Christie Navarro serves as the Director of the Center for Leadership Learning (CLL) at the University of California, Davis. She has been a part of the UC Davis community for 16 years, with 15 of those years leading the CLL. Prior to her tenure at UC Davis, Christie served as the California state representative for the college admission testing organization ACT, as a regional outreach coordinator for UC Merced Early Academic Outreach Program, and as a case manager for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Tulare County. Christie earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master of Arts in Higher Educational Leadership from California State University, Sacramento. As a leadership educator, Christie infuses identity development, inclusivity, and social justice, and change into her teachings and is passionate about supporting students on their leadership journey. Christie serves as a co-chair of the National Leadership Symposium (NLS).
About the 2021 National Leadership Symposium
Quotes From This Episode
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
About The International Leadership Association (ILA)
Connect with Scott Allen
Christie Navarro serves as the Director of the Center for Leadership Learning (CLL) at the University of California, Davis. She has been a part of the UC Davis community for 16 years, with 15 of those years leading the CLL. Prior to her tenure at UC Davis, Christie served as the California state representative for the college admission testing organization ACT, as a regional outreach coordinator for UC Merced Early Academic Outreach Program, and as a case manager for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Tulare County. Christie earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master of Arts in Higher Educational Leadership from California State University, Sacramento. As a leadership educator, Christie infuses identity development, inclusivity, and social justice, and change into her teachings and is passionate about supporting students on their leadership journey. Christie serves as a co-chair of the National Leadership Symposium (NLS).
About the 2021 National Leadership Symposium
Quotes From This Episode
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
About The International Leadership Association (ILA)
Connect with Scott Allen
Note: Voice-to-text transcriptions are about 90% accurate.
Scott Allen 0:00
Hello, everybody. Good afternoon. Good evening. Good morning. Welcome to the Phronesis podcast. Today I am with Christie Navarro. Christie is at the University of California at Davis. She is the director at the Center for Leadership learning at Cal Davis. And we've known each other Christie probably for a few years now through other circles. But today we're going to talk about the national leadership symposium. And I'm looking forward to this conversation because it's an event I've never attended. You just told me you've been attending since 2014.
Christie Navarro 0:33
Absolutely, yes. So my first time having the MLS experience was back in 2014. And I was just so impacted by that experience that I attend what's what attended every year, and even you know, now serving as co-chair.
Scott Allen 0:52
tell me about that first year, what was it? And what is it about this experience I've never attended? As I said, it's always been on the radar. But I've never made it. And so tell me about what it was in that 2014 experience that kind of captured you and then even fostered a sense, at least eventually, for you to get involved and serve as co-chair. That's awesome.
Christie Navarro 1:16
Yes, absolutely. So with the National Leadership Symposium, it's it is very different. It's not a conference, right. So it is a small cohort of leadership educators like-minded, you know, folks from all around the nation that come together and have this intensive learning experience dialogue, the conversation around topics related to leadership. And so it was that intense experience having scholars and residents, you know, every year it's a different theme every year, and having access that close access to these scholars, you know, to these practitioners, faculty experts in the field, you know, to have that direct connection and ask questions and be able to work again, in small groups and have those deeper conversations and exploration around topics that we all do get through a traditional conference experience. But sometimes, we're always so rushed, right to go to one session to go to the next session, or I want to meet up with this person or connect with that colleague, and with the symposium, because it's a cohort, a small group, you are there with three full days, you know, with these folks having these deeper conversations, and that is what impacted me so much that I again, just committed to attending a symposium every single year. And then to get to that question about being a co-chair. You know, I mean, I was very flattered and felt honored to give back in this way, you know, Craig, slack we all, most of us know, you know, good old Craig, you know, just kind of me up one day and just said, Hey, you know, would you like to volunteer and serve as a co-chair, it is a two-year position course with now with COVID. So I'm going to extend it to the third year, but I was just so honored to be able to give back, I'm able to see it from the participant's view. And then also now, you know, the co-chair view of the preparation behind the scenes and working with the scholars of getting the schedule together. And so it's just been an amazing experience.
Scott Allen 3:17
So you said that it was a small cohort? Would you tell me a little bit about that? And I imagine over four days, you get to know some people pretty well, you build relationships.
