SDCN builds the capacity of campuses, organizations, and communities to be more inclusive and engaged diverse environments. Our approach towards transforming relationship and improving communities focuses on the individual, organizational, and systemic levels.

Campuses

•  SDCN trains millennial leaders to use the powerful five-stage process of Sustained Dialogue (SD) to create inclusive communities. SD organizes diverse students into small groups that meet regularly to build relationships and develop strategies to improve student relations. SDCN staff visit campuses to provide training and high-touch mentoring so students can initiate and run a student organization, moderate Sustained Dialogues, and serve as a resource to campus to increase civil discourse and action. 

Workplaces

• Workplaces: Employers rank the ability to “solve problems and make decisions, resolve conflict and negotiate, cooperate with others, and listen actively” as skills most desired and most deficient in entry-level workers. These sought-after skills – outcomes from Sustained Dialogue – prepare the millennial generation to work across lines of difference to address pressing needs. SDCN provides workshops, trainings, and consultations for nonprofits and corporations. SDCN tailors the approach to fit the organization’s needs, goals, and performance towards the organization’s mission. Sessions include Inclusive Language, Conflict Resolution, SD’s Relationship Model, Working with Diverse Communities, and Leading Across Generations. Preference is given to organizations that employ SD alumni.

 

Communities

• SDCN provides training and support for alumni to improve their neighborhoods.