We all hold attitudes or stereotypes of which we are not consciously aware. This is implicit bias, and it affects our understanding, actions, and decisions. The first session will employ reflective activities, open conversations, and facilitated exercises to help participants look at how systems of oppression influence our everyday attitudes about certain groups. This workshop will ask participants to con-front their own biases in their personal and professional lives. Finally, the group will be given skills for engaging more effectively in conversation around this topic. In the second session, we will explore ways that parents can talk with their children about race and bias. It will be helpful if those attending the second session also attend the first, or have some familiarity with the subject of implicit bias.

About the Instructor: Lisa Markland is a graduate of Northeastern University, where she achieved a BS in Human Services and was a collegiate athlete. Lisa spent some time as a social worker at the Department of Children and Families (DCF), as well as various youth-based organizations around Boston. She is the Director of Training at Northeastern’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. For over 15 years, Lisa has focused her social justice work as a facilitator for Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), a nationally accredited program of the Center.