Welcome to Rebranding DEI

Who am I + What to Expect

Who am I?

Several years ago, I visited Oaxaca City in Mexico. As a woman with a physical disability, I haphazardly navigated the uneven cobblestone streets with my rolling suitcase to arrive, a bit exhausted, at my destination.

It was a warm evening in early August when I arrived at the apartment in the neighborhood of Xochimilco. As I scrolled through my phone to find the entry instructions, I looked behind me to discover a beautiful mural depicting a woman in a white t-shirt, her brown hair braided down her back, seated in a wheelchair. The mural was huge, painted on the side of a building and the woman depicted sat at least seven feet tall.

To the side of her portrait, the artist, Hisek Cuatro, stenciled a quote from his subject, Rebeca, “Elegí no poner ‘dis’ a mi CAPACIDAD.”

In other words, I chose not to associate “dis” with my ability.

As I studied the mural, I was amazed. The association of disability to something negative was no longer something only I saw as incorrect.

I know a few things about labels. I have been called many.

I had a brain injury when I was eight years old, which caused me to have the sudden onset of partial paralysis on the left side of my body. I have walked with an inch difference in my legs ever since and have weakened muscles. I limp and I have very limited mobility in my left arm and hand.

Growing up, I unconsciously accepted how others defined “disability”. That unconscious choice later manifested as painful shame and an inability to speak my authentic truth.

It took a lot of inner work, after decades of feeling shame, but I successfully redefined the label for myself and today I know that my physical disability is one of the things I like most about myself.

Why are we here?

I’ve worked in workplace culture development and human resources for the last 15 years, both in-house and as a consultant.

I have not met everyone doing DEI work; however, everyone I have met or worked with has been focused on supporting people historically overlooked.

Among other things, we have re-designed systems, provided new tools, and introduced various role models who think, move, and look different.

This work is now under attack.

That said, the narrative coming out of Washington, D.C. around corporate and non-profit DEI work is not entirely accurate with reality, which is one of the things this newsletter will explore.

The second thing this newsletter will explore is the rebranding of the DEI movement now that it has been politically vilified. How are organizations continuing to engage in this important work? And how are they changing their approach?

What’s next?

I will be providing newsletter updates at least every other week around how organizations are moving forward in the DEI space. I’ll conduct interviews with practitioners and skeptics, discuss data, and provide insight from my own work in this space.

Most of these updates will be published to those with a paid subscription, but a few will be free to anyone interested.

I hope you’ll join, participate, and engage in this important discussion. If you have any recommendations of people or organizations you’d like to see me discuss, please send them over.