NWRA’s Executive Team is thrilled to announce that the NWRA was awarded a grant by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation allowing us to begin a transformational process committing to Racial Equity and Justice that will expedite and further our future goals and efforts.
The grant’s title is called, “NWRA, Registries, & Workforce Engagement: Who’s missing?”
This process offers our leadership and community an unprecedented opportunity to look internally with honesty and humility; this process will allow us to commit to examining and restructuring our mission/vision applying an equity lens, during a historical period in our nation which calls on all of us to take a stand with vision, leadership and integrity.
This effort will also allow us to support our membership as they too are faced with many challenges, reflections, and actionable goals related to equity. As part of this grant the NWRA will produce knowledge documents that can help our members lean in to these challenges. Our road map and data tools will guide our collective thinking, shape priorities and draft policies that provide enduring impact for generations to come.
The work will be led by our JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Committee. This is a process that will begin 2021-2022 with specific goals that will guide our actions for this year and beyond. For more details, visit our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion page.
We are committed to carrying out this process in an integrated and collaborative manner that begins with orienting our community and asks all of us to learn more about AI; we will also be going through an assessment process using a racial equity organizational self-evaluation. This effort will be supported in part by our JEDI committee, our consultant, and additional staff.
I am so looking forward to this leap in our growth and development!!
- Defining: Our Objective
- Discovery: Our Strengthens
- Dreaming: Our Possibilities
- Designing: Our Road Map
- Delivery: Our Pathway
LEAN IN
Appreciative Inquiry
Our adopted framework for reflecting on, examining, and operationalizing Racial Equity is Appreciative Inquiry (AI). This “Strengths-Based” model for building a thriving organization was selected for its unique approach, which allowed us to start where we are, with what we’re already good at. From there, AI helped us move forward in our Equity efforts by getting past the paralysis that consumes so many organizations beginning this type of work, empowering us to craft the destination for our collective work. Using the I’s, from Whitney, Trosten-Bloom, & Rader, we’ve worked from the following:
- Wisdom of INQUIRY
- Art of ILLUMINATION
- Genius of INCLUSION
- Courage of INSPIRATION
- Path of INTEGRITY
Download
Our Immediate Goals:
Drafted, vote to adopt in July 2022
Craft our public commitment to Racial Equity.
Sketch is complete, currently refining, due out in September
Develop our Organizational Road Map, by analyzing and reflecting on our operations, policies, and procedures, as well as our members' needs.
In-Progress, due out in December 2022
Create an equity toolkit for registries/states.
2022 Drafted Public Statement of Organizational Commitment to Racial Equity:
The NWRA is vested in strengthening social justice and accelerating racial equity for our staff, members, and those they serve. To us, Equity Accountability hinges on Data Accountability; we believe every member of the workforce counts and underrepresented members hold valuable insight. We strive to elevate the voices of the workforce and of those adversely affected by our policy, action, or exclusion.
We do this by:
Attracting and retaining BIPOC and LGBTQ colleagues in our efforts
Seeding spaces for listening to what’s not working
Creating a culture of appreciation, safety and accountability
Providing opportunities for growth and development
Endorsing best practices for inclusion, diversity, and equity
Reflecting on our internal policies and practices
Cultivating a culture of courage, honoring vulnerability
Deeping our awareness
Leveraging external partners
This draft has been proposed by the NWRA JEDI Committee with the support of the Governing Board and Advisory Committee. It has been added to our July membership ballot for a vote to adopt.