Unconscious Bias Awareness: Tips to Foster More Inclusive Relationships

Unconscious Bias Awareness: Tips to Foster More Inclusive Relationships

Thursday, August 28, 2025

9:00am-11:00am

UAlbany ETEC Building

Live only, no virtual option available

Continuing Education Credits Available: Western New York Rural Area Health Education Center, Inc. (WNY R-AHEC) is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Boards for Social Work (#SW-0685), Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Mental Health Practitioners (#MHC-0268), and Speech Language Pathology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers, physical therapists and assistants, occupational therapists, and assistants, licensed mental health counselors, and speech language pathologists.

Are you aware of what unconscious or implicit bias is and how it impacts your interactions with colleagues, as well as the clients you serve? This session will discuss the topic of unconscious bias, what it is, and how it impacts our day-to-day relationships, both personal and professional. As professionals aspiring to operate with a mindset of inclusion, if not mitigated well, our unconscious biases can lead to discrimination, whether intended or not, as well as un-inclusive behaviors and actions. This can be a challenge and hindrance to cultivating an inclusive climate to support client success. Learn more about these concepts, how to identify and avoid negative behaviors and proactive steps we can all take to lead with greater empathy and understanding.

This session will introduce and unpack concepts relative to implicit/unconscious bias.

The workshop includes:

· A discussion of what unconscious bias is and how it shows up in our work

· How our implicit biases impact our daily interactions

· Tips to identify and avoid negative behaviors

· Proactive steps we can take to help mitigate our unconscious biases, to allow us to lead with greater empathy and understanding.

Presenter Bio:

Jason Benitez

As Vice President of Inclusion, Jason Benitez is responsible for providing catalytic leadership to position the Capital Region of NY as a location of choice for people and private sector investment. To do this, Benitez works to ensure that the region is a place where everyone feels that they belong, are accepted, supported and valued, in the workplace and community. As champions and advocates for regional belonging, Benitez and the Chamber offer leadership, strategic action, resources, educational programming and community collaboration, driving a commitment to cultivate prosperity for all.

Jason previously worked for 15+ years in Higher Education, at 3 institutions; the University at Albany, SUNY Schenectady and Union College, where he served as Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion. While at Union, Jason’s efforts assisted the College in being recognized with the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award (HEED), given by Insight Into Diversity, for 6 consecutive years. In 2022, the Business Council of New York State awarded the Capital Region Chamber with the statewide Chamber of the year award, specifically citing the Chamber’s Inclusion efforts as one of the notable accomplishments.

Jason has previously served on the national Board of Directors for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, as Chair of their DEI Sub-Division, as well as for the Board of Trustees for the Northeastern, NY chapter of the Make a Wish foundation. He currently serves as a Board Trustee for WMHT, the Capital Region’s local PBS station. Benitez holds a Bachelors, Masters, and Certificate of Advanced Study, all from the University at Albany. He lives in Slingerlands, NY with his wife and 2 children.

Host or Publisher Healthy Capital District