Dr. Richard Brislin wrote: “Culture provides the richness to our lives and some of the harshest wounding”. In this interactive session, participants will explore culture through the lens of Hot and Cold. Activities will include reflection and discussion of the concepts. This is a great opportunity for teams to learn more about each other. So, invite your teammates to come to this lunchtime presentation by Helen Fagan PhD (CASNR Dean’s office and founder of Helen Fagan and Associates).

Dr. Fagan is a Leadership, Diversity, and Inclusion scholar and practitioner. She is the founder of Helen Fagan and Associates, which provides consulting and leadership coaching to organizations, communities, and executives in the field of Diversity, Inclusion, Cultural Competence and becoming an Inclusive Leader. A 2020 Inspire Leadership Excellence in Education award recipient and a 2021 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Fulfilling the Dream award recipient, Dr. Fagan thrives in developing the potential in leaders to create positive impact. Since 2018, Fagan has been a faculty member and program lead for the Inclusive Rural Fellowship program at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In addition to a Ph.D. in Human Sciences with specialization in Leadership from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dr. Fagan holds multiple certifications in Diversity, Emotional Intelligence, and is a trained Executive Coach. Also, she is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory which she has used with developing thousands of leaders and healthcare providers. From 2014-2019, Dr. Fagan was invited as a faculty with the Qatar Institute for Intercultural Communication providing workshops for faculty, staff and graduate students working at 6 US universities in Education City in Qatar. Dr. Fagan’s expertise in developing inclusive leaders, organizations and communities has enabled her to speak is multiple nations and at last count 4 continents. Her book, Becoming Inclusive: A Worthy Pursuit in Leadership released in 2021 via Information Age Publishing, has gained popularity and provided a road map for leaders endeavoring to become inclusive. Before Academia, she created and led the Diversity and Cultural Competence Initiatives at Bryan Health, in Lincoln NE. This initiative at Bryan was considered so innovative that it gained national recognition and was featured in a Joint Commission (hospital accreditation body) publication. During that time, Helen played a key role in the recruitment and resettlement of nurses from the Philippines to address the nursing shortage in Nebraska. Helen also worked diligently to address employment and healthcare needs of refugees and immigrants; and was a strong voice for eliminating the use of children as medical interpreters in healthcare settings. As an international student from Iran, who arrived as an unaccompanied minor to the United States at age 15, Dr. Fagan has experienced a tremendous number of challenges during her life in the United States. She has used each of those challenges to inspire others, especially women, and as a result has received numerous awards for her contributions to the lives of others, including a key to the city of Lincoln. In 2018, Dr. Fagan served as a Consulting Producer on a short film, The Healing of Harman. She consulted on the film during the writing, the filming, and editing processes. The film was directed by the Academy Award nominated Director, Seth Pinkster. This film has been used to create discussion with community leaders in relation to the process that communities can use to foster a spirit of inclusion in which people are welcomed and embraced in their healing. The film won Morehouse College’s best Human Rights Short film in 2020.