The E.P.I.C. Education Series is an 8-part series of 2-hour interactive virtual roundtable workshops spanning a 6-month period, that will address some of the most pressing issues of our time around ethics, leadership, and governance. Participating companies will have the unique opportunity to delve into the most pressing social, economic and environmental business and societal challenges of today. This comprehensive educational experience will help you build personal and business resiliency and help you to spark innovation.
We believe in learning by doing.
After each 2-hour roundtable workshop, you will have a chance to engage in some action learning, applying concepts to your own business or organization and bringing that experience back to the next session to share with peer participants.
In addition, we are delighted to provide participating companies with the the opportunity to take part in Abundant Sun’s groundbreaking Inclusion & Belonging survey project.
Sample Course Outline
Module 1 – Introductory Roundtable
Getting to know one another, your organizations, your challenges, and your goals
Module 2 – Visionary Leadership
Looking to a better future by disrupting old patterns and carving out new ways of thinking and responding to today’s challenges
Module 3 – Equality, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Marrying the legal, moral and business cases for valuing diversity, and creating inclusive, high-performing cultures
Module 4 – Race Against the Machine
Providing an education in US history and civics to help you improve your organization’s equitable performance
Module 5 – Great Governance
Identifying governance models that are fit for our 21st-century purpose and challenges, which ensure accountability and a healthier level of trust and transparency.
Module 6 – Employee Engagement
Mapping out a strategic approach to your organizational cultural transformation, rooted in a shared responsibility across a variety of your stakeholder groups.
Module 7 – Data Analytics & Building Strategy
Realizing the importance of applying management science to all areas of your business performance management, including area of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Module 8 – Grand Finale
Sharing key experiences, learning and insights achieved with the E.P.I.C. Education Series. An opportunity to share your strategies for growth, and to consolidate collaborative relationships and plans with other E.P.I.C. Teams that will endure after the program ends.
What have participating companies said about their E.P.I.C. experience?
“NRG Systems engaged in the E.P.I.C. Series because we saw a unique opportunity to further our education about important and timely DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) issues, and to bring new insights to our company, especially the leadership team. We have not been disappointed.
The monthly sessions are substantive and compelling.
It is especially great to share our learning with other thoughtful people who are asking the same questions we are. This can be a thorny topic but the E.P.I.C. workshop series is giving us greater confidence to understand the language of JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion), and to communicate it to others so that we may affect change for the better.”
– NRG’s E.P.I.C. Team
“We’ve been getting a lot out of our time with the E.P.I.C. cohort so far in the series. Having multiple people take part in the sessions has enabled more of our team to engage in this JEDI work and sparked conversations and follow up after each session.
In addition to the wisdom and leadership from the Abundant Sun team, what has really proven valuable for us have been the connections we’ve fostered and conversations in breakout groups among participants from other Vermont organizations. The E.P.I.C. series has given us additional space and support to think deeply about our organizational structure, leadership and our approach to our internal and external JEDI work and how incorporating JEDI principles is critical for all facets of our business.”
– The Alchemist’s E.P.I.C. Team
We are here to help spark innovation
Abundant Sun has an invaluable team of associates who will be contributing to the E.P.I.C. Education Series.
Dr. Jude Smith Rachele
Co-founder & CEO, Abundant Sun
Jude is a highly charismatic, dynamic, and insightful consultant and presenter. Originally from the USA, she has lived and worked internationally across the UK, Europe and the Americas, and currently resides in Portugal.
Jude has worked in the area of diversity, unconscious bias, inclusive leadership and cultural competence for the past 25 years. She has designed numerous programs to help professionals display inclusive behaviors and to understand and respond respectfully to various cultural traditions, behaviors and values.
Her work also emphasizes the responsibility that professionals must understand differences in order that they don’t discriminate and that they treat people fairly or sensitively. The objective is to get the best out of people by understanding them as individuals, within the context of their different visible and non-visible identities.
Jude has been an Adjunct Professor at Marlboro College, Vermont, where she designed an MBA course in Data Analytics, Decision-making and Performance Management. Previously she has also been an Adjunct Professor in Cross-Cultural Psychology, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, and Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey.
Working globally, Jude introduces best practice from the private and public sectors of many territories ensuring clients receive leading-edge learning solutions. Jude holds a BA in Psychology and a PhD in Business. She is the author of many articles, and of the book “Dismantling Diversity Management: Introducing an Ethical Performance Improvement Campaign.” Jude was also a regular commentator on Vermont Public Radio delivering several powerful and insightful commentaries on contemporary issues.
Caro Lee
Senior Associate, Abundant Sun
Caro is an experienced, imaginative and resourceful diversity and inclusion consultant with an established track record of effecting change. With over fifteen years in the sector, she has experience working within a range of organizations offering training, thought leadership, and practical skills in managing equalities, diversity and inclusion issues.
As the former Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Herbert Smith Freehills, she created the Firm’s EDI strategy, working with a range of in-house and external practitioners to design, develop and implement it effectively.
Caro is a great communicator, working well with and engaging staff at all levels within an organization. She offers experience of collaborative working on presentations, articles and essays on EDI, enabling organizations to showcase their commitment and expertise both internally, and within their industry sectors and wider afield. She is also a qualified psychotherapist (MSc Counseling and Psychotherapy) specializing in diversity and inclusion issues.
Rose Gowdey
Senior Associate, Abundant Sun
Rose Gowdey facilitates organizational movement and transformation with a strengths-based approach. Her consulting work emphasizes building organizational culture through participatory processes – strategic planning, team-building, leadership development, training and coaching. She has worked with agencies and departments throughout Vermont state government, and with Non-profits and business regionally and nationally.
She has directed diverse organizations in Vermont, Washington, D.C. and Iowa. Having worked intensively at the local and statewide level on behalf of the Vermont Opioid Coordination Council, Rosi is particularly knowledgeable about the needs of towns and counties in Vermont. She is passionate in helping leaders and managers as they navigate through turbulent times. Her masters degree is in Organizational Development from American University in Washington, DC.