Corporate &
Non-Profit Leaders

We’ve just begun our work with Dr. Watson and it’s already transforming our company in meaningful ways. Her approach and her energy inspired our team to think and question in just the right way; and her easy going style allowed for pointed and important questions to be asked and discussed in deep but comfortable ways. Her leadership is opening our eyes, our minds and our hearts to new ways of thinking about the issue of diversity and race. I am so looking forward to our continued work together.

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Andy Berkenfield,
CEO/Partner, Duncan Channon

I just wanted to send a shout out to Dr. Watson for leading a great seminar last week . She kept it engaging and allowed us to feel comfortable and safe talking about a "touchy" subject for many. She is very brave and handled us all with grace and patience. I truly learned to put many of my feelings into words, and in better context. In addition, she made it fun and let us laugh at ourselves and this crazy system we live in.

—
Heather Wilson,
Attorney, Children’s Law Center

K–12 Educators

Dr. Lori Anne Watson is an immensely gifted facilitator and that rarest and most credible of messengers. Dr. Watson led our NYC-based faculty, administration and staff at the independent school where I teach in masterful ways. She forged connections across individual and collective perspectives casting the best kind of spell on the large room where we congregated over the course of a two-day training. Lori brings an artistry to the work on race and equity much like a jazz icon takes center stage. Dr. Watson hit notes, created beats and riffed off her own story – weaving that into the stories and questions she elicited from the assembled – with a mesmerizing degree of command, authenticity, empathy and humanity.

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Karen B.,
3rd Grade Independent School Teacher, NYC

Dr. Lori Watson is one of the most powerful speakers and presenters I have ever experienced. She is warm, yet profoundly direct in the way she invites and encourages participants to talk, think, and reflect on race in America. If you make it to one parent event this year, it really should be this one; I cannot overstate the transformative effect she had on every educator in the room at the workshop I attended, and I think her message will do the same for parents in our community.

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Andrea Gough,
Middle School Teacher, Mill Valley CA

Dr. Watson has become an integral part of our school community as we work to provide equitable educational opportunities for ALL students in our community and shed light on the way we think about race. I truly appreciate the way that she approaches the work and gives people the tools they need to evaluate how they go about their work and their personal lives. As our team members reflect on their daily interactions and practice a new way of thinking about race, I am confident that we can shift the innate culture of our schools and communities in support of ALL students and community members alike.

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Mary Jane Burke,
Superintendent Marin County Schools

Dr. Lori Watson’s presentation made such an impact on me as an educator, community citizen, and as a human. Her presentation was thought provoking and made me reorganize the way I move through the world. Dr. Watson’s message is one that I embrace as an educator and as a parent, and I highly recommend this workshop to all.

—
Aimee Demaret,
3rd Grade Teacher, Mill Valley CA

Higher-Ed
Faculty & Admin

Dr Watson provided an engaging and rewarding experience last week. She was able to engage the audience in a respectful and meaningful way, even when I felt the tension in the room when she asked us to focus on the topic of race. I felt so empowered, honored and humbled at the training, which helped reignite the passion I have for this work. I also met some great people.

—
Fatima Alleyne, Ph.D.
Director of Faculty Engagement for Equity & Inclusion, College of Engineering UC Berkeley

Dr.Watson’s workshop is AMAZING! And Incredibly impactful. Imagine 60 people in a room together… black, white, Latinx, Asianx (I made that up), men women, young and more seasoned with a facilitator that will knock your socks off with her wisdom and finesse in talking about racism. We had people from all over campus at the event and folks emailing asking us when we would do it again. I highly highly highly recommend working with her!

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Amani M. Allen, Ph.D., M.P.H.,
Executive Associate Dean/Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley

I am so appreciative of Dr. Watson taking the time to present to some of our faculty and staff. This work is so needed in Richmond because most of what we have is what I call colonized and monetized DEI work. The work she does is critically important in ensuring that folks in organizations can work at their fullest capacity being their authentic selves and that folks at the “social justice” table have the opportunity to be more impactful. In any event, I could go on and on but please know how excited I am about the work.

—
Andrew P. Daire, Ph.D.,
Dean, School of Education, Virginia Commonwealth University

Students

Thank you SO much for the session today with the kids. It was such a powerful experience, and I am hopeful that if we let the kids lead us, we’d all be better for it. They had so many great things to say on the bus ride home. Thank you so much for leading the kids through these conversations. Of all the different elements related to our equity work, this work with kids is the most important. Thank you for leading us.

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Tricia Ebarvia,
Teacher, Tredyffrin-Easttown School District 

My anti racism work with Dr. Watson has been the most valuable lesson I’ve ever learned. Being white, there is so much privilege that I have that I was unaware of before participating in these important conversations with Dr. Watson. My world looks completely different and because of this work that I participated in, I feel as though I have been prepared to have discussions on race with my friends and family in the wake of the current civil rights movement. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to interact with Dr. Watson because it taught me more about the world I live in than any other class I’ve taken in school.

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Lena Pothier,
Student, Conestoga HS Tredyffrin-Easttown, PA

During the school year of 2019 my fellow classmates and I had the great fortune to work with Dr. Watson as part of an anti-racist leadership program. During the time we spent with her, she exposed me to a way of discussing racism, prejudice, bias, and microagressions that I had never seen before. In a room full of impatient teenagers, she immediately had us engaged in the conversation, where we felt we had a safe space to ask questions and share personal experiences. 

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Ruby Rose Amezcua,
Student, Tamalpais HS, CA

Parents/Guardians &
Community Leaders

I would highly recommend attending a seminar by Dr. Lori Watson. Dr. Watson has encouraged me to “lean in to the discomfort” of initiating the essential challenging conversations about how race impacts the way we view ourselves and the people we encounter on a daily basis. Dr. Watson’s easily approachable demeanor, in-depth knowledge of her field of expertise, and creative, researched-based interactive presentations culminate into a safe environment, fostering challenging discussions I did not have the confidence to have prior to her training. 

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Stephanie Young,
heartofthevillage.org

I have had the great pleasure of attending many of Dr. Watson’s seminars. The workshops have challenged me in many ways, and have pushed me to start building courage, deepen my understanding of inequality, to find my voice in uncomfortable conversations, and to confront my own views as well as others on racism and inequity. Dr. Watson is incredibly knowledgeable yet teaches with kindness, compassion and encouragement. I have encouraged many of my friends to attend her seminars and they have all left feeling the same gratitude for being challenged and educated by Dr. Watson.

—
Kendra Pollack,
Parent, Mill Valley, CA