Mark Travis Rivera is joining us in conversation to share his experiences of living at the intersection of being a Latinx, disabled, gender nonconforming queer man. An award-winning professional storyteller, he has spoken in front of audiences at Harvard University, NYU, and various corporations worldwide. He specializes in telling stories related to gender, sexuality, race, and disability. He will be joining us to talk about intersectionality, a concept about the unique combination of different dimensions of diversity that make each of us unique.
As organizations strive to foster an inclusive workplace culture, belonging hasn’t been part of the measure of success. Belonging is a distinctly different concept which is how individual employees feel working at the organization. Our sense of belonging at work is directly impacted by and dependent on how intersectional identities are considered when determining policies, business resource groups, and DEI work. In this session, we will delve into the meaning of intersectionality and how understanding these intersections informs how we show up. We hope you can join the conversation!
Learning Objectives:
Etienne Consulting
Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Speaker & Trainer
[email protected]
(301) 778-5510
Jina is a consultant and speaker on diversity, inclusion, culture, and belonging. She creates training programs and workshops to help clients move forward in their D&I journey. She is a storyteller and speaks candidly about her experiences, hard lessons, and ‘aha’ moments that helped her understand the importance of individuality, the value of curiosity, and the courage it takes to “just” be yourself. Often described as “approachable” and “relatable” by her clients, she works with purpose and the intention of being engaging, practical, and immediately applicable to real-world situations. Jina draws from her unique background and mix of work experiences to offer examples and share insights designed to benefit everyone across the workplace ecosystem – executives, management, employees, and customers.
Previously, she was Principal Consultant at EtiennePartners (EP), a boutique consulting firm that offered a unique strategy development, workshops & coaching to leaders, executives and entrepreneurs. Co-founded with her husband, EP was a full-time partnership in both work and life. Although in different professions, their work often intersected around the importance of self-awareness in leadership and navigating conflict within teams. Combining their experiences, backgrounds, and work led to the development of their unique approach to D&I, which she continues to use in her practice today.
Mark Travis Rivera
Professional Storytellter
[email protected]
Mark Travis Rivera is an award-winning professional storyteller––telling stories is at the core of Mark’s purpose in life. A graduate of William Paterson University of New Jersey, Rivera earned a bachelor’s in women’s & gender studies with a minor in public relations. In 2013, Rivera received the Student Government Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his commitment to the William Paterson community. In the same year, he was honored with the Campus Pride Voice & Action Award for his work with the LGBTQ community. More recently, he won the Audre Lorde Award for Social Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY.
Rivera is the youngest person to found an integrated dance company in the United States, marked dance project, a contemporary company for dancers with and without disabilities, established in March 2009, made its debut at Rutgers University. After ten years of remarkable dancing, Rivera decided to dissolve the marked dance project and continue working as an independent disabled choreographer. Rivera’s writing has also been published in The Bergen Record, Herald News, The Star-Ledger, Fox News Latino, and The Huffington Post. As a speaker, he has spoken in front of crowds at various institutions of higher learning including Harvard, MIT, and NYU. His TEDxTalk, “Embracing Yourself, Embracing Your Potential” was a smash in 2014 at Bergen Community College. His debut collection, Drafts: An Imperfect Collection of Writing was published in August of 2017 through Amazon. In 2020, Rivera launched his wellness podcast, Marking The Path, which is available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.