The Stories We Carry: Identifying and Confronting Our Implicit Bias

Workshop Description

Day 1: We all carry stories, the assumptions, associations, and beliefs shaped by our upbringing, communities, and culture. Many of these stories operate beneath our awareness, quietly influencing the decisions we make, the people we trust, and the communities we serve. In this first session, we explore what implicit bias is, where it comes from, and how it moves through our subconscious in ways we rarely notice. Through the lens of the Cognitive Model and the Cycle of Oppression, participants will begin to see how bias is not a character flaw but a deeply conditioned pattern that, left unchecked, shapes organizational culture and community impact in measurable ways.

Day 2: Awareness without action is just discomfort. In this second session, we move from recognition to responsibility, equipping leaders with the tools to identify bias in real time, interrupt it before it causes harm, and build organizational cultures where equitable decision making is the norm rather than the exception. Drawing on personal reflection, professional scenarios, and concrete strategies, participants will leave with a practical framework for examining their own assumptions and three immediate actions they can take to begin shifting how their organizations show up for the communities they serve.