Advance Kansas Briefing Book 2024 by Butler Foundation

Dr. Kim Krull, Butler Community College president Since its inception in 2008, Advance Kansas has been instrumental in helping Butler’s leaders create a culture of understanding, awareness and inclusion. It has helped me personally examine my own perceptions about diversity and to think about the skills I have as a leader; what I need to do to be a better leader in our diverse institution; and how I can help those around me do the same. We are surrounded each day with people who have amazing experiences and perspectives, and as we touch lives every day, those unique and valued voices can enrich and broaden our understanding. Fostering inclusivity and promoting a diverse educational experience are essential to helping our students succeed. We constantly think about how we can build a more inclusive learning environment for our students; how we help them learn and grow; how we prepare them to live and work and lead; how we send them into the world to be change agents, not only to change their lives, but also to change others’ lives for the better. The knowledge and insight we gain through Advance Kansas is vital in our continuous drive to embed diversity understanding within our college and educational culture. Butler Community College considers it a privilege to share our resources to host Advance Kansas, and in the course of doing so, to make a meaningful difference within the college and the community.

Ready for Life | About Butler Butler Community College considers it a privilege to host Advance Kansas, believing that building a better tomorrow is important work and something best done together. Working with our students and local communities, Butler seeks to build partnerships that grow stronger through engaging conversations and diverse connections. As we near our 100th anniversary, Butler continues to build a better tomorrow through its ever-expanding list of technical courses offered in a variety of high-demand industries. Butler’s main campus is located in El Dorado, with numerous degree programs and professional certificates are available both in-person and online. For more information, visit www.butlercc. edu or find us on social media at @butlercc.

Successful leaders understand how to leverage the talent and creativity of diverse teams to optimize performance and outcomes. Advance Kansas brings together leaders from all sectors of the community to create and strengthen relationships and to build skills for addressing diversity, equity and inclusion challenges and opportunities. The leaders invited to participate in Advance Kansas represent a dynamic group of people who are engaged in the community and committed to progress. These decisions makers are influential in their groups, teams and organizations as well as the broader community. In Advance Kansas they learn about the impact of diversity “blind spots,” the importance of suspending assumptions, and the power of leveraging collective objectives to build employee engagement and achieve better results.

Advance Kansas Voices “Advance Kansas helped me to understand the business case for diversity and inclusion, and to use that approach when I want to effect change.” 1

A Diverse, Well-Prepared Body of Leaders Can Make a Difference Advance Kansas focuses on equity and inclusion across a broad array of diversity dimensions, including race, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical and mental characteristics, geographical origins, culture, knowledge, experience, perception, etc. The class consists of five workshop days over a five-month period. Workshop days include class discussions and exercises designed to maximize interactions and facilitate the development of productive relationships. Participants especially value the open and safe environment for discussing, exploring and addressing complex diversity issues.

Meet Our Facilitator Juan Johnson is president of the Atlanta-based consulting firm Diversity Leadership in Action™. Juan started this venture in 2006, following an extraordinary 21-year career with the Coca-Cola Company. While at Coke, Juan held a number of key management positions in highly visible areas. Highlights of his tenure include being elected a full Corporate Vice President by Coke’s Board of Directors at the age of 35, making him one of the youngest board-elected Vice Presidents in the company’s history; and serving as the Company’s first Vice President for Diversity Strategies, reporting directly to the CEO. Juan’s business-focused approach to diversity is rooted in his accounting and finance background. He achieved CPA and CMA certifications; holds an MBA from Atlanta University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Southern University. Juan is a senior distinguished fellow of the Richard W. Riley Institute at Furman University, where he also serves as designer and facilitator of South Carolina’s statewide Diversity Leaders Initiative. 2

A Message from Juan Johnson For more than 10 years it has been my honor and privilege to serve as designer and facilitator of Advance Kansas. This innovative leadership program is unique in several ways. First, it recognizes and demonstrates how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) drive greater group performance and organizational results. While compliance with laws and organizational values remains the first priority of DEI initiatives, Advance Kansas offers frameworks, tools, and examples that also help leaders appreciate the performance benefits of DEI. Second, it addresses complex and sensitive real-time issues that organizational leaders are grappling with in the current environment. Employees and stakeholders are increasingly pressing their organizations to engage in issues that are important to them but external to the workplace. Leaders must develop the skills to respond to these new expectations. Third, Advance Kansas brings together leaders from all sectors of society: business, education, government, faith-based, nonprofit, etc. The diversity of roles, experiences, and perspectives of these leaders provide excellent opportunities for learning and relationship-building across community segments. I encourage you to consider taking part in this unique and prestigious program. Juan Johnson President, Diversity Leadership in Action™ Diversityleadershipinaction.com

To learn more about Juan, visit his website, diversityleadershipinaction.com. 3

Advance Kansas Objectives • Build leadership skills to support participants’ efforts to address complex diversity issues within their own organizations and in the community. • Facilitate the development and strengthening of productive relationships among participants and graduates. • Create a network of prepared leaders committed to social and economic progress in Kansas.

Topics • Defining Diversity • Exploring the Complexity of Diversity • The Case for Inclusion • Dialogue Across Differences • Personal Stories of Impact and Inspiration • Intent vs. Impact: Unconscious Bias, Tone Deafness, Etc. • Diversity Blind Spots • Race and Gender Equity • #Me Too • #Living While Black • Tools and Frameworks for Leaders • Four Generations at Work • iGen (Generation Z) Trends • Socioeconomic Challenges • Systemic Disadvantages: Ethnicity, Expressions of Faith, Gender, Mental/ Physical Characteristics, Race, Sexual Orientation

Deliverables • An additional lens through which diversity can be viewed. • Tools for examining diversity dynamics, diagnosing underlying tension and making effective decisions. • Frameworks to guide group and organizational diversity management processes. • An opportunity to build new and deeper relationships across multiple diversity dimensions.

Advance Kansas Voices “I learned that it’s okay in a professional environment to call things out when I see them. Advance Kansas really helped me to do that, in a way that was educated and non-offensive.” vvv

“Once you do Advance Kansas, you return to work and look at things from a new perspective.” vvv

“Difficult conversations need to happen. There are areas where people feel uncomfortable, but we have to go there to have a greater appreciation of everyone’s value. Advance Kansas has helped me minimize biases and take a more informed approach.”

A Powerful Network Committed to Progress Each year, a class of leaders from all sectors of the community is selected to take part in the Advance Kansas initiative. Advance Kansas graduates become Advancers, members of a powerful, cross-sector network of leaders who differ in every aspect of diversity, yet share a common commitment to progress in Kansas. We are currently seeking applications from leaders who wish to participate in Advance Kansas, Class XVI. Applications are due November 15, 2023.

Advance Kansas, Class XVI (2024) Schedule Activity Dates

Time

Location

Day 1

Jan. 26

8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.