 Our teams have been working hard to build upon the foundation of our work. We want you to be engaged with our efforts as we embed systems change throughout the enterprise.
You’ll experience us mentioning systems change a lot, as that is the basis of our creation as a newer office in Washington state government. Building our teams to reflect this commitment was the beginning. Now, we invite you to understand how we will approach this body of work collectively and collaboratively, with enthusiasm and care.
 Last month, our new Senior Policy and Legislative Affairs Advisor, Patrick Stickney (he/him), attended the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA)’s Golden Celebration along with our Director of Equity and Belonging, Nick Vann (he/him), who also tabled at the event for Hawaiians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders Promoting an Empowerment Network (HAPPEN), one of the state’s Business Resource Groups!
The Golden Celebration celebrated CAPAA’s 50 years of service to the Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities statewide since its establishment in 1974. The sold-out event had strong attendance from state and local officials and community members, and featured an awards ceremony recognizing the contributions of many distinguished individuals to ANHPI communities and to all communities in our state; community performances; remarks by CAPAA Executive Director Toshiko Hasegawa and Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck; and a surprise appearance by Governor Jay Inslee and First Spouse Trudi Inslee!
Many congratulations to CAPAA for this momentous achievement and a wonderful event!
 Our Legislative Director, Omar Santana (he/him), following the end of session had the opportunity to attend a bill signing for HB 2230, Codifying the Economic security for All Grant Program through ESD. It was great to share space with our fellow State Agency and members of community to celebrate this victory.
(p.s. If you were able to catch our Equity in Session video series during this last Legislative Session we invite you to take our survey to see how we can improve on this program going into next session.)
Click here to take our Equity in Session survey!
 The Shared Power team has been actively engaged in pioneering efforts to promote equity and belonging in various spheres. Exciting news: they've been invited as Keynote speakers at the upcoming annual DEI Empowerment Conference on June 12th, 2024. Their presentation, titled "Normalizing Shared Power as a Tool to Disrupt Policies, Practices, and Processes (The 3 Ps)", will delve into the transformative potential of shared power in dismantling traditional frameworks and fostering inclusivity. It's a testament to their impactful work and dedication to driving meaningful change. Be sure to sign up to attend the conference here: Washington State DEI Empowerment Conference 2024 | Office of Financial Management
In collaboration with Office of Equity leadership and Centre for Public Impact, Shared Power Consultant Jean Paul (he/him) has been working on recruiting for phase 2 of the Washington Equity Program (WEP). The overarching goal of phase 2 is to develop an enterprise community engagement strategy. We have invited Community Engagement Practitioners and agency leaders to help develop a community engagement strategy, establish genuine relationships, collaboration, and partnerships between Washington State government and our community members. Click there to learn more: PRESS RELEASE: Washington State’s Office of Equity and the Centre for Public Impact Launch
Pro-Equity Consultant Jasmine Remick (she/her) supported the Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG)’s second annual hiring event at Joint-Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) on April 11, 2024. Washington State has the 11th highest Veteran Population with 5.8% Veterans and 1.2% Military Spouses working right here as Washington State Civil Servants. Over 30 State Agencies showed up not just to recruit from this diverse group of talent, but to also connect, learn, and support service members & their spouses with their unique needs. The VERG formulated teams from various agencies across the enterprise to assist job seekers with cover letter and resume reviews, elevator pitches, interview skill development, and mock interviews. On behalf of VERG and the Office of Equity, we wanted to thank you – State Agencies for your keen support to our Washington military community.
 It is an exciting time for the Access and Accessibility team as we are currently looking for two strategy minded individuals to join our bench! We are seeking a Disability Access Manager and a Language Access Manager which will expand our team’s capacity to support accessibility efforts state-wide. These two positions will work hand-in-hand along with our newest member of the team, Katrina Tuggle (she/her) Digital Equity Manager, to contribute to the upcoming Universal Access and Belonging Plan (UABP). Once completed, the UABP will provide guidance and support for state agencies and beyond to create more accessible environments and services for employees and the public alike; please check in often for updates!
 We've been listening!
We want to support agencies in their Equity work, so we are changing Equity Reporting Performance Period to meet you where they are at!
In the past the annual reporting has been collected at the end of the fiscal year (June 30th). But we all know this is a hectic time when we, as leaders and changemakers, have less time and capacity to reflect on our progress, performance, and impact from the previous year.
In response, we have changed our Equity Performance Period from a fiscal year cycle to a calendar year cycle, from January 1 - December 31, and the Agency Equity Performance Report will be due March 31 every year. During the first three months of the following calendar year, the Innovation & Performance team will provide workshops and office hours to support agencies with their reports for the previous period.
  What Does That Mean for This Year?
To accommodate this change, the current performance period range will cover July 1, 2023 - December 31, 2024. This amounts to an 18-month performance period with the report due by March 31, 2025.
What Can You Expect From Us?
The Innovation & Performance team is gearing up to offer a series of workshop aimed at helping agencies through this process as well as developing templates and materials to support Agency Equity Performance Report. Additionally, we will be offering Office Hours from January 1, 2025 - March 31, 2025, to answer questions and provide direct support.
And finally, you may hear from our team to gather background information, input, and feedback as we develop templates and performance reporting tools.
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