“Contrast Makes the Picture Better” SCIL Participants See Diversity in a Different Light
What do we mean when we discuss diversity, and how does a greater understanding of the diversity within our local community help us to grow as leaders? These were some of the questions that this year’s Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) cohort met to discuss on November 14th at the Frank Fischer Senior Center in Wisconsin Dells.
Every month SCIL brings together a group of 20 leaders in different stages of their careers and lives to discuss and strengthen their burgeoning leadership skills. November’s theme was “Contrast Makes the Picture Better: Seeing Diversity in a Different Light”
The group kicked off the day by sharing “Artifacts” of their personal diversity, defined as an item that represented their culture, ethnicity, or family history. SCIL participant artifacts ran the gamut from samplings of family recipes, to photographs of family farmsteads, stories of their ancestors, to a beautiful handwoven tapestry in the Navajo tradition.
The first guest speaker of the day was Santo Carfora of S&J Consulting from Janesville, who discussed “Cultural Competency in Today’s World.” Carfora led the group through exercises illustrating the invisible privileges each of us have, but may not always be cognizant of. These privileges aren’t limited to one’s racial or ethnic background, although those certainly play a role in our lived experiences. They can also include such things as childhood experiences or traumas, socioeconomic and educational background, ability, sexuality and gender. Carfora emphasized that the goal in recognizing one’s privilege is not to “make anyone feel guilty,” rather, to recognize that privilege is unearned; we don’t get to choose which privileges and advantages we enter the world with.
The group also heard from two local leaders who lent their perspectives to the topic of diversity and privilege in Sauk County specifically. Serge Koenig, a Conservation Technician for Sauk County gave a heartfelt reflection on his experience as a man of color in a typically white-dominated field. Despite having largely positive interactions with local farmers and with the community, Koenig reflected on the cultural shock of leaving his home in Madagascar as a child and the challenges of learning to integrate into a predominantly white community which he has now called home for several decades.
Lance Tallmadge, a retired Fitness Supervisor at the Ho-Chuck House of Wellness and tribally enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, ended the day by reminding SCIL participants that we as Sauk County residents have the privilege of living on land historically tended and protected for generations by the Ho-Chunk Nation, or “People of the Big Voice.” Participants reflected on misperceptions in relatively recent times that the Ho-Chunk people are few in number. Tallmadge emphasized that the People of the Big Voice are still very much here and active in their community.
In closing, the group reflected on the diverse strengths each SCIL participant brings to this year’s cohort, and the group looks forward to growing their skills next month. Seeing diversity in a different light encourages each of us to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our everyday walks of life.
Written by: Caitlin Opatik and Fremina Funmaker
