Advancing Equity In Design Thinking: A Workshop
In this interactive session, we will workshop strategies to identify how self-reflective intentionality can be a driver for equity in the design thinking process. This workshop will provide an overview of design thinking and its most common applications and uses, while introducing areas of blind spots that may not be considered within the process. We will learn how, if unaddressed, these blind spots and biases risk perpetuating the very inequities we are trying to remedy.
We will discuss design thinking and human centered design in relation to equity and inclusion. We will dive deeper into foundational skills through presentation, discussion and experiential learning of:
Identifying personal biases and blind spots
Decentralizing mainstream assumptions
Understanding empathy
Learning community engagement strategies
Understanding inclusionary communication
Systems thinking
Sustaining diversity
About our Presenter:
Shalini Agrawal is trained as an architect and brings over 25 years of experience in community-engaged practice and pedagogy. She is founder of Public Design for Equity, an equity-driven practice for equity-driven outcomes; co-director of Pathways to Equity, a design leadership program for social equity; and founder of FIELD Design Network, a forum that builds capacity for underrepresented designers. She is Associate Professor in Diversity Studies at California College of the Arts and teaches at the intersection of design and community engagement. Shalini is a board member of Designers, Planners for Social Responsibility, and the Association for Community Design and Architects where she leads the fellowship program. She is a Leaderspring Fellow in the Women of Color 2020 Leaders cohort. Shalini is a contributing author to the publications Design for Democracy: Techniques for Collective Creativity and Public Interest Design Education Guidebook.
About LeaderSpring Center:
For twenty years, LeaderSpring has invested in the extraordinary talent, dedication, and vision of progressive grassroots leaders in the San Francisco Bay area. Through our signature leadership development program, we have equipped nearly 250 social sector executives with the knowledge, skills, and networks needed to lead high-performing organizations and drive lasting change. Learn more at www.leaderspring.org."
