2020. Four syllables and no context, and there is an almost implicit understanding and collective sigh about the associated challenges of the year. In this year-in-review post, I reflect on 2020, recap the numbers, celebrate the highlights, and countdown the top read posts.
This week is my favorite time of the year. Not because of the glitz and glamour typically associated with the holidays, but because things slow down and are always very quiet in my house. I like the lull in email and the absence of meetings as most people take time off. The annually anticipated liminal period allows me time to reflect on the past year and plan for the next. This year feels a bit different, of course.
Normally, I live the life that most would call a jet setter. If you’ve ever seen the 2009 film Up In the Air, with George Clooney and Anna Kendrick, you’ll have a sense of what my life is typically like. Every week, I’m flying here or there to speak, teach, or consult. COVID-19 put a hard stop to that. March 13 was the end of my last work trip, as the US practically shut down in response to the global pandemic.
Since my primary clients are educational institutions, there were a scary few months where business was shakey (aka canceled). They focused on adapting forms of delivery and meeting unique student needs in response to the crisis and its demands. Thankfully, over the summer, professional learning opportunities picked back up, and I took great care to shift our delivery to optimized online learning experiences. This shift was an invigorating challenge because it allowed me to apply my instructional design, technology, and master facilitator skills in new ways, laying the groundwork for many exciting new developments.
Undoubtedly, 2020 was a difficult and painful setback in many ways. However, I have much to be grateful for and much to celebrate. In the lists to follow, I recap what I’m glad I did in 2020.
In my next post, I’ll share what to expect in 2021 from Engineer Inclusion.
By the numbers:
- Keynote speeches = 4
- Workshops = 47
- In-person = 11
- Virtual = 40
- Organizations served = 23
Highlights
- American Association for the Advancement of Science, Noyce Fellows Online Summit*
- American Society for Engineering Education*
- Arkansas Department of Higher Ed*
- Bossier Parish Community College
- Career and Technical Education Consortium of States
- Clatsop Community College
- College of Southern Idaho
- District of Columbia Public Schools
- Egg Harbor Township
- Elgin County Community College
- Engineer Inclusion
- Florida Association for Career and Technical Education*
- Florida Department of Education*
- Girl Scouts
- Hunterdon County Vocational School District
- Illinois Center for Specialized Professional Support, Illinois State University*
- Montana Association for Career and Technical Education*
- Moraine Park Community College
- Morris County Vocational School District
- National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity
- Northeast Iowa Community College
- San Diego Mesa College
- South Carolina Technical College System
- Science Coach
- University of Illinois*
* These contracts served multiple organizations or people from multiple institutions.
** Many of the organizations listed were served as a sub-contractor for the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity.
Things I’m glad I did in 2020:
- Rebrand my business from Meagan Pollock Consulting to Engineer Inclusion, a division of 7E Ventures LLC.
- Design a fancy new website and store for Engineer Inclusion.
- Start a virtual professional learning community for people who care about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Check out Elevate Inclusion! We have 193 members, so far.
- Achieve certification status as a woman-owned small business.
- Start regular writing/blogging.
- Develop animated illustrations of commonly asked questions.
- Launch QQ and TWC books on Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google, and Kindle.
- Lay groundwork for “Call Bias Busters” podcast
- Expand the EI portfolio of free resources
- Accept the title of Associate Fellow at SMU
- Initiate launch of Clever Dolphin Creative Design (more details coming soon!)
- Developed a network of strategic partners.
- Wrote a book proposal with Katey Shirey and Lisa Bosman, Human-Centered Teaching
- Finished NAPE’s Coaching for Educational Equity curriculum and workbook
- Crafted a powerful reflection tool for NAPE
- Prepared a lesson plan called “Unmasking the Problem with Design Thinking” for CTESC
- Crafted an online learning module “Introduction to Innovation” for Science Coach
- Began my 3rd year as Chair of the American Society for Engineering Education Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Professional Development Committee. We’ve done a lot together!
- Coordinated and led a twelve-week series of virtual workshops for ASEE.
- Created a community-of-practice network and scaffolded program for 120 engineering educators across the globe.
- Continue mentoring students.
- Deliver a virtual keynote address. This year, I did 3!!
- Not travel for work for more than a month. So far, I’m pushing to nearly ten months! That’s a first in over a decade. The result? Fantastically engaging virtual learning experiences. (Though nothing beats in-person.)
- Started Painting!
- Set up a booth at my neighborhood market to sell paintings and underwater photography.
- Playing Big Course with Tara Mohr
- Began working with a triathlon coach
Top Read Posts of 2020
Though I didn’t start regularly blogging until the last few months of the year, some of the posts were heavy hitters. The posts are listed in order, starting with the most read.
- Why do people share their personal pronouns?
- Recommended reading and watch list
- I dare you, show me your action
- Free Nontraditional Careers Posters
- What is the difference between equality and equity?
- What vocabulary do I need to know related to DEI?
- Why say Black Lives Matter?
- What is the difference between diversity and inclusion?
- What is implicit bias?
- What is the best type of feedback?
