NYSAIS Diversity Conference

Speakers: Rev. Andrea Ayvazian and Carmen Carmen Van Kerckhove
Lycée Français de New York
505 East 75th Street
New York, NY 10021

–– Race
–– Ability
–– Gender
–– Age
–– Class
–– Sexual Orientation
–– Religion
–– Ethnicity
–– Other

What is privilege, really?
Am I an unknowing benefactor of unearned advantages?
If I do benefit from privilege, who pays?

Welcome to the 2008 NYSAIS Diversity Conference! The Diversity Committee is proud to announce our theme of Privilege and a new aspect to the structure of our day-long conference.

The NYSAIS Diversity Committee strongly believes that privilege is actively woven into the very fabric of our independent school system. It behooves us to study privilege, understand it, and attempt to deconstruct it in an effort to create truly inclusive communities. Often, we are quick to point out the privilege and entitlement possessed by some constituents within our schools. This finger-pointing often contributes to allies getting stuck in the "guilt" phase. This helps no one. Diversity work at many schools focuses on supporting under-represented groups, which do not receive the same kinds of privileges as members of our majority populations. A more challenging task is to look in the mirror and face our own unearned advantages.

The goal of this year’s NYSAIS Diversity Conference is to lean into our personal discomfort (NAIS Community Norm) and embrace our advantages as a necessary step to understanding and unraveling privilege.

Along with our customary keynote and workshops, we are facilitating an Open Space or "unconference" session. During this time, participants will convene discussions, presentations, or explorations on topics of immediate interest. For more details on Open Space, click here.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday April 3rd for a day of investigation, dialogue, listening, learning, and reflection. Registration will open in January, 2009.

Conference Agenda

9:00 AM – Opening Remarks by Sandra (Chap) Chapman, LREI, Conference Chair

9:15 AM – Keynote 1 – Breaking the Cycle of Oppression

Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian

10:00 AM – Q&A

10:15 AM – Break

10:30-11:45 AM – Workshops - download attached list of workshops - You will need to select your choice when you register

12:00-1:00 PM – Lunch

1:15 PM – Keynote 2 – The 3 Biggest Diversity Blunders Your Organization Could Be Making Right Now (And How to Avoid Them)

Carmen Van Kerckhove

Your school is probably dealing with a serious case of diversity fatigue.
You probably hear groans of exasperation every time a diversity training session is announced. Your big diversity event of the year is so old-school and irrelevant (ethnic food potluck, anyone?) that it has become the laughing stock of the staff. Does any of this sound familiar?
In this talk, you’ll learn:

• Why your colleagues are right to scoff at diversity training — it actually doesn’t work! I’ll show you why not, and let you know what does work instead.
• Why your organization’s executives should never proclaim that they’re colorblind and that they “just don’t notice race,” unless they want to offend a lot of their employees.
• The one thing your organization must avoid at all costs unless you want its diversity efforts to fail spectacularly.
  

2:00 PM – Q&A

2:30 PM – Unconference/Open Space Introduction & Agenda Setting - Facilitated by arvind grover, The Hewitt School

3:00-4:15 PM – Unconference/Open Space Sessions

4:30 PM – Unconference/Open Space Reports, Feedback

5:00 PM – Closing

5:30 PM – Celebration

Keynote Speakers

Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian is Senior Pastor of the Haydenville Congregational Church in Western Massachusetts. She holds degrees from Oberlin College, the Univeristy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and Yale Divinity School. An anti-racism educator since the mid-1980s, Andrea criss-crossed the country with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum (now President of Spelman College) offering workshops and training seminars on race equity in 33 states. A long-time activist for peace, social justice and environmental sustainability, Andrea has published numerous articles, book chapters, poems and educational materials. Her book, Psalms in Ordinary Voices, is forthcoming. She lives in Northampton, MA with her partner Michael Klare. They have one grown son.

Carmen Van Kerckhove [pronounced Van Kurr-Cove] is president of New Demographic , a diversity education firm. She publishes Racialicious , an award-winning, influential blog about race and pop culture. Carmen is a regular commentator on NPR and writes for CNN.com’s Anderson Cooper 360 blog and the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Her perspectives on race and racism have been featured in Newsweek, USA Today, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and Al-Jazeera English. She hosts the podcast Addicted to Race and also blogs at Anti-Racist Parent.

Carmen is of mixed Chinese and Belgian heritage. She was born and mostly raised in Hong Kong, but also spent much of her childhood living in Shanghai and Belgium. Carmen graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Political Science. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband.

Registration is by credit card only. No on-site registration is accepted.

Special discount for NYSAIS members: In order to help your school send as many participants as possible, a discount is available for NYSAIS members who register at least 3 people.

• Participants 1 and 2 - use the regular $150 form
• Participants 3 and over - use the $100 discount form
• If you are registering a large group, please email barbara@nysais.org for special instructions.

NYSAIS Members - $150. Use this form to register the first two participants.

NYSAIS Members - $100. Use this form to register participants three and over

Non-members - $175. Click here to register.

Registration is by credit card only. No on-site registration is accepted.