Lessons in Leadership and Belonging

To ensure Gonzaga employees are playing a meaningful role in reducing bias and prejudice on campus and creating a space that embraces each person's lived experience, the Office of Inclusive Excellence hosts the Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy.

The comprehensive, multi-month workshop experience is designed as scaffolding to help the University realize its strategic goals around inclusivity and belonging. Through monthly workshops led by various facilitators, participants dive deeply into topics such as oppression, human difference, equity, inclusion, implicit bias, micro-aggressions, privilege, power, current issues, generational intelligence and more.

The following are reflections from past graduates of the program.

Natalie Gordon ('17)

Instructional technologist, designer and accessibility specialist
Instructional Design and Delivery

The Academy deepened my engagement with Gonzaga’s Mission by grounding leadership in intentional empathy, deep listening, and accompaniment. Moving past transactional management, I now approach leadership by honoring everyone's full, complex narrative, including unseen histories and trauma. Integrating this into my daily work, I am building an inclusive environment by practicing active listening, respectful confrontation, and offering grace to my colleagues and student workers.

A pivotal moment that pushed me outside my comfort zone occurred during interactive acting scenarios designed to address real-world persecution. As someone with a natural "freeze" response to conflict, stepping directly into tense, simulated situations was challenging. Experiencing these dynamics firsthand taught me that true inclusivity requires intentional practice and collective support, including having supportive partners. This transforms passive discomfort into active, courageous advocacy. Furthermore, hearing reactions from those portraying persecutors revealed how strategic redirection can preserve safety while confronting harm. This taught me that belonging at Gonzaga is actively built by creating brave, intentional spaces where we disrupt persecution, honor diverse lived experiences, and ensure everyone feels seen and protected.

Vicky Daniels

Academic Support Specialist
School of Law

Attending the Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy was an amazing experience. I was able to connect with new people across the University who are all working to improve ourselves and the world. Our conversations were great, and we were able to dive into hard topics without being judged.

The Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy addressed many topics that support Gonzaga’s Mission of cura personalis and “commitment to dignity of the human person, social justice, diversity, intercultural competence, global engagement, solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, and care for the planet.” Some of the topics addressed in our workshops were equal opportunity, equity, bias, sexuality, disability, inclusion, belonging, and trauma-informed practices. The Academy gave us a safe space to ask questions and learn without fear of being judged. A few lessons I integrated back into my job at Gonzaga include asking more questions to learn about others, and I have shared some of the concepts from our learning games and modules with student leaders.

One moment that pushed me outside of my comfort zone was sharing my own blind spots about other traumas in the world and then asking questions to learn about them. I learned that there is a large cohort of people at the University with similar goals: to be more inclusive and to think of others. This feeling of being part of a group/movement that is striving to make not just Gonzaga but the world a better place, has given me a greater sense of inclusivity and belonging here. I highly recommend taking part in the Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy. The lessons and facilitators are amazing and truly care.

Thea Skokan ('22)

Communications Specialist
Marketing & Communications

I thoroughly enjoyed the Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy. Not only did it give me a deeper sense of connection with the rest of campus, but it pushed me to look past how I previously viewed leadership and my role as a leader.

One of the most transformative exercises we did was called the “empty chair.” It forced participants to acknowledge who may not be represented in a room, a meeting or a discussion. As a leader, I felt like I always had the intention of being inclusive and making sure others felt heard or represented. However, when a certain attribute was placed on the “empty chair” during the activity, to symbolize something no one else in the room related too, new feelings were invoked inside me. I found reflecting on a few things. First – what it might feel like to be unable to relate to anyone else in the room. Second – how gratifying and accepting it felt when someone did relate to something I said. Thanks to the physical presence an actual empty chair had during this exercise, I was able to empathize in a new way. Since that activity, I’ve envisioned the empty chair in meetings and projects. Whose voice isn’t being heard right now? Who spoke up but isn’t being received in a way that’s entirely inclusive? Instead of simply acknowledging it, I’m still trying to find ways to call attention to it. I think this could be done by carrying out this same activity at a departmental retreat and bringing the same awareness to my colleagues. In this way, we can work to actively recognize and give voice to the “empty chair” more often in our conversations and meetings, especially if everyone has a concrete understanding of what that means.

There were so many more transformative workshops during this experience, and although often uncomfortable, I found myself eager for each Friday I got to participate. I highly recommend the Academy for a chance to broaden your perspective, learn something new and meet colleagues who care deeply about making the University a better place for all.