Erin Jones shared her story, inspiring hundreds of Clark College employees who gathered in Gaiser Student Center for Staff Development Days on August 14.  

Jones, a teacher, speaker, and the author of “Bridge to Heal US: Stories and Strategies for Racial Healing” presented a two-hour Power, Privilege, and Inequity (PPI) address that counted as a college-wide PPI training.

Her engaging presentation was filled with sage insights, including these:

• “What you see is not at all my story. What you see is just a small part of who I am.”
• “My experiences are not better than yours. They’re just different.”
• “All great things start with courage.”
• “This journey of healing as a nation is complicated.”

She asked Clark College staff members to consider these two questions:

1. Why do you do what you do where you do it?
2. What are you doing to fill your cup right now? What are you doing to feed your soul?

Then she introduced three postures that are useful in her own daily interactions with others.

Posture 1: Practicing Gratitude

Erin writes in a gratitude journal daily—even when she has an overflowing schedule. She said it’s a discipline that has made a difference in her life and her attitude.

• “I practice gratitude every single day.”
• “Gratitude changes your brain chemistry. It creates a positive neural network.”
• “Gratitude is an equity practice for me.”
• “In your team meetings, consider starting with a moment of gratitude.”

Posture 2: Creating a Brave Space

She introduced this posture by saying, “The idea of creating a safe space is a fraud. I want to create a place that is safe enough for you to be brave.”

She asked, “What is brave going to look like for us?”

Then she answered her question like this:

• I commit to being vulnerable.
• I commit to no shame, blame, or guilt.
• When you mess up, ‘fess up.
• Be curious. Stay curious.

When she encounters someone who says something that contradicts her own beliefs, she asks herself: “Do I have something to say right now that’s going to make them feel better, or do I want to say something to shame them? Shame shuts us down.”

She led the attentive participants in an arm exercise that can serve as a useful reminder: “Let’s call each other in and up to the best version of ourselves, not down and out to shame.”

Posture 3: Pausing or Breathing Before You Speak

When you find yourself in a challenging space, she suggested that BEFORE you speak or act, it is helpful to pause, take a deep breath, and count backwards from 10 to 1, preferably in a language that is not your native language. That will force you to take your time before you respond.

She reminded people to choose their words carefully: “Your words have the power to build or destroy.”

Learn more about Erin Jones

• Visit Erin’s website: https://www.erinjonesdreams.com/
• View her 2021 TED Talk, “Bridges to Heal US”: https://www.ted.com/talks/erin_jones_bridges_to_heal_us
• Buy her book, “Bridges to Heal US,” for a discounted rate at the Clark College Bookstore.

Hundreds of Clark College staff spent two days learning together during the tenth annual Staff Development Days on August 13 and 14.

The event, chock full of professional development training, allows staff time to connect with other staff on campus, learn valuable skills, and share department information. Six breakout sessions offered three dozen professional development opportunities focused on a variety of topics. This year’s workshops included a supervisor training series, mini-learning sessions, opportunities for department meetings, and time for individuals to complete Higher Ed Works online training.

In her welcome to staff, Clark College President Dr. Karin Edwards quoted educator, Rudine Sims Bishop: “Mirrors allow you to see your own experiences, windows to see others,’ and sliding glass doors to enter other worlds.” Dr. Edwards added: “Over the next two days, there may be many mirrors, windows, and doors for you to explore, learn, and grow.”

Keynote Speaker on Building Community

Clark College Foundation CEO Calen Ouellette, pictured above, presented Tuesday’s keynote, “The Community We Build.” Calen focused on three key terms: Engagement, empowerment, and collaboration, and posed a reflective question for each term.

• Engagement: What specific actions can you take to make your colleagues feel more engaged and valued in the workplace?
• Empowerment: How can you empower team members to take the initiative and feel confident in their roles?
• Collaboration: What steps can you take to foster better collaboration and communication within your team and across teams at Clark?

The following day, Erin Jones presented “Building Bridges with Others.” Read more about her presentation: ppi-guest-speaker-at-staff-development-days

Many Departments Participated

Departments presenting sessions included Accounting Services; Career Services; Clark College Foundation; Communications and Marketing (pictured above); Counseling and Health Center; Disability Support Services; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Event Services; Facilities Services; Fine Arts; Human Resources; IT-Network Services; Information Technology Services; Payroll; Planning and Effectiveness; Purchasing; Student Affairs; Teaching & Learning Center; Veterans Center of Excellence; and more.

