INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY, LEADERSHIP, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (IDEALS)
Diversity Helps the San José Environmental Services Department Thrive The staff agrees that bringing together people with diverse backgrounds leads to a wider range of ideas and better policies. BY AARON KINNEY When Kerrie Romanow first joined the San
“When employees feel that everyone has the opportunity José environmental services department (ESD) more to succeed based on the merits of their contributions,” than a decade ago, she noticed there were a lot of 7:00 a.m. Romanow adds, “it creates a sense of optimism that meetings. As the single parent of a three-year-old daughter, permeates the workplace.” it was nearly impossible to get to those ESD’s welcoming approach to diversity also informs the meetings on time. department’s philosophy about work-life balance. “We don’t “And if I did make it,” she says, “I want people to choose their family or their job,” Romanow could in no way put my best foot says. “We think you should be able to do both.” forward because it was crazy town Having ethnic diversity in leadership positions and getting my daughter to daycare and throughout the workforce is especially important given the getting to work. And I makeup of San José, where 32 percent noticed that all of the women of the population is Latino and Chavez-Vazquez would fly in between 7:00 36 percent is Asian, according KerrieRomanow and 7:05, half of us with wet to Census data. has found that hair, and the men would be Mariana Chavez-Vazquez diversity in there, generally, a little bit calmer.” leads ESD’s $2.1 billion Capital leadership sends When she asked the leader of one of these Improvement Program (CIP) a message of meetings if they had to be at 7:00, he replied, to upgrade and modernize the inclusivity. “No one has ever asked me that.” It was no San José-Santa Clara Regional problem moving the meeting, he said. Wastewater Facility, the largest The timing of a meeting may seem like a advanced wastewater treatment MarianaChavez-Vazquez small thing, but it’s one of many ways in which gender differences show up in the workplace. As director of ESD, Romanow has fostered a culture of both gender and ethnic diversity. Eight of the 11 people who comprise ESD’s leadership team, including deputy directors and division managers, are women. Five of that group are people of color and one is LGBTQ. That diversity brings a variety of ideas and perspectives to the department, fueling creativity and helping ESD achieve its mission of protecting public health and the environment. “Diversity is something I think is a cultural value for me personally and for our department,” says Romanow. “We The Cogeneration Facility, a milestone in the $2.1 billion Capital Improvement Program to upgrade and modernize the wastewater facility, won the 2021 Excellence in just want you to genuinely show up Innovation and Resiliency Award from the California Association of Sanitation Agencies. as yourself.” 40 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | DECEMBER 2021
