I am the Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator for the CREC Open Choice Program, which places Hartford students in suburban schools, with the goal of improving academic achievement, reducing racial, ethnic and economic isolation and providing all children with a choice of high quality educational programs.I provide professional development related to racial and cultural proficiency, collaborating with school districts, parents, students and Open Choice staff to assess and identify student/staff needs and recommended actions. I train educators in ways to facilitate race dialogues and sometimes facilitate race dialogues as well.
For 14 years prior to that, I was a program officer for Everyday Democracy, a program of the Paul J. Aicher Foundation. I worked with communities throughout the country to identify challenges, analyze their potential causes and develop strategies to implement solutions. I also assisted communities in developing large-scale, diverse dialogues that include residents’ voices and actions, with the goal of impacting public policy. I worked with residents to assess social, political, economic, racial, religious and/or other tensions impacting the community. Trainings I provided include community organizing, communications, facilitation, racial equity and action team planning. I also continued support community coalitions, coordinators and action teams via phone coaching. Through documentation of field work, available data provided opportunity for analysis of trends and innovations.