Lead the Change
As part of the Anchorage Museum’s Design Week, Huddle Principal Holly Spoth-Torres moderated FUTURE LANDSCAPES: LEAD THE CHANGE with Salt LLC’s President Michael Fredericks and Women Talk Design’s CEO Danielle Barnes.
Michael presented on her and her family’s experiences as Yu’pik people and her professional journey to found Salt, LLC as a people-oriented design firm. Danielle Barnes spoke about many of the barriers women, BIPOC, non-binary, and other marginalized people face to gain experience, be recognized for their work, and participate in professional activities, such as presenting and speaking at conferences.
Then the audience had an opportunity to ask questions and Danielle and Michael shared their advice around mentorship, serving on boards, and aligning direction with change.
Big Takeaways:
Diversity & Inclusion. There are differences between diversity and inclusion. Diversity is having people of different backgrounds and experiences on your staff and inclusion is having a diverse staff integrated and participating fully in all levels of your organization. Diverse staff isn’t just being asked to serve on a Diversity Committee; they’re involved with the Finance Committee (or other operations critical to the success of your organization).
Mentorship & Sponsorship. Danielle shared the below comic to illustrate the difference between mentorship and sponsorship and emphasize that both are important. We also loved Michael’s advice that mentorship doesn’t need to be super formal; it can be grabbing lunch or coffee with someone whose work you admire.
