2024 Inclusive Leadership Symposium at a Glance

On February 29th, CLS hosted our inaugural Inclusive Leadership Symposium: Leading the Change – Embracing Inclusion for Collective Success. Over 100 industry leaders gathered in San Francisco to foster profound transformations within their organizations through the lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Panelists discussed a variety of topics during the symposium including: traits to being an inclusive leader, the importance of opening doors to generate new opportunities for people, historical health disparities within diverse communities, how health and health-adjacent organizations can play a role in advancing equity for underserved communities, the importance of influencing systems within an organization, and ways to debias processes that are barriers to success for diverse startups.

We were thrilled to see so much audience engagement, demonstrating the commitment and desire to create an inclusive environment for not only our teams but for our professional organizations as a whole. We look forward to welcoming everyone again to our next Inclusive Leadership Symposium. Stay tuned for more details.

Symposium Resources

Inclusive Leadership

To increase sustainable organizational diversity, organizations must build inclusive and courageous cultures. From mentoring and sponsoring diverse colleagues, to creating career pathways for underserved talent, this session will explore ways in which being an inclusive leader is the key to opening doors to generate new opportunities for people from historically marginalized communities to thrive.

Panelists

Sarah Hassaine (she/her) Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity, ResMed
Kelly Huang (she/her) Former Co-chair, Boardroom Ready, Women In Bio, UCSD Marketing Adjunct
Dr. Paul Minifee (he/him) VP of Learning and Development, ion Learning
Candace Nortey (she/her) Managing Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Slone Partners
Robin Toft (she/her) Founder and President, Toft Group Executive Search, a ZRG Company

Resources:

Slone Partners: Inclusive Meeting Protocol
California Partners Project: Inclusive Boards Playbooks

Health Equity

Marginalized communities continue to face barriers to quality healthcare. This session will shed light on the history of health equity disparities and discuss how health and health-adjacent organizations can play a role in advancing equity for underserved communities.

Presenters:

Kwamane Liddel, JD, MHA, BSN (he/him) Founder & CEO, ThriveLink
Rhonda Smith Executive Director, California Black Health Network

Resources:

Presentation: Aligning Corporations & Communities
Presentation: A Win-Win for Investors and Corporations – The Downstream Perspective

Future State of DEI

We’ve heard and seen news reports of legislative changes coming from all levels of government – but do we know the whole story? This session will demystify current events and help chart a path to navigate these uncertain waters.

Panelists:

Karen Horning (she/her) Executive Director, Human Resources, Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Hooriya Hussain (she/her) Managing Partner, i5 BioPartners, National Governor at Human Rights Campaign
Linea Johnson (she/her) Founder and CEO, The Thrive Shift
Stanley Lewis (he/him) Founder and CEO, A28 Therapeutics
Alexandria Spiva (she/her) Founder and Managing Partner, EQL Talent Consulting

Resources:

Human Rights Campaign: AANHPI Coming out Guide
Human Rights Campaign: Corporate Equality Index
Fast Company: Why white leaders were painfully quiet this Black History Month
Headspace: 2023 Workforce Attitudes on Mental Health Report
Mind Share Partner: 2023 Mental Health at Work Report
Harvard Business Review: The Future of Mental Health at Work Is Safety, Community, and a Healthy Organizational Culture
The United States Surgeon General: Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well‑Being

Funding Diverse Entrepreneurs

This session is focused on the challenges faced by diverse entrepreneurs in accessing capital and networks within the startup ecosystem. Panelists discussed strategies and processes to remove barriers to success for diverse startups.