Location: Virtual (a Zoom link will be sent to you a few days before the event)
Date: Thursday, May 14th and Friday, May 15th 2026
Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm EST
Event Description
This two-session program empowers career practitioners to understand how cultural nuances shape their clients' career journeys (as well as their own). For counseling professionals working with international clients and students, that self-awareness is the foundation for addressing bias, bridging cultural gaps, and building the kind of multicultural thinking that leads to genuine inclusion and a deeper sense of belonging.
When international clients are unable to secure employment in the U.S. and must return home, many view it as failure because of how rejection is understood in some cultures. Practitioners feel it too, as they are often tempted to carry more responsibility than theirs to hold. With the intent to show empathy, sometimes communication that is culturally nuanced can be misunderstood by both parties. This program offers practical language, tools, and frameworks to help you move from monocultural to multicultural in your thinking; to stay responsible to your clients without feeling responsible for their outcomes; and to create conditions where clients from vastly different backgrounds can feel empowered to make their best decisions.
Participants will leave not just more culturally aware, but more equipped to thrive in cross-cultural work — and to play an active role in dismantling the culturalism and racism that can quietly shape our practice.
Session 1 — Understanding Cultural Nuances (with handouts) A deep dive into how cultural identity shapes personal and professional narratives including the shadow side of our own cultural lens — and how our biases arrive at the table before we do.
Session 2 — Addressing Bias, Building Bridges Practical tools for cross-cultural work: promoting inclusion, navigating conflict, and developing language that bridges gaps rather than widens them.
More about our presenter: Kinita Schripsema
Kinita was born in India and has lived cross-culturally for 55+ years between India, Canada and the USA. As the Founder / CEO of Seema Global Consulting, a USA-based global company, she is also a GALLUP Global Certified Strengths Coach, Published Author and International Speaker with extensive experience as a DEIB Practitioner (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging).
She is also a member of the Career Counseling Consortium and actively involved in the CCC’s Mentorship program as a Mentor.
