Breaking Bias at Feeding America's Unite Conference

One of my very favorite parts of our work at BE MORE with Anu is when my speaking engagements combine all of the following:

• A topic about which I'm dearly passionate (in this case, building the habit of compassion to strengthen our DEIB capacities)
• A partnership with an organization doing truly transformative work (in this case, Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the United States), and who is ready to take their DEIB work to the next level
• Organizational contacts who are a genuine delight to work with (in this case, Megan Whitney and Kathryn Strickland.... but more on them in a moment).

This engagement certainly hit all those marks. I'm so thrilled to share with you the recording of our Compassion Lab, which Feeding America has generously made available to view publicly. Take a look -- I hope it helps you as you build your own practice of compassion and loving-kindness.

Deepening an organization's relationship with DEIB work

Megan Whitney, Senior Manager for Network Fundraising Services, and Kathryn Strickland, Chief Network Officer, invited me to facilitate a keynote for Feeding America's Unite conference, followed by an interactive workshop, both around compassion. I was thrilled to get to work with and present to an organization of folks who have begun their learning journey, and who are looking to develop and deepen their relationship with DEIB work. They shared the following with me the day after our session ended:

"Right after the Compassion Lab, I had time with a colleague who has been struggling for quite a while. They had also attended your session. They shared how at peace and inspired they felt. I am supremely confident that others also came away with a renewed sense of freedom and hope."

The wonderful thing about kindness, compassion, and love is that they build on each other: the more compassion we give to others, the more we feel it within us to continue to give. After they shared these words with me, I also felt a renewed sense of freedom and hope. 

After all, this work is hard! Compassion is the most natural thing in the world -- we are literally wired for it -- and yet the world asks us, so often, to ignore this part of our nature. So it was such an honor to hear that my words had resonated: that we were able to make such an impact on Feeding America's annual conference by spreading love, kindness, and, of course, science-backed strategies for organizational change.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Feeding America for inviting me. Thank you to Megan and Kathryn for your vision in imagining a pair of sessions that would resonate with and renew your members' sense of compassion. I'm so grateful to have been part of your day.

Are you a visionary leader looking to bring this work to your own organization? Get in touch with us here -- we'd love to wind up blogging about the work we were able to achieve together deploying our programs at your workplace!