CU Inclusive Excellence Summit Schedule and Breakout Sessions

CU Inclusive Excellence Summit Schedule

Belonging By Design: Creating Meaningful Work in All We Do

CU Inclusive Excellence Summit Keynote

Belonging By Design: Creating Meaningful Work in All We Do

Keynote: Rooted and Generative: Advancing Meaningful Belonging Through Our Work

Description

We are in times of nonstop change and flux. But our work matters more than ever, for the students we serve and the communities we empower. This interactive keynote provides an opportunity for attendees to lean into three key frameworks to advance inclusive excellence and sustainable change: root cause analysis; locus of control; and trust-generating practices. Attendees will leave feeling lifted, with actionable strategies in hand to pair with the Summit learning experience ahead.

Keynote Speaker: Sumun Pendakur

Dr. Sumun L. Pendakur (Sumi) is driven to help individuals, teams, and organizations lead with strategy and integrity. A seasoned organizational change and culture consultant, social justice and racial equity expert, sought-after facilitator, and executive coach, Sumi has served as a thought partner, capacity building trainer, and speaker for over 350 higher education institutions, associations, and corporations. Sumi’s experiences in cultural centers, as a Chief Diversity Officer, as a Chief Learning Officer, and now as a business owner of a full-service consulting firm are grounded in one desire: to build capacity for human flourishing by empowering individuals at all levels to be transformational agents of change in their spheres of influence. A former two-term Board Member of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, Sumi has been recognized as one of the top 35 women in higher education by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education (EDU Ledger) magazine and is the co-editor of Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations, 4th ed. (2026). Dr. Pendakur is the multilingual daughter of immigrants and the proud mommy to Shashi and Shama, who motivate her every day to shape the world for greater justice, fairness, and love.

CU Inclusive Excellence Summit Breakout Sessions

Belonging By Design: Creating Meaningful Work in All We Do

Track 1: Pillars of Belonging

Anschutz

Belonging by Design: From Psychological Safety to Collective Action (Interactive)

Presenters: Shaleeta Flagg, Staff, Lamar Cherry, Staff, Shanna Trott, Staff and Amy Canada, Staff

This interactive session explores how psychological safety, connection, and intentional design create workplaces where people feel seen, valued, and empowered. Through real-world scenarios and practical activities, participants will leave with actionable strategies to foster belonging, trust, and engagement in their teams.

Boulder

From Connection to Community: Lessons Learned from Building a Faculty-Staff Mentoring Community (Interactive)

Presenters: Marysia Lopez, Staff and Dr. Patricia Gonzalez, Administrator

This interactive session explores how CU Boulder’s College of Arts and Sciences developed a faculty-staff mentoring program to foster belonging, connection, and collaboration across roles. Participants will leave with practical, adaptable strategies to build more inclusive, connected workplaces through mentoring, dialogue, and community-centered practices

Making Equity Everyone's Work: A Leadership Competency Framework for Shared Equity Leadership (Lecture)

Presenters: Danette Abernathy, Staff and Noel Dominguez, Staff

This session introduces CU Boulder’s Shared Equity Leadership Competencies Framework, a practical tool for developing equity leadership through shared responsibility, reflection, and continuous learning. Participants will explore how the framework can support self-assessment, professional development, and organizational capacity building to advance sustainable equity efforts.

Denver

Creating an Intentional Culture of Care in Higher Education (Interactive)

Presenters: Sarah Trzeciak, Administrator and JuJu Spray, Administrator

This interactive session explores how Student Affairs professionals can apply the principles of The Caring University to build a more caring, equitable, and student- and staff-centered culture. Participants will leave with practical strategies to embed care into their daily work and strengthen student success and staff well-being.

UCCS

Leading with Care: Inclusive Leadership for Trust, Meaning, and Belonging (Interactive)

Presenters: Laurel Bidwell, MSW, PhD, LCSW, Faculty and Z. Benek Altayli, Administrator 

This session explores how leaders can foster trust, psychological safety, and belonging through inclusive leadership practices that balance accountability with care. Participants will leave with practical strategies to build transparent, supportive workplace cultures where people can thrive.

