Fear Comes from the Unknown
Lake Delton, WI. On November 10th the Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) class of 2023-2024 gathered for a day centered on diversity, equality, and equity. Morgan McArthur, UW-Madison Sauk County Extension Educator and SCIL Facilitator, organized a day that was filled with testimonials, connect-working, and stories that instilled motivation to go out and lead better. SCILsters benefited from presentations by Santo Carfora, Serge Koenig and Lance Tallmadge.
Santo Carfora, S&J Consulting, led the group through the morning with a focus on the concepts of diversity, equality, equity, and privilege. “Diversity is everywhere” was a quote used often throughout his presentation and he used this line to promote reflection on how we interact with others. Santo also led the group in an explanation of the differences between equality and equity. Equality meaning everyone gets the same thing and equity meaning that everyone gets what they need. To wrap up his session, Santo led the group through a privilege walk. The walk gave a visual representation of the privileges, or lack thereof, the group had and how that can have an impact in our places of employment.
Serge Koenig, Conservation Technician at Sauk County Land Resources and Environment, shared his remarkable life story with the group and what his life experiences have been since moving to the United States. Serge shared about his life in Madagascar, his life in the United States, and career path journey. To assist the group in getting a better understanding of diversity, Serge told how he continues to push himself to do better everyday to overcome the stigma he faces as a black man living in Sauk County. The honesty that Serge shared about his experiences helped those in the group to reflect on their own experiences, behaviors, and ideas with the knowledge that they too can make changes to become more inclusive.
Lance Tallmadge, a tribally-enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, spoke about the history of the Ho-Chunk people in Sauk County. Tallmadge led the group in learning about practices, ceremonies, and beliefs held by the Ho-Chunk people and how their ties to Sauk County are deeply rooted in their history.
The day concluded with the group reflecting on the diversity within the Sauk County area and focusing on the unique characteristics within the group of leaders that gathers for the session each month. The group will continue to meet through May of next year.
Written By: Cari Teasdale and Kyle Blechner
