Diversity Leadership Conference 2026

Weaving the Stories of Yesterday into the Leadership of Tomorrow

Interested in arranging a Burke Museum Tour on behalf of your org through DLC? Contact either Auntie Holly or Ronalei at hmbarker@uw.edu | trg9@uw.edu  

Visit their website: Welcome | Burke Museum

Presented by Holly Barker and Ronalei Gasetoto 

*90-Minute Session, Spanish-friendly* Learn from Amigos de Seattle in collaboration with the Immigrant Rights Front about your rights and those of your peers. This workshop will teach language and policies around how to advocate for immigrant populations, and equip attendees with the institutional knowledge of best practices when engaging with larger systems around Immigrant Rights. 

Presented by Luis Amado

Leadership looks different for everyone. In this session, participants will explore how their unique identities:  including culture, background, and lived experiences, shape the way they lead. Liz Huizar, Executive Director of Southeast Seattle Education Coalition, will share her journey as a Latina leader in education and community organizing, including stories of resilience, lessons learned, and practical strategies for navigating complex systems with confidence and authenticity. Together, participants will reflect on their own strengths, practice applying them in real-world scenarios, and leave inspired to lead in ways that honor who they are while building equity and inclusion in their communities.

Presented by Liz Huizar

This interactive workshop explores how diverse lived experiences, shaped by class, socio-economic status, access to capital, and systemic structures, influence life outcomes. Participants work together while navigating life with an assigned profile, highlighting how different starting points create different challenges and advantages during various stages of life. Through play and reflection, the session emphasizes why understanding and valuing diverse stories is essential to equity, inclusion, and collective success.

Presented by Jordan Hmaidan

Some multilingual students experience imposter syndrome in spaces that require formal language education, such as being bilingual providers and interpreters, that prevents them from pursuing these roles. In a society where English is treated as the default language, we need our communities to be represented in care, legal, and educational systems. This workshop aims to provide a space for multilingual students who want to provide services but feel they are not fluent enough to provide services in another language. This workshop is facilitated by two Spanish-speaking Latine graduate social work students in the mental health field and is open to all students who know any language.

Presented by Alison Marin and Melissa Reyes

In our society and in particular the United States, grief is often an isolating experience. People are expected to process feelings individually and return to responsibilities after just a few days off from work, school or other responsibilities. However, many students come from cultures from where there are rich cultural practices surrounding grief, that are communal in nature. This workshop aims to provide space for students to discuss the various ways that unresolved grief can show up in our mind, bodies and spirit. Allowing for discussion of cultural and normalized practices, while sharing a cup of tea. This workshop is provided through two Latine graduate social work students in the mental health field and is open to all students. 

Presented by Alison Marin, Melissa Reyes

This workshop helps participants build confidence by reflecting on their personal journeys. By recognizing how our past and present stories shape us, we can gain agency in the blueprint of our future. When we accept that our story is still being written, we are empowered to shape what comes next. We must all dream bigger!

Presented by Sasha Duttchoudhury, Tyneshia Valdez

Do you feel like you have a deficit mentality when you apply for a scholarship, like your grades, lack of work experience, or accomplishments don’t make you a competitive applicant? Do you find it hard to complete a scholarship application for these reasons? In this session, the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards will guide you to reflect on your unique accomplishments, experiences, and leadership, and how those actually make you a strong applicant. In this workshop, we’ll focus on crafting a story that highlights what you bring to the table, rather than on how you don’t feel enough!

Presented by Simon Tran, Robin Chang, Chetana Acharya, Tracy Nyerges, Amy Sun

“Imposter syndrome” has become the go-to explanation for not feeling like you belong, but what if you’re not the problem? This workshop challenges the idea that you need to fix yourself. We’ll explore how bias fuels self-doubt, identify what’s yours versus the systems and get tools to move through tough spaces without self-blame.

Presented by Bettina Jones

This interactive workshop centers storytelling to connect environmental justice work to lived experiences and community knowledge, reframing sustainability to be more relational and connected to culture and care. Together, we’ll discuss how mainstream Western narratives and ideas around sustainability create barriers to belonging, and how sharing our own stories and viewpoints reclaim how we lead and define sustainability work. Through collaborative activities grounded from student-led projects at UW, we’ll reflect on our own stories and explore how honoring diverse experiences can strengthen sustainability and guide collective action.

Presented by Maddy Laoprasert, Karolyn Maeda, Lorenzo McCleese

Join us to build skills for thoughtful collaboration, sustainable action, and healthy boundaries as we work toward social change. We’ll take a deep dive into Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Ecosystem Map as we build and nurture our ecosystems.

Presented by Katie Wallace

Facing the U.S.-centered discourse on social justice and the complex policy framework, international students often feel intimidated and alienated. This workshop will be led by a policy education intern from the Q Center to explore how to transform this “outsider” status into a unique advantage in advocacy work. We will start with real policy cases to break down that intimidating political jargon.

Presented by Sylvia Chen

Join us for a discussion about how to embody your values in your work. Learn about how the public service can be an opportunity for you to make an impact with those values.

Presented by Dahn Bi Lee-Hong, Rachel Leong-Sato

We will explore how community events can amplify diverse voices and strengthen civic belonging. Drawing on real examples from the U District neighborhood and the work of the U District Partnership (UDP), presenters will share challenges and opportunities for designing inclusive events that center lived experience, build connections, and reflect the communities they are centered in. The workshop blends storytelling, on-the-ground insights, and tools that can be applied in neighborhoods and civic spaces everywhere.

Presented by Lauren Carey, Janet Lee

This interactive workshop explores how impostor syndrome, discomfort, and self-doubt show up in moments of ambition, transition, and leadership, especially for those navigating systems not built for them. Drawing on personal career experiences and practical reflection tools, participants will learn to identify the inner critic, reframe discomfort as a signal of growth, and build sustainable strategies for confidence, resilience, and self-compassion in professional and academic settings.

Presented by Carol Vang, Rheana Andaya

Ever feel pressured to prioritize money over purpose, or pick a high-paying career over a truly rewarding job? In a world that often defines “success” by quick wins and high salaries, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly makes a career meaningful and sustainable.

Presented by Bridget Gaitor

We will be finding ways to uplift survivors by emphasizing healing and autonomy. We will have educational materials, speak on community and local resources, and write letters to survivors of domestic violence.

Presented by Ruthu Mavnur, Samir Faruq