Applying a Culturally-Grounded, Trauma-Informed Approach to OD Consulting

Recent events including the killing of George Floyd and significant racial/ethnic disparities in COVID outcomes highlight the need to address the trauma brought on by health and social disparities that disproportionately plague Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) communities. To truly elevate the BIPOC communities, we must invest in community-based organizations (CBOs) that have long served as a trusted and necessary resource for BIPOC families and communities. The proverb of uncertain African origin , “It takes a village to raise a child”, is a commonly used statement that suggests that collective efficacy is key to family success. Building CBOs that serve BIPOC families and communities allows for organizations that have a vested interest to promote community development and collective empowerment for their clients. This includes culturally grounded organizational development strategies for building organizational infrastructure, providing training, supporting and developing BIPOC leadership and advocating for policies and funding that strengthen CBOs that serve BIPOC communities. This session will review our trauma-informed, culturally grounded approach to working with BIPOC service and run CBO's: Do the M.A.T.H.: M: Making Space, A: Appreciative Authentic Culturally-Grounded Inquiry, T: Therapeutic Programming.

By the end of the session, you will:

• Create a culturally-grounded, trauma-informed SWOT analysis that can be used in organizational strategic planning.
• Discover the DEI principles as applied to OD practice: Self-Aware Leader, Equity Advocate, Cross-Cultural Navigator, Strategic Consultant
• Define trauma informed OD practice
• Learn three strategies to collaborate with BIPOC serving and run community-based organizations

About the Facilitator

Dr Rhonda BeLue is a Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at St Louis University and Co-President of Visionary Insights LLC consulting company.  Her work focuses on improving health care access and promoting healthy behaviors in families and organizations in black communities in the US and global south. She has dedicated her career to the elimination of health inequities and advocating for social justice.  She takes a holistic approach to advocating for social justice, including community-based participatory research approaches to addressing health disparities and participating and supporting for black, indigenous and diverse cultural arts activities and serving local organizations that serve African American communities.   She has also worked as a local public health practitioner in Nashville, TN where she served as the director of the research and evaluation unit and the liaison between the Nashville Metro Public Health Department and local community and academic institutions.  She has extensive experience in procuring funding for academic and community based organizations and has expertise in evaluating community based programs and interventions.  She holds a master of statistics and a PhD in Policy Analysis & Management from Cornell University and  Graduate Certificates in Organizational Leadership and Development from St. Louis University. 

Area of focus from the OD Global Competency Framework addressed in this program:  Self-Aware Leader, Equity Advocate, Cross-Cultural Navigator, Strategic Consultant