Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce Inc issued the following announcement on Aug. 11
The Quad Cities Chamber congratulates Ryan Saddler on winning its 2021 Volunteer of the Year Award. Saddler, St. Ambrose University’s first Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), was recognized for his time, commitment and dedication to his role as the facilitator of the Chamber’s DEI Peer Roundtable. Saddler received the award at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 11, at Rhythm City Casino Resort.
Saddler, who is “honored and humbled” to receive the award, is most proud of the fact that DEI has become part of the Quad Cities’ conversation. “I’m just pleased to be able to do the work, to work for a university that believes in me and believes that this is important work. And I get to have these conversations in this community that also believes this is important work.”
Although COVID-19 pushed the roundtables to an online platform, Saddler guided his DEI peer group through monthly discussions centered around the topic of diversity, particularly in the workplace. Over the year, the group shared many meaningful, thought-provoking and sometimes, difficult discussions. Saddler said the group met in person recently and outlined changes in their organizations that resulted from the conversations, ideas and best practices the group had discussed. “It’s been pretty dynamic and rewarding to see the group’s growth and the changes based on information shared by someone else that gave us that ‘ah-ha’ moment,” he said.
Chamber President and CEO Paul Rumler applauded the time, energy and thought that Saddler put in as DEI Peer Roundtable facilitator. "He made sure every participant had the opportunity to tell where their organization is on the DEI journey. He engaged the leaders in discussing how DEI is showing up in their workplaces in a way that every participant felt comfortable although they may not all have been at the same place."
A Waterloo, Iowa native, Saddler is in his 26th year at St. Ambrose, where he graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and psychology and was on the Fighting Bees football team. He later completed a Master of Education degree with a Postsecondary Disability Services emphasis in 2006 from St. Ambrose. He has worked in multiple roles at the university including, most recently, serving in dual capacities as Director of Diversity and Director of the Accessibility Resource Center. He has presented locally and nationally on various topics such as career outcome expectancies and exploration intentions of students with disabilities, disability law for higher education institutions, how our Worldview effects how we see the World, and multiple DEI topics.
Saddler’s professional and community involvement includes: president for ILLOWA AHEAD (Association on Higher Education and Disability); founding member and vice-president of the Quad City Minority Partnership, Inc.; a reader for the Scott County Regional Authority Grant; founding member of the Mottet Leadership Institute core leadership team; a Tri-Chair of the United Way of the Quad Cities - African American Leadership Society; and facilitator for Twin-Cities-based Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative (FREC).
“Creating a space where people felt open to dialogue was a challenge, but also an opportunity was how I looked at it,” he said. “We’re all on this journey together regardless of how far down the road you may be.”
Original source can be found here.
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