be reexamined.  In the Keynote Address, Professor Eli Wald of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, will outline in detail three imperatives that must be included in EDI programs in the 21st century.  Professor Wald will provide detailed examples of EDI policies informed by Black Lives Matter, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the #MeToo Movement.  The insights and developments of the past year require us to examine Equity in Wake of 2020.