The Parkwide IDEA Working Group is excited to partner on this 5-Part Learn Together series with RISE San Diego, an organization that elevates and advances urban leadership through dialogue-based civic engagement, dynamic nonprofit partnerships, and direct training and support to increase the capacity of urban residents to effect meaningful community change.

We encourage all participants to commit to the 5 sessions to get the biggest impact of this learning experience. However, we have designed the Learn Together series to be "a la carte" if the schedule conflicts with your calendar, or if you're a new team member to Balboa Park.

We believe you get out what you put in. Inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility is on-going work and so each session will require pre-work and post-work - this is to ensure all objectives are met since we only have 1.5 hours together! Depending on attendance and time, each session will include presentation, breakout rooms for discussion, and Q&A. Please see all session dates below:

• Session 1 - Thursday, February 24 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
• Session 2 - Thursday, April 28 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
• Session 3 - Thursday, June 23 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
• Session 4 - Thursday, August 25 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
• Session 5 - Thursday, October 27 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Registration will be required for each session.

We look forward to learning with you. Please reach out to oneparkoneteam@bpcp.org if you have any questions about the sessions.

Meet Our Facilitator, Jessica Denise Dickson

Jessica Denise Dickson (she/her/hers) is a life empowerment coach who believes that when Black women heal, the world heals. She believes that the path to personal and collective healing comes through examining the systemic issues that impact each of us, and unraveling oppressive systems from our personal internalized, and collective worldviews.

Jessica supports clients, through groups and one-on-one work, and works with organizations, for the reclamation of our full humanity - healing work that leads us to equity, justice, and freedom. When we do this work, we live more authentically with self-trust, self-safety, and fully-embodied freedom, and this echoes into our communities and changes the world.

Before doing consulting work, Jessica worked in the higher education field. She recruited and trained staff, was a crisis responder, developed college-level courses, and more.

Session One: Owning Your Power at Any Level and Position

Thursday, February 24 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
via Zoom

Power is defined as the capacity of an individual to influence the actions, beliefs, or conduct of others. Have you ever wondered what power dynamics you hold in your organization or personal life? In this session, you’ll define and examine different types of power and learn how power dynamics and hierarchies shape how you show up as an individual and professional within your organization. Last, you’ll explore your sphere of influence and how you can leverage that influence within your organization to put words into action.

This session is appropriate for all levels:

• Entry-level and Junior team members, this session will empower you to show up and walk away being able to own your influence with more confidence.
• Mid-level team members and Managers, this session will help give you insight into some of the reasons it can feel complicated to be in your position, and help you own your important role in a new way.
• Directors and Executives, this session will help reframe your power within the organization and encourage you to evaluate and integrate different forms of power.

Please complete the following pre-work prior to the session on Thursday, February 24:

• Read Designing Power: How to help Anti-Racism Take Root in Your Organization by Marita Phelps and Molly Penn at Penn Creative Strategy
• Complete the following reflection questions:
  • When you think of power, how would you personally define it? (As many definitions as are true for you)
  • What are different types of power that you see in the world?
  • What kind of power do you value the most? The least?
  • What are examples of power you’ve seen wielded well? Wielded poorly?
  • How does hierarchy impact you in your role and how you relate to your own power, and the power of others within the organization?
• You can also access the article and reflection questions by clicking here to download the PDF

Complete post-work before Session 2:

• Review and complete Session 1 worksheet. Click here to download the worksheet
• Watch Session 1 recording available here: https://youtu.be/G5Dln6ur92E
• Attend the in-person post session wrap up discussion on Wednesday, April 20, at 9am.

What to expect: come prepared to participate by completing the pre-work, breakout rooms may be utilized for small group discussions, and a short Q&A session is scheduled if time permits.

Session Two: Who You Are and Why You Matter

Thursday, April 28 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
via Zoom

What parts of you show up at work and how does culture impact you? In this session, you’ll explore who you are and how you can help shape workplace culture. Learn how to recognize significant parts of your identity that you bring to work, distinguish how social dynamics impact how you see yourself at your organization, and identify your role in shaping the culture. Culture is shaped in many ways and you’re part of that equation - you matter!

This session is appropriate for all levels: 

• Entry-level, Junior, and Mid-level team members, this session will help you see the important ways that you shape the organization by bringing your identity, and the importance of being aware of the ways you’ve been shaped by social dynamics.
• Managers, Directors, and Executives, this session will help you see and appreciate the ways that employees and volunteers shape the organization, as well as why it’s important for you to own your identity and what you bring to the organization because of it.

Please complete the following pre-work prior to the session on Thursday, April 28: 

• Who Am I Workbook
• Review and complete the pre- and post-work from Session 1 (above).

