Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Commitee
The Committee has been created by the Executive Director to advance the Park District’s commitment to creating and promoting inclusion across all parks, facilities, programs and operations for staff and residents/patrons. Through engagement of staff, key stakeholders and community partners, the Committee will:
- Work towards a shared organizational understanding of equity and inclusion;
- Identify opportunities for improving our capacity and commitment to address equity and inclusion;
- Provide a space for reflection, exploration, and personal and professional growth; and
- Be thought leaders in creating and implementing a plan to further integrate equity into our, internal (recruitment, hiring, retention, culture, funding, procurement, etc.) and external (partnership, program development, utilize facilities, funding, etc.) processes.
The Committee functions as a broadly knowledgeable and objective group with the authority to undertake the specific duties and responsibilities listed below.
Successes
- PDOP committees help improve services and quality of life. The DEI committee instituted a language review process of program guides and created a District-wide inclusive language guide. They partnered with the high school’s special needs program to provide interview practice for students; we hired three. The Safety committee worked with police to institute Alice Active Shooter training for all PDOP staff and led to PDOP providing three training sessions for Township staff. Staff involvement grows their skills and benefits the District.
- Meeting our community’s recreational needs, especially the BIPOC population, is important to our mission. To reach our BIPOC community, PDOP held multiple meetings to collect feedback. We hosted an event featuring the film “A Most Beautiful Thing” for 50 in-person and 180 virtual attendants. These efforts led to a partnership with a Black citizens group and to the PDOP establishing a 25% goal for Minority and Women Owned Businesses to be awarded construction contracts for the CRC; 29% were obtained.
