Derrin's Top 5 Focus Areas
Derrin will help you put DEIB skills and knowledge into action by focusing on human-centered strategies and programs that meet you where you are.
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DEI Strategy, Systems & Roadmaps
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Peer group or task force facilitation
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Individual & Team Assessments
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Training Facilitation & Instructional Design
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Performance Management & Accountability Systems
Turning the World Outward.
While on a college mission trip to Botswana, Africa, Derrin, experienced the power of giving back to others and wondered how his life would have been different had he been exposed to service and human-centered leadership at a younger age. This led to inform his work in DEIB and leadership development for the past 15 years.
Derrin is an award-winning community leader with a strong background in nonprofit management and research, training, and leadership. He acts as the conduit between the needs of the community, and the individuals, partners, sponsors, and students that engage with Know More. Derrin has engaged and facilitated over 30,000 individuals to value intentional community engagement and appreciate diversity and equity as an integral part of their lives. He has trained all over Indianapolis and in such countries as Ireland, Ethiopia, Mali, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and the UK; and in many cities in the United States.
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A Vision Realized.
Transforming pain into strength.
Download Derrin's Headshots & Bio
Fun Facts About Derrin
Favorite Quote: Each of us is worth more than the worst thing we've ever done.
Cinnamon Bun Oreos...from Canada.
Derrin's favorite snack is Cinnamon Bun Oreos. You can't find them anywhere in the US anymore, so he orders them from Canada.
Jumped off of a building.
Derrin has been to Las Vegas to jump off of the STRAT Hotel & Tower - twice.
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Mismatched socks.
On any given day, you might find Derrin wearing mismatched socks.
Chicken on bones? Yuck.
You will never see Derrin eating chicken off a bone. He is one picky eater.
Highly sought-out trainer, speaker & instructional designer.
Before founding Know More, Mr. Slack worked to train medical professionals as a Medical Informatics Trainer at Community Health Network (Indiana) where he was part of a training and instructional design team that led the healthcare network to be a leader in medical informatics in the state of Indiana. He helped train over 2,500 medical professionals over three years before leaving to pursue his passion of engaging youth in public service full-time.
Slack is the proud father of, son, Tyson and, daughter, London.
Ever since, Slack has become a highly sought-after speaker, training facilitator and consultant to educate on such issues as diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and community engagement strategies for businesses, nonprofits, and schools.
Slack firmly believes that it is important to build relationships and teach leadership through service, because vulnerable people do not care how much you know, they want to know how much you care.
Slack is the proud father of, son, Tyson and, daughter, London.
In his more than a decade worth of experience in the community, Slack has developed, designed, and curated human-centered curriculum and youth programs on a diverse array of topics bringing the vision of Know More and its training partners to life with an intentional focus on helping people engage with vulnerable populations.
Slack has trained all over the world in such countries as Ireland, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Mali, Mexico, and the UK; and in over twenty cities across the US. Derrin also hosts the popular podcast, Stood in the Gap, which focuses on the journey of where leaders were before they achieved their goals. It’s stories often left untold, yet those stories made the difference between giving up and pressing on.
Awards & Recognitions
- 2023 Shawnna's Rule Award Recipient, ProAct Indy
- 2023 Diversity in Leadership Cohort Member, Marian University
2021 Serve Indiana Volunteer Program of the Year award winner - 2020 D. Susan Wisely IYI Youth Worker of the Year Award winner
- 2020 One in a Million Award, Awarded by Multiplying Good
- 2019 honoree of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Top Forty Under 40 award
- Recipient of the 2018 Community Impact Award from the Indiana Civil Rights Commission and the Governor of Indiana
- Recipient of the 2018 Jefferson Award for Public Service
Community Involvement & Certifications
- YMCA of Greater Indianapolis - Diversity, Inclusion, and Global (DIG) Committee (2024)
Diversity in Leadership Program Cohort Member (2023) - Qualified Administrator, Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) (2022-Present), the premier cross-cultural assessment of intercultural competence that is used by thousands of individuals and organizations to build intercultural competence to achieve international and domestic diversity and inclusion goals and outcomes.
- Symposium on the Sea Speaker/Facilitator, The Journey, Dominican Republic (2022)
- Nicosia, Cyprus, International Symposium on Service-Learning, Speaker/Presenter (2022)
- Authorized Provider of Everything DiSC and the Five Behaviors of Leadership (2022-Present)
- Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, Project Management Institute (2021-2024)
- Podcast Host, Stood in the Gap Podcast (2020-Present)
- Thought Leader Partner, TrueU (2021-Present)
- Licensed Facilitator, Developing and Implementing an Outward Mindset/Outward Leadership/Outward Inclusion
Arbinger Institute (2021-Present)
Learning Experiences from Derrin and Know More.
How learners respond to Derrin
Derrin’s presence: Commanding yet gentle. Makes me comfortably uncomfortable. Uses silence in the closing debrief. This program is rich in understanding the higher social equity issues and importance of what they’re doing.
Gretchen Schott
I was somewhat skeptical of these types of workshops, so I was shocked and surprised at the overall staff response. Derrin [and his team] has a knack for making people feel empowered to make a difference.
RICk MIller
This was by far the best [professional development] training we have ever had during my time here. [Derrin] approached what is usually a weighty topic in a light-hearted way that didn't make us feel shame or guilt.
Anonymous survey respondent
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