April 20, 2023

Hello, Cedar Valley! In response to the Fall 2022 Advancing Equity community convenings, we are excited to reach out to invite you to attend the 2023 Spring Session. We will continue dialogue and learn more about how we can collectively impact Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in the Cedar Valley. Even if you haven’t attended prior sessions, we invite you to join us on this journey.

Advancing Equity in the Cedar Valley: Spring Session
Removing Barriers to Hiring and Retention

Click for a detailed agenda

Thursday, April 20, 2023
8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Waterloo Center for the Arts - Schoitz River Room
225 Commercial Street
Waterloo, Iowa

Register Today

What We Have Done: Prioritizing Next Steps

To recap what we learned during the Service Providers Session and Economic Inclusion Summit, below is a summary of the session’s findings:

YOU WANT SUPPORT!
As a group, the Cedar Valley is full of businesses and organizations that are willing to help fill the needs identified by service providers to advance racial equity.

ORGANIZATIONS ARE TAKING ACTION
For example, we saw many organizations implementing or initiating work to develop a shared language.

YOU WANT TO LEARN AND CONNECT
Among attendees at the Inclusion Summit, there is a shared desire for more information and learning surrounding racial equity.

The top 3 resources prioritized to advance collective change were:

Avenues to increase diversity of staff and boards
Learning/training opportunities
Regular communication and connections about equity and inclusion efforts in the Cedar Valley

Click here for the full findings report

April 20 Workshop Learning Opportunity Details

8 - 8:30 a.m.
Enjoy light breakfast, coffee, & conversation

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Facilitated Learning/Training: Barriers to Hiring and Retention
Led by Top RANK and including real workplace strategies shared by various Cedar Valley employers who have identified creative solutions.

Objectives
This is not your typical PowerPoint Presentation session; it is not a traditional time for you to listen to an “expert” tell us what we are doing wrong in our efforts to attract a diverse staff to the Cedar Valley, and then give you a cookie-cutter “ABC’s of DEI&B Recruiting'' outline for how to do it right. Rather, our facilitators from Top RANK will guide a deep dive discussion into the top reasons from our lens that are identified as barriers to attracting and retaining a diverse staff and board.

The goal is to understand the root issues in order to take impactful steps to overcome the barriers. Oftentimes, organizations and communities can identify what the barriers are (e.g., transportation), but do not explore deeper to understand why they exist (e.g., funding limitations, the type of transportation, hours of operation, routes, public vs private support, etc.) These can be difficult discussions for a variety of reasons, but they must happen in order to truly address the real challenges that our community faces.

Outcomes
Participants will have identified root issues that enable the barriers to attracting diverse staff and board members. This collective effort will then drive workgroup discussions.

10:00- 11:00 a.m.
Collaborative Working Groups: Addressing the Roots

Objectives
We cannot do this work alone or in silos! In order to truly advance equity in our community, we must all step up as organizations and individuals to play a role together in addressing the root issues that we identified. Come with a desire to be part of how we can take our efforts to the next level and implement solutions by participating:

As individuals: Leaning in, listening, learning, and self-reflecting from authentic stories by those in our community who are directly impacted by these barriers.
As community organizations and service providers. If your organization is already taking steps to reduce barriers, we would love to feature the voice of someone impacted by your work.
As businesses: Determining what specific resources you are willing to provide that would have the most impact on overcoming these barriers.
As public sector leaders: Exploring what more our local and county governments can play a more intentional role in the DEI&B journey.

Outcomes
Each working group will have identified specific next steps to be taken in order to move forward together with the mission of eliminating or reducing the barrier(s), who will take ownership of the steps, what needs they have, etc. These decisions will then drive our continued journey together as a community committed to a welcoming community for all humans.

11:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Share Back & Action Steps Developed

Register Today

If you have any questions, email Kaye Englin at kenglin@cfneia.org or call 319-243-1350.

See you on April 20! We look forward to having your voice at the table and your help as we work together. Cedar Valley Strong!

Planning Committee: Kaye Englin, Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa,
Dr. Nafissa Cisse Egbuonye, Molina Healthcare, Kaitlin Emrich and Lisa Sesterhenn, Black Hawk County Public Health, Cary Darrah, Grow Cedar Valley, and Top RANK staff