Meet Your CPRS JEDI Counsel

CPRS has been making strides towards becoming a more inclusive and equity-centered organization. Through our continuous hard work and determination, we feel more ready than ever to assist agencies all over California in their own journeys towards creating equitable and inclusive environments and increasing access to park and recreation services. At the same time, CPRS will always acknowledge that this journey is an ever-changing one, where no one will ever have “all the right answers”. We take this work seriously and commit to evolving and learning every day with you.

Before learning more about the Counsel, why we exist, and what we are working on, it is worth noting some key definitions which are important to focus on in this space. While you read these definitions, take a moment to internalize them and reflect on what they mean to you.

Justice: Dismantling barriers to resources and opportunities in society so that all individuals and communities can live a full and dignified life free of inherently oppressive structures and systems.

Equity: Allocating resources to ensure everyone has access to the same resources and opportunities. Equity recognizes that advantages and barriers—the ‘isms’—exist and must be addressed in different ways since the same answer is not right for everyone.

Diversity: The range of differences between us based on whether we experience advantages or encounter barriers to opportunities.

Inclusion: Fostering a sense of belonging by centering, valuing and amplifying the voices, perspectives and styles of those who experience more barriers based on their identities.

Why is it so important to always keep these definitions front and center? Mostly because each one of these concepts are so deeply intertwined with the others, and without any one of them, outcomes would suffer. A truly equitable environment cannot exist without inclusion and diversity. Fostering justice requires an understanding and dismantling of the systems in place which create inequities. If we accurately respond to and address the concerns and needs as listed in the above definitions, the ideal outcome is a true sense of belonging, for everyone.

To ensure CPRS was focusing on all these concepts and more, in 2022 we took the monumental step of forming the CPRS Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Counsel. The JEDI Counsel was approved as a permanent standing committee by the CPRS Board of Directors after seeing all the work and value of the JEDI Task Force. The JEDI Task Force was initially formed to create an official CPRS position statement on JEDI and serve as a temperature check of the CPRS membership regarding JEDI. This taskforce quickly evolved into a group of individuals who were committed to the advancement of JEDI work within CPRS, thus forming the foundation of what is now the JEDI Counsel.

Another definition worth notice is why we are called the “JEDI Counsel”. We were very intentional in calling this a “counsel” versus a “council”. This distinction exemplifies the concept that the JEDI Counsel is available as counselors and supporters of the work our members are doing to incorporate JEDI within communities. We are not here to act as an advisory board, enacting rules and regulations, but rather we exist purely to assist, build and connect our collective stories.

The JEDI Counsel is co-chaired and led by Tiarra Warner, Community Services Manager at the City of Rohnert Park and Marina Servantez, Director of Education at the California Park & Recreation Society. Our Counsel is also made up of 18 counselors (see list to the right) representing various locations, job focuses, backgrounds and more.

Each counselor brings with them a unique talent and commitment to advancing this important work. As such, everyone was given the opportunity to choose which area of expertise they wanted to focus on in their JEDI work, between the Data, Education, Engagement or Strategy & Policy Cabinets. Ultimately, our Cabinets all embody and strive towards achieving the JEDI Counsel mission in various ways. Our mission is to “Champion Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and empower CPRS members to incorporate these values within communities” and each Cabinet has developed specific goals that showcase how they plan to achieve our mission.

Data

• Collect and provide data to measure the efficacy of specific interventions and methods consistent with JEDI values.

• Analyze and interpret the data in a way that widens perspectives, helps communities identify gaps in equity and showcase best practices.

• Utilize the data collected to reveal the stories of the impact of JEDI values and recommending practical ways of pursuing them.

Education

• Empower CPRS members to share the knowledge received through lived experiences and educational opportunities.

• Encourage CPRS Members to seek a better understanding of diverse communities and how to serve all communities.

JEDI Counsel

Adam Chow, City of San Ramon

Ashley Sylvester, City of St. Helena

Becky Herz, Cosumnes Community Services District

Brandon Taylor, California State University, Fresno

Cindy Mendoza, MIG, Inc.

Daniel Mestizo, City of Pleasanton

Dominic Broadhead, LGS Recreation

Doug Grove, RHA Landscape Architects - Planners, Inc.

