Career Development, Intercultural Issues

Bettina Byrd-Giles is a consultant, trainer and teacher. Her experience includes intercultural communication training, university administration, leadership program development and writing.

The owner of the Byrd’s Nest, LLC. Ms. Byrd-Giles’ work as an interculturalist has been recognized on local and international levels. She was selected to Co-chair the Martin Luther King Conflict Resolution Conference Malawi (Southern Africa) sponsored by the Fulbright Foundation, The University of Malawi, Miles College and Diversity University. In 2000, she was honored by the Greater Birmingham United Nations Association for the founding of Diversity University, a cross-cultural program uniting cultures from six colleges and universities, since 1995.

Ms. Byrd-Giles has been involved in the development of students and professionals for the last 19 years. She worked as an administrator and part-time instructor at two major universities- the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. During her career in student affairs, she was involved on a regional level with the National Association of Campus Activities.

Her community work has been extensive. She worked with women rotating off welfare seeking employment. She has facilitated listening sessions in the Alabama Blackbelt, Southwest Georgia, and the Mississippi Delta to encourage women to think about changing the future of their children’s lives through self-determination for the Southern Rural Black Woman’s Initiative, a program launched by the Children’s Defense Fund. She also participated in an exchange between SRBWI and women’s organizations in India. She also served as a facilitator and faculty member for the Leading Edge Institute which is an organization that works from college women from throughout the state of Alabama to better inform them of issues facing women and girls.

She served on boards and committees focusing on women’s issues including the Junior Board for the YWCA, the United Way of Central Alabama Task force on Workforce Development. She is a member of Sisters Chaverim and cross-cultural initiative sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Birmingham.