Published: September 8, 2020
Dear
County Employees,
On
August 20, 2020 the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors officially established the Office of Equity. This critical step
recognizes the powerful role that local government can play to unseat racial
inequities through the intentional development of new policies, programs, and
legislation.
As Interim Director of the Office of Equity, I have
dedicated the first few weeks to assemble an interim team, to focus on
supporting the response to the spike in COVID-19 cases in the Latinx and
indigenous language-speaking communities, and to support our emergency
response during the LNU Fires. Over the longer-term, the Office of Equity's
goals include developing and implementing strategies and tools for our
departments, sister agencies, and community partners to
further equity in Sonoma County.
Special
thanks to County leadership and to County equity champions, including
members of SoCo REAL (Racial Equity
Alliance Leadership) and SoCo LERN (the Latinx Employee Resource Network) for
their support and determination to make the Office of Equity a reality.
If you
are interested in learning more about our office, our staff and what we are
working on, please take a few minutes to read our first newsletter and subscribe to keep in
touch with us.
Thank you!
Alegría De La Cruz
Interim
Director
Office
of Equity