By Steve Suroviec, President and CEO
In 2019, the Achieva Board of Trustees adopted a refreshed “Strategic Vision” and plan to move our family of organizations forward and position it for the future. Seven strategic priorities were adopted as part of that process, and one of those seven strategic priorities is “to develop and pursue a diverse and inclusive culture throughout the organization.” The strategic plan specifically focused on promoting diversity with Achieva’s board leadership and employees and by reaching underserved populations and areas.
In September 2020, the Achieva Board of Trustees created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee to help implement the strategic plan’s diversity initiatives, as well as to research, discuss, and recommend new initiatives to supplement the existing plan. The DEI Committee has been working diligently at understanding the data, establishing benchmarks, and researching best practices. It occurred to the committee that it needed to establish a “north star” to guide its work and provide a foundation on which to based future DEI efforts. On May 10th, the Achieva Board of Trustees adopted the following: ”Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Definitions, Mission and Vision.”
Promoting inclusion and diversity is not a stretch for an organization like Achieva. This is what we’ve been doing for 70 years – that is, working to include people with disabilities in every community and adding value to businesses through the diversity of hiring, retaining, and promoting talent with disabilities. Thanks and appreciation for both the leadership on the DEI issue and the progress made thus far go to Achieva’s Board Chair, Chaz Kellem, the DEI Committee’s Co-Chairs, Mary Lou Gegick and Jeremy Shapira, and all the members of the DEI Committee.
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