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Building Empathy and Equity within the Workforce with VR

December 09, 2022

Elise Smith is the co-founder and, where she integrates cutting-edge virtual reality experiences into the world of DEI and HR, leveraging innovative tools to build empathy and equity within the workforce. By engaging in these immersive training experiences, users can step into a variety of identities and situations, enabling them to widen their perspectives, identify bias and inequity, and change workplace behaviors. The ripple effects of these mindset and behavioral shifts go well beyond the office walls.

It was Smith’s focus on scale that naturally led her into the technology space, first working with IBM Watson, where she built Watson for Education products and led B2B Sales and Education partnerships for the Watson group. She then joined the New Schools Venture Fund, a venture-philanthropy investing in innovation in learning, where she supported the Diverse Leaders portfolio in finding, funding, and coaching DEI entrepreneurs. Smith studied geography and social inequity at Dartmouth College and has an MBA and M.A. in education from Stanford University.

From Emerson Collective’s Demo Day 2022

Demo Day 2022 Highlights

    • 28 min
      Mark Bradford in Conversation with Laurene Powell Jobs
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    • 8 min
      Cultivating the Black Imagination Through Innovative and Interactive Experiences
      Watch
    • 8 min
      Removing Obstacles to Fulfill Educational Potential
      Shirley M. Collado, Ph.D.

      education

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    • 6 min
      Empowering Sustainable Brands and Decarbonizing Global Supply Chains

      environment

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    • 6 min
      Uncovering Truths About Family-Separation Policy | Caitlin Dickerson

      demo-day

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    • 6 min
      Preserving Democracy through Legal Action and Advocacy
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    • 6 min
      Transforming Textile Waste into Raw Material Streams | Stacy Flynn

      demo-day

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    • 6 min
      Creating Pathways in the Clean Energy Economy | Holmes Hummel
      Dr. Holmes Hummel

      demo-day

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    • 6 min
      Advancing Food Sovereignty, Climate Justice, and Economic Empowerment in the Global South

      environment

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    • 4 min
      Transforming the Way People Receive Healthcare

      health

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    • 4 min
      Building a Global Movement for Health Equity

      health

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    • 7 min
      Building Empathy and Equity within the Workforce with VR

      fellowships

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    • 5 min
      Demo Day 2022: "Drum As You Are"
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    • 7 min
      Reducing Barriers to the STEM fields for Marginalized Youth

      education

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    • 8 min
      Demo Day 2022: "What We Carry What We Keep”
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    • 1 min
      Demo Day 2022: It Takes All of Us

      about-us

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