“Equity is not a substitute for excellence.”

Cindu Thomas-George

Founder of Shakti Diversity and Equity Training, and a nationally recognized speaker who has also taught public speaking for almost 20 years, Cindu’s speaking engagements are focused on encouraging cross-racial allyship, disrupting anti-Asian hate, moving beyond color-blindness to color consciousness, understanding and embracing equity, disrupting anti-Blackness in communities of color, empowering women of color in the workplace, and cultivating inclusive organizations.

Cindu is a tenured professor of Communication Studies at the College of Lake County (CLC) specializing in Public Speaking, Intercultural Communication, and Online learning. Cindu is an award-winning educator, receiving the 2017 NISOD Teaching Excellence Award, a national recognition of excellence in Higher Education. Cindu is also currently partnering with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School for Non-Profit Management, teaching and coaching on the topic of inclusive leadership. 

Cindu Thomas-George

Communicating Across Cultures: Encouraging Intercultural Intelligence and Inclusive
Communication

This 3.5 hour interactive workshop provides participants with valuable knowledge and skills needed to effectively, respectfully, and inclusively communicate with colleagues and clients across diverse cultural backgrounds. In the increasingly diverse and globalized world that we live in, we will inevitably find ourselves engaged in interactions and relationships with people different from ourselves- both professionally and personally. Because culture influences our perceptions, values, and the ways in which we communicate, misunderstandings and conflict are inevitable in today’s diverse professional contexts. Participants of this workshop gain valuable knowledge and interpersonal communication skills that can help elevate intercultural intelligence and encourage culturally responsive and inclusive communication. This skills-based workshop, rooted in Intercultural Communication concepts and theories, will help prepare employees to be inclusive communicators and equip them with tools to effectively cultivate a welcoming and inclusive organizational culture.

Beyond the Dance: Cultivating Intentional Inclusion

This 2 hour interactive workshop will explore the foundations of inclusion and encourage a more inclusive organizational culture. Participants of this workshop will be encouraged to think critically about inclusion and the challenges of inclusion that can exist for diverse organizations. Workshop participants will be introduced to organizational and interpersonal inclusion strategies that can help empower employees to cultivate a more inclusive organizational culture.

From Colorblind to Color-conscious: Advancing Anti-racism in the Workplace

Professional development that equips employees with the knowledge and skills to be anti-racist communicators is an essential ingredient to cultivating a racially conscious workplace culture that is inclusive of employees who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). This two hour interactive workshop empowers employees to move beyond the colorblind approach to race relationships and embrace a color-conscious approach that can help promote racial inclusion and equity. Participants of this workshop engage in experiential activities
that allow them to reflect on their own ideologies and personal histories of race and walk away with a framework to approach future conversations regarding race, racism, and racial equality in professional and personal contexts.