The fourth year of the Equity & Inclusion Cohorts supported 27 organizations along their paths toward equity by increasing peer learning through a cohort model and by connecting participants to training resources.
A big thank you to 2021 sponsors, The Collins Foundation and Columbia Bank.
AWARENESS-RAISING
Cohort members:
Audubon Society of Portland
City of Portland Water Bureau
Forest Park Conservancy
Friends of Outdoor School
Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge
Mosaic Ecology
Sitka Technology Group
Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge
Tualatin Riverkeepers
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Facilitated by DRC Learning Solutions' Derron Coles and Alexis Millett
All training topics and activities focused on helping cohort members develop a meaningful and science-based understanding of the fundamentals of diversity, equity and inclusion, with an emphasis on antiracist theory and actions. The depth to which we covered individual topics were driven by cohort needs, but included:
- Historical context of systemic inequities
- Intersectionality and the dynamics of power and privilege in society
- Culture and its impacts on thought and behavior
- Barriers to cultural competency development and mitigation strategies (e.g. mindfulness)
- Neuroscience of bias and strategies for interrupting bias (our own and others)
We established an inclusive, shame-free environment to engage cohort members through relationship building and self-reflection exercises that build cultural self-awareness and competency while diminishing fears of intercultural communication that can prevent post-training development. We used a community-of-practice model where each organization received both peer-to-peer and DEI specialist coaching to continue personal and organizational development throughout the year. Peer support was coupled with “deep dive” assignments intended to maintain momentum.
CHANGE AGENT
Cohort members:
1000 Friends of Oregon
City of Portland Water Bureau
Clean Water Services
Columbia Slough Watershed Council
Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge
Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership
Metro Parks and Nature
The Nature Conservancy
Tualatin River Watershed Council
Tualatin Riverkeepers
Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District
Urban Greenspaces Institute
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Facilitated by DRC Learning Solutions' Derron Coles and Alexis Millett
All training topics and activities focused on advancing our language, skill sets and DEI toolkits, so that we can push through personal, organizational and systemic barriers to achieve more inclusive teams, organizations and coalitions.
The depth to which we covered individual topics was driven by cohort needs, but included:
- Developing personal vision statements
- Approaches to change agency and coalition building
- Making the case for integrating DEI considerations into policy and practice
- Mindsets that drive change
- Reframing issues and working across differences
- System analysis and equity auditing
Prerequisites: Prior awareness training or self-study on fundamentals of diversity, equity and inclusion. Understanding of key terms, concepts and justifications for DEI initiatives at the individual, organizational and societal levels.
IMPLEMENTATION PEER GROUP
Cohort members:
Community Energy Project
Herrera Environmental Consultants
Johnson Creek Watershed Council
Mount St. Helens Institute
SOLVE
The Intertwine Alliance
The Nature Conservancy
Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District
The Implementation Peer Group worked with consultants from Capacity Building Partnerships, Sara Curiel Paez and Alexis Millett. This peer group supported organizations already deep into their DEI journeys, both as individual leaders and as organizations. Peer Group was a total of eight 2-hour group meetings.
Peer Group focused on supporting leaders through barriers in integrating DEI into organizational culture, policies, practices and programming. As a community of peers, time was devoted in each meeting for exploration of specific leadership dilemmas brought forth from the participants. A leadership dilemma involves a challenge you are experiencing or anticipating. Themes of these dilemmas may come about due to competing priorities in your organization; personal blind spots; team, management or leadership dynamics; resistance from key stakeholders; personal challenges moving this work forward; and many other barriers to implementation. This is an opportunity to learn together and from one another as we address challenges in the work.
This model of a cohort is not a training. Instead, it provides the opportunity to work through current issues with peers and consultants in a conversational setting. Below are 2020 participants' experiences within this model.
"Participating in the Intertwine Alliance's Implementation Peer Group was a truly great experience for me personally and as the lead of equity-based programs within the Forest Park Conservancy. The chance to work with a smaller recurring group of peers who are dealing with similar issues and challenges within their organizations made all the difference. Having that familiarity and short-hand with the participants facilitated some difficult and uncomfortable conversations. Furthermore, the leadership dilemma proved to be a truly effective approach. From sharing actual, real-life situations, to practice active listening, the sessions provided real insight and ideas on how to work on some of the DEI challenges our organization is facing."
-Alejando Orizola, Forest Park Conservancy, Conservation Director
"Participating in the Intertwine implementation peer group cohorts has been super helpful as we started to implement our Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. Operationalizing racial equity is not easy and requires work to help identify and talk through the challenges that come up when transforming an organization to support all people. One of the ways we utilized this experience was in the development of our Equity & Racial Justice Program Manager position. Using the Leadership Dilemma framework, we were able to collaborate with the cohort to identify and confirm key priorities for this position to help us take that next step as a department in implementation. We know we aren’t alone in figuring this out, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to build community with those organizations as we go through this together."
-Gaylen Beatty, Metro Parks and Nature, Special Projects Manager