Silver State Times

City of Reno recently issued the following announcement.

The City of Reno has issued the following statement regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI):  

There has been a lot of conversation on social media regarding a City of Reno employee training event on April 14. Focused on the topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the event featured U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and former Governor and current University of Nevada, Reno President Brian Sandoval, two groundbreaking Nevada leaders with over 30 years of service to the great State of Nevada.

This was not a political event or rally, and attendance at the event was not mandatory. Off-duty employees who chose to participate were compensated per their respective bargaining agreements.

In September 2021, the City of Reno launched the One City, Many Voices Speaker Series for employees. The Speaker Series provides employees with the opportunity to learn about various speakers’ perspectives and lived experiences, while having critical conversations about how we can better serve our growing and diverse community.

Other past events have included:

• Beyond the Buzzwords: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with the Adjutant General for the Nevada National Guard, Major General Ondra L. Berry
• Latino (Mis)Representation in Media with a panel of Latino media professionals including Anya Arechiga, Juan Briones, Claudia Cruz, Andrea Esparza, and Luis Latino
• A Structure of Belonging with Grant Denton, Executive Director of the Karma Box Project
• The Past Isn't Even Past: Resisting History to Mitigate Bias with Zelalem Bogale, Attorney and Adjunct Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno
• Setting the Table: Strategies for Preparing your Workplace for Diversity with Tyre Gray, Attorney and President of the Nevada Mining Association
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. What's the Difference? with Jeromy Manke, President of the Our Center Board of Directors
• Leadership is Female with Emily Jaenson, Sports Executive and Host of the Leadership is Female podcast

The City of Reno employee training event on April 14 was the eighth in the series.

Catherine Cortez Masto, a currently sitting Senator representing the State of Nevada, is the first woman from Nevada and the first Latina ever elected to the United States Senate. Brian Sandoval served as the 29th Governor of Nevada and is the first person of Hispanic descent to serve as the U.S. District Judge for the District of Nevada, Nevada Attorney General, Nevada Governor, and University of Nevada President. Together these speakers have more than three decades of public service to the State of Nevada and provide unique perspectives on the changing Nevada landscape in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are not just words. They are the fabric of who we as an organization strive to be. The way we treat each other matters and is critical to achieving the City’s mission of “Creating a community that people are proud to call home.” The City will continue to invest in training opportunities for all employees and we look forward to future events and critical conversations.

Original source can be found here.