Following the tragic events of May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, there are many organizations that have popped up that profess to be DEI experts. In truth, many have merely pivoted to DEI recently to avail themselves of commercial opportunities. Conversely, Pope Consulting has been in the DEI space for decades and accumulated a wealth of wisdom, knowledge, data and experience to tackle any corporate DEI need regardless of the size of and sophistication of the organization. Our organization has benefited greatly by working with Pope to conduct (1) current state assessments, (2) senior leadership preparation and (3) unconscious bias/inclusive leadership training. The team that Pope has formed to assist in such efforts is Tier 1 and can only be described as exceptional. I would strongly recommend Pope Consulting to any organization that is serious about their DEI efforts.

Small Girls PR was looking for a company that could provide affordable, yet effective Unconscious Bias training to our employees and leadership team, and Pope Consulting did it all! The Pope Team, including Merlin, Brandi, Amber and Grant, all were such great individuals to work with. The team was very attentive to our needs and each member was constantly there as a support system and really dug down into the roots of what we were looking to achieve. Our company took part in Unconscious Bias training for general employees, as well as Inclusive Leadership for managers. We also had a wonderful roundtable session for managers led by Grant, that really honed in on how to tackle Unconscious Bias in the workplace. This session was the most engaging and impactful experience, as leaders were able to take away best practices and actionable tips & tricks. Managers overall felt grounded in the reality of what can be said & done when dealing with gray area situations. Overall, it was a pleasure working with Pope Consulting!

Pope Consulting has delivered high quality DEI content to key leaders across all areas of our business. From new managers and senior-level executives to international transfers doing business in the U.S. for the first time, Pope has helped us build a common language around diversity. Our learner’s regularly name Pope’s Inclusive Leadership workshop as one of the most impactful trainings they’ve attended. As a growing retailer, Pope’s various offerings help us meet our people where they are. Whether that be our frontline workers or remote leaders, there has always been something for our needs.

I couldn't be happier with the experience we've had collaborating with Pope consulting. Merlin Pope and everyone on his team are professional, knowledgeable, and add value to every DEI and Leadership focused call they
have facilitated. Our employees get particularly excited when they hear Kendall is participating in/or facilitating a session. We've received
several requests for Pope to come back and speak to promote DEI on our teams and at EBRG sponsored events.

Pat, your session brought awareness of Diversity and Inclusion to these budding executives. The Illusion of Inclusion data was very telling. We appreciated the valuable insights presented on the signals of inclusion and our tendency to confuse status and power with inclusion. On behalf of the U.S. WIN NEXT Oversight Committee, Thank You Again!

As Holman has embarked on our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion journey of listening and learning, implementing changes and supporting our employees - Pope has been an invaluable partner. Their thought leadership and research has allowed us to raise education and awareness throughout all levels of the organization while delivering solutions that meet the needs of our evolving business and employee base. The Pope team is a truly talented team of experts and we are proud to have them as an extension of our HR team as we navigate this path together.

Our goal at ConsumerTrack every year is to provide our team with learning opportunities that will help them facilitate conversations around the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion at our company. Pope Consulting contributed to our goal by providing our team with engaging, relatable, and digestible content that can be applied and be extremely impactful to our business. The interactive exercises, specifically the 7/11 exercise, left a long-lasting effect on our team and how we can better self-reflect to realize our own unconscious biases to make a change and improve our peer-to-peer relationships, collaboration, and work environment.

Being a leader in the environmental engineering industry, Kleinschmidt recognizes the importance of fostering an inclusive work environment and that the diversity of our team enables us to serve our clients and communities better. Navigating the path of inclusivity in today's society comes with many challenges. Pope Consulting has been instrumental in guiding our firm toward improving us as individuals, as a team, and as a company.

We are a professional services firm and began our partnership with Pope Consulting at the beginning of our DEI journey. The Pope Team, and their decades of experience in the DEI space, have been an instrumental resource to our organization and leadership team. Pope conducted an in-depth Current State Assessment of our organization which led to key recommendations for us to consider. Our Firm members were fortunate to experience Pope’s engaging and interactive Inclusive Leadership and Managerial trainings to establish a foundational understanding of DEI concepts and the existence and impact of unconscious bias. The Pope Team has consistently impressed us with quality conversations seeking to understand our DEI goals and providing us the necessary tools and resources to effectively accomplish those goals today and beyond. Leadership has received consistent positive feedback from team members about the impact our journey has on their sense of belonging at the firm. We look forward to our continued partnership and would recommend Pope to any organization that is seeking to build or enhance their DEI strategy.

Since 2020, Pope Consulting has been an invaluable partner to JWI as we embarked on our journey to weave diversity and inclusion into the fabric of our company and culture. The impact of Pope Consulting’s expertise, programs, and experienced consultants has been tremendous. Before we started working with them, we didn’t know how to become intentional about diversity and inclusion but we had the passion and commitment to figure it out if someone could guide us. Now, diversity and inclusion are integral parts of our corporate strategic plan and annual budget. I am proud that JWI is doing our small part to encourage diversity, inclusion, and equity in our industry, but our progress would not have been possible without Pope Consulting. I appreciate and trust their expertise and have valued their guidance every step of the way throughout this very important journey.