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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

Elise Smith

Using virtual reality to make workplace equity and inclusion a reality.

Speaker Profile
Learn more about $Elise Smith

Demo Day 2022 Highlights

    • 28 min

      Mark Bradford in Conversation with Laurene Powell Jobs

      Mark Bradford

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    • 8 min

      Cultivating the Black Imagination Through Innovative and Interactive Experiences

      Dario Calmese

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    • 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

      Julia Collins

      environment

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    • 6 min

      Uncovering Truths About Family-Separation Policy

      Caitlin Dickerson

      media-journalism

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    • 6 min

      Preserving Democracy through Legal Action and Advocacy

      Marc Elias

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    • 6 min

      Transforming Textile Waste into Raw Material Streams

      Stacy Flynn

      environment

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    • 6 min

      Creating Pathways in the Clean Energy Economy

      Dr. Holmes Hummel

      environment

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    • 6 min

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

      Solomé Lemma

      environment

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    • 4 min

      Transforming the Way People Receive Healthcare

      Kyle Michelson

      health

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    • 4 min

      Building a Global Movement for Health Equity

      Sriram Shamasunder

      health

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    • 7 min

      Building Empathy and Equity within the Workforce with VR

      Elise Smith

      fellowships

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    • 5 min

      Demo Day 2022: "Drum As You Are"

      Mona Tavakoli

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    • 7 min

      Reducing Barriers to the STEM fields for Marginalized Youth

      Nikki Wallace

      education

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    • 8 min

      Demo Day 2022: "What We Carry What We Keep”

      ODC

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    • 1 min

      Demo Day 2022: It Takes All of Us

      about-us

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