Duke Leadership Academy Project Helps Expand Diversity

Nicholas School of the Environment students are accustomed to talking about biodiversity in the natural world, but now, 23 master's degree students have completed a new program that will help them talk about diversity in the human world. 

This month, the students celebrated the completion of "Rising TIDE (Training for Inclusion & Diversity in the Environment)," a voluntary program designed to expose graduate students at the Nicholas School of the Environment to the vital role inclusion and diversity have in managing organizations dedicated to environmental stewardship. 

"Environmental issues don't exist in isolation from inequalities such as classism, heteronormativity and racism," said Emma Vaughan, a master of environmental management student who participated in the six-week program. "This class gave us the opportunity to dig deep into how these issues play out in our particular field."

Rising TIDE was developed by Glenda Lee, associate director of the Career and Professional Development Center at the Nicholas School of the Environment. She conceived the idea as a member of the Duke Leadership Academy in 2012. As part of the class,  Lee and other students needed to come up with "real world assignment" but Rising TIDE was not part of the original plan. 

"I kept thinking of little things I could do, things that I knew I could achieve, but my Duke Leadership Academy coach, Angela Airall, kept telling me to think bigger," Lee said.

With the support of the Duke Leadership Academy, Lee allowed herself to dream about how to impact diversity in environmental professions. 

"I realized that I wasn't in a position to affect the diversity of the people who come to study at Duke, but I could help these future environmental leaders understand what it takes to create a work culture that attracts diversity and fosters inclusion," Lee said.

Lee proposed the idea for Rising TIDE at the end of her Duke Leadership Academy in 2012 and spent this past summer preparing for the September 2013 launch. The class comprised discussions of race, gender, and inclusiveness with experts from Duke. It also included conversations about diversity challenges and successes with employees from environmental organizations such as the Conservation Trust for North Carolina and The Nature Conservancy.

Vaughan, who participated in the program, said the supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere provided an opportunity to explore issues outside of her comfort zone. "For me, the biggest issue was racism - I have to push myself to confront it and to accept my own privilege as a white person," she said. "But having had those conversations, I now have the language and confidence to raise any concerns regarding inclusion and diversity that I see as I graduate from Duke and embark on my career." 

Airall, Lee's coach from the Duke Leadership Academy, said the development of the Rising TIDE program has been satisfying to watch because the results reach far beyond Lee, who already has plans to offer the program each year. 

"Glenda completed an assignment for the Leadership Academy class and turned it into a legacy for Duke," Airall said. "Her efforts will reach far beyond these students and touch people's lives for future generations in the environmental industry."