Track 2: Creation of Community

Anschutz

Restorative Circles: Building Bridges to Foster Connection and Belonging (Interactive)

Presenters: Christy Angerhofer, Staff, Dr. Rita Lee, Administration, Dr. Regina Richards, Administration, and Rebecca Villanueva-Valdez, Administration

This interactive workshop explores how CU Anschutz’s Restorative Community Building Circles foster connection, accountability, and belonging through structured dialogue. Participants will learn about restorative practices and experience strategies for using circles to strengthen inclusive, collaborative campus communities

From Fragmentation to Integration: Operationalizing Belonging Across the Student Lifecycle (Interactive)

Presenters: Jessica Luna Garcia EdD, Staff and Dr. Dominic Martinez, Administration

This session explores how higher education can reduce fragmentation by designing belonging as a systemic outcome rather than a collection of isolated initiatives. Participants will leave with a practical framework for aligning existing programs and services to create more connected, student-centered pathways.

Boulder

How Can We Belong Here? Toward a Framework of Being in Higher Education (Interactive)

Presenter: David Humphrey, Ph.D., Administrator

Drawing on Black feminist and womanist traditions, BlackCrit, and critical approaches to organizational change, this interactive workshop examines the limits of “belonging” in higher education and introduces Being as an alternative framework. Participants will identify actionable levers where Being-oriented design can replace belonging-basic rhetoric.

JEDI Leaders Community of Practice: A Model for Collective Leadership & Advancing Institutional Belonging (Interactive)

Presenters: Dr. Patricia Gonzalez, Administrator and Amy Moreno Sherwood, Administration

This session highlights CU Boulder’s JEDI Leaders Community of Practice, a cross-campus model that advances inclusive excellence through shared learning, collaboration, and action. Participants will deepen their understanding of systems, strengthen inclusive leadership practices, and create actionable outcomes within their units.

Denver

Tending the garden: The role of conflict in communal growth for institutions of higher education (Panel/Interactive)

Presenters: Amy Ferrell, Faculty, Jennifer Camacho Taylor, Faculty, Arianne Rivera, Staff, Dumayi Gutierrez, Faculty, Leslie Prock, Faculty, and Chelynn Randolph, Faculty

Using the garden as a metaphor, this interactive session explores how conflict and repair can foster belonging in higher education. Participants will leave with practical strategies and resources for engaging in conflict, navigating relational fractures, and cultivating healthier, more inclusive campus communities.

Expecting the Unknown Gracefully: Improv Tools for Inclusive Community Building (Interactive)

Presenter: Brogan Charles, Staff

This interactive session uses applied improvisation to help faculty, staff, and students strengthen trust, belonging, and collaboration through practical communication and community-building strategies. Participants will leave with simple, immediately applicable tools to foster more connected, inclusive, and human-centered campus communities.

UCCS

Designing Belonging Without Othering (Interactive)

Presenter: Karlye Enkler, Staff

This session explores how well-intentioned practices can unintentionally reinforce difference rather than belonging, with a focus on supporting international students as whole individuals. Participants will examine how language, programs, and everyday interactions can create more inclusive communities where people are valued beyond their identities or categories.

Track 3: Flourishing

Denver

Designing a Culture of Flourishing: Applications of the PERMA Model (Training)

Presenters: Kristin Kilbourn, Faculty and Annika Mosier, Faculty

This presentation explores how higher education can move beyond individual wellness initiatives to intentionally design environments that support flourishing and belonging. Participants will learn how Seligman’s PERMA framework can be applied to strengthen well-being, connection, and purpose for students, faculty, and staff

Four Campuses, One Community: CU Innovations in Flourishing and Belonging (Panel)

Presenters: Kristin Kilbourn, Faculty and Annika Mosier, Faculty

This panel highlights innovative initiatives across the CU system that foster community, flourishing, and belonging for students, faculty, and staff. Participants will explore shared challenges, opportunities for collaboration, and strategies to build stronger connections and a culture of well-being across campuses. Panelist: Leah PenaTeeters (The Renee Crown Wellness Institute, CU Boulder), Jennifer Reese (Vice Chair for Faculty Wellbeing, CU Anschutz), Charles Benight (Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, UCCS), Nicole Weis (Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, UCCS), Bryn Harris (Center for Faculty Development and Advancement, CU Denver) 

Design Your Meaning: Crafting a Career of Purpose and Flourishing (Interactive)

Presenters: Kristin Kilbourn, Faculty and  Annika Mosier, Faculty

This interactive workshop explores how to cultivate meaning, purpose, and fulfillment within your current professional context. Using research-backed insights and design-thinking strategies, participants will learn practical ways to align daily work with their values, strengthen connection and belonging, and create a more meaningful professional experience.