Nicasa Behavioral Health Services
The Challenge
Nicasa is a not-for-profit behavioral health services organization that is building brighter futures for vulnerable and at-risk children, adults, and families.
Nicasa serves a diverse client population and is committed to creating an inclusive experience for their increasingly diverse client population. As the Nicasa organization continues to grow increasingly diverse both in employee and client population, leadership recognized the need to create a more inclusive organizational culture. The organization was in the infancy stage of their DEI journey with minimal experience or expertise in DEI when they reached out to Shakti Diversity and Equity Training to help guide them in their journey of cultivating an inclusive and equitable organization.
01 Problem
Strategy
Cindu worked with Nicasa’s Executive Director to strategize a DEI plan that would ensure that DEI was built into the infrastructure of the NIcasa organization. This plan included increasing DEI awareness and competencies at all levels of the organization- from the board to the support staff. Additionally, Cindu guided the organization in creating a DEI council and worked with council members to ensure that this council would be an effective committee that would help to increase and sustain inclusion throughout the organization.
First, Cindu designed professional development for Board members to help them understand the need and benefits of DEI and also equipped Board members with the knowledge and skills to be inclusive leaders. Next, Cindu worked with Nicasa employees to help develop their understanding of the foundations of DEI. Finally, Cindu offered a series of coaching sessions to Nicasa’s DEI council members that offered useful information and guidance on how to function as a meaningful, effective, and engaged DEI Council.
02 Approach
Getting it Done
The Nicasa community committed their sincere interest in evolving into a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable behavioral health services organization. Board Members were willing to be vulnerable and engage in uncomfortable conversations with each other to better understand the need and value of making DEI a central value of the organization.
Nicasa employees showed up authentically and explored new and complex concepts and topics together- from the complexities of culture to the intersections of identity and privilege, to inclusion and equity, The company-wide DEI workshop helped to kick off the organization’s DEI initiatives and communicated to employees that the organization was serious about walking their DEI talk. A select group of Nicasa employees committed to DEI stepped up to volunteer their time and energy to form the organization’s first Diversity Council. These employees engaged in group coaching with CIndu to increase their DEI competencies and knowledge and to develop DEI infrastructure for Nicasa. The DEI council worked with Cindu over several months to formalize the council and set plans of action in motion to institutionalize and sustain DEI.
03 Solution
Shared Organizational Knowledge
The Foundational Workshop was successful in creating shared DEI knowledge and meaning across the organization. Employees across the various Nicasa offices were able to experience collective learning and connect with one another about how to increase inclusion, diversity, and equity throughout the organization and most importantly, for their clientele.
Established an Informed DEI Council
Although Nicasa’s DEI council is still in the beginning stages of its journey, the council has formed and is currently working from a more informed place to help ensure Nicasa’s DEI goals come to fruition. Council members meet regularly and work to hold each other and the organizational leaders accountable to DEI goals and initiatives.
DEI engagement survey
The DEI Council worked with Cindu to design a DEI engagement survey to gather data on employee perceptions and experience as a baseline to measure DEI progress that the organization hopes to make in the coming years.
Outcome
Due to the hard work, commitment, and sincerity of Nicasa’s leadership and employees, the organization has made huge DEI strides in just under a year. Nicasa employees understand that the work of DEI is an ongoing and never-ending process and their efforts to increase inclusion, equity, and diversity continue to persist.
Nicasa’s relationship with Shakti Diversity and Equity will continue as the organization deepens their inclusion lens and evolves into more mature stages of their DEI strategy.
Cindu came to my attention with the highest recommendations from multiple sources and I can now confirm what they already knew, Cindu is a very powerful, impactful, and transformational trainer and presenter. She was extremely professional and responsive from the first email inquiry to the final delivery of training. In tailoring the training specifically to Nicasa, Cindu took the time to understand our history, mission, vision, and values. Cindu provided us with an exceptional professional development experience that was highly praised by all those in attendance and has served to further develop the inclusion and anti-racism lens of Nicasa Board Members and Staff. We look forward to future engagements with Shakti Diversity and Equity Training."
-Bruce Johnson, CEO
Nicasa Behavioral Health Services