Date | Time: Thursday, October 29th | 4:30 PM - 6:30PM
Location: Via Zoom Meeting
Deadline for Registration: Please submit your application by Thursday, October 8th
Cost: $100    

Description: 
As outlined in SE3’s call to action, we are committed to equipping our membership for and facilitating the difficult but necessary conversations on racial equity within our profession. This firm leader roundtable will provide a forum in which Northern California firm leaders can frankly discuss their commitments to and the challenges in implementing strategies for racial diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the structural engineering industry.
​
For more information on this event, and to submit an application to participate, visit our event page here.
​
The first portion of the event will be facilitated by Viva Asmelash, an inclusion strategist specializing in high-impact DEI strategy and execution in the workplace, who will moderate the discussion and share her expertise on effective DEI programs. Next, participants will be divided into breakout groups comprising 3-4 firm leaders for a focused brainstorming session. The final portion will bring everyone back together to share findings and lessons learned.  

Members of the SEAONC SE3 Racial Equity Task Group will be present to take anonymized notes and publish overall findings and lessons learned in a best-practices brief for all structural engineering firm leaders. Participants will be given the opportunity to review a draft of the best-practices brief before publication. Participating firms will be acknowledged for their contributions in the best-practices brief, in addition to the SEAONC and SEAONC SE3 newsletters. 

In order to keep this event productive and to maximize participation, this event will be limited to about a dozen firm leaders and participants will be asked to commit to spending 1-2 hours preparing for the event. We ask that all interested participants complete the application. Selected participants will be notified by October 12 and asked to register through the SEAONC website by October 16. There may be opportunities in the future for any applicants who are not selected for this event.

Registration for this event is required and has opened! Please visit the SEAONC Event Page for more details.

Facilitator's Biography

Viva Asmelash, Inclusion Strategist & Consultant
INSIGHT | INTENTION | INTEGRITY

My professional purpose is to create environments where people feel truly seen and are inspired to be their best and most authentic selves. First in higher education and now at Galileo, I bring this to life as a strategic and intuitive people operations professional with over 12 years of experience in purpose-driven branding, training & development, career-focused marketing, diversified applicant sourcing, and high-impact inclusion & diversity work.
Over the last several years at Galileo, I've developed the employer brand that has drawn an annual average of over 7,000 applicants, co-led the multi-faceted inclusion strategy, managed multiple thought leadership initiatives, and worked to ensure Galileo's consistent recognition—including being named one of The SF Business Times' Best Places to Work in the Bay Area (with over ten consecutive years on the list), a Real Leader Magazine Top 100 Impact Company, and one of Forbes' 25 Best Small Companies in America.
Along the way, I work with select clients to share my insight and experiences to deepen their inclusion work. I'm also an active speaker & advocate, and currently sit on the Sacramento County Mental Board. My personal passions include social justice, contemporary art, and all things design and music. 

Link to Viva's Website: www.vivaasmelash.com/

---

Start having the conversations that matter most.