LT Alumni Lunch with Leaders: Racial Equity Consulting in a Transforming World, a Conversation with LueRachelle Brim-Atkins, LT’86 and Lonnie Lusardo, LT’90
We are on the precipice of change. We are experiencing the combined impacts of a global pandemic, climate change, a rise in hate groups and hate crimes, and a renewed racial justice movement. What is the role of racial equity work in achieving institutional, social, and personal change?
Join us to hear from LueRachelle Brim-Atkins, LT’86, (Brim-Donahoe & Associates) and Lonnie Lusardo, LT’90, (The Diversity Collaborative) about the role of racial equity work in a transforming world. They will discuss, and you will be able to ask questions about, what moves hearts, minds, policies, and systems toward equity. Together they will explore Lonnie’s research on what moves people out of hate groups and LueRachelle’s work with individuals and groups to change mindsets and worldviews on racism. Additionally, they will examine organizational characteristics that set them up for success, what skills change makers need to be effective in racial equity work, their leadership approaches, and their friendship.
LueRachelle and Lonnie, highly engaged change makers in the region, have been leading the charge for racial equity across multiple sectors for many decades. They maintain separate practices, but they have collaborated on client projects since 1991.
Who: LT Alumni, current class members, Honorary LT, LT’22 applicants, and guests
When: April 21, 2021, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Cost: $0-$25 (pay what you can)
Where: Zoom. Please register to receive a zoom link the day before the event.
Speaker Bios
LueRachelle Brim-Atkins, LT’86, has been an innovative consultant, executive coach, facilitator, educator, and trainer in her consulting firm, Brim-Donahoe & Associates, for over three decades.
She served as Director of Staff Development at the University of Washington for 15 years where she was responsible for developing training and consulting services for the 10,000 UW employees. She has taught in public K-12 education and in universities. She has served as the lead consultant and facilitator for racial equity work in public, private & non-profit organizations including Fortune 500 corporations, health care organizations, Education Service Districts, school systems, governmental agencies, law firms, colleges and universities, professional associations and boards.
LueRachelle has traveled to 35 countries, including 16 trips to 13 Africa countries. She has led joint-venture sustainable projects for clean water, libraries and menstrual care products in Kenya for 10 years and in Cameroon for 5 years. Her work in Africa was recently featured in the book, We Will Lead Africa—Everyday African Leadership Stories (Collected & edited by Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, et. al.)
Lonnie Lusardo, LT’90, is owner of and Principal Consultant for The Diversity Collaborative, a veteran owned business that specializes in DEI training. Past clients include the U.S. Department of Defense/U.S. Navy, the Boeing Company, Verizon Wireless, public school districts, colleges and universities, and countless nonprofits.
In 2019 Lonnie published The Anatomy of Organized Hate. His interviews with dozens of former white supremacists, resulted in profiles of women and men who defected from the hate movement following convictions for hate crimes and hate-related offenses. The book also assesses what federal and state governments are doing – or not doing -- to manage hate groups nationwide.
Lonnie spent 15 years as a journalist, first with a metropolitan daily, then as freelance correspondent covering civil rights issues in the northwest. He has chaired over 15 community organizations, task forces, and committees, including the LT Board and Curriculum Committee, Antioch University (Seattle) Board of Visitors Greater Seattle Business Association, and as a member of many others. He is currently part of the Community Action Group planning the (Seattle) AIDS Memorial Pathway (AMP) slated for dedication later this year.