Office of Racial Equity & Community Inclusion
The Office of Racial Equity & Community Inclusion (ORECI) facilitates regular trainings for CVOEO staff on topics including racism, bystander intervention, motivational interviewing, and more. ORECI creates tangible progress and organizational development to advance racial justice at CVOEO, and engages in initiatives statewide to influence policy and advance racial justice.
As of July 1, 2023, CVOEO's Racial Equity Office expanded to become the Office of Racial Equity & Community Inclusion, and now includes the Community Ambassadors Program, formerly a part of CVOEO's Financial Futures Programs.
Our new Community Ambassadors team, comprised of bi-/multi-lingual and trusted New American community members, have experience in outreach, organizing, educating, and advocating on behalf of New American community members, and are dedicated to supporting diverse clients' inclusion, including access to services while ensuring their voices are heard. Community Ambassadors provide interpretation and translation services and respond to hotline calls from community members seeking service referrals to CVOEO's programs. They also host resource navigation gatherings, formerly called house parties, where they share important news and information about the resources available at CVOEO, and collect community members' insight on better ways they can access our services.
Community Ambassadors are also available to lead special projects from partner organizations upon request.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at CVOEO
CVOEO has been an anti-racist Agency since its creation in 1965 and a strong advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
CVOEO believes that addressing the fundamental issues of economic and social inequalities includes identifying and creating ways to build the core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion into our policies and practices. We are committed to serving the underserved, including those with low socio-economic status, people with disabilities and those with different gender-identities, sexual orientations, languages and religions, national and racial-ethnic origin, and the Black Indigenous Populations of Color (BIPOC).
Discussions about Diversity Equity and Inclusion have been frequent throughout our history. CVOEO considers racism a public health emergency and formalized its commitment to racial justice by creating both the Racial Equity Committee (REC) and the Racial Equity Program Director position in 2020, and by publishing a mission statement and a code of conduct. ORECI facilitates monthly meetings with the REC to take tangible steps in advancing racial justice at and beyond CVOEO.
Contact
Virginie Diambou, Program Director
802-862-2771 X726
vdiambou@cvoeo.org
Shiferaw Gemeda, Associate Director
802-860-1417 X117
sgemeda@cvoeo.org