This year, you’ll find a variety of learning sessions including many focused on equity and inclusion practices. Here is a sneak peek at some of the incredible sessions planned for NAA22. 

Championing Inclusion & Belonging in the Workplace: As part of a comprehensive equity strategy, many organizations form employee-led committees to center equity work. These groups typically jump into enacting various equity practices with little attention to organizational culture. Yet, we know that a work culture lacking inclusivity will be limited in its equity efforts. Unlike other DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) committees, we offer a committee structure solely focused on championing an inclusive culture and learning environment. The group’s purpose is to 1) develop the skills, awareness, and understanding required to enable a more inclusive organization and 2) increase trust, sense of belonging, and communication among staff. Based on their own experience, Camp Fire National Headquarters will share their journey of implementing their committee and steps, tips and best practices, and lessons learned along the way.
Speakers: Nikki Roe Cropp, Shawna Rosenzweig

Promoting Racial Equity Within Youth Development Organizations and Systems: The last two years have been filled with political turmoil, economic difficulties, and racial unrest, leaving many to ask, how can we leverage these moments to address inequities and biases? Outley and Blyth (2020) put forth a call to action outlining the need to strengthen our field’s journals’ understanding of racism and inclusion of antiracism efforts by publishing articles advancing long-term, anti-racist, equitable theories or frameworks aimed at dismantling persistent inequalities. Join a discussion on the processes the Journal of Youth Development (JYD) used to revamp its policies and practices to promote racial equity in four priority areas: 1) diversity statement, 2) inclusive leadership, 3) expectations for authors, and 4) review criteria and process. Explore how youth-serving organizations and systems might reimagine themselves and resolve to pursue bold action -- beyond rhetoric and performance -- to stand with the communities we study and serve to eliminate inequities.
Speakers: Kate Walker, Corliss Outley, Nicole Webster

Truths and Realities of the BIPOC Pipeline in OST: How does your organization support the BIPOC Pipeline in the field of Afterschool? In this salon session, participants will explore and discuss what practices of the nonprofit industrial complex show up in the OST space and how those practices disproportionately impact BIPOC and historically excluded people. After completing this session, participants will understand that the lack of BIPOC professionals in the nonprofit pipeline is a myth. Participants will learn how they can support, amplify, and elevate the careers of the BIPOC professionals in their organization and truly create an inclusive culture.
Speaker: Tyneisha Gibbs

Supporting Healing and Liberation for Young People of Color: What can child and youth organizations—especially those that don’t focus on advocacy or activism—do to support young people of Color with their personal and collective healing and liberation journeys? Healing and liberation are critical for young people of Color because their development can be negatively impacted by trauma and racism. The presenter will introduce a framework to help organizations shape their activities, practices, and policies to support healing and liberation for young people of Color. This framework builds on and connects existing frameworks and literature such as intersectionality, critical consciousness, and healing-centered engagement. While the framework applies to all young people of Color, it was designed specifically to support Black girls. After a brief introduction, participants will engage in collaborative dialog and explore how to apply the framework in their work.
Speaker: Marissa Badgley

Advancing Equity and Inclusion in Hiring and Staff Development: Research shows that staff are critical to afterschool program quality, and staff diversity yields a number of important outcomes for children and youth. It is necessary for youth-serving organizations to create inclusive environments for staff of all identities to thrive, and to do so we must check our biases, explore job quality, and ensure all staff receives support to grow and succeed. To this end, NAA created the Guide to Equitable Hiring and Staff Development to 1) bring our awareness to common missteps that lead to a lack of staff diversity, noninclusive workplaces, and intended/unintended workplace discrimination, and 2) provide information, tools, and templates to support the adoption of new practices. In this salon, we will briefly explore the resources in the guide and share promising practices with peers to support inclusive organizations for all.
Speakers: Jennifer Siaca Curry, Heidi Ham

This is just the beginning, watch for more NAA22 Convention updates, and make sure to register online today!