Part 2: Embracing our truth - the power of appropriate victimhood
Part 2: Embracing our truth - the power of appropriate victimhood

As we continue our Black History Month exploration, we turn to a critical theme: victimhood. For Black folks, this concept is deeply fraught. We are constantly expected to prove our resilience, to push forward despite harm, to avoid appearing weak or in need. When we name our pain, we are often met with gaslighting, dismissal, or the accusation that we are playing the victim. The truth is, we are victims—of systemic oppression, of historical and ongoing violence, of interpersonal harm. The problem is not victimhood itself, but the way it has been distorted and weaponized against us.

Read More
The Deep EndLaVoya Woods#appropriatevictimhood, #anger, #boundariesComment
Part 1: Fear as protection - a Black History Month reflection
Part 1: Fear as protection - a Black History Month reflection

It’s Black History Month, so let’s get real about fear and victimhood. Fear has been a constant companion for Black folks—an unavoidable response to navigating a society steeped in anti-Blackness, systemic violence, and relentless marginalization. Fear has protected us, warned us of danger and helped us survive. But it has also been weaponized against us, twisted into stereotypes that justify harm or displaced into self-doubt and mistrust within our own communities.

Read More
The Deep EndLaVoya Woods#fear, #blackhistory, #traumainformedComment
DEI is still legal: separating fact from political fear-mongering
DEI is still legal: separating fact from political fear-mongering

There are so many misrepresentations about DEI right now.

Some are deliberately mischaracterizing DEI in order to justify its dismantling in favor of what amounts to white dominance and re-segregation.

Others are allowing misperceptions to fester because it plays to their fears and insecurities.

Even some who are strongly in favor of DEI are worried that it’s no longer legal.

Read More
Co-creating inclusionAlethea Fitzpatrick#DEI2025, #DEIislegalComment
Now is not the time to retreat - it’s time to double down
Now is not the time to retreat - it’s time to double down

At a time when the dominant narrative is grossly mischaracterizing DEI to justify its dismantling in favor of what amounts to re-segregation, we believe now is the time to lean into your values and beliefs.

While there’s so much you can’t control, you can ensure that equity, inclusion, and belonging remain priorities in your workplace - so your staff and the communities you serve feel just a little more protected and reassured.

You can make a difference to the people around you who are feeling scared and demoralized.

And you don’t have to do it alone.

Read More
Co-creating inclusionAlethea Fitzpatrick#DEIpushback, #DEI2025, #selfcoachingComment
Reimagining capacity: a trauma-informed approach to sustainable workflows
Reimagining capacity: a trauma-informed approach to sustainable workflows

As we step further into the new year and are all somewhere in the depths of grief, trauma recovery, and adjustment, I’ve been thinking a lot about capacity—the limits of what we can give, create, and sustain—both personally and professionally.

Our work with clients often comes back to this—as folks move through the process of workplace cultural change they are able to more clearly see how systems of oppression function in their day-to-day work, in this case in the urgency of our workflows.

While the cultural pressure to push ahead can feel overwhelming, especially in the current political context, a trauma-informed lens reminds us to consider capacity differently: not as a fixed boundary to ignore or overcome, but as a dynamic, evolving reflection of our human experience.

Read More
The Deep EndLaVoya Woods#capacity, #burnout, #sustainableworkflowsComment
What do we mean by “trauma” and being “trauma-informed” in the workplace?
What do we mean by “trauma” and being “trauma-informed” in the workplace?

I’ve been thinking a lot about trauma lately, both in the context of my own life experiences, that of loved ones, as well as the trauma we see day-to-day in the workplace as well as in the world.

It feels like it’s everywhere, and the truth is, it is something that has been core to our work for a long time. I mean, look at how many times trauma is mentioned in our blog posts.

Not that I am an expert on trauma (we have LaVoya for that - that being one of the reasons ve was a very intentional hire). I am feeling and learning my way through. And what I’m realizing is that we very much don’t generally have a shared understanding or language around trauma, collectively.

Read More
Dismantling oppressionAlethea Fitzpatrick#trauma, #traumainformed, #inclusiveleadershipComment
LA is burning and we are complicit
LA is burning and we are complicit

There’s a rage and a sadness and a weird kind of knowing that I am feeling right now: LA is burning and we are complicit.

For a country founded on genocide and enslavement, that is, theft, rape and violence towards land and people, we have to confront the fact that, as heartbreaking and devastating as it is to witness, this is a logical outcome, one of many, of the collective dominant culture.

Read More
Dismantling oppressionAlethea Fitzpatrick#lafires2025, #capitalism, #rupamaryaComment
Trauma, growth and accountability: is your therapist DEIB ready?
Trauma, growth and accountability: is your therapist DEIB ready?

Though we often hear that our work is deeply supportive and feels therapeutic to our clients, it is not therapy. For many of the leaders we partner with, having a supportive, aligned therapist can make a world of difference—especially when that therapist aligns with your DEIB journey.

Therapy can be a powerful container for processing the challenges and complexities of DEIB work, from trauma recovery to the development of accountability and resilience—and on that path, surfacing needs along the way. But finding the right therapist, one who truly understands and aligns with your DEIB journey, can be challenging.

Read More
The Deep EndLaVoya Woods#therapy, #therapist, #traumainformedComment
Inclusive leadership skills: checking for intent and understanding
Inclusive leadership skills: checking for intent and understanding

We almost all have people in our lives, loved ones even, who know how to push our buttons, whether they intend to or not.

I’ve found that communication can become fraught very quickly, if not go downright off the rails.

For the people we care about, and for the people we have to work with, this can be a problem when it compromises trust and psychological safety over time, not necessarily equally in both directions, but in both directions.

