Dr. Liza Talusan, a highly sought-after facilitator, educator, and scholar-practitioner in areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, has been working with Sacramento Country Day School to help us engage in community conversations about how to create a more inclusive and equitable school environment.

About Dr. Talusan

Dr. Talusan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Connecticut College, a Master’s Degree in Student Personnel Administration from New York University, a certificate in Human Resources, a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and certified coaching credentials from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. Her scholarship has been published in peer reviewed journals, edited book collections, online platforms, and she has been featured on a number of podcasts and interviews related to education, identity, and inclusion. She serves in a number of national organizations focused on education and equity, and she has consulted with well over 275 schools, organizations, and corporations not only here in the U.S. but also globally. Currently, Dr. Talusan is a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts, Boston where she teaches both masters and doctoral courses focused on leadership, equity, and justice.

Dr. Talusan’s Work with Country Day

In June, Dr. Talusan hosted three sessions with employees on identity-consciousness and how identity affects our work with students and our school community. On August 25-27, she will host three more sessions with employees:

• Getting ready to do the real work: This session will focus on why diversity, and in particular, race, matters. Participants will work with protocols to engage in difficult conversations in ways that both challenge and move the work forward. This session focuses on definitions and understanding the differences between diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
• Identity-Conscious Leading: This session will examine learned biases by asking “How does my own personal socialization and learning inform or impact my approach to diversity, equity and inclusion work?” Participants will explore how biases show up in their work and how to begin dismantling problematic biases that they have held.
• Leadership and Change Management: This session focuses on decision making and responsibility. Participants will examine policies, practices, programs, and procedures that contribute to inequity and develop action items for making change. 

Additionally, our IDEA Committee Leadership Team in partnership with Dr. Liza Talusan have been working to interpret the data we have collected through last year’s National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM) study. The team will make recommendations for action based on the findings. By this fall, the IDEA Committee plans to share a final AIM report with our community and begin working on a strategic plan for DEIJ work moving forward.