Carrie Inoshita has been appointed the director of Boulder County’s new Office of Racial Equity.
As director, Inoshita will lead a team of racial equity professionals in developing and implementing strategies to create an inclusive, anti-racists and multicultural organization, the Boulder County Commissioners’ Office said in a release. She will also work to adaptively dismantle institutionalized racism and create systems of belonging in partnership with county leadership.
The commissioners approved staffing and funding for a centralized Office of Racial Equity in August of last year. In addition to the director role, staff include Cecilia Jones and Courtney Prusmack, who both have co-led with Inoshita on many of the county’s racial equity initiatives.
“As I step into this role, I do so with an immense feeling of gratitude,” Inoshita said. “The persistent leadership of passionate people in our organization has created the conditions needed for the Office of Racial Equity to lead with race. As an Asian woman, it is my purpose to sustain and deepen relationships across our organization and beyond toward a collective vision of a Boulder County government that works for all."
Inoshita describes herself as an Asain woman “born, raised, racialized and socialized” in Arizona.
“Arising from the lands of the Gila River and Colorado River Indian Tribes, I am a third-generation Japanese immigrant, whose racial consciousness and perspective is rooted in the Japanese-American racial experience,” she said. “My purpose in racial equity work is to inspire a shared sense of responsibility for all futures by tending relationships, nurturing connections and creating the conditions needed to unearth and change the through-line of racism.”
Inoshita has worked for Boulder County since 2006, most recently focusing on racial equity in disaster recovery work. She was a senior business analyst at Boulder County Parks and Open Space, analyzing business practices and processes, recommending improvements and ensuring the department’s technology needs were met.
The Office of Racial Equity will be housed on the second floor of the Historic Downtown Courthouse on Pearl Street in Boulder.
