[Dcouncil] ONE Energy Conference Notes

[Rebecca Anderson]

Good afternoon all,
Please find below my five main takeaways from the ONE Energy conference (Aug. 20-21). I attended this virtually so I did not have the benefit of some of the breakout sessions. Apologies for any overlap provided by Shana and Jennifer.


  *   Land acknowledgement. This is something I am seeing at other DEIA or DOE conferences or events lately.  Before an event begins, there is acknowledgement that the land the event is happening on was stolen or taken by force. The specific tribes who held the land is often mentioned. There is usually a brief moment of silence.
  *   Mental health. There was open acknowledgement that sometimes working in the DEIA space can cause fear or be mentally draining. Deep breathing exercises are often encouraged and permission to rest or take a step back to avoid burnout is recommended.
  *   Getting involved. Sometimes it just takes one person to serve as a catalyst to move the needle. Tips include:
     *   Support the ERG authentically.
     *   Harness your role outside of the ERG to leverage the ERG. Talk to people in your department who may not know about them or may be interested.
     *   Include others and listen to their inputs.
     *   Speaking of listening - Listen more than you speak.
     *   Embrace and elevate ERG achievements.
     *   Spread the word on the good work ERGs are doing at the lab.
  *   Share joy. This was something simple but we were tasked with sharing joy with one another and I really liked it. The guidance was to share something joyous that happened in the last week. This was a great way for others to connect with each other even if they had never met. I can see incorporating this at the top of the week on Mondays via a group chat. All about the human connection (even if it was just an ice breaker – it made a large impact).
  *   Addressing the elephant in the room. What will happen to DEIA if there is an administration change? The idea that DEIA is so embedded into the very fabric of what we do and who we are that even if the name changes, the true meaning behind DEIA is still there. We must continue to be positive change agents for others. The suggestions to do this include:
     *   Be aware of what is going on.
     *   Be accountable for the work you do in DEIA and ERGs. Advocate for why it is important and be responsible for what you put out there.
     *   Help be the change you want to see by increasing your skillset and taking training. Share lessons learned or training with others.
     *   This is one of my favorites: Be a “salesperson” for DEIA aka BE A DEIA CHEERLEADER.
     *   Have a plan if momentum or direction shifts. The need to be equitable and fair doesn’t go away overnight. Think of ways to address this if necessary.

And finally, some quotes I liked.

  *   “We are moving from fear to love.”
  *   “Changes in leadership should never impact our work in DEIA.”
  *   “If not you, then who?”
  *   “Start with the heart.” Particularly in reference to having hard conversations with colleagues.

Holler at me if you have any questions.

P.S. My full (unedited/not pretty) notes are here: [?docx icon]  ONE Energy Conference Notes.docx<https://jeffersonlab.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/DEIDocuments/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B31587911-3DE3-4ACC-BF64-DC1D98BC806C%7D&file=ONE%20Energy%20Conference%20Notes.docx&action=default&mobileredirect=true> Let me know if you can’t access them.

Rebecca Anderson
Internal Communications Specialist
DEIA Council Co-Chair
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Jefferson Science Associates, LLC
O: 757.269.6809 | C: 757.679.7575
duckett at jlab.org<mailto:duckett at jlab.org>
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