Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

About

We believe...

All people deserve the benefits of clean water, healthy soil, and diverse habitats. We seek to welcome, engage, and better serve communities of color and other marginalized groups in all facets of our organization, activities, and programs.

On this page:

    Why we pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

    • Environmental health impacts everyone.
    • We are most successful in achieving our mission when we engage and welcome diverse perspectives in our decision-making.
    • We are better able to ensure services are meaningful and accessible to all if we work directly with marginalized groups to identify and address their priorities.
    • We aim for the makeup of our board and staff to better reflect the full diversity of our district.

    Our goals for the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion

    • Inclusivity:

      The District is an inclusive organization that welcomes and engages all people in all facets of our organization, activities, and programs.

    • Diversity:

      The Board and staff of the District, the contractors we hire, and the people who benefit from our work reflect the demographics of our service area.

    • Engagement:

      The District meaningfully engages marginalized communities in our decision making, programs, and policy.

    • Accountability:

      The District works proactively and deliberately to understand and advance equity outcomes.

    • Focus:

      The District will lead with racial inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accountability actions and policies that result in positive outcomes for all.

    Racial equity statement

    Vision – The West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District is a culturally inclusive organization that welcomes and engages people of color in all facets of our organization, activities and programs. The Board and staff of the District, the customers we serve, the contractors we hire and the people who benefit from our work resemble the racial diversity found within our service territory. The District reaches out to communities of color to determine their conservation priorities for the purpose of enhancing livability through healthy soil, clean water and diverse habitats. We willingly share with others our experiences in pursuing racial equity.

    Need – Our District has taken the initiative to review the history of racial disparity in Oregon, and how this history persists in the form of unconscious biases and cultural barriers that contribute to disparities in how we work, whom we work with and whom we serve. We recognize that gaining the perspectives of, and working with, communities of color will increase our organization’s overall strength. By working proactively and deliberately to be equitable and inclusive, we will be more successful in our work.

    Accountability – We will hold ourselves accountable to racial equity by addressing disparities when found, and by developing, implementing, tracking and reporting on Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound racial equity goals. Priorities include fully understanding the demographics of the communities we serve, developing new and lasting partnerships with communities of color and organizations that represent them, and recruitment and retention of persons of color on our Board, staff and supporting committees.

    Land acknowledgement

    We acknowledge the original Indigenous people whose land we are utilizing today; the Clackamas Chinook, the Willamette Tumwater, the Wasco-Wishram, the Watlata, the Multnomah, and other Chinookan peoples, as well as the Tualatin Kalapuya, the Cayuse, the Molalla, the Yakama, and other tribes and bands of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. It is important to acknowledge these original inhabitants of the land that falls within our service areas now known as the City of Portland, Sauvie (Wapato) Island, and the Tualatin Mountains. We further recognize that we are here because of the land displacement, cultural erasure, and the other sacrifices that were forced upon them. We also remind ourselves that we are guests of this land and must do our best to honor the original peoples through authentic cultural narratives and continued caring of, and giving to, the air, water, plants, animals and the ecosystems that make up this land community. To follow this acknowledgement with action, we will pursue impactful partnerships with Indigenous people, tribes and their sovereign governments, and inter-tribal organizations.

    Some of the actions we have taken to honor this commitment include:

    • Incorporating Indigenous perspectives:

      We hired Indigenous community members and leaders to help inform our programming and planning.

    • Sharing information and continuing conversations:

      We helped unite Indigenous community members, District staff, and partners to discuss land care concepts and conservation language.

    • Increasing cultural awareness and incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge:

      We helped our staff pursue Indigenous-led trainings to increase their cultural awareness and learn other ways of knowing, understanding, and conducting restoration.

    Our progress to date

    Our goal is to become fully equitable and inclusive. We have made progress toward this goal and we still have a long way to go.

