JEDI Action Committee Hosts Staff Mixer

Stanford Surgery’s JEDI Action Committee sponsored a lunch-time mixer for department administrative staff on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. We sat down with Committee Head Ani Gevorkian to find out more about the event and how it was planned.

Rachel Baker: Why did you decide to host a mixer for the staff?

Ani Gevorkian: Our department has grown a lot over the past few months so we wanted to give everyone an opportunity to meet the new staff members as well as interact and network with people outside their division.

RB: People tend to stick to their silos even when given the opportunity to branch out. How did you configure the event’s agenda to compensate?

AG: Yes! One problem we wanted to avoid was having people stick with the group they already knew so everyone was assigned a group randomly via a number on their name tag. We had 10 large tables set up with a different ice breaker style questions on each table. We gave participants 2-3 minutes at each table to answer the question and then they rotated through the tables, creating new conversations and meeting people from all the divisions. Our JEDI Action Committee worked together to come up with the questions.

RB: I heard about lunch! This was one of the food vendors you found during the Culturally-Inclusive Food Fairs?

AG: Yes! We got BBQ with cornbread and mac and cheese from Yes – Lilli Mae’s House of Soul Food in Oakland & Crunch Cakes! We think it is important to highlight local, minority-owned businesses with our events. We want home-grown, authentic cuisines from all over the world. It gives the businesses a chance to promote themselves on a larger scale while also allowing our staff, faculty and trainees an opportunity to learn about different cultures through food made by local, authentic businesses.

RB: Sounds delicious! Do you think the event accomplished what you set out to do and how do you know?

AG: Yes, from my own perspective. I had a chance to talk to some of the attendees who said they were excited to meet new peers and people who could serve as a resource. However, we are going to send out a more formal survey.

RB: What advice would you give someone thinking about creating a similar event? 

AG: 1) Start early. I’m an outliner. I make a lot of outlines and spreadsheets.

2) Delegate. Our JEDI committee worked together to plan the event and handle everything the day-of.

3) Double and triple check everything but realize that something will go haywire the day of the event. You have to be flexible for change. For us it was not anticipating the trickle-in of guests so we swapped lunch with the game and it all worked out.

If you have questions about how to plan your own DEI event like this one, email Ani Gevorkian at agevork@stanford.edu

Special thanks to the entire JEDI Action Committee: Cynthia Moreau, Sam Gebregziabher, Tamara Winston, Michael Frazier, Ivette Arenas, Julia Miranda, Robin Foote, Mariya Ratkutko, April Leyson, Christine Reyes, Santos, Jasmin Freitas, Stephanie Edelman, and Maria Eugenia Smith.

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