Diversity and Inclusion is a full-time focus, not just one topic among many for keynoter Lenora Billings-Harris. She an internationally recognized diversity strategist and thought leader, Certified Professional Speaker (CSP), facilitator, and author. With more than twenty-five years of experience in the public and private sectors, Lenora was named as one of 100 Global Thought Leaders on Diversity and Inclusion by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Additionally, she was named as one of the Top Twenty Diversity Leaders in the USA, by Diversity Woman magazine. Through her presentations, train-the-trainer sessions, books and other educational resources, she has developed a unique way of presenting sensitive topics in a substantive, thought-provoking and non-judgmental way. She is known for her ability to simplify and demystify the complexities of diversity and inclusion in the workplace which lead her participants to immediately applicable "how to's," thus causing them to invite her back again and again.

Lenora is the author of The Diversity Advantage: A Guide to Making Diversity Work and the co-author of TRAILBLAZERS: How Top Business Leaders are Accelerating Results through Inclusion and Diversity.

She is a past president of the 3000 member National Speakers Association. Lenora serves on the adjunct faculty of Averett University as well as the Bryan School of Business and Economics, University of North Carolina-Greensboro where she and her team conducted award winning research on diversity attitudes and leadership results. The results of their research have been published in several scholarly journals. Lenora has presented to audiences in over eighteen countries in person and via satellite. Before starting her consulting firm in 1986, Lenora held several key management positions with two Fortune 500 companies as well as with the Graduate School of Business, University of Michigan.

1. THE DIVERSITY ADVANTAGE - A WIZARD OF OZ PERSPECTIVE:
Using the characters of the Wizard of Oz as a metaphor will help you understand how you can use your brain, heart and courage to make a real difference in today's multi-cultural world. This fun yet thought-provoking message will inspire you to embrace the gifts you have and to value the gifts of others to increase your options for success. By realizing the power to make a difference is within each individual, and the first step is possible, you will discover ways to create and sustain a environment that supports high productivity while celebrating differences.

Lenora uses life-size stand ups of the characters and music from The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz to create a non-threatening learning environment. This highly interactive, program provides an opportunity for you to discover your own level of knowledge and understanding of people who are different.

2. PROFESSIONAL GROWTH PRESENTATIONS Capturing Today's Multicultural Market:
Are your sales representatives losing opportunities to close sales because they are pre-judging the client or customer? Are they only prospecting and selling to people who are "just like them?" If so, this program is for them. Included are customized exercises and the Sales Action Planner to help participants identify their own biases, and how those perceptions kill sales. This program is for people who know the basic steps of selling, and are looking for ways to increase sales results through effective relationship-building techniques with a diverse market.
3. From Adversaries to Allies - Gender Communication in the Workplace:
This fun presentation will help you improve your communication skills with the opposite gender. You will explore ways to say what you mean in the way the other gender will understand. This insightful session will help both men and women learn how to express themselves in a way that improves results. By practicing techniques that recognize communication differences without value judging, you will discover your own hidden communication strengths.
4. The Leadership Advantage - Building Emotional Intelligence:
In today's multicultural workplace, effective leaders use a variety of skills to increase their organizations' return on investment (ROI) of their human capital. By developing emotional intelligence (EI) competencies coupled with reducing unconscious biased behaviors, you will discover the ingredients needed to transform your vision of creating a highly productive, respectful, inclusive environment into reality. This presentation is tailored to your business objectives to enable you to develop a specific plan of action.
5. MOST POPULAR SEMINAR THE DIVERSITY ADVANTAGE - TURNING BARRIERS INTO BRIDGES:
This highly interactive, thought-provoking yet fun program provides an opportunity for participants to explore the biases of our society's "isms", such as racism, sexism, ableism, and ageism, as well as homophobia and other prejudices that impede productivity in the workplace, participants of this program will be better equipped to improve their cultural competencies to enhance performance, when they return to their organization.

This information-packed program includes the Discovering Diversity Profile®, which provides confidential individual feedback to participants, regarding their views about people who are different from themselves, enabling them to develop a specific plan of action to change behaviors.

6. Learning Objectives: As a result of attending this seminar, participants will be able to:
1. Limit the influence of stereotypes on their personal actions.
2. Use the S.T.O.P. technique to minimize multicultural mishaps.
3. Identify the four cornerstones for improving cultural competencies.
This program can be delivered a one full day of learning, or two half day modules. An abbreviated version is available for conference breakout sessions and keynotes.
7. DISCOVERING DIVERSITY PROFILE®A Critical Tool for Increasing Organizational Strength:
Limit the influence of stereotypes and create acceptance of differences with the Discovering Diversity Profile, a confidential, self-directed instrument that explores diversity issues in the following key areas:
1. Knowledge - what a person actually knows about differences and the source of that knowledge. Stereotypes and Information are measured here.
2. Understanding - individual willingness to put yourself in another's position. Awareness and Empathy are measured here.
3. Acceptance - patience and regard for different beliefs and behavior. Tolerance and Respect are measured here.
4. Behavior - how a person acts out their attitudes toward others, their flexibility and openness. Self-Awareness and Interpersonal Skills are measured here.
The profile is a critical tool in helping people move from fear and resistance to informed acceptance of diversity as a source of organizational strength. It is included within several of the seminars and may also be purchased directly for use by your company's internal HR staff.