Meet Dr. Sherard A. Robbins | Founder, Owner, and CEO of Visceral Change

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Sherard A. Robbins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Robbins, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Prior to founding my consultancy, I cut the bulk of my teeth as a professional in the student affairs sector at various institutions of higher education where I worked as both, a diversity practitioner and a Residence Life employee. I would say in reflection that, although the skills and insights I learned from my time in student affairs were valuable, there seemed to be one constant that remained true for each institution in which I found myself – the work around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) was oftentimes noncommittal. Now, there are a host of reasons for why this was (and still is) but as such, I had the mind to start my own DEI firm that would help organizations and institutions get to the heart of the matters in front of them; and in doing so, Visceral Change was born. Now, I seek to help organizations and institutions center their professional frameworks around diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice by leading with our mission, to move equity and inclusion from an individual resource to an organizational value.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Visceral Change is an Organizational Development consultancy based right here in Tucson, Arizona. For the past several years, we’ve worked and partnered with institutions and organizations, large and small, private and nonprofit, on centering their professional frameworks around diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Like most DEI practitioners, our work consists of a plethora of training and development workshops and materials that help advance the awareness and understanding of our participants. However, at the core of Visceral Change are a series of systems-centered researchers who spend countless hours analyzing data, researching information, and measuring success through our unique Sociosystemic Organizational Development and SCOLA Analysis processes. The reach of our work extends to three continents and has been in front of representatives from over 30 different countries around the world. We pride ourselves on not only delivering the strongest and most current models and literature around DEI to date, but we make a point to always do so with integrity.

The journey to present day Visceral Change has not been without its bumps, though. Like many startups, early on I was very much a one-man band, pleading to anyone who would hear me for a chance to show them that I could help in this world of social injustice and inequity. I am proud to say that through hard work and persistence, we were able to find relative success by putting on training and development workshops for local and state-wide organizations who found value in the content. However, it really wasn’t until several years later, after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbrey, that we began to see a greater demand for system-wide change within organizaitons. I think the world had a unique opportunity to hit “reset” when covid happened and at the top of that list for many organizations was trying to grapple with what equity and inclusion looked like in an ever diversifying world. As such, from the Girls Scouts to NASA, the ask for Visceral Change to open up an organizational development wing was a clear demand from organizations and institutions alike who wanted to begin rethinking how to systematize the work of diversity, equity, & inclusion. Since then, we’ve been truly grateful to have worked and shared space with some of the most important and influential people in the world and remain humbled by each experience that comes our way. At the end of the day, I want the world to know that the work of DEI should not be seen as divisive, but celebratory. After all, what is DEI other than a recognition of what it means to be human?

Finally, one thing that sets me apart from many practitioners in the field (but aligns me so many with others) is that my work extends beyond just my experience as a Black man (which is undoubtedly the best teacher of all). Along with my work as the principal trainer for Visceral Change, I am also a professor of Organizational Theory and a legal scholar of the U.S. Constitution. With this, I always try to find new and creative ways to create unique content that is digestible and palpable for the audience in front of me. Additionally, my work being grounded in research and theory allows me to contribute to the already existing concepts surrounding diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in ways that allows Visceral Change to be a transformative leader in the field as a whole.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
That’s an interesting question, especially for me. I lead with that because I am likely the biggest introvert you’ve never met. I tell people all the time that on a scale of 1-10, I’m a 20! However, that is not to say that I am a bore, nor to suggest that I am out of tune with my own interests. In that, I would say that I am a major fan of Guadalajara Grill and North Italia, so anyone visiting me is sure to take a trip there at some point for food and drinks. I am also a big griller myself, as I own three of them – a gas grill, a charcoal grill, and a griddle. I also hold memberships to many of the museums in the area (Children’s, Desert, Mini…) as well as the Reid Park Zoo, so there is certainly enough family-style events to last us at least the week. Lastly, this section wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t say that karaoke would also be a must. It is something I do probably twice a week and as often as possible if I am outside of the city… I think it’s become my guilty pleasure in some ways. However, I am a classically trained singer so, although I like being around my karaoke family, I’m generally practicing my singing while I’m there rather than just going for broke. Which can be awkward for the audience because, let’s face it, who actually does Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli for karaoke?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am a very strong believer in mentorship; so much so that I offer several workshops on the topic. In that, I have far too many co-authors in my book of life to name in an itemized way. Short of my wife, Dr. Stephanie Troutman Robbins, and my son, Slayden Robbins – the two people who have most changed my life and its trajectory – I have to thank my family and friends broadly for all that they have done for me each step of the way; I’d like to imagine that they know who they are. Historical homage is a bit easier, though. In that, I would like to recognize the works of James Baldwin, bell hooks, and Malcolm X, as these three legends – among so many others – own the voices that are almost solely responsible for helping me to turn an intellectual corner in ways that would not have been possible without their contributions to not only scholarship and intelligentsia, but Black masculinity, Black manhood, and most importantly, that beautiful thing that is Blackness.

Website: www.visceralchange.org

Instagram: @VisceralChange; @TheConsultantProfessor

Twitter: @VisceralChange

Youtube: Visceral Change

Other: Podcast – The Chopping Block (Available on Youtube, Vimeo, and every streaming service imaginable!) Books – A Diamond is a Diamond: The Core Five Components to Social Justice; Dr. Robbins Presents: The How-To Series. (Available on Amazon) Games – Core Five: The Game! (Card Game)

Image Credits
Malyalis for Black Lives TedxUofA Advancing Astrophysics Symposium