Making Change in Large Institutions
Description: Institutional change for racial equity is multifaceted and can be challenging. In this panel and workshop, we will discuss ways in which change occurs in institutions, best practices, and lessons learned. In the first half of the session, we will hear from panelists about their experiences working towards change and successful strategies they advise. In the second half of the session participants will work in groups to discuss their own experiences and apply learnings from the panel.
Moderator: Lonnie Lusardo, LT’90
Panelists: Jamie Stroble, LT’18, Nadia Gandara, LT’18, , and Solynn McCurdy, LT’11
Moderator and Panelist Bios
Lonnie Lusardo, LT’90, is the author of The Anatomy of Organized Hate: Stories of Former White Supremacists - and America's Struggle to Understand the Hate Movement, a book that examines the catalysts that caused former extremists to abandon hate and adopt compassion. The book also explores what federal and state government agencies are doing – and not doing – to stop the hate movement.
Lonnie is owner of and Principal Consultant for The Diversity Collaborative, a veteran owned business that specializes in Cultural Competency Training and Strategic Diversity Management for governments and corporations. Past and present clients include the U.S. Department of Defense/U.S. Navy, Boeing Company, Verizon Wireless, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Puget Sound Education Service District, City of Seattle, and many school districts, colleges and universities in Washington State. He is also a frequent presenter at regional, national, and international conferences and training events. Before starting his consulting practice in 1990, Lonnie spent 15 years as a journalist, first with a metropolitan daily in Connecticut, then as freelance correspondent for newspapers and magazines.
Lonnie is principal founder of one national nonprofit, Western Business Alliance, and three Seattle nonprofits, Greater Seattle Business Association, Seattle Race Conference and Out In Front. Lonnie is a former member and Chair of the Board of Visitors for Antioch University (Seattle), past president of the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development, and past president of Greater Seattle Business Association. He has served on the Leadership Tomorrow Board of Directors and, in the mid-1990s, was a mayoral appointee and Chair of the Seattle Police-Community Relations Task Force. Lonnie is a long-term community activist representing the regional LGBTQ+ community.
Jamie 真理恵 Stroble, LT’18, is the owner and founder of Noio Pathways LLC, and seeks to build community and organizational capacity to address environmental and climate justice, racial equity, and equitable public processes. She is an experienced policy advocate, trainer/educator, and community organizer with over 15 years of experience working in environmental justice-related fields, including community development, racial equity, food justice, air quality & environmental health, youth programming, leadership development, and immigrants & refugee programs.
As a movement builder, she is always looking for ways to support organizations and new leaders, build community capacity, and strategize around affecting change. She has led curriculum design, built leadership development programs, and facilitated workshops for all ages from high school students to seniors. Jamie has a strong background in the incorporation of equity in systems, plans, and policies, and most recently led the groundbreaking development of the first community-driven climate justice framework (Section II: Sustainable & Resilient Frontline Communities) for King County's 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan. She served as the primary advisor for climate equity throughout the plan and the lead author for the climate justice section, and created the Climate Equity Community Task Force to center frontline communities and BIPOC voices in community-driven climate policy-making.
She currently serves on the boards of the EarthLab at UW, the Healthy King County Coalition Built Environment Workgroup, Asian Pacific Islander Coalition Advocating for Health (APICAT), the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership, and the Puget Sound Climate Preparedness Collaborative, and co-chairs the Seattle Planning Commission. From working with youth in the Chinatown/International District to leading leadership development programming for an API community organization, she has also long been committed to building the next generation of BIPOC environmental leaders and mentoring of young people of color in public service and environmental fields. Jamie is currently based in Seattle on the current and ancestral lands of the Duwamish tribe and Coast Salish people, and was raised in Hawai'i on the lands of the Kānaka Maoli.
Nadia Gandara, LT’18, as Director of Racial Equity Strategies for United Way of King County (UWKC) leads the development, implementation, and communication of UWKC’s commitment to advancing racial justice. Nadia works in partnership with the Office of the President and cross-functionally to embed racial equity values into all workforce and business strategies. Additionally, she staffs the Racial Equity Committee of the Board of Directors and supports members in operationalizing UWKC’s values, strategies and objectives related to racial equity and undoing institutionalized racism; as well as leads the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Committee (DEIAC): a staff-led and staff-driven group aimed at creating an equitable workplace culture and actively works to address systemic inequalities within the organization.
She attended Seattle University and majored in History and Spanish. Before settling down in Washington, Nadia was born and raised in Minnesota and spent a couple of years in Massachusetts. She enjoys spending time with her family (fur babies included), trekking, reading fantasy & poetry, and traveling to Mexico.
Solynn McCurdy, LT’11, is senior vice president, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, for Symetra Life Insurance Company. In this role, he leads the holistic DEI strategy across the company, benefiting its products, partners, customers, and employees.
Solynn McCurdy, LT’11, joined Symetra from BECU, where he was senior vice president of Social Impact, leading all philanthropic and financial health efforts, community engagement, and cooperative community advocacy. Before joining BECU, Solynn was chief executive officer at Social Venture Partners Seattle and led social impact programs at Premera Blue Cross. Additionally, he served as director of external affairs at Seattle University.
Solynn received a master’s in education from Seattle University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Washington. He was raised in the Puget Sound region by his late maternal grandparents and was the first in his immediate family to pursue higher education and achieve senior executive-level leadership.
He enjoys his personal time with his family, is an avid moviegoer and foodie, and stays quite active through strength training and conditioning.