Read More
Inclusive LeadershipAlethea Fitzpatrick#inclusiveleadershipskills, #checkingforintent, #checkingforunderstandingComment
Finding “obstinate” healing and joy
Finding “obstinate” healing and joy

We’ve been having a great discussion with one of our client groups about organizational, national and global turmoil, and what to do when we are sick and tired… and sick and tired of being sick and tired.

The idea of being obstinate in the face of overwhelming challenges and a bleak outlook came up.

And so we brainstormed ideas for “obstinate” healing and joy.

Read More
Co-creating inclusionAlethea Fitzpatrick#joy, #healing, #selfcareComment
Navigating unsteady ground: honoring your needs in times of change
Navigating unsteady ground: honoring your needs in times of change

I know that we’ve all been holding a lot of mixed feelings these past couple weeks. You may be somewhere on the spectrum of grief, openness, protection, anxiety, and hope. Finding yourself in that nebulous place where the ground feels unsteady can be difficult, and especially hard to navigate as you show up to work and are expected to do well.

I’m LaVoya Woods (ve/ver)—but you can call me V. I’m the Director of Trauma-Informed Methodologies at CCI, and I’m honored to bring my voice to this space alongside Alethea’s. This post marks the start of a new series where I’ll be sharing insights monthly from my own perspective as a Black, Queer, Trans Non-Binary, Neurodiverse, Disabled leader navigating complex systems and supporting folks in recovery and transformation.

Read More
The Deep EndLaVoya Woods#traumainformed, #needs, #alignmentComment
Inclusive leadership skills: processing emotions
Inclusive leadership skills: processing emotions

A lot of people have been processing a lot of emotions over the past two weeks since the US election, whether publicly, privately, outwardly or inwardly, in large or small, direct or indirect ways… or not at all.

We’ve held group processing sessions for at least some segment of staff at all of our client organizations as well as 1:1 coaching and each conversation has been very different.

Read More
Co-creating inclusionAlethea Fitzpatrick#feelings, #processingemotions, #inclusiveleadershipskillsComment
Post-election thoughts: what haven’t you learned, acknowledged or reckoned with?
Post-election thoughts: what haven’t you learned, acknowledged or reckoned with?

In 2016, I told myself I NEVER wanted to feel that way again - shocked, betrayed, and most of all ANGRY at the ways at which I had learned to deny my race, even to myself, in order to buy a kind of safety that was NEVER on the table, because safety that requires you to deny parts of who you are, safety that is offered up at the expense of others, a safety that props up a system of advantage and privilege based on genocide, enslavement and colonization is not actually any kind of safety at all.

Today, I am saddened and dismayed, but my work over the past 8 years means I am not surprised. Because what I’ve learned is - this is who America is.

Read More
Dismantling oppressionAlethea Fitzpatrick#election2024, #history, #truthComment
Trading success for survival: the hidden cost for Black women in leadership
Trading success for survival: the hidden cost for Black women in leadership

Black women are incredible. They lead, they innovate, they stabilize entire industries—often while juggling more than anyone should ever have to. And yet, the numbers tell a darker story: Black women are paid just 63 cents for every dollar earned by white men, and even with advanced degrees, that only rises to 69 cents. Despite making up the largest percentage of women in the workforce, they hold just 1.5% of leadership positions in industry.

Read More
Dismantling oppressionLaVoya Woods#blackwomen, #blackwomenleadership, #dreamingComment
Inclusive leadership skills: needed for collective healing and liberation
Inclusive leadership skills: needed for collective healing and liberation

Something we’ve seen with our organizational clients is that traditional, top-down, hierarchical models of leadership continue to have a strong grip on many leaders.

This makes sense, given that traditional and dominant culture in the US, including corporate culture, has its roots in plantation culture.

Read More
Inclusive LeadershipAlethea Fitzpatrick#inclusiveleadershipskills, #inclusiveleadership, #workplacecultureComment
Inclusive leadership skills: authenticity
Inclusive leadership skills: authenticity

Authenticity is an essential inclusive leadership skill. It builds the trust and psychological safety needed for collaboration, innovation and impact. It’s one of the things that people need to do their best and most fulfilling work in alignment with the mission of their organization.

But if authenticity is defined as being true to oneself, how can you measure authenticity, particularly in the context of the workplace?

Read More
Inclusive LeadershipAlethea Fitzpatrick#inclusiveleadershipskills, #authenticity, #consistencyComment
We are all worthy of protection
We are all worthy of protection

There is always grief and trauma around us, at a local, national and global scale. Organizations often grapple with acknowledgements - what events should be acknowledged, and how can you possibly cover them all?

We’ve been talking about this at Co-Creating Inclusion as well, and have been considering the idea of a “grief acknowledgement.” We may not be able to acknowledge every single thing that is going on, but we can acknowledge that we are all likely struggling with varying degrees of grief and trauma, including secondary trauma.

Read More
Co-creating inclusionAlethea Fitzpatrick#griefacknowledgement, #mythofscarcity, #worthofprotectionComment
The continued invisible and unpaid or underpaid work of women
The continued invisible and unpaid or underpaid work of women

I’ve been thinking a lot (again) about how women continue to do a disproportionate amount of caregiving work… invisible, overlooked, devalued, under or unpaid emotional and administrative labor in the home, the workplace, and all around. And sometimes it feels like white women do it so cheerfully it makes it that much harder for women of color.

At an event recently, I heard a horrifying statistic - apparently 98% of food shopping is done by women!!!

Read More
Dismantling oppressionAlethea Fitzpatrick#invisiblelabor, #womenintheworkplace, #paygapComment