By JaniceNakano – Incoming Chair of the DEI Section

Aldridge Pite,LLP *

USFN Member (AK, CA, FL, GA, HI, ID, NY, OR, UT, WA)

When I was younger, I was a runner and competed in sprints and relays in school. My favorite races were the relays. The hand off of the relay bar is the most important part of the race. It involves keeping up with the speed and pace of the runner before or after you and timing the handoff just right. What I really love about relay races is that you have to work as a team and each runner is dependent on the other to succeed.

When I joined USFN’s Diversity & Inclusion group, we were a smaller group of members with the idea and hope to educate our fellow members. Each member of our section is as valuable as each member of the relay race. While we don’t all run at the same speed, the passion and dedication to our mission is the same: education, enlightenment, and action. Our wee group grew into a larger group, and we eventually became an official section! We renamed the section, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), and Sally Garrison has led us since its creation. I took over the role of Vice Chair in 2021 and have been working hard to be worthy of taking over from Sally as she vacates her seat this year.

I can honestly say that while our mission is to provide information and to help educate our colleagues, I realized that I personally had a lot to learn about DEI. I struggled a little with some of the new terminology and had to restructure my thinking about biases. But this is what our section is all about, right? We aim to educate, enlighten, and take action. While our society is being saturated with all things related to DEI, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the abundance of information, however it’s more important now than ever to keep the momentum going.

Over the next few years, I plan to lead our group forward as we navigate through new and expanding topics which are born from increased awareness and discussion. I still have a lot to learn, but couldn’t be happier knowing that the members of this section are passionate and dedicated to our mission. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Copyright @2022

December 2022 USFN e-Update