Bios
Short bio
Dave Patterson is an expert on Fairness. His anti-racist message, perfect for our decade, has grown to cover all equity issues in our workplaces and in our attitudes. Workers of all stripes today relate to Dave as they try to navigate their way through the landmines of racism. When Dave can make equity messages stick around until Monday morning, he has succeeded.
Long bio
Dave Patterson grew up in many parts of Southern Ontario Canada as a standard-issue middle class white kid, but has resided in Toronto for the last 35 years. In being shaped, something happened along the way for Dave. His journey was leading him to question the justness of our Western civilisation and its dominant culture.
He is a fairness expert and author of the book ‘What’s Wrong with My White People?’. Dave's passion for his subject dates back almost 20 years while listening to Ray Fadden's message on his car radio. Dave was transformed and was never the same. He eventually created The Fairness Factor after becoming convinced: if an immediate transformation could happen to him, it could happen to others.
Today he leads the Fairness Factor Experience. Dave created the training when he realized: maybe I could be doing something myself about the inequities around us. We all sense that what we’re taught hasn’t changed much in 50 years. Kids still grow up mostly thinking the same things, such as “I’m not the one responsible for unfairness in the world. It’s somebody else causing racism against Indigenous and Black or colour-marginalized citizens.”
Now there is The Fairness Factor with Dave Patterson -- Creating a Culture of Diversity & Inclusion. Most companies don’t know where to start and The Fairness Factor system is built with that in mind. Patterson includes all three colonially-entangled peoples in the racism discussion. Dave is a dominant culture white person himself and people struggling with racist attitudes will listen. Companies want Dave’s strong personality because leaders must have complete buy-in or little will change.
Recently, when a teacher told Dave that his material had changed her view of everything, he knew it was true. Why? One of her colleagues asked Dave for the material, explaining how the other teacher spoke about it at a full staff meeting, showing tears as she relayed her new attitude and how it compared to her childhood experiences.
He works with these companies to send his quick clear message, to get them moving on their EDI journey. North America’s current racist issues are rooted in the colonialism that Indigenous, Blacks & Whites are still living in . Your people will be given a glimpse through a new lens that can inspire them to fairness and equity.
When Dave can make equity messages stick around until Monday morning, he has succeeded. It’s whatever works. Whatever makes a difference.
Sample Introduction
Dave Patterson created the Fairness Factor when he realized: maybe I could be doing something myself about the inequities all around us. We all realize that what we’re taught hasn’t changed much in 50 years. Kids still grow up mostly thinking the same things, such as “I’m not the one responsible for unfairness in the world. It’s somebody else causing racism against Indigenous and Black or colour-marginalized citizens.”
Dave grew up in many parts of Southern Ontario as a standard-issue middle class white kid. But in being shaped, something happened along the way. His journey was leading him right here. That journey included discrimination charts he created in his youth. It included passing through Detroit during the 1967 riots. It included having Rastafarian dread locks in 1973. It included diving into feminist issues in preparation for the birth of his Gen X child in 1981. It included discussions in 1987 with his Dad about Canada’s Native peoples. It included having a staff in 1994 that spoke 16 different languages. It included hearing Ray Fadden’s message on his car radio in 1999 and never again being the same. It included the two-week-at-a-time single-parenting of Gen Z children born 2005 and 2008. It included the input of the Fadden family in 2015, Ray’s Iroquois son and grandsons who were so devoted to the true narratives of our Western Hemisphere legacy. It included the writing of his book ‘What’s Wrong With My White People? in 2017.
Today Dave Patterson will present Wading Into the Deep End of Diversity and Inclusion. If you’ve ever wondered why improving racism is so complicated, let’s welcome Dave as he works to simplify it.
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