Meet Chiany Dri | Founder, The Inclusion School

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chiany Dri and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chiany, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
After working in the nonprofit sector for over ten years, and in diversity and inclusion work for many of those years, at the end of 2023 I told myself I needed to make a change. I wanted more time at home with my kids, more flexibility, and as a single parent I knew those were priorities for me.

I had gained so many professional skills and moved so far up in my career that I knew I could transfer those skills and share them in a way that would incorporate my own core values of trauma-informed practice and mind-body connection for inclusion and belonging.

So, I got to work on January first and dove right in. As scary as it sounds and has been, it’s also been the most excited I’ve felt about my future and the future of my family.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business, The Inclusion School, offers DEI Certificate Courses and an online community. We also offer consulting packages to companies who want to engage a sense of belonging across their organization. But most importantly, what sets our work apart from our peers is that we’re committed to an embodied DEI practice and trauma-informed approach. We believe that the body is a tool for expanding emotional capacity just as the mind expands intellectual capacity, and by honoring the interconnectedness of the mind and body, we can fully support the learning and developing of DEI professional and human-centered skills.

This is a vision that has been a long time in the making. It’s almost as if different experiences in my life needed to come together in order for this to become what it will be. In other words, I wasn’t ready for this moment, I was prepared for it.

As a young woman of color who was a former foster youth, a trauma and domestic violence survivor, I have learned a lot about how trauma impacts our minds and our bodies long term. As I began my studies in Black studies and comparative ethnic studies, and as I proceeded to enter the professional world of diversity, equity, and inclusion work, the connections between trauma and oppression became clear and I wanted to find a way to make those connections for others as well. To make a connection between healing from trauma and feeling we belong.

My work with The Inclusion School focuses on these pieces because in order to better understand this work, cultural differences, histories, and inclusion work, we have to understand our response to this work and why. Our fears about this work and why. We have to understand why our chests get tight when we are scared of saying the wrong thing or why our brains automatically default on defensiveness and how to disrupt that stress response. Having this kind of self awareness is difficult but can help make inclusion and belonging work sustainable.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend is in town, we are waking up and grabbing coffee and pastries at Yeems coffee in K-town or breakfast at Larchmont Bungalow Cafe.

After, we may do a trail ride at Griffith park or ride the swans at echo park just for fun.

For lunch we’re grabbing dumplings at Dumpling House on 3rd street & south New Hampshire. Later, dinner at Quarters or perhaps we’ll make the trip to hermosa beach to eat at Barsha.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Over my 30 years on earth, I’ve been inspired by and mentored by and supported by so many. Some of those people have been the incredible professional role models I’ve had, including people like Dr. Nicole Haggard, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Women at Mt. Saint Mary’s University, Ashley Hayslett, who is an absolute CX expert, and Toi Chisom, Chief Administrative Officer at LA Family Housing. These women (and many others) have inspired me to be assertive, authentic, and to follow my heart.

Website: theinclusionschool.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialinclusionschool?igsh=MmVlMjlkMTBhMg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-inclusion-school/

Image Credits
Joy Newell, Photographer Jon Dixon, Photographer