CPaCE News

As the Fall 2023 semester kicks off, the Human Resources (HR) Management program at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is welcoming a new program coordinator and instructor, Stacey Lewis, along with an expanded curriculum delivered through online classes. A seasoned HR professional with over 30 years of experience across both the public and private sectors, Lewis is renewing the program’s focus on a subject that is growing in importance but often referred to in different ways. For Stacey, the concept is easy to sum up as diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging (DEIAB).

“DEIAB has been around since the beginning of time,” Stacey explained. “It was called different things, but it's always been there. There is a lot of conversation about it, both in the supportive and non-supportive sense. Either way, it doesn't mean that the work goes away. I really don't care what they call it. You’ve still got to do the work!”

Breaking down the acronym, Stacey noted that diversity alone does not improve a workforce. Diverse employees must also be supported with clear equity and inclusion strategies so that they can thrive, and only when they have access to those strategies will they feel a sense of belonging. She notes that collaboration is key to ensuring that DEIAB policies are put into actual practice by dedicated HR professionals.

Students in the redesigned HR Management program will explore the history of DEIAB along with a variety of other relevant topics including conscious and unconscious bias, culturally sensitive performance appraisals, how to create a psychologically safe workplace, and much more. In addition to these specific elements of HR, the program also teaches the engagement skills that HR practitioners need: the abilities to analyze and strategize, be held accountable for their work, and remain open to further coaching.

In her previous role as the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Port of Long Beach, Stacey sent multiple staff members to attend CSULB’s HR Management program. She also served on the university’s HR Advisory Board, and her lengthy career includes plenty of experience as a teacher of HR-related topics including employee recruitment, the interview process, dealing with workplace stress, preparing for promotions, and much more. Upon her retirement from the port in February 2022, she founded her own company, HR Interrupted.

“I grew up in a place where HR was called personnel and you just did what you were told,” she said of her early career days. “You didn't think, you recruited. Being in that space and not having somebody around to help me navigate that, I made a lot of professional mistakes. I can't go back, but what I can do is make sure another Stacy Lewis does not make those same mistakes.”

“I created an organization where we reimagine the employee experience, support HR practitioners, and create a brave and safe space for people to talk, learn, and share,” she continued. “My company is called HR Interrupted for a reason, because I'm interrupting all of it!”

One of the most significant ways that Stacey has disrupted the narrative about HR is her work on managing microaggressions, which are also formally referred to as subtle acts of exclusion. Through her experiences over the years, Stacey has broadened the perspective of this emotionally charged workplace phenomenon by not just addressing the recipients, but also the bystanders and those who caused the microaggressions in the first place.

“I talk about what behavior comes out and how to manage each one of those three,” she said. "I created that training and I just feel very proud about that.”

“We talk a lot about intersectionality,” she continued, “because if you have a person of color, or a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or a person of a certain age, or a person with a disability—those are external things. But how do they impact people’s performance in the workplace? [In the HR Management program], we're going to talk about how organizations can support employees.”

Stacey joins a roster of instructors who have been committed to the program at CSULB for many years. Most have full-time jobs in the HR world, working across all kinds of industries for clients including Microsoft, United Airlines, the U.S. Census, the Los Angeles School District, and Southern California Edison, to name just a few. They are dedicated to bringing their professional experiences into the classroom to cover essential topics like mediation and arbitration, business strategy, and staff leadership development. Together, all the instructors ensure that the program stays relevant along with the rapid changes that are impacting workers directly—from artificial intelligence and telecommuting to the future evolution of DEIAB.

“I’m not taking a political position,” Stacey cautions, “but we know that there is some movement to erase equity and inclusion strategies from organizations. Now, more than ever, the timing is perfect for HR practitioners to know that, irrespective of societal structures, the work must take place—even if it is not viewed as being necessary—because there is a workforce that is relying on HR practitioners to ensure that the workplace is equitable.”

“I love this work,” said Stacey. “Everybody who comes through the HR program at CSULB, I want them to know that they matter. Employees are relying on HR to have their back in rooms that they are not in, to say their names, and promote their interests in those rooms.”

“We're no longer talking about, ‘we want a seat at the table.’ HR owns the table. What are we doing with that ownership?” she continued. “As an HR practitioner, we have to understand that by our influence and our decisions, we could literally change the trajectory of a person's life. That cannot ever be taken lightly.”

Click here to learn more about the HR Management program at CSULB.