Christie Navarro 3:27
Definitely build relationships. Absolutely. So what's beautiful is, you know, the cohort, it is also an experience that I would recommend for maybe a more seasoned leadership educator, maybe a graduate student or a new professional, I mean, always welcome completely, but because it is a more of an intense conversation and experience and expectation to you know, it's definitely a hands-on experiential, you know, time that you have, so there are going to be projects or there will be small group, you know, presentations, it just depends on the theme for the year. So that's why sometimes having a little bit more experience might be recommended. But you know, having, again, a cohort of you know, 40 to 50 folks that have similar experiences as you as being in higher ed being involved in leadership education. I've met folks from, you know, smaller liberal arts colleges or folks like myself, you know, with at UC Davis, that's a public research, you know, one institution and so it's just such a diverse collection community that is actually created in those three and a half days. And so that's it's just such an amazing, different, impactful experience.
Scott Allen 4:44
Could you talk a little bit about the role of these, you've mentioned scholars and residents. So yes, I know my friend Tony Middlebrooks is one of those scholars and residents this coming year. That's really how we got, but I don't have a clear understanding of what their role is, and maybe Is there a real shift every year, depending on the topic roles do shift a little bit?
Christie Navarro 5:03
You're right, it depends on the theme. And the topic that we're tackling. What I've seen consistently over the years with the scholars is, you know, they're bringing their area of expertise, their area of research, you know, their area of experience, and, you know, also personal experience, personal lived experiences to the table, dollars are infused, they're there, you know, to help drive the content to help drive the conversation, the dialogue guide, again, the participants, those that are in attendance through that conversation that we're having, for instance, for this year. So we have three outstanding phenomenal scholars. Dr. Vivechkanand Chunoo. As you mentioned, Anthony or Tony Middlebrooks with the University of Delaware. And we also have Dr. Nyasha M. GuramatunhuCooper who is with Our Lady of the Lake that is joining us. And so again, three very diverse voices, diverse areas of expertise around culturally relevant leadership, identifying our own positionality and how our own identity influences our work as leadership educators. And then Tony Middlebrooks, you know, will be bringing in some of his experience around design thinking. And so we have that, then this year is just an example. But you know, every year, it's just amazing. The synergy that is created among the visiting scholars, you know, is the resident scholars, as we call them, and the synergy that happens, again, around us these topics that we want to dig deeper into.
Scott Allen 6:37
So how does that work? Is it the CO chairs that work with Craig, or I know, Craig is now retiring? Is it the CO chairs that help identify the topic of the theme for the year? How does that how does that unfold?
Christie Navarro 6:50
So there is a planning team that does incorporate the CO chairs. And now, you know, yes, as you said, Craig is retiring when we were in person, you know, the site coordinator. And so we come together, it's just a small planning team and starts thinking about what are some topics again, or maybe, you know, some kind of cutting edge, you know, forward-thinking type of topics that we can or that we need to discuss within our field. And so from there is when we start thinking about, okay, well, who is in our networks, or who may be, you know, putting out some current research or maybe has written, you know, this fabulous new book that fits the topic of what we want to explore. And so it's, and it's usually historically, again, Craig, you know, she's so well networked, that he seems to know everyone in our field. And so it's been very nice, you know, that connection to start reaching out, you know, to these scholars. And so, it's a lot of time, you know, that the scholars do volunteer for, you know, and step into that role, as we do have many planning meetings, you know, on a monthly basis, and all of those types of details. But, again, everyone is just usually so passionate around that you're seeing, and it's just so just, there's so much synergy, right, that that occurs, that we all come together, and just organically create, you know, this very immersive, impactful experience, you know, for the participants.
Scott Allen 8:19
This year, the experience is virtual, correct?
Christie Navarro 8:22
Yes, we are. Last year we went virtual. And this year, we're going to need to be virtual. Again, we're hoping in 2022, we will back be back at the University of Tampa, which is a common location and the symposium over the years has been around a bit around the nation, I do hope one day that you'll come out to UC Davis, but that's another conversation. So in 2022, we will be in person, but for this year, we would need to be virtual. And so the symposium will be July 12, through July 14 this year. And our topic is disruption by design, co-creating our approach to leadership education.
Scott Allen 9:01
Tony and I worked on a where we're working on the second edition of that textbook that's taken leadership principles and really provided this beautiful design frame to the whole conversation. And so I love that phrasing. I love that title. That's a really, really cool title of an experience. As listeners are experiencing this podcast, they can still they still have time to register. Is that accurate?
