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Building Belonging by Viewing DEI Through a Neuroinclusive Lens

May 27th at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

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Neurodivergent man working on a laptop with a group of his peers in a casual office setting.

For Community Social Services

Many DEI efforts focus on what we can see. This session expands the conversation to include how people think, process, and learn. Designed for community social services professionals, this presentation connects the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion to neurodiversity, a dimension of diversity that’s often invisible and under-discussed. Through practical strategies and a neuroinclusive lens, participants will explore how to build environments where belonging isn’t just a value on the wall, but something people actually experience at work.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Describe how neurodiversity expands conventional understandings of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), including invisible differences in thinking, processing, and learning
  • Explain how neuroinclusive practices contribute to a stronger sense of belonging in community social services settings
  • Identify common workplace barriers that may unintentionally exclude neurodivergent individuals
  • Apply practical, neuroinclusive strategies to foster belonging in everyday work environments

About our presenter

Jackie Connelly (she/her) is a neuroinclusive leadership consultant, speaker, certified organizational coach and stroke survivor with over a decade of HR and DEI leadership experience across public, private, and non-profit. Through her practice, Coaching That Belongs, Jackie partners with organizations to build neuroinclusive leadership capability through engaging in-person and virtual programs that move beyond awareness into sustained development and systems change. She also works with individual professionals, many of them neurodivergent, to build confidence, clarity, and a felt sense of belonging at work through 1:1 coaching.

Jackie holds a Post-Degree Diploma in HR Management and Leadership (Camosun College), a Certificate in Organizational Coaching (UBC), a Coaching Neurodiversity at Work certification (PersonaGrata Consulting), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (UBC). She is a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) BC Charter Chapter, and is pursuing coaching accreditation through the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC).

Jackie is grateful to be a guest on the island of S,DÁYES, the traditional territory of the Coast Salish Peoples including SENĆOŦEN speaking W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations and Hul’quimi’num Treaty Group, also known as Pender Island, with her husband and their two dogs, Josie and Yuna, enjoying the nature, beauty and calmness it offers every day.