WNC DEI committee to welcome diversity and inclusion consultancy CEO for Zoom event on Nov. 6

Darla Pires DeGrace has devoted her 25-year professional career to helping organizations reach their diversity goals. More recently, she has been focused on not only assisting companies achieve better diversity representation but helping them create more inclusive cultures.

DeGrace will zero in on one aspect that can make a workplace toxic when she joins Western Nevada College’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for a Zoom event on Friday, Nov. 6.

WNC staff, students and the community are invited to join DeGrace as she presents EmPower Hour: Microaggressions 101 from 11 a.m. to noon on Zoom. To register for the event and receive the Zoom link and password, contact DEI Chair Deborah Alves at deborah.alves@wnc.edu.

“Microaggressions are common in the workplace, especially for people of color, women and LGBTQ+ people,” DeGrace said. “They often decrease productivity and can create a toxic workplace environment.”

The one-hour event will include a TED Talk on microaggressions, followed by participants unpacking these assaults on marginalized communities, identifying ways to avoid being the offender and sharing tips on being an effective and active bystander.

In the past, DeGrace worked at Reebok as a talent recruiter, specifically tasked with bringing more diversity to the footwear and clothing company headquartered in Boston, not far from where she grew up in Cambridge, Mass.

“I had the privilege of growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts — a microcosm of the world,” DeGrace said. “My humble upbringing exposed me to every facet of diversity. It wasn’t until I entered my career when I realized that diversity was not reflective in the workplace. It inspired me to be part of the solution and make an impact across all industries.”

Eventually, she opened the DeGrace Group, her own consultancy business aimed at helping companies solve their diversity and inclusion issues.

“In the last decade, I’ve been primarily focused on helping companies to achieve better representation but more importantly creating more inclusive cultures,” DeGrace said. “I am motivated to work with organizations that are committed early on in their D&I journey because they have an opportunity to get it right from the start.”