Blog Post One
Setting Intentions Towards Equity and Inclusion
Introducing DEI Services by Jefferson Park Consulting
I’ve practiced yoga since my senior year of high school. I took a class for P.E. and soon after, a friend of mine and I found a yoga studio on Melrose to check out. On Saturday afternoons, we would drive from my family’s apartment in Inglewood to take a class before heading to the Third Street Promenade to window shop. Since then, my yoga practice has been there for me through celebrations, gentle mornings, break-ups, job transitions, grief, and even a whole-ass pandemic. Even when I don’t have the time or space for an hour-long yoga practice, I can sit still and breathe deeply for a few moments during a workday.
It was yoga where I was first introduced to the practice of intention setting: stating what you intend to accomplish through your actions. It also means committing to what you want the journey to look like. In my experience, intention setting comes before imagining the vision for my future self.
I don’t think it is a coincidence that my first DEI client just so happened to be in service to my fellow yogis. Last month, I facilitated my first 2-day Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion workshop, “Intentionally Building an Inclusive Culture” to Modo Yoga, a yoga studio franchise based in New York City. I am honored that Modo has chosen Jefferson Park to guide them through building an intentional DEI practice that takes a proactive, purposeful approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
In this training, I cite Havard Business Review, McKinsey and Associates, and some of my favorite thinkers and writers in social justice, from Melissa Harris-Perry to Tema Okun. I covered both DEI theory and practice with exercises that create a deeper understanding of how microaggressions show up in the workplace…and how to practice microaffirmations instead.
DEI isn’t just one performative act of representation or charity; many of the failures of DEI stem from a reactive approach to a history of inequity in the American workforce rather than a proactive one. If companies and organizations want to shift towards a more inclusive culture, they must set the intention of building each principle into their business model.
The team at Modo Yoga approaches diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice with a mindset of intentionality fueled by the passion for creating positive change in their workplace and the world. The staff of teachers, managers, owners, and customer service professionals are some of the most engaging, compassionate, and thoughtful folks I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. I set an intention of working with socially conscious creatives, organizations, and small business owners who wanted to create a bigger social impact, and it feels great to put that intention into action at Jefferson Park.
If your company is seeking DEI workshops rooted in the principles of social justice or wants to diversify your audience or brand through inclusive communications strategies, I’d love to talk with you about how we may work together. Send me a note or comment below.