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DEIA in the Scholarly Landscape: A 2024 NISO Training Series

Training Series

Scope

This training series is designed to cater to individuals at all stages of their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) journey. Whether you are at the beginning stages of DEIA work or you are an experienced leader spearheading a well-established DEIA program, this training offers everyone an opportunity for progress. This training series will cover topics such as expanding representation in the industry, understanding the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI) as it relates to DEIA, implementing standards and processes in the industry to promote equity, and taking steps to address past harms and deconstruct inequitable systems. Each session will feature guest speakers who will offer expertise on advancing DEIA work in scholarly publishing; attendees will have the opportunity to learn from and engage with these experts – and with each other – in a collaborative forum. This is an interactive series where attendees will be able to strategize with and learn from their peers in small discussion settings. Attendees will emerge from the course with insights from established professionals in their field, an expanded network of peers with a shared commitment to DEIA, and actionable steps to advance DEIA within their organizations.

Overall Learning Objectives

  1. An understanding of how systemic inequities inhibit work progress, and steps for mitigating those inequities.
  2. Knowledge of how to identify and interrupt bias and inequities in an evolving scholarly landscape.
  3. Each session will provide attendees with concrete steps to move their organizations forward no matter where they are in their DEIA journeys.

Training Facilitator

Steph Pollock, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Lead, American Psychological Association’s Journals Program

Stephanie (Steph) Pollock, MPS (she/her) is the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Lead for the American Psychological Association’s Journals Program. In this role, she directs and implements EDI initiatives for the APA’s 89 journals, working with APA staff, editors, and governance - as well as groups outside of APA - to promote equity and improve representation in science and scholarly publishing. With more than 12 years in the publishing industry, Steph has advanced key equity and inclusion initiatives for APA Publishing through such recent projects as APA’s EDI Toolkit for Journal Editors and APA Journals’ Editorial Fellowship program. She is a co-author on the C4DISC Antiracism Toolkit for Organizations, a member of the Association of American Publishers' DEI Practitioner Network, and the incoming Co-Chair for the Society of Scholarly Publishing’s DEIA Committee. Steph identifies as a white cisgender woman who was born in and lives in the eastern United States; she is committed to using her platforms and the power she inherits from these identities to advance social justice and amplify the voices of people with lived experiences of oppression.

Disclaimer: Steph is serving as co-facilitator of this training series in an individual capacity, not affiliated with her role at the American Psychological Association. The views expressed in this series are her own and do not represent the official views of the American Psychological Association.

Training Facilitator

Damita Snow, Director of Accessibility & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy, Publications & Standards, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

Damita Snow, CAE, ENV SP, (she/her) is the Director of Accessibility & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy, Publications & Standards, at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). She is the founder and former chair of ASCE’s Staff Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Council. In addition, she has served as a co-chair for the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee at the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), where she currently holds a position on the board.

Snow’s leadership experience extends to her roles as the Community Engagement Committee and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee chairs for Association Media & Publishing (AM&P). She was also a member of the Research Committee arm of the Foundation at the American Society of Association Executives Foundation (ASAE).

Previously, Snow co-chaired the Publications Special Interest Group for the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) and was a member of the Annual Meeting Committee. At present, she is a board member of Black Associations Executives (BAE), as well as the coordinator for the 2024 Women in Artificial Intelligence Global, Responsible AI, Speaker Series.

Guest Speakers

Confirmed Guest Speakers include Atinuke Adediran (Fordham University), Rebecca Benner (Society for Scholarly Publishing Early-Career Committee Co-Chair), Carlos Cardenas (National Board Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists), Joni Dames (Wiley), Samantha Evans (International Association of Accessibility Professionals), David Glasgow (Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, NYU School of Law), Racquel Jemison (American Chemical Society), Leonard Jack (Center for Disease Control and Prevention and CSE DEI Committee Chair), Christina Joseph (Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, NYU School of Law), George Kerscher (DAISY Consortium), Shaina Lange (American Society of Nephrology and C4DISC DEIA Committee Co-Chair), Chelsea Lee (American Psychological Society), Christina MacLaughlin (American Chemical Society), Paulomi Majumder (American Chemical Society), Monica Dillingham Pemberton (American Council on Education and Association Women Technology Champions Board Member), Dianndra Roberts (Royal College of Psychiatry and Scholarly Kitchen Chef), and Deirdre Simmons, Adjunct Professor and Author, and CEO of Consulting Alma (dba Alma, LLC).

Be sure to check back for additions and updates!

Course Duration and Dates

The series consists of eight (8) weekly segments, each lasting 90 minutes. Specific dates are:

  • June 6, 13, 20, 27
  • July 11, 18, 25 (no class July 4)
  • August 1

Each session will be recorded and links to that archived recording will be disseminated to course registrants within 2 business days of the close of the specific session.

