Northeast Iowa Community College hosting “Poverty Informed Practices Workshop” for HR leaders and nonprofit organizations
Thursday, April 24, 2025
The workshop presenter is Chad Dull, Ed.D., the CEO of the LaCrosse Area Community Foundation. Dull has worked at the intersection of education, poverty and equity for more than two decades.
DUBUQUE, Iowa—A new workshop created by Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) will address a common disconnect between agencies and the individuals they serve who are experiencing poverty.
The new “Poverty Informed Practices Workshop” will share innovative and impactful approaches that provide human resources professionals and non-profit organization leaders with practical strategies to enhance their team’s effectiveness. Attendees will learn from real-world experiences and research-backed approaches.
The human resources (HR) session will be held on Wednesday, April 30, from 9–11:30 a.m. at the NICC Town Clock Business Center. The session will explore how a poverty-informed approach can strengthen hiring, retention and workplace culture, equipping HR professionals with actionable strategies to drive meaningful change (CEUs available).
The non-profit session, held later the same day from 1–2:30 p.m., will challenge attendees to rethink traditional approaches, embrace the insights of those they serve and implement practical strategies to create a more empowering, poverty-informed organization.
“Poverty-informed practices challenge both individuals and organizations to shift from simply welcoming people to truly empowering them. It’s about valuing lived experience, removing barriers and co-creating opportunity. When we lead with empathy and urgency, we don’t just prepare people for the workforce—we prepare the workforce and our systems to truly see and serve people,” said Erin Powers Daley, Ph.D., executive director of workforce and programming initiatives at NICC.
The workshop presenter is Chad Dull, Ed.D., the CEO of the LaCrosse Area Community Foundation. Dull has worked at the intersection of education, poverty and equity for more than two decades. He started his career as a K-12 classroom teacher and then worked in technical and community colleges for 20 years in roles ranging from faculty to provost. As CEO of the La Crosse Area Community Foundation, his team works to support nonprofits across the region. These experiences, combined with his own research and lived experience, created a passion and urgency for better-serving individuals in the crisis of poverty. Dull recently published a book, Poverty Informed Practice in Education. He hopes he leaves audiences with a sense of productive discomfort, so they move from awareness to action.
The HR workshop session (Course: #101788) costs $39. Thanks to funding provided by the City of Dubuque, nonprofits may attend their session (Course: #101791) at no cost. To learn more and register, visit nicc.edu/solutions.