Make Your Meetings More Active

  • Include items on your meeting agenda that require participants to get out of their seats (breakout groups, stand and write ideas on an easel).
  • Choose movement friendly meeting locations (walkable neighborhoods, on-site gym, nearby park).
  • Hire a professional instructor (pilates, yoga, tai chi, stretching, Zumba) to lead a class before or during the meeting.
  • Point out the stairs and encourage attendees to use them. Consider including the location of stairs in meeting directions or putting arrows to the stairs in front of elevators.
  • Organize a group walk early in the morning, during a break or before/after dinner.
  • Consider incorporating standing ovations after each speaker to encourage participants to stand and stretch.

Standing Breaks

  • At least once an hour, participants should be encouraged to stand up to improve blood circulation, boost metabolism, and relieve physical discomfort from sitting for prolonged periods of time.
  • Announce that it is fine to stand up and move around, as needed. If possible, provide raised tables for those electing to stand during the meeting.

Stretch Breaks

  • Stretch breaks help participants wake up their bodies and minds.
  • Encourage people to stand up and stretch in place.
  • Try playing a Healthy UC Davis WakeBreak video! These instructor-led stretch videos range from 4 to 15 minutes. 

Breathing Exercise

  • Focused breathing is an energizing activity that can help relax and clear your mind. Simply inhale for four seconds, hold it for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds.

Suggested Activity Agendas

LENGTH OF MEETINGSTANDING BREAKSTRETCH BREAKSBREATHING BREAKSMOVEMENT BREAKSWALKING BREAKS
50 - 60 minx x  
2 - 4 hoursxxxx 
All Dayxxxxx
gayle

Learning & Organizational Development’s Gayle Guest-Brown Honored for DEI Leadership.

  • by Debbie Ramos

Gayle Guest-Brown honored as a Champion for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Gayle smiling at camera.
Gayle Guest-Brown, MBA, PCC, CPC, Senior Organizational Development Consultant, is being honored as a Champion for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion by the Sacramento Business Journal.

Learning & Organizational Development's Gayle Guest-Brown, MBA, PCC, CPC, is being honored by the Sacramento Business Journal for her leadership in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. 

The award celebrates individuals and organizations “who have shown exceptional commitment to promoting practices that advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace and in the community.”

Gayle has been a leading educator, ally and ambassador for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at UC Davis, since her arrival three years ago.

In addition to coaching leaders across UC Davis and facilitating organizational effectiveness programs, Gayle is a founding co-facilitator of HR's Race Matters Series, an ongoing program designed to help human resources professionals and leaders support and engage with their staff on matters of race. This program has been cited as a contributing factor to UCD’s national recognition as a leader in DEIB efforts.

In 2022, Gayle also led a team of Organizational Excellence colleagues in developing and delivering an acclaimed Inclusive Leadership Series, addressing the Chancellor’s strategic goals, as well as the Organizational Excellence department goal of reaching as many people as possible with our work. This series brought the concepts of leadership and DEIB into a single series that tackled the important integration of these concepts in multiple and effective ways.

In her private coaching and consulting practice, Guest Brown Impact, Gayle has a focus on leadership and equity.  Her work in the community includes over five years as a trained Safe Black Space Facilitator as well as an officer on the board of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.

Join us in celebrating Gayle!

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Organizational Development

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Organizational Development