    Ongoing and evolving programming and efforts:

    • Arrange annual DEI trainings for board and staff.
    • Maintain an active committee responsible for advising and tracking our DEI budget, goals, and initiatives.
    • Pursue equitable outcomes in hiring, policy making, and conservation practices through use of an equity lens and equity pauses.
    • Partner with diverse community members and organizations to better inform our programming and communications.
    • Support green workforce development efforts to further diversify the environmental field.
    • Conduct regular self-assessments of our ability to recognize internal biases and cultural differences.

    2022

    Helped unite Indigenous community members, District staff, and partners to discuss land care concepts and conservation language.

    2021

    Board approved the 2021–2025 Long Range Business Plan (LRBP) centered on equity and inclusion, with trackable performance measures that hold us accountable to our goals.

    Crafted a new vision which states "everyone has the opportunity to connect or reconnect with the land, especially those who have been displaced from or deprived of land.”

    Began tracking percent of contracts and dollars spent to hire Minority and Women Business Enterprises.

    Began dedicating staff time to DEI work in annual work plans. Annually review work plans for opportunities to support DEI.

    2020

    Developed a land acknowledgement statement to remind ourselves of the history of displacement and culture erasure forced upon the Indigenous people of the land in our district. The statement helps us see how this history impacts our work today and the need to address this history in our work going forward.

    2019

    Board approved racial equity statement and DEI principles.

    Board adopted Prevention of Workplace Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy

    Released the paper Whose Land is Our Land? Spatial Exclusion, Racial Segregation, and the History of the Lands of Western Multnomah County [Literature Review] [Executive Summary] Researched and written by Indi (Keith) Namkoong, 2019 Field Conservationist Intern. 

    2018

    Developed an equity lens tool to help examine policy, practices, and decisions to increase equitable outcomes.

    2017

    Worked with Metro and Coalition of Communities of Color to commission an analysis of the demographic composition of our district service area.

    Project milestone: Connect SW PDX. This was our first equity-centered community engagement project which exceeded participation goals, reached new community members, and started new partnerships.

    2016

    Convened a staff/board Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Standing Committee.

    Hosted a DEI internship to help assess and inform our equity initiatives.

    2015

    Board approved the 2015–2020 Long Range Business Plan with guiding values and principles focused on our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as our plan to implement a racial equity policy.

    Joined an Intertwine Alliance Equity Cohort and completed an Organizational Assessment and the beginning components of an action plan.

    2014

    Created a Diversity Working Group to find ways to better reach broader communities.

    Non-discrimination statement

    We do not discriminate based on any class or identity including age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and veteran status. We are an equal opportunity employer and service provider. We make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities and special needs to provide access to our events, materials, and services. If you have requests for accommodations or complaints about discrimination, harassment, inequitable treatment, lack of access to District events, materials or services, or for any questions at all, please contact us at info@wmswcd.org or (503) 238-4775.

    Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

    The committee has moved to quarterly meetings. Members of the public are welcomed to attend. Contact us at info@wmswcd.org to request DEI budgets, work plans, past meeting documents, or upcoming meeting dates.

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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2023 SeptemberDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2022 DecemberDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Agenda – 2020 NovemberDEI Committee Meeting Agendas
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    DEI Committee Agenda – 2020 SeptemberDEI Committee Meeting Agendas
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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2019 NovemberDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2019 OctoberDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2019 SeptemberDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Agenda – 2019 SeptemberDEI Committee Meeting Agendas
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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2018 NovemberDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Agenda – 2018 NovemberDEI Committee Meeting Agendas
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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2018 SeptemberDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Agenda – 2018 SeptemberDEI Committee Meeting Agendas
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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2018 JulyDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Agenda – 2018 JulyDEI Committee Meeting Agendas
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    DEI Committee Agenda – 2018 MarchDEI Committee Meeting Agendas
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    DEI Committee Minutes – 2018 JanuaryDEI Committee Meeting Minutes
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    DEI Committee Agenda – 2018 JanuaryDEI Committee Meeting Agendas
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