Sidney Edwards, Associate Vice President, YMCA of Greater Richmond, Equity Advancement

Are you first to the office, last to leave, pulling extra nights and weekends, juggling a larger portfolio than your project management tool can hold, and grinding to get 25 hours out of a day? Sounds quite UNstoppable, right? 

Perhaps we’ve been sold the false reality that working harder we’ll get us further faster. What we haven’t been told is that success, from countless sacrifices, without proper rest, will come at the expense of our own mental health, well-being, and relationships with the ones we love most. This hustle culture not only diminishes our personal well-being but also leaves those who are not in the dominant group, cast out to the margins, overlooked, disengaged, and shortly thereafter disconnected. Join me as we explore the significance of hitting “Do Not Disturb” in order to rest often along our UNstoppable career journeys.

Conference Track: UNtraditional Mental Health & Wellness

Jonathan Fuller, Assistant Director for Student Leadership, Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning

Heifetz and Linsky's concept of adaptive leadership, which describes how to lead when there are no known or existing solutions, has remained at the forefront of leadership theory for years. Even with a wide range of strong research, the skill itself can still feel unapproachable, especially in the height of uncertainty. When faced with new circumstances, when you realize your education or training didn't prepare you for everything, what do you do? In this workshop, participants will engage in reflective practices that they can use to flex their adaptive leadership muscles and prepare their students (or others they lead) to do the same.

Conference Track: UNderstanding Career Development

Lisa Mallory, Talent Development Manager, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center

Informational interviews are unstructured conversations aimed at learning more about another person's role, experiences, or perspectives. At VCU, informational interviews can be used to make new connections with colleagues in different units and to learn about career journeys that may inspire your next step. In this session, I will share my experience with informational interviews and tips for using this platform to expand your professional network.

Conference Track: UNderstanding Career Development

Aaron Gilley, Manager, Workforce Wellbeing, Human Resources, VCU Health System

What if I told you that you didn’t need a survey or action plan to start the process of engaging your teams? Engagement is not just an activity or an event; it is part of your culture if done correctly. This program will cover the five key levers for creating a culture of engagement that will support your team members 365 days a year. Participants will learn about what they can do to create the conditions for transparency and growth that will catapult their team engagement to the next level.

Conference Track: UNencumbered Workplace Culture & Resilience

Brian Cone, Research Project Manager, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

This presentation, made on behalf of the Career Development Collaborative, is about the benefits of utilizing informational interviewing. This technique allows an individual to gather information about careers, units, and organizations so that they can make informed decisions about their future.

Conference Track: UNderstanding Career Development

Sidney Edwards, Associate Vice President, YMCA of Greater Richmond, Equity Advancement

Titles imply tenure, a certain level of respectability, career accomplishments, and office location, often more than actually reflecting the function of the role. Subconsciously we take on these implications and live into them, whether that be in how we interact with people with certain titles or how we expect people to interact with us because of our own title. Our jobs should be an enhancement of our greatness, not the sole definition of who we are as people. Let’s collaborate to share the importance of setting boundaries in our jobs and personal lives in order to strengthen our workplace culture and level up our overall quality of life. 

Conference Track: UNencumbered Workplace Culture & Resilience

Katy Washington, Chief Accessibility Officer, Equity and Access Services

Have you wondered what an accommodation is? Do you have a disability and wonder what resources are available to you? Or would you like to learn more about this topic to better support those around you? Please join Chief Accessibility Officer Dr. Katy Washington, VCU Equity and Access Services, in a workshop to review accommodation resources and how-to’s for staff, presented by the Staff Senate Accessibility and Inclusion Work Group.

Conference Track: UNtraditional Mental Health & Wellness

Tanika Santos MacSwain, Assistant Director of Fitness, Department of Recreation and Well-Being

India Hawkins, Research Technician, Pediatrics

Chris Parthemos, Assistant Director, Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity

Joslyn DiRamio Bedell, Special Assistant to the Vice President, VCU Division of Student Affairs

Mary Strawderman (Moderator)

In this panel discussion, we delve into the pivotal role of social capital in fostering workplace resilience. Our focus will be on understanding the mechanisms behind building effective social networks within the workplace and how these networks can be a bulwark against workplace burnout and fatigue.

Conference Track: UNencumbered Workplace Culture & Resilience

Bret Clayton-Brooks, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Ashli Phillips, Program Manager, DEI Office, VCU School of Medicine,   

Felicia Harris, Director of Sponsored Programs, College of Humanities and Sciences

Trevon Straughter (Moderator)

This panel discussion focuses on the experience of young adult professionals in the workplace. We aim to 1) identify and spotlight the perspectives, priorities, and barriers specific to this demographic and 2) highlight the business impact of the generational shift in the workplace while investigating best practices for engaging young and new professionals. We plan to initiate discourse relevant to young professionals themselves, their colleagues, and managers to navigate topics such as Gen Z and Millennial burnout, “The Great Resignation,” the difficult transition from college to career, the intergenerational dynamics of power, and employing strategies to reimagine workplace norms to increase equity, belonging, and retention. The information presented will be a combination of validated data and anecdotal experiences from panelists.

Conference Track: UNencumbered Workplace Culture & Resilience

Kelechi "KC" Ogbonna, Dean, School of Pharmacy

Warran Dawson (Moderator)

Leadership at VCU can take on many forms at many levels.  Join us for a leadership panel discussion from VCU “legacy” employees, as they discuss how VCU has helped them grow and gain work and leadership opportunities and how they have been able to use those skills to help the university in return. The panel will consist of members of the VCU and VCU Health community who lead at different levels from staff to VPs, some of whom have started as students and risen through the ranks. We will discuss leadership qualities and work-life balance through leadership as well.

Conference Track: UNderstanding Career Development

Helene Bumbalo, Associate Director of Graduate Professional Development, Business Career Services, School of Business

The aim of this workshop is to equip participants with essential knowledge and skills in leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Career Management. Participants will leave the workshop embracing a culture of lifelong learning through a deeper understanding of how using AI can enhance career development efforts. They will gain access to resources and tools to help them stay updated in their field, learn goal-setting and tracking strategies with AI, and learn about successful AI-driven career development stories.

Conference Track: UNderstanding Career Development

Shirley Helm, Senior Administrator for Network Capacity and Workforce Strategies, Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Catherine Brown, Program Manager, Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science

How do you CRP? An overview of key resources, strategies, opportunities, and overcoming challenges to UNleash employees' potential as CRPs. An exploration of available CRP resources, career paths, and emerging job trends within an evolving clinical research ecosystem will be discussed by representatives within the VCU CRP network.

Conference Track: UNderstanding Career Development