Earn Recertification Credits by Attending The Power of Inclusion Conference

This conference has been approved for 7.25 General credit hours by the HR Certification Institute. Attendees can earn recertification credit hours for attending this conference. Instructions and forms to submit your activity for recertification will be available at registration at the conference. See Credit Form

Opening Welcome/Keynote

Laraine Kaminsky - Leveraging Cultural Competence for Inclusion in a Rapidly Changing World

Cross Cultural Competence is an asset for all. How do you leverage this for inclusion in multicultural organisations domestically and globally? This keynote address will provide provactive questions and strategies. Laraine will engage all participants to think and continue their learning processess in this dynamic topic.

Welcome & Keynote

Robert Wendover - The Power of Inclusion Celebrating Age Diversity in Today’s Workplace

As our nation embraces the diversity of those within our workforce, we need to recognize the differences and similarities among those in our four, soon to be five, generations. While workplace veterans look with fascination on emerging contributors, young workers are doing the same about their elders. But along with fascination, of course, has come frustration, miscommunication and irritation. Join Robert Wendover, Director of The Center for Generational Studies, as he takes an insightful and entertaining look at how we can celebrate age diversity and profit from it as well.

12 Noon - 1:45 p.m.

Cathy Bao Bean Bridging Cultures with Good Humor: Identities and Laughter

Although we cannot understand a culture without understanding its humor, too often grist for the humor mill is shared only with obvious peers. I aim to enlarge the circle of peers by describing the “hyphenated” American as someone who goes from the ‘familiar’ to the ‘foreign’ on a daily basis. Whether from one side of the cafeteria to another, or one country to another, we all emigrate and immigrate from a more traditional world to/from the modern and back again. However diverse, this is what we all have in common. Whether an Asian-American burning Spirit Money for the dead before designing a building or African-American with a lucky charm when flying into space, specifying traditional and modern contexts clarifies where cultural bridges are grounded.

Senior Leadership Panel

Join us for a lively dialogue on lessons learned while establishing and sustaining a diversity and inclusion initiative. Panelists represent higher education, business, non-profit organizations and community/government. Panelists will take questions from the audience.

Norma Holland,13 WHAM TV Anchor, Moderator

Norma Holland is the anchor for 13WHAM News This Morning and the host of the weekly program, Many Voices, Many Visions. She has worked at 13WHAM since 1996.  Norma began her career at 13WHAM as an intern while in a student at SUNY Geneseo and has filled a number of roles at the station ever since. She is an active member of Latinas Unidas, a latina women's networking group.

Peter Carpino, President, United Way of Greater Rochester, Panelist

Peter C. Carpino is president of the United Way of Greater Rochester, the region’s premier fund raising organization for health and human services.  In 2011, United Way raised $28.1 million for the support of human service programs and initiatives that help advance the common good throughout the seven-county Greater Rochester area.  Prior to his appointment as United Way's president in April 2005, Carpino served for 10 years as president of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, the third largest United Way in Pennsylvania. Read more

William Castle, Chief Diversity Officer, Xerox Corporation, Panelist

William H. Castle is Chief Diversity Officer & Director, HR Business Process Effectiveness at Xerox Corporation.  He was appointed as Chief Diversity Officer in July, 2011. Since joining Xerox, Castle has held a number of key human resources positions including the Vice President of Human Resources for Business Group Operations, Document Systems & Solutions Group, Worldwide Business Services, Corporate Strategic Services, and Director of Industrial Relations and Workforce diversity for Xerox Corporate Human Resources. Read more

John Halstead, President of The College at Brockport, SUNY, Panelist

Dr. John R. Halstead serves as the sixth President of The College at Brockport, joining the College in August 2005, and also has been appointed by SUNY as University Professor.  Prior to his appointment at The College at Brockport, Dr. Halstead served as President of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania for seven years. Previous to that he was the Vice President for Student Affairs and Cooperating Associate Professor of Education at the University of Maine. Read more

Leonard Redon, Deputy Mayor, City of Rochester, Panelist

Before being appointed Deputy Mayor, Deputy Mayor Redon served as Vice President of Western Operations at Paychex, Inc. in 2001 following a 28-year career at Eastman Kodak. At Kodak was President of Qualex, Inc. (a Kodak company); President of Customer Equipment Services; Vice President of Government and Education Markets; Vice President of Markets Development, U.S. and Canada Region; Regional Vice President Midwest and Executive Assistant to the Chairman and President. His last position was Director of Rochester Area Operations, Vice President Eastman Kodak. Read more

Closing Keynote

Joe Gerstandt - RESET

Walk into an organization today and ask ten people what diversity means or what inclusion means and you will likely get ten different answers. Words matter, and it is probably going to be difficult for us to move this work forward without a common language or common logic in place.  Using a combination of stories and interactive exercises, this session illuminates some of our common blind spots around diversity and inclusion.