On Thursday, February 18, Winter Institute (Wi16) attendees are invited to attend a session called “Creating a Work Environment That Embraces Access, Equity, and Justice [6].”

The session will be led by Amber Cabral, author of Allies and Advocates: Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture (Wiley Press), who will be in conversation with Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker and Dr. Lauren Wadsworth, authors of Did That Just Happen?!: Beyond “Diversity” ― Creating Sustainable and Inclusive Organizations (Beacon Press).

Cabral is an inclusion strategist, certified coach, writer, and speaker who has been featured on television and in print and digital media. Formerly a diversity strategist at Walmart Stores, Inc., she is founder of Cabral Co., a diversity, equity, and inclusive leadership-focused consulting firm. She hosts the You Can Have Whatever You Want podcast and regularly speaks and writes about inclusion, culture, equity, and social justice topics.

The conversation will center on a chapter of Pinder-Amaker and Wadsworth’s book that discusses the concept of empowered listening versus oppressive listening. 

An assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, Pinder-Amaker lectures and conducts workshops throughout the country on strengthening continuity of care, bolstering communication between campus- and community-based systems, eliminating barriers to mental health treatment, and supporting students who hold marginalized identities.

In 2018, she co-founded Twin Star Intersectional Diversity Trainers to address issues of identity and inclusion in the workplace with Wadsworth.

In addition to being co-founder of Twin Star Intersectional Diversity Trainers, Wadsworth is the founder and director of the Genesee Valley Institute of Psychology (GVIP), a clinic providing individual and group therapy to the Rochester, New York, area. She is also a Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital affiliate, working as an education and training consultant for the College Mental Health Program, and specializes in the research and treatment of severe anxiety disorders, including OCD, social anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia.

The 2021 Winter Institute [7] will be held virtually from Thursday, February 18, through Saturday, February 20. The full Wi16 schedule can be found here [8]. Questions about the event can be sent to [email protected] [9].