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Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement, or HOPE, will host three Boulder County leaders to discuss the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion to increase community understanding and discover solutions.
Being an organization serving marginalized communities, Kimberly Braun, HOPE’s director of development, said she feels the team at HOPE is well poised to be the one to initiate conversations, “working in the front lines day in and day out.”
With diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, there are many layers that society needs to pull back to address, biases and prejudices across demographics and backgrounds, she said, adding “it’s important we remain awake to the fact that we have growth to do as a community.”
“I wanted us (HOPE) to become a place where the community would come ask questions around difficult topics,” Braun said about the series of conversations the nonprofit has hosted since late last year. “To raise awareness and to make it easier to understand the complexity of issues like these, which can lead to new solutions for change in community and as a community.”
The panelists belong to three large institutions of influence in Boulder County that are far reaching and can have lasting impacts, said Braun.
Marta Loachamin, Boulder County Commissioner for District 2, Tatiana Hernandez, CEO of the Community Foundation of Boulder County and Glenda Robinson, longtime community volunteer and activist will join the Zoom session on Apr. 2 for a conversation moderated by Braun.
The panelists also are all women and the three come from ethnic or racial backgrounds that have historically been marginalized, all of which Braun hopes will help the community know them not only in their leadership roles but also as human beings “with wisdom to bring to this topic,” she said.
“The reality is we have folks in our Boulder County community who are on all levels (of the) spectrums for that same question (DEI), there are folks who still haven't engaged with it and folks who are trying to start learning as well as everything in between,” Loachamin said. “What (we are) hoping is to get some conversation around this and talk about why it's relevant.”
At the core of equity is questioning who is benefitting from the conversations that are being had, the policies and programs that are in place, and the outcomes of the work that is being done, she said, addingDEI work looks different depending on who is doing the work.
“For some people what they need need to do is work on their own learning, others are saying they need to actually bring their circle of people in and have a conversation: ‘I can see where I am and I don’t have people of color working for me,’ or ‘Do I have the ability to pay people equally,’” she said. “I hope that someone in that virtual discussion is going to be moved to move forward in their own work.”
Having a panel dedicated to the topic of diversity and inclusion amongst women of color will entail a different kind of vulnerability that Loachamin is hoping people will be willing to engage with them across the screen, she said.
“I find comfort in being in spaces where we can have real convos of (DEI) work and I am also cognizant that for a lot of us as people of color … there’s a discomfort, there’s a need and also emotional labor involved in participating,” she said. “I'll be happy to be in this space with the panelists and also know there will be an emotional cost.”
Starting at noon, panelists will address a flow of questions by Braun around the topic of DEI, followed by a second hour dedicated to answering questions and comments from the audience.
“My hope is that participants will be changed by it (the panel discussion) and will learn at least one new thing, that there will be an education component,” said Braun. “I also hope that from that will come new ideas … what can we change in our community, what nonprofits can we support ... to have an open slate for creative solutions for issues in our community.”
To register for the free event on Apr. 2, click here.
