Robert Lawrence Wilson is a speaker, facilitator, and writer with expertise in diversity and inclusion, multicultural outreach marketing and leadership development. Co-founder of the Culture Shift Team, he leads their diversity strategy development and training across all platforms and markets from higher education and non-profit to corporate.

Robert began his journey in diversity and inclusion as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, where he served as a residence hall diversity peer advisor. He has served in executive roles at Nissan North America, including as the company’s first Director of Diversity and Inclusion and as Director of Customer Experience. He developed and led Nissan's diversity practice and multicultural market strategy for the Americas.

Robert serves on the leadership boards of several nonprofit organizations promoting greater access to quality education for the nation's most at-risk student population. He is also co-founder of the Tennessee Diversity Consortium. Robert holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University.

The world is changing dramatically and our struggle to respect one another's perspectives is harming the most sacred tenors of our organizations, campuses, and society as a whole. Why is diversity and inclusion so important to our organizations? What is holding us back from creating truly inclusive organizations? How do we overcome our own biases? Learn how to truly master inclusion ... in twenty words or less.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Define diversity and inclusion for a new generation of leaders.
2. Disarm the diversity and inclusion de-railers; stereotypes, unconscious bias, and majority privilege.
3. Elevate your organization by leveraging the diversity on your campus and maintaining an inclusive environment.

The key to building bridges across differences is relationships. The key to building relationships is the ability to have difficult conversations across differences. So why is it so hard to broach difficult topics like race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, politics, and social economic status? How do our organizations suffer when we are unable to do so? Creating space for courageous conversations is they key to inclusiveness. Learn how to develop the courage to ask and how to listen to learn.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Understand why courageous conversations around diversity is critical to inclusion in your organization.
2. Overcome your fear of broaching difficult diversity and inclusion topics.
3. Learn tools to create learning environments where courageous conversations are productive and help create and sustain inclusive environments.