March 2023 PMI-MC Monthly Chapter Dinner Meeting

Do you find yourself spending extra time reviewing presentations, deliverables and emails still not sure if you are in the clear of offending anyone? If so, this presentation can help!

Diversitu, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) have never received their just due in the workforce and our communities that the framework holds today. As the country and the world turn more of their focus to building inclusive workplaces that drive sustainable growth and innovation, all of us play a part in to those efforts being sustainable & succcessful over the long haul. Join us as Ms. Garza-Guidara enlightens our audience on how we can better manage, plan and implement our projects through more of a DEIB lense that will ensure we get the highest Return on Investment (ROI) possible from our efforts.

Liz Garza-Guidara is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) consultant, a social justice advocate, a US Air Force veteran, and a female Korean American adopted by an Italian American family. She is also married to a wonderful man from Mexico. Her background alone made DEI not only deeply personal to her, but also a lived truth throughout her entire life. Liz lived and worked in 4 different countries on 4 different continents, which equipped her with a deep understanding of patterns of oppression in a variety of cultural contexts. She experienced and actively challenged
racism and sexism during her time abroad and in the US. Liz’s time abroad was enriched by the expertise on race, power, and privilege that she obtained from both of her Master’s degrees.

Liz has a proven track record of successfully implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives. Liz fostered an inclusive climate for a 500-member organization by launching a gender equality program and serving as a facilitator and a keynote speaker. Amid the spike in racially motivated violence from 2020 until the present in the US, Liz served as a spokesperson at her organization’s racial injustice workshops. Additionally, Liz served as a keynote speaker for 300-person audiences during Women’s History Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander History Month. By highlighting the structural nature of oppression, she helped everyone to better understand how implicit bias is systematically reinforced in institutions and in society. Liz also set the stage for a more inclusive environment from a physical infrastructure standpoint. As the design lead for international spaces within her previous organization’s new
$320 million headquarters building, she enhanced international collaboration and strengthened 20 international partnerships.