Professional Priorities

by Alma Galvan and Lisa LaRocque

Your organization has had heartfelt discussions about how to be more inclusive of the diverse members of your area, including stating it in your strategic plan. Your boss says there is money in the budget for the three members of your department to attend a professional conference this year and you all get to choose. The options are your state’s environmental education conference; a national conference for people of color and the environment, which happens to be in a nearby city; or a community retreat on issues of health, poverty, and the environment. Which do you choose?

• Are non-traditional conferences a good venue for finding out more about issues and networks to increase diversity?
• How does your comfort level in attending a conference where you may be in the minority influence your decision-making?
• Have you ever considered how participants that don’t fit the mainstream profile feel when attending your EE conferences?
• Have you ever made a special effort to include them?

Share your thoughts at intercambios@zianet.com.

(The above is from Fall 2006)