Dustyn Bindel, City of Sunnyvale

Heather Vilhauer, Educator

Joshua Green, Cosumnes Community Services District

Leah Martinez, Town of Danville

Marianne Davison, City of Ukiah

Marina Servantez, CPRS

Pamela Bianchi, County of Santa Clara

Rochelle Callis, Conejo Recreation & Park District

Sara Nahass Lopez, City of Brisbane

Tara Gee, City of Roseville

Teresa Ramirez, City of El Monte

Tiara Warner, City of Rhonert Park

• Provide educational opportunities that teach CPRS members to approach their professional and personal lives with a competency of JEDI values.

Engagement

• Establish communication pathways for the CPRS membership to access JEDI resources and connect with the JEDI Counsel.

• Invite all members to engage in JEDI conversations, resources and education.

• Support and encourage CPRS to take an active role in advancing JEDI values in all communities.

Strategy and Policy

• Develop the framework for the JEDI Counsel, facilitating Counsel discussions and providing direction.

• Compile a database of resources, including examples of strategies and policies that CPRS members can use in their JEDI journey

• Evolve our mindset, goals and approaches to ensure CPRS members and the Counsel are innovative and intentional in pioneering new ways of looking at work. We envision that with enough work on the above goals and metrics, we can help park and recreation agencies throughout the state immensely in their own journeys towards incorporating JEDI into all they do. The hope is also that as the JEDI Counsel works towards these aspirations, we will see CPRS become a space where all individuals feel they belong.

Fundamental to this work, there were also several values determined and crafted by the Counsel. These values showcase why this work is important, what we are striving towards and how we see park and recreation agencies fitting into this journey. Our JEDI Counsel believes that:

• Access to public lands, parks, recreation and facilities is an inherent right of all people and increases the physical and mental health outcomes of communities.

• Diversity in leadership increases emotional intelligence, improves decision-making and instills confidence in future leaders.

• The park and recreation profession has the unique opportunity to positively impact communities through intentional and inclusive community engagement.

• The park and recreation industry has always and will continue to be a conduit to providing a voice to underserved communities, and with the proper funding and resources, has the opportunity and ability to be the leading expert in actively and inclusively engaging all communities.

• JEDI work is necessary and ongoing because marginalized communities have historically had limited access to park and recreation services.

By this point, we hope that you feel ready to engage and interact with all the work going on with our Counsel. If you want to ensure you get updates about all the JEDI Counsel is doing, be sure you are a member of the “JEDI – Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion” Community on www.cprs. org. All members should have access to this community, and our Counsel hopes to use this as a place for people to post questions, concerns, and reflections on JEDI as well as an area where great resources are shared.

One of the large accomplishments of the JEDI Counsel in 2022 was launching our first ever 21-Day JEDI Challenge, with a fantastic turnout of people willing to take on the challenge.

This challenge asked participants to engage in one JEDI focused activity per day such as reading a chapter or article, watching a video, listening to a podcast or engaging with others and then reflecting on the experience. We ended the challenge with one large roundtable amongst all participants to allow for a space for people to share what they learned, any conflicts they might have run into and to connect with others who went through the same experience. The Counsel had great feedback on the challenge, and plans to launch another challenge in Spring 2023, so be sure to stay engaged with the Counsel on the JEDI Community to get signed up!

Beyond this, some of the projects in the works by our Counsel will be available soon and we hope these opportunities for engagement will help you in both your personal and professional journey. Currently, our Counsel is developing and collecting sample resources and policies for agencies, reviewing and refining how we collect data as it comes to JEDI metrics and feedback on events and we are also developing a number of education opportunities for members to engage in. We are looking very forward to the CPRS Annual Conference & Expo on April 3 – 6, 2023 in San Diego as we will not only see a number of pertinent and exciting sessions focused on JEDI, but also our JEDI Counsel will be hosting an in-person roundtable for people to connect and share. We invite you to join us at that roundtable on April 5th from 2:45 – 4:00 pm.

Our hope is to see you engaged in our efforts throughout 2023 and beyond. Should you ever encounter any questions that our counselors might be able to assist with, please be sure to engage with us and ask, especially through our online community, as this will be an area for collective idea sharing and problem solving. Feel free to reach out to the co-chairs directly as well with any questions: Tiarra Warner (twarner@rpcity.org) and Marina Servantez (marina@cprs.org). The CPRS JEDI Counsel is looking forward to engaging and publishing our work, and we hope to see you join us in this journey.