Complete post-work before Session 3:

• Review and complete Session 2 Worksheet: Who Am I Workbook
• Watch Session 2 recording available here: https://youtu.be/G5Dln6ur92E
• Watch TedTalk: "The urgency of intersectionality" by Kimberlé Crenshaw (October 2016)
• If you haven't already, review the pre- and post-work from Session 1 (above).
• Attend the in-person post session wrap up discussion on Tuesday, June 14 from 12pm-1pm at the Museum of Photographic Arts

Session Three: Communicating Effectively Despite Cultural Differences

Thursday, June 23 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
via Zoom

First coined by Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia in 1998, cultural humility is based on the idea of focusing on self-reflection and lifelong learning. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines cultural humility as “a lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique whereby the individual not only learns about another's culture, but one starts with an examination of her/his own beliefs and cultural identities.” This session will explore cultural humility, bias, and barriers to communication and how these concepts impact your work. You’ll determine why understanding cultural humility is important to your work, examine your personal biases based on identity and experience, and discover barriers to communication and a framework to communicate well despite differences.

This session is appropriate for all levels:

• Entry-level and Junior team members, this session will support you in honoring your experience, and empower you to communicate with more clarity and resolve when you need to.
• Mid-level team members and Managers, this session will empower you to communicate better across cultures so both you and those you support feel empowered.
• Directors and Executives, this session will support you in your leadership so that your staff and volunteers feel seen, valued, and like their positions and voices matter. It will help you be able to listen more effectively and create a culture where people are seen and supported.

Please review the following pre-work prior to the session on Thursday, June 23:

• Communication Frustration Assessment
• Review the pre- and post-work from Sessions 1 and 2 (above).

Complete post-work before Session 4:

• Complete Session 3 worksheet: Disruption Bias - Calling Out vs. Calling In
• Watch Session 3 recording available here: https://youtu.be/6nyQT7gQGy8
• If you haven't already, review the pre- and post-work from Sessions 1 and 2 (above).

Session Four: Creating a Culture of Community-Led Decision Making

Thursday, August 25 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
via Zoom

Transparency in decision making often comes up when we discuss organizational pitfalls. Team members want to be part of the decision making process but how can we do this efficiently and effectively? How does empathy play a role when making decisions? In this session, discover why empathy is an important skill, learn how to cultivate safety in decision making, assess the ways the hierarchy can be a strength and a barrier in the decision making process, and discover what it can look like to create a culture of community-led decision making that is safe for everyone regardless of role. 

This session is appropriate for all levels:

• Entry-level and Junior team members, in this session, you will develop your leadership skills and explore dynamics that may have previously disempowered you.
• Mid-level team members and Managers, in this session, you will get some insight in how to communicate decisions with more transparency so the people who report to you can feel like their voices are not being lost or silenced.
• Directors and Executives, in this session, you will be able to pinpoint some gaps in the organization and things you can implement so that everyone feels seen, heard, and valued in the decision-making process.

Pre-work:

• Watch video on empathy by Brene Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw
• Review the pre- and post-work from Sessions 1, 2, and 3 (above).

Complete post-work before Session 5:

• Review and complete worksheet: Community-Led Decision Reflections
• Watch Session 4 recording available here: https://youtu.be/Da-gc7MxFWg
• If you haven't already, review the pre- and post-work from Sessions 1, 2, 3, and 4 (above).

Session Five: Empowering Leaders at Every Level and Position

Thursday, October 27 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
via Zoom

What does it mean to be a leader no matter where you are in the organization? We are often told we can be leaders despite our role but how can we put that into practice? What if we don’t feel like leaders? In this session, you’ll learn about different leadership styles and discern your own, discover different ways of leading, including leading and managing up and across the organization, and examine the role of self-leadership as a foundation for leadership outside of yourself. As an important part of the organizational puzzle - you’ll discover how to give and share power to create an organization that fully embraces an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible workplace. 

This session is appropriate for all levels: 

• Entry-level and Junior team members, in this session, you will be empowered to lead as you are and own your power in your role.
• Mid-level team members and Managers, in this session, you will have more tools to empower yourselves and those you lead, as well as empowering yourself to communicate with those who you may report to.
• Directors and Executives, in this session, you have the chance to reframe your ideas and ideals on leadership so that you can lead with more flexibility and dexterity, not valuing one type of leadership over other valid leadership styles.

Pre-work:

• Take some time to reflect on examples of what you see as good leadership. What qualities and values do these good leaders hold? Where have you seen this good leadership in practice and by who?
• Review the pre- and post-work from Sessions 1, 2, 3, and 4 (above).

Post-Work Recommendations:

• Share the RISE Learn Together Session recordings with at least 5 colleagues.
• Create a discussion group to keep the conversation going at your organization.
• Bookmark this page and review the pre- and post-work from Sessions 1, 2, 3, and 4 (above) when you need a refresher.
• Continue the journey - stay curious, join the conversation, be engaged.

This Learn Together Series is supported by a grant from The Conrad Prebys Foundation.