Christie Navarro 9:25
Oh absolutely. Yes, there is um, because the symposium is an intensive cohort-based experience. And when I mean intensive, there's going to be some reading at some work that you need to do, right there are some free readings that the scholars have identified. It's not to the degree where you'll you will feel that you're back in like graduate school or like working towards your Ph.D. so there won't be that intense but you know, there will be a for a few articles, we are getting a little creative. The scholars have recorded their own video of their biography, and so you'll need to watch that so there's some prep work. So we are recommending that you know if anyone's interested to try and register by July 1/July 2. But of course, you know, if you register the day before completely fine since we're virtual, we can be much more flexible with that, but just know that there's going to be projects that you'll be working on as well to really dig deeper, and figuring out how you can redesign a program or set curriculum and activity that you have to really look at, again, through that lens of positionality identity, culturally relevant leadership being more again, broad and intentional on how we are serving all students, all students from all diverse backgrounds.
Scott Allen 10:47
Let's talk about that for a little bit. Let's talk about that topic. What are some of your perspectives on that topic? Christy? What do you think?
Christie Navarro 10:56
I appreciate that question. And thank you, because this is an area that I'm very passionate about, of bringing in diverse voices to the table in our field, I think that there's been a lack of opportunity for scholars from different backgrounds, different lived experiences, BIPOC- black indigenous, and people of color quite often aren't brought to the table or especially when it's trying to push in advance our conversations around what leadership is, and how we define leadership. What are those skills, you know, the knowledge base that we look to teach, you know, students, but then how those skillsets and that knowledge is often rooted in within the dominant culture? And what that look like? And so I think for me, personally, this is just, you know, Christy, speaking that I see our field can do a much better job at that. And with the experience that we've all have gone through, collectively, together with the pandemic, with the increase in a long time conversation around, you know, equity, and racial justice, social justice, I feel that what we've seen in 2020, we can't go back to what we were doing in, in 2019. And so, you know, this is me just humbly trying to put that idea out there for our field of how is it that we are going to adjust shift and change to ensure that we are representing hearing and inviting all communities to the table. And so again, one way that we're going to try and start that conversation is with this year's theme, and with with the symposium, I want to challenge participants to examine their own positionality and their own identity, and how it impacts their work. As leadership educators, we want to engage in that deeper reflection to disrupt those normative thoughts and traditional views of leadership and how we can expand that want to intentionally create inclusive learning opportunities. And so these are some of the areas again, that we want to have that deeper conversation within the symposium that the symposium is known for, right this symposium is known for, again, that more intimate, intense experience among leadership educators.
Scott Allen 13:28
Well, it makes me it makes it two things. About three years ago, now I had a student Her name was Sarah, and she was in our graduate program. And this is towards the beginning of the semester, it was a leadership course. And in the context of this class, we have a lot of accountants. So a goal of mine was to get some accountants to the room to help the accounting students understand why this topic of leadership is so incredibly important to them. And so it ends up that there's kind of four white men sitting up there at the front of the class. And Sarah walked up to me afterward. And she said, "You know, this was great. I enjoyed it. And I learned, and it was also just like every other, in my case, john Carroll experience that I've had as an undergraduate that, like, once again, it's just everyone up there not looking like me. And it would be wonderful if we could have some other perspectives." And that just has stuck with me. It has just stuck with me. So there's there there's that dimension that was just an I will forever remember Sarah's name, and every time I'm planning something, her voic is in my head. And then a second experience I had at ILA in Ottawa, this is a couple of years ago international leadership Association Conference, a young graduate student wanted to have a conversation with me and so we set up a time to have coffee, and she was in graduate school and she was of Asian descent and she made a comment to me that said, She suggested that a lot of the type of programming we do turns her peers off. Yes. And, again, something that will always just stick with me. And so we got into the conversation a little bit, and I probed a little bit. It wasn't too in-depth. But that was so interesting. That was so fascinating to me that I was completely oblivious to that perspective - how the design of our programs could turn people off? Well, they totally require you to be extroverted for three days sometimes. Right? Right. Right, right. Absolutely. But those two experiences really, in a very interesting way have just stuck with me. And I think it's it's an important conversation, because at times, I'm just not even aware, and I need to be, and being more intentional, sometimes about what we're putting into motion, and becoming more aware of our own blind spots and opportunities to create more inclusive environments. It's important, it just is.
