Advocates Receives Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Award

At the September 26 annual meeting of The Association for Developmental Disabilities Providers (ADDP), Advocates was honored to receive an award recognizing the organization's work in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). 

A group of Advocates representatives involved in more than thirty DEIB initiatives was on-hand to accept the award, which recognized Advocates' decades-long, transformative DEIB journey. ADDP selected Advocates on the basis of its many DEIB initiatives, including a robust Diversity Advisory Council; an innovative Hate, Racism, and Oppressive Behavior reporting protocol; multiple employee resource groups; and an agency-wide Racial Equity Action Plan. According to ADDP, Advocates was "honored for building a community where diversity is celebrated, equity is achieved, and everyone belongs."

In his speech accepting the award, Advocates Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer Promise Mchenga celebrated the countless Advocates team members who work to advance DEIB efforts while also recognizing the collective need to do more. He also invited collaboration across the sector, sharing with fellow event attendees, "We love collaborating. We know that we can't do this in isolation."