Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Daily.
Nick, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born in Los Angeles and raised primarily in the Inland Empire. I am a twin, a momma’s boy, and the favorite. One of five siblings and we didn’t grow up with a whole lot of money financially.
I’ve always been someone comfortable in front of a crowd. I did theater in middle school, high school, and some of my college years as well as choir on and off since I was a child. I have also always noticed injustices and wanted to find my way into making a meaningful impact to end or decrease them. This together helped build the foundation for what I would come to do.
At University of Redlands, I started off as a vocal performance major, but I couldn’t figure out the musical theory part of music, so I switched into a B.A. Women’s and Gender Studies and minored in Religious Studies. These academic programs gave me education and experience in understanding the various ways that systems of oppression can act and be enacted upon individuals’ and communities’ lives. Additionally, I participated in various programs teaching me how to facilitate programs for others including Camp Pride, a national LGBTQ+ College student summer leadership program, and TRAIN at University of Redlands, which helped me understand how to scaffold information to ensure the participants were all “on the same page.”
I then went to Oregon State University for an M.Ed. In College Student Services Administration with a specialization in “Oppression Reduction”. Those courses helped solidify my training in higher education administration while also giving me experience building a program from the ground up (Men’s Development and Engagement), chairing a conference, and a broad understanding of the many interlocking systems of oppression that order our lives.
I honed my workshop building skills at The Claremont Colleges where I created over 40 original workshops and training for various groups and departments. Facilitating these workshops led to the creation of LuvServedDaily Consulting – Diversity and Inclusion trainings.
LuvServedDaily™️ is the consistent pursuit of happiness for self and others. It is tattooed on my body, it is engraved in my eyeglasses. LuvServedDaily is the lens through which I look through the world. It is aspirational and it is embodied. LuvServedDaily is also the foundation upon which my trainings, facilitations, and workshops are built.
Has it been a smooth road?
This has been a relatively smooth road. Due to the fact that LuvServedDaily Consulting is not my full-time role, a majority of the experience has been excellent. Additionally, I’m only just past my first full year with the business so I’m still learning the challenges and benefits.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the LuvServedDaily Consulting story. Tell us more about the business.
LuvServedDaily Consulting does Diversity and Inclusion training, workshop, and consultation with the goal of helping organizations get closer to their stated mission and values. Specializing in workshops and trainings in the college and university setting, LuvServedDaily trainings are known for providing impactful content with humor, grace, and rigor.
I’m most proud of making the leap and formalizing my practice. The positive feedback from participants after sessions makes me proud of the work I do and have done for individuals and organizations.
The things that set LuvServedDaily trainings apart is the focus on re-centering the humanity of all involved no matter their perceived level of privilege or oppression. Highlighting the ways that these systems dehumanize all of us (though they target us and impact us differently) can help us build deeper empathy, offer more grace and compassion, and get closer to our stated values and goals.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In 5-10 years, I would hope that we move away from trying to change minds and toward trying to change behaviors.
For the last 30 years in higher education (and beyond), the goal has been to use diversity and inclusion trainings to help people change the way(s) they think. To be more inclusive by thinking about how to do that. All the while, on paper, the increase in diversity, retention, inclusion has stagnated even fallen in some places.
Having 20 diversity trainings in a year is all good and dandy, but when we can’t show in our retention and recruitment numbers that the trainings had any impact, we’ve failed to meet our goal. Dr. Daryl Smith at Claremont Graduate University says that this is the way we must move forward with diversity and inclusion. It is not as if when email became the way that we communicate with each other, organizations and institutions sat around and talked about how email could improve their work. Leaders told the institution the direction they were going, they implemented the software, they trained the staff, and everyone got on board. This is the next step in diversity and inclusion throughout the workforce.
Contact Info:
- Website: LuvServedDaily.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @LuvServedDaily
Image Credit:
Headshots courtesy of Carrie Rosema
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