The Future of Work is Diverse, Inclusive, Just and Equitable
GlobalMindED closes the equity gap by creating a capable, diverse talent pipeline through connections to role models, mentors, internships for low-income students, returning adults, First Gen to college and inclusive leaders who teach them, work with them and hire them.
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Chris on a project in Saudi Arabia |
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Chris with locals in Oman |
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Local Culture Leads to Business and Engineering Success Working Abroad: Meet Chris Van Note, President, Van Note International
What is your personal Story? What key moments defined you as a leader?
I am a civil engineer and project manager, but most importantly a builder of relationships and bridges between cultures! My personal story is that from a very young age I was intrigued by other cultures and foreign languages. The more different from the U.S and from English for me, the better. And so in 1986 after getting my Civil Engineering degree in the U.S., I began my global travels, foreign language studies, and fascinating experiences of working on engineering projects in Africa, South America, the Middle East and Asia. Since then I have worked in over 20 countries worldwide, and I have learned to speak Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian.
In reality, while I enjoy civil engineering and planning and designing major projects, this technical work does not “juice” me nearly as much as interacting with other cultures, learning about other countries history, language, and customs. I love exploring new countries and working with local government officials and engineers. It is through this working interaction that I get to know their country and customs and sometimes their language, as well as their indigenous, folk, and popular music (as I, too, am a musician). Before working in any country, I try to learn at least some of the language, history and culture. I get on YouTube and listen to their folk music and famous musicians for several months before I arrive. I study the country up close. I listen to their local radio news stations online. There is so much on the internet now that this is an easy thing to do, it just takes some time. While working in-country I often develop friendships and meet my clients’ families and children, and sometimes they take me on tours around the city or to music events or soccer games.
I have worked for U.S.-based engineering firms for 35 years. They are focused on their respective engineering design expertise but have very little knowledge of and experience in different cultures. They go abroad and do their engineering work, without always being sensitive to the culture they are working in. In all my years of working worldwide, I have seen many projects fail or have significant difficulties due to this lack of cultural sensitivity and cultural awareness. I observed not just a lack of cultural understanding but also a resultant lack of trust on the part of the local officials. And this lack of connection and trust was not just due to language barriers. It was about cultural differences and connection. People have different values and ways of working all around the world, they simply do not work or relate or communicate in the same manner as we do in the U.S. There is no “bridge” being built, if we just arrive to their country and start working in the American fashion as if we were in Chicago.
For example, while working on a project in Ethiopia, I was told that our data collection and project start-up was not going well, it was taking months to gather the needed data. I was scheduled to spend 3 months in Ethiopia to work on the project. And so I learned some of the local Amharic language before traveling there. When I walked into my first meeting with my U.S. colleagues and the Ethiopian government officials, I said “what a beautiful day in Addis” in Amharic. They came over and hugged me and shook my hand and laughed. From that point on, our project went more smoothly. What I learned from this experience was that, just from making a small effort to speak their language, and by showing a sincere interest in Ethiopian culture, I received a very warm welcome. There was immediate connection and mutual appreciation. They acknowledged this small effort to show interest in and respect for their Ethiopian culture.
What community-driven projects have you spearheaded/participated in? What did you take away from these experiences?
I was working in South America on an engineering project which had potential impacts to a local indigenous community. I met with this community in their local church to explain the project and let them ask questions, and later I got a tour of their neighborhoods and homes. I found out that their culture was to bury their ancestors in their own backyards. So their homes and land was sacred to them. If the project required some of the homes to be relocated, and the government took their land, they also took their ancestral burial sites. I was, of course, surprised to learn this. I do not think that the government officials involved in this project were even aware of this, nor did they honestly seem to care much about this local indigenous community. They just wanted their project done as quickly and cheaply as possible.
What I learned from this experience is that the place to start a project is by listening to the local government officials, learning the project history, and most importantly by speaking to the local residents to get their perspective at the beginning of the project. Giving local residents a voice made it much easier for me to hold future meetings with this community as the project moved forward, as we had established a relationship and understanding.
As an international consultant, where do you find your passion?
I simply love other cultures, including the music, languages, food and history of countries from around the world. As an example, I spent 6 years working in Brazil, read many wonderful novels and watched Brazilian movies to help me understand their history and culture and peoples. Every weekend I explored the musical diversity of Brazil, which is simply amazing.
I would like to transition from engineering projects to development-related work in the future, to basic things like water supply or solar power or environmental protection, so that people who do not have even these basic necessities of life can feel safer about their futures and the futures of their children.
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Join us for the conversation
Social Justice and Equity:
A constant evolution but we still haven’t hit the mark!
Tuesday January 24th 4:00 EST
Some of the original social justice conversations began in the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution to promote more egalitarian societies and reduce the exploitation of certain marginalized groups due great disparities between the rich and poor. Today, social justice has shifted towards a stronger emphasis on human rights and improving the lives of disadvantaged and marginalized groups that have historically faced discrimination in society. We continue to see and experience discrimination based on race, sex, age, wealth, ethnicity, heritage, social status, religion, and others.
