We Have To Talk: Navigating Challenging Conversations About Diversity
Having difficult conversations about diversity in the workplace can be challenging. Given the recent events in our country conversations about racial justice are happening more often than years before. In this discussion, participants will learn how to approach these conversations head-on. Participants will engage in techniques to interrupt microaggressions and develop strategies that will help them navigate challenging conversations around culturally sensitive topics. Those outfitted with these skills can serve as a better ally while working to recognize and eliminate bias in their profession.
About the Presenter: Kendra Abercrombie serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, where she promotes integrity, civility, and professionalism among the lawyers and judges of Illinois. In this role, Kendra leads the Commission’s educational and advocacy initiatives aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the legal and justice systems.
As DEI Manager, Kendra develops and delivers legal education on DEI and other professionalism topics to lawyers, judges, and law students, and performs outreach across the state on behalf of the Commission. She also supports the Commission’s lawyer-to-lawyer mentoring program and manages its involvement in Jumpstart, a law school preparatory program for historically underrepresented law students.
Before joining the Commission, Kendra was Associate Director of Admissions and Diversity Recruitment and Assistant Director of Admissions and Diversity Initiatives at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. Earlier in her career, Kendra was an Admissions Counselor and Recruiter at Arizona Summit Law School.
Kendra has served as an instructor of legal research and writing at the Indiana Conference for Legal Education Opportunity and an adjunct professor in economics at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, Ind.
Kendra holds a JD from Arizona Summit Law School, an MBA from the Kogod School of Business at American University, and a BA from the University of Georgia. In April 2021, Kendra received the Dean Frank Motley Outstanding Faculty and Staff Award from Maurer’s Black Law Student Association.