Sessions addressed burnout prevention, conflict management, time block planning, and unlocking the power of data.

Some sessions focused on how best to assist others in our community.

• Bellamy Holt from Entry Services taught” Etiquette to a T: Treating Trans Folks with Courtesy.” Bellamy provided vocabulary terms for allies and cis individuals to use and gave examples of how to politely ask for someone’s pronouns, and how to avoid misgendering people.
• Tre Sandlin from the Teaching and Learning Center taught “Accessibility: Headings and Alternative Text.” Participants learned how headings enable folks who use assistive technology and how to use them to improve the navigability of their content. Teams of participants viewed images and discussed how to write alt text for different lenses.
• Valentina Pishchanskaya-Cayanan from the Counseling & Health Center presented “Understanding the Ukrainian Student Experience.” She emigrated from Ukraine as a child and still has family in Ukraine. She shared a deeper understanding of the Ukrainian culture, various challenges that new arrivals from Ukraine are experiencing, and how folks can best support our Ukrainian students.

There was time for fun and relaxation, too.

• Courtney Braddock from Accounting Services taught a lively line dance workshop to get staffers’ minds and bodies moving to a variety of music.
• Jenny Shadley from Communications/Marketing led a “Creative Mindfulness” workshop to encourage participants to experiment using creative practices to be more present. After a guided meditation and a creative prompt, participants had an opportunity to take a short walk on campus and either take a photo or write a poem.
• Shelley Williams from the Fine Arts division led two hands-on jigsaw puzzle competitions. While teams worked together to complete a puzzle, Shelly shared about how engaging in hobbies can help employees find a healthy work-life balance. The winning team received Symphony chocolate bars.

Many thanks to the staff who organized Staff Development Days: Andra Spencer, Vanessa Bural, Alyssa Montminy, Carolyn Stark, De’Gundrea Harris, Donna Larson, Haley Tucker, Lindsey Schuhmacher, Maggie Li, Michelle Golder, Sandra Bush, and Wendé Fisher.

Thanks also to instructors, staff, and students from McClaskey Culinary Institute for providing delicious box lunches on both days and to the bookstore for providing free ice cream treats.

“The members of our planning team are so pleased with this year’s Staff Development Days,” said Andra Spencer, who works in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “We saw the excitedness of staff members connecting across departments. When we gathered together in Gaiser Student Center, the energy was palpable. What a positive start to our 2024-2025 academic year.” Continue Your Professional Development Journey

For those who want to continue their learning journey, attendees can reflect on their conference experience and share feedback with the Staff Development Days planning team. Here’s how you can stay engaged:

• Review session materials: Access presentation slides and other valuable resources from the conference: Presenter Files
• Share your feedback: Your thoughts are crucial for improving future professional development events. Please fill out our feedback survey: https://bit.ly/SDD-24-feedback

“We hope these resources will help you build on the insights gained and continue your professional journey.” —Staff Development Days planning team

Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish

So much to learn—and so little time!

Perhaps those thoughts were repeated often by staff participating in Staff Development days on August 15 and 16.

Clark College employees spent two days learning together on campus during Staff Development Days. The annual event allows staff time to connect with other staff on campus, learn valuable skills, and share department information. The event formerly was called Teaching and Learning Days.

Six concurrent breakout sessions offered more than three dozen professional development opportunities focused on a variety of topics. New features this year included supervisor training series, micro learning sessions, and opportunities for department meetings.

Lighter, just-for-fun sessions included genealogy and propagating house plants. Many thanks to the staff members who painted colorful designs on 140 rocks during the summer. Before the event, the rocks were hidden around campus and staff were encouraged to walk the campus to search for rocks.

Many thanks to the staff who organized Staff Development Days: Alyssa Voyles, Vanessa Bural, Andra Spencer, Carolyn Stark, Degundrea Harris, Haley Tucker, Joey Hicklin, Lindsey Schuhmacher, Michelle Golder, Tre Sandlin, and Wendé Fisher.

Thanks to the bookstore for providing free ice cream treats on the second day that soared above 100 degrees.

Departments including Human Resources, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Disability Support Services, Entry Services, Transitional Studies, Facilities Services, and others presented overviews of their department’s focus.

In her welcome to staff, Dr. Edwards noted that Staff Development Days supports the connection to the college’s Equity-Centered Strategic Plan by reinforcing employee engagement, empowerment, and excellence. She also called attention to those people impacted by the recent devastating wildfire on Maui.