Social justice and equity work is still all too common and very necessary. Even in the context of a pandemic, after the murder of George Floyd people spilled into the streets to protest police violence, racial discrimination, and the scourge of white supremacy. The United States recorded its largest protests in the history of the country’s existence. Join Equity and Social Justice leaders to discuss where we are, what has changed, and where we should be going to realize country where thriving is a right and not a privilege.
Led by Dr. Ryan Ross with Emily Shamsid-Deen; Principal, ESD Consulting, Keith Station; Deputy Chief of Staff—Diversity, Equity & Inclusion City of Omaha Mayor’s Office, Lana Hailemariam; Chief Executive Officer, StandUP, LLC, Reiland Rabaka; Founder and Director, Center for African and African American Studies, University of Colorado Boulder, and Dr. Roberto Montoya; Chief Educational Equity Officer Colorado Department of Higher Education.
See bios below
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Join us in Denver June 7-9 for GlobalMindED 2023 |
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Early Bird Registration Open Now
To get a feel for the conference experience, please see this brief video by The PhD Project from the 2022 GlobalMindED Conference
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Join us for the conversation
Social Justice and Equity:
A constant evolution but we still haven’t hit the mark!
Tuesday January 24th 4:00 EST
Some of the original social justice conversations began in the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution to promote more egalitarian societies and reduce the exploitation of certain marginalized groups due great disparities between the rich and poor. Today, social justice has shifted towards a stronger emphasis on human rights and improving the lives of disadvantaged and marginalized groups that have historically faced discrimination in society. We continue to see and experience discrimination based on race, sex, age, wealth, ethnicity, heritage, social status, religion, and others.
Social justice and equity work is still all too common and very necessary. Even in the context of a pandemic, after the murder of George Floyd people spilled into the streets to protest police violence, racial discrimination, and the scourge of white supremacy. The United States recorded its largest protests in the history of the country’s existence. Join Equity and Social Justice leaders to discuss where we are, what has changed, and where we should be going to realize country where thriving is a right and not a privilege.
Led by Dr. Ryan Ross with Emily Shamsid-Deen; Principal, ESD Consulting, Keith Station; Deputy Chief of Staff—Diversity, Equity & Inclusion City of Omaha Mayor’s Office, Lana Hailemariam; Chief Executive Officer, StandUP, LLC, Reiland Rabaka; Founder and Director, Center for African and African American Studies, University of Colorado Boulder, and Dr. Roberto Montoya; Chief Educational Equity Officer Colorado Department of Higher Education.
See bios below
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The GlobalMindED Inclusive Success NetworkTM had another banner year of growth, impact, and outcomes for First Generation, poverty-affected and minoritized students. Here are some of the highlights:
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Return of in-person GlobalMindED conference with record attendance and the largest First Gen Leadership Class ever of 122 student leaders. See PhD Project brief video of the event.
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Our fourth annual Inclusive Leader Awards recognized 15 DEIB leaders across sectors.
- Almost all our 100+ panels and sessions of 2022 featured a student.
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Of the 300+ speakers, 73% were diverse leaders sharing their thoughts.
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We held our first Industry Marketplace Career Exploration Arena at GlobalMindED 2022 with 40 companies, giving K-12, college students, educators, and leaders a way to learn about emerging fields and careers. Join us for the next one at GlobalMindED 2023.
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Our first satellite event at Georgia Institute of Tech was livestreamed via the Atlanta PBS affiliate.
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We became an official initiative of the Foundation for the Support the United Nations (FSUN) and will hold our first UN event on March 22, 2023.
- ·We served ten colleges with the GlobalMindED Success Collaborative connecting students at each HBCU, MSI, HIS and Tribal College with role models, mentors, internships, and jobs.
- We had partners/volunteers from Microsoft, Salesforce, Rubrik, HP, Stanford MBA and more.
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We spoke at the White House Initiative for HBCUs with sponsor Hewlett Packard.
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Our team, Board, Colorado Board and Executive Leadership Council are all majority diverse serving a majority diverse population of emerging leaders.
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We continued to publish our daily newsletter and conduct monthly virtual Equity events, led by people of color with majority diverse panelists and students. These are the role models for our students.
- Our annual operating budget increased by 67% emerging COVID strong.
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We doubled our staff from four to eight as we grow to scale our impact.
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Our Young Professionals grew to 40 strong, with a ten-person leadership cabinet made up of, but not limited to, graduates of our programs who are now working professionals.
- Since 2015, we have successfully connected 1,200+ students to internships and jobs.
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Our founder, Carol Carter, was recognized as one of the Most Powerful Women in Denver by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and one of the Most Admired CEOs by the Denver Business Journal.
We are grateful for the support, inclusive leadership, and financial contributions of our community and sponsors who work tirelessly to open doors for the students we serve, the institutions who support them, and the businesses and non-profits who are committed to hiring a capable, diverse talent pipeline. We look forward to seeing all of you June 7-9 at our best event yet, GlobalMindED 2023 - Transforming Boundaries: Creating Systemic Access and Equity. The Inclusive Leaders Awards Dinner is June 7, followed by the conference June 8- 9 at the Denver Downtown Sheraton.
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