Page 9 - WRC

WRC’s Educational Initiatives
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Part of WRC’s strategic plan, approved by the Board in November 2016, is the goal to promote internal diversity and cultural competence to better serve the needs of more diverse communities. Within two years, the WRC Board invited two consultants (Kerryn Agyekum and Dr. Tiffenia Archie)
who work in the field of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to conduct Board, staff and volunteer trainings and propose an implementation
plan. In March 2020, WRC asked Bridgett Battles, Diversity Manager for Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health and a member of WRC’s Governance Committee, to lead the WRC Taskforce on Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion which would propose implementation steps. This Taskforce includes Board, staff and volunteers. In June, Ms. Battles led two WRC virtual B.R.A.V.E. (Bold, Relevant, Authentic, Valuable, Educational) Conversations on DEI for the community.
Women Speak, WRC's new TV Show
February 2020 saw the first episode of the WRC TV interview show Women Speak, taped and broadcast by MLTV-Main Line Network on its television and YouTube channels. Host Mojdeh Keykhah, WRC’s Director
of Development and Communications, interviewed former WRC Board Chair Sue Staas and Executive Director Cheryl Brubaker about the historical legacy of WRC. As the pandemic gained momentum in March, Women Speak safely continued interviewing virtually over Zoom. The next interview featured family law attorney Jennifer Riley, Esq., who spoke on regional family law court delays and possible closures due to COVID-19, the implications for divorce, custody and support proceedings and available options and resources. As consequences from the pandemic worsened, Women Speak focused next on employment law and pandemic unemployment compensation with insights from former WRC Board Chair and employment lawyer Mandy Rosenblum, Esq. During the summer, Women Speak obtained a first-hand account of Pennsylvania’s pandemic related mortgage and rent relief program from Director of Policy and Planning Bryce Maretzki of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency in Harrisburg.
DEI Taskforce Chair Bridgett Battles
Women Speak interview with Sue Staas
July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020 | 8