Alyssa Voyles, Director of Employee Equity and Engagement and one of the event organizers, said, “The goal of Staff Development Days is to provide opportunities not only for staff to participate in necessary trainings, but also to provide a space for folx to reconnect, take a step away from their desks to breathe, and get excited about the upcoming year.”

Alyssa added, “We felt that this year was a big success, with bonding over rock painting, packed sessions covering necessary Clark skills and knowledge, and people getting to spend time in person with colleagues they only ever work with on Zoom! And the free ice cream provided by the bookstore always helps.”

PPI training sessions were offered on subjects including antisemitism, DACA, equitable decision making and more.

Andra Spencer’s training, Combating Antisemitism: Understanding and Taking Action, was very well attended. She defined what anti-Semitism is, how it has evolved and is shown in contemporary expressions. By promoting empathy and fostering dialogue, the goal was to inspire participants to become active agents in combatting anti-Semitism and fostering inclusivity and allyship.

Andra Spencer, program manager in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, said, “The ODEI team is working to have our training sessions be both data-informed and shaped by feedback from the college community. Through feedback we have received through the Climate Survey and other venues, we have learned that antisemitism is an area Clark staff would like to learn more about. We were excited to provide this training for the first time and to see such a positive response! We continue to hear from attendees about the positive learning experience in this workshop and the new things they are still thinking about.”

So many people streamed into Rosalba Pitkin and Katia Quintero’s presentation about DACA that more chairs had to be brought from another room.

“We didn’t expect so many people to be interested in DACA,” said Rosalba.

She told the participants, “We thank you for coming and for your interest in helping these students. We hope that this presentation and others like it will help cultivate greater empathy and understanding for these students.”

Katia reminded participants that DACA applies not only to some Clark students, but also to some college employees.

Katia said, “It’s gratifying to have so many Clark employees interested in learning more about DACA and how it impacts not only our students, but also our employees.”

Staff gathered for morning coffee and chatting and later headed to the bookstore for free ice cream treats. A delicious lunch was provided on both days. Relaxing chair massage sessions were available, too.

To conserve resources, the conference did not provide disposable water bottles. Instead, staff members refilled their own water bottles at water-refill stations. Rather than the conference printing hundreds of programs, staff members were encouraged to access the online program or print their own program.

Keynote by Parfait Bassalé

The second day opened with an inspiring presentation by Parfait Bassale, immigrant, artist, reconciler, and belonging strategist. The musician and songwriter played his guitar and sang his original song, “Safe House.”

When he finished singing, he said, “I see you. I hear you. I’m with you.”

Then he talked about three levers of belonging required for people to feel connected, at work or in any group:

1. Connection/representation
2. Visible support and care
3. A sense of agency; a person feeling their voice matters and they are being heard

To create connection, he asked Clark staff members to ask these questions: “How do we create opportunities for connection and for our stories to come out? How do we show support and care for each other? How do we allow for more voices to be shared? How can I be more present?”

Later, on social media, Parfait shared a photo of him standing with Clark College staff: “What a gift it was to remind dedicated professionals that all it takes is one person to make the difference to produce an experience of belonging for another human being.”

Director of Guided Pathways and Partnerships, Rhianna Johnson, said Parfait’s presentation caused her to reflect about what it means to have a sense of belonging at work.

“To me, it means feeling seen, heard, and respected,” Rhianna said. “It means trusting that others have your back. People need training, guidance, and tools to excel in their roles. Folks feel a sense of belonging when they are confident in their position and understand how they fit into the bigger picture. It also means feeling included in the group.” Listen to Parfait Bassalé’s song here.

Safe House by Parfait Bassalé

Verse 1: I see you with a limp from afar I see all of you I am curious about you What has brought you this far? I have time. Do you?

Chorus: Where do wounded birds fly When they’re trying to survive? I have wondered this for a while now. Yeah. Where do wounded birds fly When they’re trying to survive? Will I be a safe house? A safe house.

Verse 2: I hear you. All these scars from before. I do have some, too. Tell me, how I can support you? Your story isn’t my truth. So, what needs have you?

Verse 3: I am with you. As you heal from these wounds.

You rekindle my youth. I will journey alongside of you As you grow wings anew. I will soar with you.

Safe House words and music copyright by Parfait Bassalé. Used with permission.