Hello, Diversity Champions: It was amazing to see all of you again, and as always, a very refreshing experience!

In our August 4th session, we explored the “We Have Work to do Campaign” themes:

• Confronting Bias
• Building Equitable Learning Environments
• Establishing a Sense of Belonging
• Transforming Our Future
• Creating Coalitions

These themes help us recognize the strides we have made to advance diversity as a community, while at the same time acknowledging that there is much to be done.

We shared some examples of the different ways the themes show up in our individual roles as Extension professionals, as well as in our organization. We also talked about how this vision and assessment exercise can help our various teams to work collaboratively to create capacity for action at an individual and organizational level, generate hope and optimism for advancing equity and organizational transformation, and appreciate how we all have important insights to offer.

Please take the time to keep exploring the campaign webpage, and come prepared to discuss your ideas for how leadership can look in our realms of influence at our next session on Tuesday, September 8. In addition, please review the guidance and toolkit below:

For our next session, we will be joined by our very own Allison Davis-White Eyes, OSU’s Director of Community Diversity Relations. She will share her experience with various stakeholders across the state, and her perspective about what it means to lead with equity.

Take care until then!

In partnership,

Ana Lu Fonseca