Fireside Chat with PLU Alumna Suzy Levy, ’99, and Author of
Mind the Inclusion Gap: how allies can bridge the divide between talking diversity and taking action
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
12 noon – 1pm Pacific time
Register for Zoom details
We live in a wonderfully diverse and increasingly connected world. With that rise in connection comes a steep rise in expectations…Expectations that we know how to talk about diversity, including with people who are different than ourselves…Expectations that we lean into uncomfortable conversations, with sufficient fluency that we don’t cause offence…Expectations that we act, instead of simply walking by inequality. While most of us are curious about diversity, and some would go so far as to call ourselves allies, very few of us are skilled in inclusion. Instead, we double down on being nice and hope it will be enough. In the absence of skills in this space, we allow our moral compasses and our instinct toward kindness to ground us. But these very honorable traits may harm as much as they help.
During a fast-paced hour, Suzy Levy will share a handful of lessons on inclusion from her new book, Mind the Inclusion Gap on how individuals can move beyond our instinct to be nice to having a more skilled approach to inclusion and diversity. Afterwards, she will about how PLU shaped her as a student, how a ‘life of service’ has emerged since graduating from PLU 25 years ago, and how the book came to be.
Suzy was the first generation in her family to attend university (She and her brother went at the same time but to different universities). She was a dual student athlete – playing volleyball for Kevin Aoki, as well as threw javelin at the national level – and held academic scholarships which made life at PLU possible. Suzy has lived in London for 20 years, and she credits PLU as playing a key role in expanding her desire to be / think / go global. She has hosted PLU students in the past during J-term and recently hosted PLU Professor Dr. Seth Dowland and a J-term group studying the intersection of religion and politics.
Suzy is a specialist in social change. She works with senior leaders across the public, private, education and third sectors to solve some of the most pressing social issues of our time. Although her experience is wide-ranging; from sales & marketing to major technology upgrades, new product launches and organizational mergers, Suzy is widely recognized for her pragmatic and thoughtful approach to inclusion and diversity.
In addition to her client work as Managing Director at The Red Plate, Suzy holds a variety of board-level roles. She was a non-Executive Director in the UK government for 7 years (both at the Home Office and the Department for Education). Suzy currently sits on the Advisory Board at social entrepreneurship firm Foundervine, creative agency Improper, and as a Board Trustee for the Women’s Sport Trust.
Published in 2023, Mind the Inclusion Gap; how allies can bridge the divide between talking diversity and taking action is Suzy’s first book. It summarizes decades of learning and is designed to help readers move beyond fleeting (and often divisive) interactions to become more confident, capable, and conscious when it comes inclusion and diversity.
It is not necessary to read the book to join the discussion but it might enable one to more fully participate in the conversation! It is available in the US at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. It’s also available in all major bookstores in the UK, and on more than 40 audiobook platforms including Audible, Apple and Spotify.
Registration opens in July!