Event Sessions

Thursday, June 6, 2024, Session One: Setting Expectations: A DEIA Primer

This introductory session will lay the foundation for this NISO training series. The session will include an overview of NISO’s code of conduct and the DEIA Committee charter, provide a framework for the next eight weeks, and align attendees with some shared assumptions and common definitions that are necessary for advancing DEIA work. This session will likewise include a brief workshop where attendees can begin to identify and deconstruct white supremacy culture norms in the workplace.

Shared Resources:

Thursday, June 13, 2024, Session Two: Expanding Pathways to Publishing Careers

Speakers

This session will spotlight industry experts whose organizations are leading the way in expanding representation and increasing access to the scholarly publishing workforce.

Shared Resources:

Thursday, June 20, 2024, Session Three: Bias in AI: Threats and Opportunities

Speakers

Carlos Cardenas

Sr. Director, Information Technology
National Board Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA)

This session will address the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) – particularly Large Language Models (LLMs) – as it relates to DEIA. Guest speakers will address how the adoption and implementation of AI tools could both help and hinder DEIA progress. Methods for mitigating AI’s risks to DEIA progress will be discussed.

Shared Resources:

Thursday, June 27, 2024, Session Four: Inclusive Language

Speakers

Chelsea Lee

Instructional Lead, APA Style
American Psychological Association (APA)

This session will offer resources for embedding inclusive language practices into attendees’ organizations. Guest speakers will highlight their progress in this space and offer frameworks for creating, understanding, and using inclusive language guides.

Shared Resources:

Thursday, July 11, 2024, Session Five: DEIA in Peer Review

Speakers

Dianndra Roberts

Senior Publishing Coordinator
Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych)

This session will address how diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility priorities emerge in the peer review process and will offer steps for mitigating inequities in such systems. Best practices for integrating DEIA principles in peer review will be discussed; attendees will evaluate their own programs for opportunities to reduce bias and promote a more inclusive and accessible peer review experience. 

Shared Resources:

Thursday, July 18, 2024, Session Six: Accessibility in Metadata

Speakers

Samantha Evans

Certification Director
International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)

George Kerscher

Chief Innovations Officer, DAISY Consortium
Senior Officer, Global Literacy, Benetech

This session will address best practices and evolving standards in web accessibility. Industry resources such as NISO Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Standards and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) will be discussed. Guest speakers will offer insights on resources and best practices for ensuring accessibility is integrated in the publishing ecosystem.

Shared Resources:

Thursday, July 25, 2024, Session Seven: Don’t Be Discouraged: How to Advance DEIA Work in the Current Legal Climate

Speakers

Christina Joseph

Project Director of the Advancing DEI Initiative
Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law

This session will provide an overview of how attendees can conduct and advance their DEIA work in light of recent legal rulings on DEIA efforts in the U.S. landscape. Guest speakers will share expertise on how recent rulings can impact progress and provide insight on the industry’s advocacy efforts to challenge these rulings. Perspectives on how organizations can uphold DEIA values in light of such challenges will be discussed.

Shared Resources:

Thursday, August 1, 2024, Session Eight: Building a DEIA Action Plan

Speakers

Leonard Jack, Ph.D.

Editor-in-Chief, Preventing Chronic Disease Journal
Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Deirdre Simmons

Adjunct Professor and Author / CEO
Consulting Alma (dba Alma, LLC)

This final session will offer guidance on how attendees can help their organizations address past harms and develop action plans for DEIA progress. Guest speakers will offer case studies of success from industry organizations that have made significant progress in advancing DEIA. Attendees will be granted time to draft and share a preliminary outline of a DEIA action plan for their organizations. Attendees will emerge from the course with additional resources and materials to continue their DEIA journeys beyond these eight weeks. 

Shared Resources:

Additional Information

Registration is non-transferable, and login via the provided Zoom link is exclusively accessible to the registered individual. As registrants, you can expect to receive a message containing your attendee sign-on credentials three business days prior to the scheduled Thursday session.

If you have not received your instructions by the day before an event, please contact NISO headquarters for assistance via email (nisohq@niso.org). 

Registrants for an event may cancel participation and receive a refund (less $30.00) if the notice of cancellation is received at NISO HQ (nisohq@niso.org) one full week prior to the event date. If received less than 7 days before, no refund will be provided. 

Broadcast Platform

NISO uses the Zoom platform for purposes of broadcasting our live events. Zoom provides apps for a variety of computing devices (tablets, laptops, etc.) To view the broadcast, you will need a device that supports the Zoom app. Attendees may also choose to listen just to audio on their phones. Sign-on credentials include the necessary dial-in numbers, if that is your preference. Once notified of their availability, recordings may be viewed from the Zoom platform.