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Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

About the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was created in January 2020 to lead the city of Aurora in building, creating and maintaining a more equitable and inclusive city by systemically and strategically facilitating the integration of greater representation, fairness, belonging and care into our policies, procedures and practices.

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is strategically leading the organization through several interconnected initiatives. Steps include assessing where we are as an organization and as a community – what are the perceptions vs. the reality; a review of current challenges; inclusive leadership, unconscious bias, explicit and implicit bias and micro-aggression training for upper management, managers and supervisors; attracting, retaining and advancing top talent from diverse backgrounds; and developing a Racial Equity Plan for the city that will examine city services and procedures through a racial equity lens.

To learn more about the city of Aurora’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, contact 303.739.7699 or email [email protected].

Leadership

  • Sara Valencich, Officer of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Natasha Campbell, Project Coordinator, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

Current Initiatives  

Equity Champions

Equity Champions are the city’s racial equity core team, established in June 2020. They are the leadership team committed to equitable systemic change by designing, coordinating and organizing racial equity plans and activities across the city of Aurora. Their role is to champion and advocate for racial equity and model organizational values; represent departments at leadership meetings and communicate back to departments; provide leadership, facilitation and coaching to internal department teams; and coordinate, track and report department racial equity plans, successes and improvements. 

Resolutions

A resolution was passed May 5, 2020, by the City Council "Condemning Hate Crime Acts and Anti-Asian Sentiments Against Asian Americans, Immigrants, and Refugees as Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic."

A resolution was passed December 21, 2020, by the City Council "Affirming Aurora's Commitment to Valuing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion."

Proclamations

Celebrating our diverse community begins with recognizing special events, people and groups who have positively impacted the city of Aurora. To accomplish this, the city issues a wide range of proclamations aimed at promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. For example, the city has issued proclamations celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Hispanic Heritage Month, Yom Kippur, Women’s History Month and others.

A proclamation must relate to the city of Aurora, or to an organization within the city, or to a statewide or national issue affecting Aurora, and must be in the general interest of our residents. Requests for proclamations are generally received from clubs, organizations, nonprofit groups and individuals.

To learn more, or to submit a proclamation request, visit the proclamation webpage.

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