Christie Navarro 16:09
Right, thank you for sharing, you know, those two stories, that that's just beautiful. And that's exactly what to convey is that we need to really stop and think and be very reflective and critical. And that's sometimes a hard thing, you know, to do. You know, we all I think have, are we all meaning, you know, leadership educators specifically, you know, in this contact are all well-intentioned, right, but we really need to stop and think about what is it that we are not only creating, and also teaching, I know, we, you know, at least in circles that I'm in, you know, we talked a lot about access? And yes, you know, how do we provide access for, you know, many communities on our campus. And yes, UC Davis, this is a fairly, you know, diverse campus. But I also it's my responsibility to think about, well, if students even from my own community are not coming to our programs as often as maybe as another community, is there something that I am doing wrong in that, and I think it's, again, not just about having those diverse students just represented participating in our programs, but really thinking about, what is it again, I call it like those messages, you know, or that content? Or who am I bringing in inviting as guest speakers, as folks that I am saying, you know, hey, this is a very experienced, knowledgeable leader for what they've accomplished, or their lived experience, I really need to think about as a leadership educator, and just as you share, you know, of what, again, are we putting forward and in regards to, again, having those diverse voices having those diverse perspectives, and also with what I'm creating with our curricula? And, you know, our assessment of being very adamant about leadership, even though we say right, that leadership does not look one way or there's no one way, one bright way to be a leader, sometimes with that curriculum, or, again, those measurements, we fall into that because we're looking and we're trying to check off this skill, or they demonstrated this ability. But we also need to stop and think about who is setting those standards? Who is establishing that? Where is that coming from? Because there could be a student of color, who may be demonstrating what we think that leadership is, but because it doesn't look in a certain way that we think it's supposed to look, then we dismiss that, then we are we missing? And so I think, you know, having these more, again, deeper critical conversations around this issue. So it's a long time coming. And I think it's, it's something that we need to have to start having more frequently and with more people, but I think, again, with what we've all experienced in 2020. Now, I think more people are aware, have their eyes open. And I think this is a perfect opportunity, right to start advancing our field a little bit more. In this regard.
Scott Allen 19:16
It's very, very well said, and there's a book so Christie, this reminds me of a quote from Stephanie Johnson in a paper that she wrote in a book called what's wrong with leadership? The data used to derive most leadership theories and recommendations was collected by male researchers from male leaders, and it was analyzed and interpreted by mostly male scientists. And we could also just say, white male there if we could be exactly what's going on?
Christie Navarro 19:45
Exactly. Absolutely. And 100%. There's been, you know, more discussion, I feel, especially with the work by John Dugan about deconstructing leadership theory. And so I think, again, when His work with the work that you just shared. Stefanie Johnson. And, you know, again, it's, it hits the nail, you know, right on the head, we really need to have those deeper conversations and take a step back and be willing to do that, you know, and you, I've noticed that you've said, you know, a few times like, I've been blind to this, or I didn't realize this, and that is a wonderful thing to hear it for. And you know, from you, Scott, you know, I want to thank you, and commend you for that, because it starts with that recognition, and taking ownership. And recognizing that doesn't make you a bad person. That doesn't make you a bad leadership educator, you know, you have that awareness. And now, most importantly, what am I going to do from now, you know, that conversation was shared with Sarah, you know, changed you that other, you know, conversations I shared, take that and you think about what can I do differently? And I think that's what we all need to be doing.
Scott Allen 20:56
Exactly. We are all, every one of us works in progress that has great strengths and areas of growth and development. And well, I'm so excited that you all are creating this space. And I will be excited to hear how this year's experience goes. I think it's just a wonderful cast of scholars, resident scholars, like you said, and I also love that framing of design because I think it does require some design. When I think of the word design, I think of intentionality. I think about expertise and looking at options. And all too often at least in my past. I haven't been intentional or haven't designed in certain ways. So I think for every one of us, there's a wonderful opportunity there. So, Christy, anything you've been reading or listening to or streaming or watching that's caught your eye in the last few months that you want listeners to know about could have something to do about leadership or could just be something totally different.
Christie Navarro 21:57
Well, you know, I have been doing a lot of reading so some books, you know, that I've been reading, the purpose of power, how we come together when we fall apart by Alicia Garza, one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter course, Kathy Guthrie's and Carmen babies and new book engaging the leadership process identity capacity, and efficiency or efficacy sorry for college students. And so I have just been, you know, dabbling, again, into culturally relevant leadership and just really going through the process of re-examining, you know, my own positionality my own lived experience, my own voice, and how that impacts the work that I do. That's where my, my head has been,
Scott Allen 22:46
You are a lifelong learner. I am a lifelong learner. listeners. Obviously, if you've made it this far, you are a lifelong learner. And that's a great way to be. That's a great Yes, absolutely. I will put information about the symposium in the show notes, so listeners can find that there. And Christy, thank you so much for being with me today. I really, really appreciate it. Thanks for the work that you do. And I look forward to our paths crossing soon. Yes, I agree. Thank you so much, Scott.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai