Current Commitments Underway
Last updated: 24 June 2020
- Provide anti-racism training for our entire community, covering the cost for all attendees, as well as leadership-specific training if possible. Board and executive will take the community training. *Update*: We have an information session set up with an AR/AO training professional, and are in the process of setting up others.
- Immediately open up two Board of Directors seats to alumni, in order to better represent our community at our highest level of leadership. *Update:* Interviews have been scheduled with all applicants. A decision will be made, board members added, and all applicants will be contacted on schedule by June 29th.
- Share the draft of our strategic report with the community. We have shared Bridge's external strategic report draft with the community, which features outreach and work with BIPoC individuals and organizations as one of our key areas of focus for 2020-2023. The strategic report is complete, however we will wait to release it to not take up space for critical conversations happening right now.
- Ensure diverse representation of speakers at events. We have begun work on implementing a defined process and policy for both ensuring diverse representation of speakers as well as ensuring appropriate remuneration to speakers from outside our community of volunteers and sponsors. *Update*: we have finished outlining our process and policy for remuneration, and are soliciting feedback from the community on our proposed processes and policies for ensuring diverse representation of speakers. After feedback is given this item will be complete.
- Immediately open up at least one additional board seat to someone outside of the Bridge community, who is also a Black or Indigenous person. We have reached out to individuals and will be reaching out to organizations to find candidates for this role. We are working towards having the additional person join the Board in July 2020. *Update*: interviews are ongoing and we continue to reach out to individuals and organizations for this purpose. We are on track for at least one July 2020 addition to the board.
- Highly prioritize reaching out to communities outside of our immediate network in our search for Bridge's new CEO to ensure diverse candidates for the role, particularly Black and Indigenous organizations. *Update*: This item is now in progress, a list of organizations and individuals to reach out to has been started and will be worked on over this week.
Upcoming Work
Here are the other action items currently planned for the short term (0-3 months). Please contact hello@bridgeschool.io at any time if you have an additional suggestion. Bridge's leadership will continue to research ways to improve diversity within the organization and our served community.
- We will create a format for the Bridge community to formally connect with the Board and leadership team, anonymously if desired. This will include a clearly communicated structure as to how we will respond to any questions, comments, concerns and ideas both directly and in the Bridge slack. Issues raised will be shared and followed up on with the community unless the community member specifically asks for it not to be.
- Update the Bridge Code of Conduct to specifically address our organization's policies to ensure the safety, health, and support of Black and Indigenous individuals in our community.