CDE’s Training Partners
Racial Equity Institute
CDE partners with The Racial Equity Institute (REI) in our advanced leadership development programs to provide an unflinching examination of the complexities of race and power in our country. REI’s curriculum provides a historical overview of the history of race and racial inequity in the United States, establishes a working definition of racism, and walks participants through an analysis of power in our systems and institutions. Widespread racial inequities are demonstrated by an achievement gap in our schools, disproportionate representation in our criminal justice system, health disparities in our health care system, and disproportionate environmental impacts on communities of color.
REI’s trainers and organizers have devoted themselves to the work of anti-racist transformation. In our contemporary society, racism shapes the outcomes of all institutions. It pits entrenched patterns of power against what are often faint images of equity. The trainers and organizers of REI help individuals and organizations develop tools to challenge patterns of power and grow equity.
REI’s trainers and organizers have a combined 50 years of experience in community organizing and anti-racist training. They work from a movement approach to organizational transformation, recognizing the interconnectedness of all institutions and, therefore, the organizations that compose them. This principle-centered approach relies on collective wisdom, returning power to communities served, reflection and evaluation.
Racial Equity Workshop — Phase I
REI’s Racial Equity Workshop is a two-day long training that provides participants with historical factors, contextual talking points, and a definition of racism. REI believes that organizations are often working in intentionally civil ways, yet operating from multiple understandings that rely more on personal feelings and popular opinion. This creates complications to the goal of eliminating racial and ethnic disparities and producing equitable outcomes.
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Deena Hayes
Deena Hayes has over 15 years of experience as a community organizer. Her training experience includes community based organizing as well as institutional organizing. She is currently training with several anti-racist organizations presenting an in- depth analysis on the impact of systemic and historically constructed racism on contemporary systems and institutions across the United States, including Alaska.
Suzanne Plihcik
Suzanne Plihcik is a community organizer, trainer and facilitator who works locally and across the nation with communities and organizations working to strengthen grass root and institutional relationships through an increased understanding of systemic racism. In Greensboro, she and her colleagues sponsor anti-racism workshops, teach the skills of anti-racist organizing and organize community members and activists to work for social justice issues.
Matthew Bell
Young Adult Trainer and Organizer, Matthew Bell has attended and coordinated Anti Racism trainings since he was a middle school student. Over the past few years he has worked with anti racist youth advocates to raise awareness of the role of young people in a movement for systems transformation and social justice. His experience working and volunteering gave Matthew experience in challenging young adults to examine how racism impacts their lives, personally and systemically.
You get this work in your head, and then in your heart, and when it gets in your bones, you’ll have more to do than you can do in your lifetime.
– Deena Hayes