EQUITY & INCLUSION
watched the documentary “13th,” which was eye-opening for me. It was quite disturbing, actually, watching how some policies today go back to slavery. Coming into the discus- sions, I had to get my emotion under control, because it touched me that much. But we also used short videos sometimes
because people don’t always have a lot of time.
Q. There was support from the CEO, but was there also support from the Board of Directors? A. Through the initial discussions with our DEI work group, we initially were planning out activities for the organization, but also ac- tivities for the industry. The CEO took these discussions to the Board of Directors, and that sparked the industry wide DEIB Coalition. These things don’t happen overnight.
That’s another thing to know when you’re walking into these efforts: It’s okay if it doesn’t all happen immediately. Sometimes slow and steady is what you want because you want to do it right. Getting that buy-in and collaboration is important, and that does take some time.
Q. What goals did you set for the program? Do you feel they are being reached? A. The goal was to bring change and aware- ness. I think with any DEI initiative, the ed- ucation is so important. Often people think, I know what diversity, equity, and inclusion is and I’m good at that. But we may not realize how microaggressions manifest, or how unconscious bias comes into to play, unless you’re making the effort to learn that. People were excited to have that connec-
tion with their coworkers because you often don’t realize that some of your coworkers are dealing with some of these same issues, or they may have loved ones who are im- pacted. It brought sense of community to our work relationships.
Q. What did you find were some important elements in getting staff participation and engagement? A. I recognize people have busy schedules. And we wanted this to be voluntary. I didn’t want to force anyone to engage if they weren’t comfortable engaging, but I also
40 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE MAY/JUNE 2022
wanted opportunities to plan ahead and to watch or read the resources. Having meetings during the regular work-
day was really helpful for people as well. This was something that they did not have to take any time off for. We welcomed participation. Staff members knew this is important to the organization. We let them know that if they needed to adjust their schedules to go to meetings, we welcomed that. There is a lot of information out there, so
you don’t need to recreate the wheel when you’re putting together your DEI programs. But I also feel like it can’t be a check-the- box initiative. I’m passionate about this, so that made me want to research and bring forward materials that would be especially impactful for our staff. Your staff can tell if you’re really commit-
ted to this program. When we would meet, we often got emotional, because we truly felt connected and inspired, and we began to understand challenges that other people were facing. To me, JEDI is a heart project. It was about connecting with people on a much deeper level and breaking barriers that people may not even realize that they had. I’m excited about the continued success
of JEDI. Other employees have helped me put together topics of discussion for 2022. We have a nice lineup for this year, and we’re excited to see it continue to thrive in the organization.
Q. At the same time, you led the launch of an internship program at Argentum, both to increase different perspectives here and to introduce more young people to this industry. What are some practices you can share from that? A. The first thing I would say is that it’s okay not to reach your goals immediately. Going in, my goal was to have five interns working over the summer, but COVID threw a curve ball. Sometimes when we set goals and something gets in the way, we might say: We’ll just put this aside and try again next year to launch it. But I realized I didn’t want to postpone this. We ended up with two interns doing virtual [paid] internships—it was not what I had envisioned, but it was still progress. The second is making connections with colleges and universities. Often as an HR
director for a smaller company, you may think that you might not get an audience, but I found people were happy to hear from me, and I was easily able to make appoint- ments at various universities. Many hadn’t heard of Argentum and were unfamiliar with the senior living industry. There was a lot of education about the various careers available to their students. Through those initial discussions, I was
able to attend events such as the Howard University groundbreaking where impact investor James Rhee was installed as the new John H. Johnson Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship, and that helped make more connections. The important thing is to just make that initial step. We had a plan for how we would engage
with our interns and how they and we would evaluate the program. Those tools are very important, because you want to have that structure in place so you can evaluate and enhance the program as needed. It's also very important to reach out to students on the platforms they use, such as Handshake. With the virtual model, you do lack some
personal connections you would get in the office. We had to create ways for them to en- gage with other departments. They got to do a lot of hands-on work with the departments they were with, and they also had opportuni- ties to sit in meetings for other departments. One intern discovered that they were very excited about public policy, and they hadn’t seen that as a possibility before.
SELECTED RESOURCES
• “How You See Me”: Series of short educational videos on YouTube.
• Before the Flood: Documentary on environmental justice
• Lost in America: Documentary on homelessness by a formerly homeless person
FOR INTERNSHIPS:
National Association of Colleges and Employers:
naceweb.org
Handshake: A site students visit where employers can list internships,
joinhandshake.com
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