Our County Departmental Champions are the grassroots network providing resources and opportunities that foster and encourage equity, diversity, and inclusion within their teams. There are many different versions of D&I Champions throughout county departments. One thing we have found is that collaboration helps to foster greater outcomes, but our desire for all of them is to become assets to their leadership in accomplishing departmental goals and objectives that increase equity and further cultures of belonging.  

Highlights from this year included:

Finance and General Government Group’s Department of Human Resources’ Café Connections: 

Creating spaces of inclusion and belonging.  Virtual space that lasts approximately an hour for all departmental employees to share experiences which allow them to get out of their comfort zone.  Starting with discussion and allowing others to see what people are going through in today’s social and work environment.  

Public Safety Group-Probation/Policy Review Guide:

Drafted Policy review guide to be implemented when reviewing/updating departmental policies. OUR EDI Team collaborated with our Department Program Coordinator to determine process specific to ensuring all updated policies and procedures are reviewed and “approved” through EDI Lens before final version is submitted for approval/publishing.  

Land Use and Environment Group-Department of Public Works/Neurodiversity Match-Up:

DPW has created a spin off of the classic memory card game, called Neurodivergent Match-Up, as a fun and memorable way to learn the basics around the history, terms, and facts about neurodiversity.

Health and Human Services Agency-Child Welfare Services’ Office of Equity/BIPOC Human Library:

The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Human Library helps to address unconscious bias and creates a brave space for dialogue between non-BIPOC individuals and BIPOC individuals. BIPOC individuals represent books in a library that individuals can "check out". BIPOC individuals choose their book title and submits it to the "card catalogue". Individuals choose which "book" they would like to "read". BIPOC individuals can choose a "chapter" from their lives that they would like to share with their "readers."

Across the enterprise the D&I Departmental Champions embody, promote and encourage many creative, innovative, and educational examples of fostering diversity and inclusion. They are … taking us forward.