Position Senior Program Lead, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Certificate program, Program Manager for Professional and Academic Development, Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan Role Inclusive Leadership Learning Cohort Speaker Bio/Description Deborah S. WIllis, PhD, is Senior Program Lead for the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Certificate program and Program Manager for professional and academic development at the Rackham Graduate School of the University of Michigan. Her LinkedIn Profile reads as follows: The many hats I wear in both my professional roles and my daily life allow me to use my experience to empower people in ways that allow them to grow. Throughout my career, I have had the unique privilege to not only provide people with the tools they need to thrive, but position them to use those tools and more importantly, to use them well. With diversity, equity, and inclusion at the core of my work, I strive to create an environment in which everyone has an opportunity to thrive. My time in higher education has taught me the importance of approaching professional development in a nuanced and personalized way. I am energized by others’ success, which has led me down the path of coaching and consulting, in addition to workshops focused on specific areas of skill growth. While my formal education has laid a foundation for my career as a lifelong learner, I use my everyday interactions to fuel and better my practice. My specialties include: • Developing programs for diverse teams, especially in the higher education environment • Strategic project management • Outlining and measuring realistic objectives • Active and innovative problem solving • Organizational, analytical, and interpersonal communication • Developing strong partnerships within and between organizational hierarchy • Promoting and creating a supportive and inclusive community for all that embraces change and new ideas • Developing programming and service to support personal, academic, and professional goals Recent publications include the following articles for Inside Higher Ed: • The Benefits of Coaching Conversations • Getting Up to Speed on Diversity • On the Road to Champion Upcoming Professional Development Events Jul 14 Scientific Publishing: From Pre-Submission to Behind the Editor’s Desk Jul 16 Effective Research Mentorship for Graduate Students: Rematch+ (Session 7) Jul 16 From Ph.D. to Future Success: Master LinkedIn & AI to Unlock Your Next Chapter Jul 16 How to Write a Journal Article in the Humanities Jul 18 International STEM Faculty Careers: Grad Alum Panel Jul 18 Tour of Firestone Library Jul 21 Office Hours for Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate Students (In Person) Jul 23 Floating Point Numbers Aren't Real Jul 23 Office Hours for Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate Students (Virtual) Jul 23 Random Numbers Aren’t Random Jul 24 Introduction to Parallel Programming Jul 25 Office Hours for Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate Students (Virtual)