Education: Completing organization-wide DEI training with our inclusion partners, The Darkest Horse, a minority and woman-owned consultancy firm.
Internal Culture: The development of an internal committee to establish a safe space for all employees to have their voices heard and be agents of change.
Client Equity: Participating in pro bono work and advocacy for organizations that directly impact our local community’s wellbeing, including projects with the Lower Eastside Girls Club and LaGuardia High School.
Community: Building community outreach and volunteer opportunities to inspire Optimist Employees to create broad lasting impact.
Influence: Consistently evaluating our external relationships with vendors, service providers, influencers, and publications to ensure that their missions and messaging align with Optimist Consulting’s core values.
Optimist Consulting is committed to cultivating a diverse, safe, inclusive, and accessible environment for our staff and clients. Leveraging our influence in our work allows us to take action to become accountable allies for people with historically marginalized identities, particularly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). We do not overlook the ongoing injustices, discrimination, and systemic oppression that continue to take place across the United States and globally. To remain neutral or silent would be tantamount to complicity in such injustice.
We acknowledge the work needed for change within our organization’s sphere of influence. Understanding that we can do more than having meaningful conversations, below we have offered some of the actions we are implementing within our company. Most importantly, we understand that these actions are just the beginning of our work to create equity and inclusion, and that our work as allies will be ongoing.