DEI Symposium Series - Can Career Advising Be Decolonized?

This episode continues our series of DEI conversations originally featured during the DEI Symposium of the NCDA 2024 Global Career Development Association Conference in San Diego, CA. Dr. Natasha Barnes-Gwynn hosts a discussion with Denise Felder that explores how career advising can be reimagined through a lens of decolonization.

What does it mean to decolonize? In many aspects of our lives, the concepts we live by were not developed by people like us. This discussion includes the intersections of career readiness and social justice, particularly focusing on marginalized communities. The conversation covers practical ways to make career development more inclusive by addressing systemic inequalities and reshaping traditional advising approaches. 

Natasha Barnes-Gwynn Ed.D, GCDF, CCC, NCC is a Clinical Professor at Southern New Hampshire University. She also serves as a career consultant through her private practice, Increasing Our Understanding (I.O.U.) Consultation, LLC.

Denise Felder (she/her; @DeniseMpls) is a Workforce Equity Advocate and Career Coach with nearly 20 years experience exploring the intersections of career readiness and social justice. She supports the work and life plans of job seekers and career changers from marginalized communities in numerous K-12, higher education, community, and public organizations. Denise is a past president of the Minnesota Career Development Association, a Certified Poverty Awareness Coach, an Offender Job Retention Specialist, and a YWCA Racial Justice Facilitator. Her credentials also include the Equity Works Leadership Institute at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota’s ECHO (Equity Certificate Hosted Online) Diversity Certificate, and the Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy with the Twin Cities African American Leadership Forum. Denise earned a master’s degree in Community Psychology from Metropolitan State University. Her consulting business DeniseMpls Career Services is based in Minneapolis, MN, operates in cyberspace, and lives in the hearts of many.  

RESOURCES

• DEIBA Roundtable Handout from 2025 NCDA Conference
• Decolonizing the Workplace: How to Rethink Your Organizational Culture and Leadership Approach (Berret-Koeler)
• A consciousness-raising approach to career development (Career Guidance for Social Justice)
• Equity Expansion Glossary: bit.ly/Glossary-DeniseMpls 
• Equity Expansion Media List: https://bit.ly/media-list-DeniseMpls