VALDOSTA – South Georgia Employer Committee along with Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce present Topic Update seminar: “How to Minimize Bias and Maximize Inclusion.”The event is scheduled for 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, March 29, at the Valdosta Career Center, 221 S. Ashely St. Registration and continental breakfast will be held 8:30-9 a.m., organizers said in a statement.

Speaker will be Dr. Kimberly Tanner, Tanner Training Group.

Tanner served 20-plus years in the field of disability services in higher education. She received her Ed.D. in adult and career education at Valdosta State University in 2008. She completed her B.S. in marine affairs and her M.S. in human development and family studies: college student personnel at the University of Rhode Island in 1993 and 1996, respectively.

She has been trained as a diversity trainer through the National Multicultural Institute and as a University System of Georgia campus mediator and conflict coach through the Consortium on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program. She is an instructor of adult and career education at VSU and owner of Tanner Training Group.

Tanner serves as a local coordinator for the Council on International Educational Exchange. She lives in Naylor with her husband, Douglas Tanner, son Ryan, and host daughter Verena, on exchange from Vienna, Austria.

“The seminar is designed to meet the needs of business owners, managers and human resources professionals,” organizers said.

Learning Objectives

– Learn the path recommended by the Society for Human Resources to develop a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative.

– Understand what unconscious bias is and be able to recognize various kinds of bias that frequently occur in the workplace setting.

– Develop strategies for interrupting unconscious bias as well as tools necessary to navigate common pitfalls caused by bias.

– Be able to harness the strength that diverse teams provide by increasing inclusion and decreasing exclusionary practices.

– Q&As.

Registrations received post-marked by Friday March 24 will be $15. Registrations post-marked after March 25 or at the door will be $20 per person if available. Make checks payable to SGEC, complete registration and mail. Payments are non-refundable and non-transferrable.

For more information, call Sean Panizzi at (229) 269-6927.