Join the Urban Institute and the Urban–Greater DC initiative for a virtual discussion with chief equity officers from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
The DMV region is one of the most diverse in the country, but decades of systemic racism and discriminatory practices have produced significant inequities in education, income, employment, housing, and health for people of color. As localities have begun to reckon with the deliberate policy decisions that created these injustices, they have formed racial equity offices within their governments and recruited leaders for these new initiatives.
In response to the national spotlight on racial injustices in 2020, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments formed the Chief Equity Officers Committee to serve as a hub for DMV-area leaders to coordinate their efforts to improve racial equality. Chief equity officers across the region face the difficult but critical task of remedying centuries of discrimination and empowering affected communities. This conversation will focus on the progress these leaders have accomplished, the challenges they continue to face, and their visions for the future.
SPEAKERS
- Karla Bruce, Chief Equity Officer, Fairfax County, Virginia; Chair, Chief Equity Officers Committee, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
- Amber Hewitt, Chief Equity Officer, District of Columbia
- Tiffany Ward, Chief Equity Officer, Montgomery County, Maryland; Vice Chair, Chief Equity Officers Committee, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
- Peter A. Tatian, Senior Fellow and Research Director, Urban–Greater DC, Urban Institute (moderator)
MATERIALS
REVITALIZING AND REIMAGINING THE DMV AFTER COVID-19 EVENT SERIES
As the pandemic continues to exacerbate racial and socioeconomic inequities in the DMV, this series convenes Urban Institute subject matter experts and local changemakers to discuss what support communities need in the short term and how we might reimagine what the region could be after the pandemic, including through a framework for equitable growth. The series is part of Urban–Greater DC, an initiative to build knowledge that empowers Urban scholars and local partners to build on the DMV’s assets to confront inequities and create a region of shared prosperity.