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Symantec Sponsored Series

Talking Diversity At Net Impact

Video: Tawanna Black of Northside Funders Group Talks Diversity at Net Impact '14

By Nick Aster
Tawanna-Black-Headshot-Bus.-1.jpeg


"Simply having diversity does not produce results for the bottom line," Tawanna Black, executive director of Northside Funders Group, said at the 2014 Net Impact conference last month.

"We've known that just mixing people up one way or another doesn't actually produce results -- in fact, sometimes it creates more conflict and more challenges that may hinder business sustainability and growth. But inclusivity does."

The concept of moving beyond diversity to inclusion came up several times in our Talking Diversity video series. In this two-minute clip, Black makes the business case for going that extra step to ensure inclusivity and why it's important to allow employees to bring their "whole selves" to work.

"Americans spend more time at work than anywhere else," Black noted, "so why wouldn't we want [our workplaces] to be places that we enjoy?"

Tawanna is a native of Arkansas City, Kansas. She has a Bachelors Degree of Public Administration from Washburn University. This year she was awarded a prestigious $100,000 Bush Fellowship by the Bush Foundation to engage her transformational leadership toward building equity in the Twin Cities and beyond. In 2004, she was honored by the Jaycees as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Omahan’s. And, in 2005 the Midlands Business Journal honored her as one of Omaha’s 40 under 40.

Tawanna has lent her leadership to over 30 nonprofit and philanthropic boards over the last decade. She currently serves as President of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter of The Links, Inc., Trustee at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, Board Chair of Youthprise, and Co-Chair of the African American Leadership Forum. Tawanna and her husband Eric live in the Twin Cities with their children Traviata (3 years old) and Christian (1.5 years old).

Nick Aster headshot

Nick Aster is the founder of TriplePundit. Prior to launching 3p, Nick worked for Mother Jones magazine, successfully re-launching the magazine's online presence. He worked for TreeHugger.com, managing the technical side of the publication for 3 years, and has also been an active consultant for individuals and companies entering the world of micro-publishing. He also worked for Gawker Media and Moreover Technologies in the early days of blogging. Nick holds an MBA in sustainable management from the Presidio School of Management and graduated with a BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis.

Read more stories by Nick Aster