President's Address

The Nominations Committee comprised of Sandra Fowler, Chair, Mafalda Arias, Patricia Coleman, Hamilton Cruz, Elmer Dixon, and Kelli McLoud-Schingen reports that the search for candidates for the two open positions on the 2019 Board of Directors reached a successful conclusion. There are excellent candidates for each open position. These are 3-year terms and both positions have voting rights on the Board of Directors. The candidates are Melinda Bullen for Director of the Professional Development Portfolio and Sherri Tapp for the Director of the Membership Outreach and Diversity Portfolio. Melinda Bullen is currently the Training and Development Officer for the City of Portland, OR Water Bureau. Sherri Tapp is a Professor of Graduate Education at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK.

According to SIETAR USA tradition, we offer a slate of candidates to the members in good standing, who then vote for or against the slate. This will occur on November 26, 2018. However, there is still time to petition to be on the Slate, which would necessitate a runoff election. If an election becomes necessary, it would happen on November 26, 2018 when members would vote for one of the competing candidates. The results would be announced on December 3, 2018. If you think you might want to petition for either position, SIETAR USA members in good-standing who are interested in running for any of the above offices may submit a statement, bio and petition supported and signed by five SIETAR USA members no later than Wednesday, November 21, 2018. We also welcome questions, comments, and requests for additional information about any of the candidates.

In addition to the open positions there are still three vacant positions for partial terms that you might have an interest in considering. These portfolios are: Sponsor Partnership Development, Board Leadership Development, and Conference Oversight. Those positions are appointed, not elected. For more information regarding these portfolios, contact SIETAR USA at info@sietarusa.org.
 

 

Polarization is becoming more serious with every passing week. The need for understanding the nature and impact of polarization is clear in the wake of the recent shootings in Pennsylvania and Kentucky as well as the pipe bombs sent to a number of influential people. Without understanding it is difficult to conceive of solutions and actions that can make a difference.

The people who are speaking at this full-day seminar on polarization presented by SIETAR USA and SIETAR MN take a deep dive into the topic. The speakers' insights will spur discussions that can lead to new ways of thinking and acting that go far to help us achieve the goals of civility and respect.

Register now to attend the Saturday Seminar on Wednesday November 17, at Concordia University in St. Paul, MN. We welcome you and hope that you will join us for this learning event.

Registration is $115 for SIETAR USA members, $150 for non-members, and $75 for students.
 

Thank you to our Saturday Seminar sponsors:

                                 



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SIETAR Florida has undergone some recent changes as Yuko Deneuville was recently appointed President and Saskia Meckman the new Communications Officer. In November, they will be offering a series of three webinars on unconscious bias as well as a weekend meet and greet for members during the International Food Festival at Disney's Epcot Center.

SIETAR Minnesota has kicked off fall meetings with a focus on two countries of specific interest: Mexico and Russia. For both meetings, the frame of the Cultural Detective tool (culturaldetective.com) was utilized and culture specific experts were invited to co-facilitate. Now, the SIETAR MN Planning Board is gearing up to co-host the inaugural SIETAR Saturday Seminar (SSS) along with SIETAR USA. Local Group Leaders, Jon DeVries and Karen Lokkesmoe are working with SIETAR USA President-Elect, Sandy Fowler to plan a day filled with engaging dialogue and interactive experience around the most timely topic: Walk the Talk: Achieving Civility and Respect in Times of Polarization. The SSS is on November 17, 2018 at Concordia University in St. Paul, MN. Please consider joining us -- we all need to get together during these challenging times. Registration is open! sietarusa.org/event-3041187

For more information on starting or joining a local group, please contact localgroups@sietarusa.org. 


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Thought You Should Know

November 1-30 - National Native American Heritage Month
November 1-30 - Feeling Italian Project
November 1 & 8 - SIETAR Florida Bias Webinar Series
November 1 - All Saints Day
November 2 - All Souls Day
November 7 - Diwali
November 9 - The Birth of the Bab
November 11 - Veterans Day
November 12 - The Birth of Baha'u'llah
November 13 - SIETAR USA Webinar Series: Leveraging Multicultural and Global Experience into Workplace Strengths
November 15 - SIETAR Europa Call for Papers Deadline
November 16 - International Day for Tolerance
November 17 - SIETAR USA Saturday Seminar Series
November 20 - Transgender Day of Remembrance
November 20 - Mawlid Un Nabi
November 21 - SIETAR USA Nominating Petitions Due
November 22 - Thanksgiving
November 30 - Young SIETAR Board Application Deadline
December 2-10 - Hannukah
December 2-24 - Advent
December 3 - International Day of Disabled Persons
December 6 - SIETAR USA Webinar Series: Navigating Diversity and Inclusion Work as a Practitioner
December 10 - International Human Rights Day
December 12 - Eid Milad Un Nabi
December 25 - Christmas
December 26- January 1 - Kwanzaa
December 26 - Boxing Day
January 1 - New Year's Day
March 12-15 - Winter Institute for Intercultural Communication
April 26-28 - Families in Global Transitions Annual Conference
July 7-10 - International Academy for Intercultural Research Biennial Conference
July 10-26 - Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication
 

Holidays taken from https://www.diversitybestpractices.com/2018-diversity-holidays