Description

When negotiations get rocky with any of your labor partners, it’s human nature to want to take a step back to avoid becoming a target. However, it’s in these trying times that your staff and families need you the most. They’re seeking information, they’re seeking humanity, and they’re seeking calm. By humanizing your district in calm times, you’ve built the foundations needed to bring that human element to difficult negotiations. Join this session to get the inside scoop on Fresno Unified’s communications strategy throughout 18 months of tough negotiations with the Fresno Teachers Association that ultimately averted a strike and ended in an agreement. 

Presenter: 

Nikki Henry is the Chief Communications Officer for Fresno Unified School District serving over 70,000 students and more than 10,000 employees. Nikki has led Fresno Unified’s strategic planning process, worked as a critical part of the bargaining team averting a teacher strike, and has worked diligently to build a proactive and strategic communications culture over one controlled by reactivity and crisis. Nikki’s goals are to humanize the district, or as she calls it “The Fresno Unified Family”, and to build students’, families, and the community’s confidence and pride in Fresno Unified and the Fresno community. Nikki is a mom to her beautiful toddler girl, Betty Mae, wife to her firefighter husband, and a strong advocate for building authentic, supportive, and diverse leaders.