Event Details

Laura Heider, MBA, is the Regional Director of Diversity & Inclusion for Ochsner Health for the Baton Rouge/Lake Charles Region. Prior to her role at Ochsner, Laura worked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Most recently serving as a Senior Consultant for Leadership Development, training clinical leadership teams in accountable care practices, she previously worked as Communications Director and Program Manager for UAB School of Medicine’s Office for Diversity & Inclusion. Laura holds a B.A. in Women’s Studies from the University of Utah, and a Master’s in Business Administration from UAB. She is an award-winning public speaker, and a Cook Ross certified implicit bias trainer.

*******************************************************************

The Stories We Live: Unpacking how our diverse stories create – or destroy – inclusion

The human mind is in the continual process of creating stories: stories to make sense of our experiences, stories to inform our decisions, stories that tell us who we are. This continuous process of story creation often happens beyond the level of conscious thought; it’s an undercurrent that informs everything, without our being fully aware of it. When we have incomplete information, our brains will automatically fill the gap with stories – whether they’re true or accurate, or not. Unpacking this internal storytelling process can help us understand the ways in which our unspoken narratives divide us, and the ways in which consciously forging new stories can bring us together and help harness the full power of inclusivity.