Keynote addresses: Most Requested Topics
Addressing Subtle Acts of Exclusion
Move beyond microaggressions to create a truly inclusive culture, where SAE are addressed openly and productively.
Unconscious Bias: Impacts and Solutions
Build awareness of the science, and then move to a more practical approach for mitigating impacts of these common biases.
Equity, Race, and Racism
Clear up misconceptions in order to create more sophisticated understanding, connecting, and planning.
The Practice of Allyship
Moving from the idea of ally as a label to allyship as a practice, for LGBTQ+ inclusion or any dimension of diversity.
Training Experiences
DEI Fundamentals
Create a common understanding, common framework, and common language to make real progress.
Executive Leadership
Take DEI committment to the next level with senior leaders.
Inclusive People Management
Strategies for building psychological safety and creating inclusion on teams so they can perform at the highest levels.
Community Building
New ways for intact teams to come together to share, to truly listen to one another, and to build trust for collaboration.
Deep Dives Into Specific Topics
These may include: Disability Inclusion, LGBTQIA+ Inclusion, Allyship, Privilege, Psychological Safety, Inclusive Culture, and more.
Sustainability Services
Assessment and Strategy Consulting
Helping organizations find out where they are falling short on DEI and how to change systems to build in more inclusion and equity.
eLearning
Engaging self-paced tools to supplement live experiences as part of a learning journey. Video toolkits, Subtle Acts of Exclusion interactive eLearning, Frequently Asked Questions videos.
Discussion Guides
Activities and guides for DEI advocates or people managers to use to lead conversations with teams.
Train-the-trainer
For large-scale roll outs of trainings, it may be most efficient and effective to have internal trainers equipped to deliver high-quality, effective trainings on key DEI topics.
We know the science behind DEI issues. Founder Dr. Michael Baran earned his doctorate in cultural anthropology and cognitive psychology investigating how systems, cultures, brains, and communications work, in ways that end up including some and excluding others, advantaging some and disadvantaging others. We conduct, interpret, and learn from the research in ways that benefit your people and your organization.
We believe that solutions and behavior changes only make sense to people if they really understand how the issues work. As such, all of our talks and trainings build a deep understanding so that policies, solutions, and requests make more sense to people who are then more likely to follow through. The depth builds a common foundation of understanding so that we can align and grow together.
Everyone starts out from a different place in their DEI journey. We don't shame people based on where they start, but rather we call everyone in and help support growth with empathy and with accountability. We have patience, but we expect progress. We are careful to contextualize all of our engagements for each unique audience, so as to maximize growth and minimize defensiveness.
We know that diversity fatigue is real, and that some trainings have been proven ineffective. A big part of the problem has been jargon-filled trainings, staged stock photos of smiling peopole, and fake hypothetical scenarios. We keep our engagements based in reality – real research, real stories, real people, and practical application. We engage people with a conversational style that is careful with how we frame sensitive topics, but that doesn't sugarcoat hard truths.
“Dr. Baran is an important cultural anthropologist and thought leader. He is developing new tools and insights into human relationships and important conversations about race. Michael is a great resource, coach and mentor.”
Effenus Henderson • Co-director of Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion
