All posts by Editor-in-Chief

Deborah Levine founded the American Diversity Report in 2006. She is a Forbes Magazine top "Trailblazer" and award-winning author of 20 books. Her published articles span decades including: American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, The Bermudian Magazine, The Harvard Divinity School Bulletin.

Developing a Cognitive Technology for Religious Tolerance: Case Studies Documentation – by Deborah Levine

Abstract

This paper explains creative approaches to religious diversity and tolerance based on the cultural anthropology theories of Claude Lévi-Strauss. My research was conducted through case studies beginning with a 1990 pilot project in a globalization context, Chicago’s suburban technical corridor. This first case study, the DuPage Interfaith Resource Network (DIRN), pioneered strategies for managing religious conflicts due to changing demographics.

DIRN developed religious literacy strategies and administrative policies within the public schools, a major conflict arena, and were adopted by community service organizations including law enforcement, healthcare, and nonprofit NGOs. The strategies were coupled with programs based on storytelling for greater impact.

The second case study took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following the domestic terrorism of the Oklahoma City bombing. In this phase, Oklahoma’s Say No to Hate Coalition adapted the ground work of DIRN to an environment that included active hate groups.

The third case study was generated by the Women’s Council on Diversity in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A combined story-based communication, emotional intelligence, and problem solving system evolved and was field tested in leadership workshops. The resulting Matrix Model Management System emerged through my cross-cultural communication textbook and workbook.

Chattanooga’s final research phase was prompted by a domestic terrorism incident. The System became a cognitive technology built on the platform of combined coalition strategies and religious literacy. The emphasis underscored problem solving and the unconscious bias involved in decision making. The cognitive technology is codified in my Un-Bias Guide Series which has a broad applicability for corporations, NGOs, education institutions, and government agencies.

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A shadow pandemic of gender violence – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

As we come to the end of March, Women’s History Month, we need to see this time as a wake up call regarding women’s safety. The shootings at Asian spas in Atlanta, where most of the victims were women, underscore the vulnerability of these women. Yes, the Asian-American community as a whole is experiencing a rising number of hate crimes given COVID. And Asian-American women experience twice as many hate incidents as men.

An Asian American studies professor noted that women have always dealt with harassment and public safety issues, but COVID provided another excuse to target Asian women. Bullies attack the vulnerable and stereotypes of Asian women as meek and subservient make them easy targets. That’s why it was unusual that a 75-year old Asian-American fought back when attacked on a street corner, sending her attacker to the hospital. She isn’t the only woman to be fed up with harassment and violence.

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Tiffany R. Warren Podcast: Sony DEI and ADCOLOR

ADCOLORTiffany R. Warren
Executive Vice President, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Sony Music Group
Founder & President, ADCOLOR

As Executive VP, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Sony Music Group, Tiffany will expand equity and inclusion activities and policies across all Sony Music Group’s (SMG) global recorded music, publishing and corporate divisions, reporting directly to SMG Chairman Rob Stringer. Previously, as the Senior VP, Chief Diversity Officer for Omnicom Group, Tiffany oversaw a team of 25+ Chief Diversity Officers and Directors focused on Omnicom-wide change efforts through the award-winning Omnicom People Engagement Network (OPEN) for the support, advancement and retention of top performing talent inclusive of women, people of color and LGBT professionals.

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Why I Support Arts Education – by Deborah Levine

The Arts have existed since folks drew on cave walls and I suspect that there was some humming and harmony back in the day before song writing was a thing. Communal dancing around fires at night was an aboriginal celebration in humanity’s history. Artistic expression by individuals and groups seems to be embedded in our DNA. And one of the things that saved me when I first came to America as a kid, was this country’s passion for Arts and Culture.

Joshua Dubois Podcast: DEI Corporate Responsibility

Corporate responsibilityCorporate Responsibility in the Future

Joshua DuBois is the CEO of Gauge.ai. He is a multicultural marketing expert and the former Faith Advisor to President Barack Obama. Joshua will explain how business leaders can adequately engage in conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion, in ways that match the moment. Learn how  businesses can engage with the communities in which they operate, and tap into the potential of their talent pool. Be introduced to Gauge.ai and NXTLAB work and why they are the future of corporate responsibility. Take advantage of DuBois’ tips and insights for how business leaders can “get it right” in terms of aligning themselves with marginalized communities.

CLICK for the Washington Post article featuring Gauge.ai

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Todd Cherches Podcast: VisuaLeadership

ToddTodd Cherches is the CEO & Cofounder of BigBlueGumball, an innovative New York City-based management consulting firm specializing in leadership development and executive coaching. He is also a three-time award-winning Adjunct Professor of leadership at NYU, and a Lecturer on leadership at Columbia University. Todd is a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s “MG100 Coaches”; a TEDx speaker; and the author of VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life, published by Post Hill Press/Simon & Schuster (May, 2020).

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Mirette Seireg Podcast: Diversifying Music Composers

Mirette SeiregMirette Seireg is the founder and owner of  Mpath LLC, the first woman-owned library of its kind to achieve gender parity. Changing the music world for females and other underrepresented composers, Mirette has scouted talent world-wide from nearly every continent on earth.

Mpath’s music library is represented by APM Music in North America and EMIPM in the rest of the world (both owned by Sony). In addition to managing Mpath, Mirette Seireg is an active member of the Production Music Association where she spearheaded the creation of and chairs the Inclusion and Diversity Committee, and she serves on the Mark Awards Committee. The renowned Berklee College of Music / Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Mpath have an on-going mentorship program to provide emerging composers hands-on experience.

​Mpath music is curated by two-term governor of the Television Academy (Emmys) and multi-award-winning Film, Television, Advertising, Game, composer/producer, Michael A. Levine who notes, “When music is created by composers who have different life experiences, they bring different musical ideas to the table.  At Mpath we feel diversity isn’t just the “right” thing – it makes the music better.”

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Black-Jewish Podcast: Poets Speak

MAY 2021 BLACK-JEWISH DIALOGUE

Marilyn Kallet

Marilyn Kallet recently served two terms as Knoxville Poet Laureate, 2018-2020. She has published 18 books, including How Our Bodies Learned, The Love That Moves Me and Packing Light: New and Selected Poems, Black Widow Press. She translated Paul Eluard’s Last Love Poems and Benjamin Péret’s The Big Game.

 

G 100 Women LeadersDr. Kallet is Professor Emerita at the University of Tennessee and is a member of the TN G100 Women Leaders. From 2009-2020, she mentored poetry groups for the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, in Auvillar, France. Her poetry has appeared recently in Plume and American Diversity Report.

Black-Jewish

Maria James-Thiaw is a poet, performer and an educator from Central PA. She has written three poetry collections and her poetry has been published by Cutthroat Journal of the Arts, Love Your Rebellion and other journals. Her choreopoem, Reclaiming My Time: An American Griot Project debuted in Summerdale, PA in 2018 to 6 sold out audiences. She won the Art of Protest Poetry Prize from Penn State for works from that production. In 2020 she created a Zoom version entitled RMT 2.0. This performance poet attended Marilyn Kallet’s workshops in France in 2011 and 2015. Maria is a graduate of Goddard College’s MFA in Creative Writing Program and she is the Program Coordinator of Creative Writing for CASA, Capital Area School for the Arts in Harrisburg, PA.

Dialogue Partners:
American Diversity Report,  Chattanooga News Chronicle, Mizpah Congregation, Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, C.U.R.B. – Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda.

See October 2020 Black-Jewish Dialogue

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Aubrie Fennecken Podcast: Women in Innovation

innovationAubrie Fennecken is the Global Executive Director of WIN: Women in Innovation, a nonprofit organization built to close the gender gap in innovation. Aubrie speaks on why equity in innovation is so critical to breaking the cycle of inequity in our world more broadly. WIN is an amazing community of innovators across the globe innovation resources. She explains what her organization is doing to address the gender gap and support innovative women.

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CLICK for the Women in Innovation website and see how you can get involved.

Nathan Regier Podcast: Personality Diversity

The Workplace: Personality Diversity
& Compassionate Accountability

Nathan

Nathan Regier is the CEO and founding owner of Next Element Consulting, a global leadership firm focusing on personality diversity and compassionate accountability. He is author of three books on compassionate workplaces.
Hear Nate explain this critical dimension of diversity. Learn how personality discrimination shows up in the workplace and what companies can do to include all personality types.

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UPCOMING RESEARCH: Participate in Nate’s survey of workplace personality diversity. It’s anonymous, but if you leave your email,  the results will be shared with you:    SURVEY