Hope and My Personal Role in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
by Ashley Ladd, Alumna '06
Over the past few months I’ve been thinking a lot about hope and the personal role it plays in my work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I recently had the opportunity to deliver the invocation at my alma mater, St. Lawrence University, where I currently sit on the Board of Trustees. I thought about how I could meet this moment with something relevant, thought-provoking and inspirational and as I continued to reflect on the past few years, hope seemed like the perfect reminder and message to deliver.
Over the past few months I’ve been thinking a lot about hope and the personal role it plays in my work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I recently had the opportunity to deliver the invocation at my alma mater, St. Lawrence University, where I currently sit on the Board of Trustees. I thought about how I could meet this moment with something relevant, thought-provoking and inspirational and as I continued to reflect on the past few years, hope seemed like the perfect reminder and message to deliver.
A few years ago I read a book called On the Other Side of Freedom by DeRay Mckesson. Mckesson is a civil rights activist focused primarily on issues of innovation, equity and justice. Born and raised in Baltimore, he graduated from Bowdoin College and holds honorary doctorates from The New School and the Maryland Institute College of Art.
His book is a beautiful, part memoir, part manifesto with a focus on resistance, justice, and freedom. Mckesson writes a lot about hope and I’ve found his words particularly comforting in the wake of uncertainty and challenging times. He writes,
“Hope is the belief that our tomorrows can be better than our todays. Hope is not magic; hope is work. I am not certain that a new world, one of equity and justice, will emerge, but I am certain that it can emerge.”
To remain hopeful through challenging times can be a difficult task but a necessary one to ensure we keep moving forward. Regardless of where you are on your journey towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, it is important to remember that this work will have its peaks and valleys, its challenging times and rewarding moments. The goal isn’t to be perfect, or to know-it- all, but to have the foresight to remain hopeful and to understand that any impact you make is a meaningful catalyst to the change we wish to see in our world.
As a mom to my 10-month-old daughter Olivia, I wish to instill in her a healthy dose of hope, realism and resilience that will carry her through life. Sharing lessons that will keep her dreaming big dreams while also understanding the inequities that persist in our daily lives. Keeping her grounded while also teaching her to fly. Those lessons were instilled in me early on by my mother, and they have guided me through my childhood years at NCCS to now.
While hope remains an important tool, I believe that resilience gives us the stamina to put one foot in front of the other and weather this most difficult of storms. It teaches us how to stay the course, how to pick ourselves back up, and when paired with hope, can provide us the support to strive for our biggest goals.
Hope and resilience are critical to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work. It’s in the small moments like building daily psychological safety with my team here at Snyk, to larger moments like prioritizing and supporting diverse and inclusive voices through my Board work. Mr. Mckesson once again reminds me that hope takes work and that we all have a role to play in creating meaningful change. He writes,
“Hope is the precursor to strategy. It powers our vision of what roles we must play in bringing about a desired goal, and it amplifies our efforts. I am not surrendering to luck. I am not surrendering to a blind faith that things will just get better. I am reminded that to have faith that a world of equity and justice will emerge does not relinquish one’s role in helping it emerge.”
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
