Building an Inclusive Culture

Having trouble diversifying your team/Board - is your process the problem?

In 2024 and beyond, diversifying your team or Board is a good goal to have. In fact, it should be a goal of almost every organization in our community. The question becomes, HOW do you now attract and acquire talent that has not been a priority until recently? To find talent, what are you doing differently vs. five years ago... or even three years ago? Is your process part of the problem?

Join speaker Mark Richardson as we explore this complex idea and hear his take on building an inclusive culture within your team and board. 

EVENT SCHEDULE
12:00-12:30 pm: Arrival and lunch
12:30-1:15 pm: Announcements and program
1:15-1:30 pm: Q&A
1:30-2:00 pm: Optional networking

Parking: Attendees may park in the Madison College Goodman South parking lot. If the lot is full, please utilize street parking. The City of Madison controls street parking. Please watch for signs with parking rules.

Refund Policy: Registration fees are non-refundable. If you need to cancel your registration, please reach out to our Chapter Director to discuss options, if any are available.

Speaker Details: Mark Richardson

Mark has spent 30+ years building authentic relationships that last. His professional network stretches across the private, public and non-profit sectors. He understands the value of the word “Human” in the term Human Resources. And he knows the difference between “being a connection” and “having a connection.”

From his early days as a young professional working in agriculture and newspaper sales to an almost decade-long career in the telecommunications industry, Mark was considered a bit of a pioneer. Soon it wasn’t uncommon for him to be driving change. Change became the very thing he was hired to make happen.

After years as a thought leader and change agent at the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Richardson caught the eye of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle’s administration. He served as Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, a cabinet-level state agency charged with supporting Wisconsin’s (then) $13 billion hospitality industry. Richardson finished his public service as Division Administrator with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce where he helped lead the agency’s Minority Business Development and Entrepreneurship Bureaus.

Returning to the non-profit arena, he joined the leadership team of the Urban League of Greater Madison in 2010 as their V.P. of Workforce Development where he was responsible for the management, growth and evolution of that organization’s work readiness training programs and partnerships. Helping area employers identify and hire talented people became his passion. Mark was one of the chief architects in the design and creation of the region’s leading Workplace Diversity & Leadership Summit.

In addition to consulting with individuals and organizations Richardson also invests in the Madison region by lending his time and talents to several area boards, committees and commissions. 

Current Board, Committee and Commission Affiliations: StartingBlock Madison (Co-Chair), Associated Bank (Advisory Board), Mann Scholars Education Fund (Chair), Sustain Dane (Vice-Chair, Executive Committee), Monona Terrace Convention & Community Center. 

Past Board, Committee and Commission Affiliations:  Madison Region Economic Partnership Leadership & Diversity Committee, Madison College Community Council of Color, United Way Diversity & Inclusiveness Committee, Dane County Economic Development Commission, and the City of Madison Redistricting Committee.