First NOAA Florida Diversity & Inclusion Workshop Held Virtually
The first ever NOAA Florida Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Workshop was held virtually on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Despite not being able to have personal interaction, we had a successful event with a variety of topics presented by outstanding speakers and panelists with decades of combined experience in D&I, including Catalina Martinez (Regional Program Manager at the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research), Luis Ingram-Westover (Key West Weather Forecast Office [WFO] and National Weather Service [NWS] Diversity Ambassador for LGBTQ+ and Hispanics), Richard “Pete” Hill (NWS Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management), Earl Breon (Indianapolis WFO), Amneris Caba (Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Specialist in the NOAA Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights (OICR)), Dr. Vernon Morris (Howard University Professor Emeritus and incoming Director of the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences at Arizona State University), Dr. Sim Aberson (Meteorologist at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanograhic and Meteorological Laboratory Hurricane Research Division), and Kenneth Bailey (Director of NOAA OICR).
Topics covered include unconscious bias, creating a respectful workplace, the importance of self-awareness to improve how we relate to others, and making the workplace more diverse and inclusive using empathy and sympathy. Having the workshop virtually had a positive impact on the participants, as they felt more compelled to participate and express their true feelings, questions, and concerns about D&I. Though there are benefits to having these kinds of workshops in person, we have demonstrated that holding a virtual workshop can be just as beneficial and effective in reaching more people who might have been unable to attend otherwise.
The feedback received from participants, speakers, and panelists was overwhelmingly positive, which propelled us to consider extending more opportunities like this in the future. Our utmost gratitude goes out to all the speakers, panelists, and participants for their time and commitment to attending this workshop. The commitment to bring forth an open, honest discussion with each other is what made this workshop truly great and will carry us forward on the path to further promote diversity and inclusion. We hope you will be inspired to continue these conversations at your workplace as you go forward in your daily lives.
Adapted from an article from the NWS Insider.