EQUITYxDESIGN RI Cohort | 2023

The EQUITYxDESIGN RI Cohort is designed for the ambassadors of design in Rhode Island. Up to 20 participants will make up the entire Cohort for this five month collaborative endeavor. Included are six workshops, cohort exclusive meetings, community wide dialogue, goal setting, and execution planning.

• Participants will gain tools to understand and increase Diversity Equity and Inclusion within their field through a 6 workshop series. These workshops will respond to the cohort’s needs and cater to where the cohort is within its own equity work journey.
• Learning will be done in a cohort of Rhode Island based peers. This will encourage group knowledge building, sharing in best practices, and collaboration around DEI efforts state wide.
• As stakeholders in the future of design, this program is an opportunity to give you and others tools to improve equity in the field.
• At the end of the program and upon successful completion, cohort members will receive a Certificate of Completion.
• This program is free to participants thanks to a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation.

You would be a great fit for this program if you have an interest in growing equity in the design economy and are one of the following:

• An established designer in RI
• In a leadership position at a design business or firm
• Are empowered by your design business or firm to represent them during this program
• Lead a design team for a larger business or corporation
• Represent a design team for a larger business or corporation with support from leadership
• A professional who regularly works with or hires designers or design firms

The program will consist of ten points of engagement from May-September, with optional group processing discussions and July summit engagement, and a culminating event at DESIGN WEEK RI 2022. All engagements are digital aside from the DESIGN WEEK RI culmination.

For this program, we ask that you make an intentional investment into the advancing DEI in your sphere of influence. This could look like a shift in internal processes, the start of a new initiative, the re-crafting of a hiring or recruiting practice, or another type of investment you find tangibly impactful.

Meetings will be hosted virtually on Monday mornings(excpet when noted).
Content Sessions : 9AM – 11AM
Debrief Sessions : 9AM – 10:30AM

May 8th : VIRTUAL Content Session: Common Language
May 15th : VIRTUAL Debrief Session
May 22th : IN PERSON : Launch
May 29th: No Session : Holiday
June 5th : VIRTUAL Content Session
June 12nd : VIRTUAL Debrief Session
June 19th – July 3rd : No Session : Summer Break
July 10th : VIRTUAL Content Session
July 17th : VIRTUAL Debrief Session
July 24th : VIRTUAL Content Session
July 31st : VIRTUAL Debrief Session
August 7th : VIRTUAL Content Session
August 14th : VIRTUAL Debrief Session
August 21st : IN PERSON Event!