DEIJ in Our Culture & Work
Description
Cultivating and Strengthening Partnerships with Underrepresented Stakeholders (Scope 11)
The "Cultivating and Strengthening Partnerships with Underrepresented Stakeholders" project was funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT) Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding Program. The project, proposed by the Chesapeake Bay Program Stewardship Goal Implementation Team (GIT 5) and their Diversity Workgroup, aimed to understand the needs, barriers, and priorities of organizations serving historically underrepresented and underserved communities. Chesapeake Conservancy was contracted to complete the project, which began in spring 2021 and ended in summer 2022. The project involved conversations with community leaders and Chesapeake Bay Program staff to identify barriers and opportunities for engagement. A Leadership Workshop was conducted to define meaningful community engagement, and a Community Forum in July 2022 brought together community members and Bay Program leadership to build trust and develop engagement strategies. Recommendations for next steps were compiled based on input from participants, and a community engagement guide was developed. The project's outcomes will help the Chesapeake Bay Program develop long-term and mutually beneficial relationships with organizations serving communities of color and other underrepresented communities.
Allyship Training Series
The DEIJ Implementation Plan calls to provide CBP staff and partnership bodies training on diversity, equity, inclusion and environmental justice issues to build a common understanding of DEIJ and connect these topics to CBP’s mission and operations. Allyship is a practice focused on building lifelong relationships of trust, respect and accountability. In these trainings, participants learned how to navigate unconscious bias, power and privilege as well as important skills such as active listening.
Cultural Humility Training
The Diversity Workgroup identified increasing cultural competence within the CBP as a key step to meeting the diversity outcome in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Thanks to available funding from the Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding process, the workgroup offered three Cultural Humility: Tools for Success in Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) trainings in the fall of 2019. Approximately 70 members of the partnership attended one of the trainings, which were led by the consultant Skeo Solutions. Participants learned how a cultural humility framework can help build a sense of equity and respect in relationships between individuals and relationships between institutions and individuals. More resources from this training are available upon request.