Courtney Cogburn

Has your organization followed through on your diversity and inclusion commitments? Columbia University professor Courtney D. Cogburn’s work is focused on helping leaders gain social and racial competence, address racial inequities, and understand the limits of empathy. A transdisciplinary social scientist with training in psychology, education, social work and population public health, her engaging presentations provide a knowledge base for seeing what racism truly is and how it shows up in organizations, with the goal of replacing showy gestures that cause “racism fatigue” with meaningful action. A pioneering researcher and co-director of the university’s Justice Equity + Technology Laboratory, Courtney is the lead for equity and diversity at the Data Science Institute. With funding from Meta, her team is creating virtual reality programs that can visualize data and create predictive models. Courtney’s groundbreaking “1,000 Cut Journey” VR simulation, which lets the user experience being a Black male at different life stages, is a vital learning opportunity that can lead to impactful change for individuals and the organizations they lead. As the metaverse is reimaging society, and potentially mimicking real-life inequities, Courtney is leading conversations that include diverse perspectives and asking executives to consider the policies and processes used to create these highly immersive technologies.

Why does race matter for health? Racial disparities in health are persistent, widespread and resistant to intervention. Failing to understand the significance of race, not only in terms of group difference but as a social and cultural phenomenon, may be partly to blame. Health and medical professionals increasingly consider the role of culture and other social determinants of health disparities but continue to fall short in meaningfully addressing the role of race. There is little knowledge, for instance, of how cultural threats and “microaggressions,” such as negative portrayals and exposure to racial violence in popular culture and media, can have a cumulative effect on one’s health. Professor Courtney D. Cogburn has developed a line of research examining the impact of racism on racial inequalities in health. In this presentation, she offers insights into the types of issues that cause distress for millions of people who go untreated and unacknowledged. If health and medical professionals are to properly treat individuals and address racial disparities in health, they need a fuller picture of how racism threatens mental and physical well-being and infiltrates health institutions.

Workforces are increasingly diverse – but are they more equitable and inclusive? As the business case for diversity becomes more robust and companies tout their rising numerical diversity, they often fail to build a culture that respects, maintains and leverages the benefits of diverse work environments. Casual, implicit racism often thrives in corporate settings, embedded in policy and culture that can drive valuable talent away, put the company in legal jeopardy and diminish the socioeconomic benefits of diversity. Furthermore, high-profile reputational crises involving employee- or company-propagated racism have thrust more leading brands into the light of scrutiny. Professor Courtney D. Cogburn, a leading expert on structural and cultural racism, helps companies develop more comprehensive strategies for reimagining organizations, cultural transformation and moving beyond implicit bias, including through the use of revolutionary VR sensitivity training technology. In this presentation, Professor Cogburn outlines pathways and roadblocks to anti-racism and reveals how even ostensibly progressive businesses may be unwittingly sustaining a culture of racism and exclusion. In the process, she shares concrete tools for building a future of work in which employee diversity, equity and inclusion are facts rather than idealistic slogans.