Equity & Inclusion Committee
At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love (as reflected in our core values). We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for all, and in order to realize this aspiration, we must will take a critical look at our internal systems and processes to discuss inequities that keep The Mountaineers from being a place where all people from various backgrounds and life experiences can experience the outdoors.
The main focus of our Equity & Inclusion (E&I) work is to remove barriers within The Mountaineers to create a community where all people feel a sense of belonging.
Read our blog about Fighting Racism in the Outdoors.
OUR COMMITMENT
As we embark on this work, we have been cautioned that our approach will need to be broad, multi-level, and org-wide with a focus on long-term, systematic, and cultural changes (while also making immediate, short-terms improvements). We also have been advised that being persistent yet patient is important - we need to move forward boldly yet with intention. We are not here to simply check a box and pat ourselves on the back, and we acknowledge that an uncomfortable road lies ahead.
We acknowledge that these conversations may make some people feel uncomfortable and the work may seem unproductive or slow moving at times. However, as we’ve engaged in this work, we have learned that progress cannot always be measured on a linear scale, and it’s important for us to hold space for community conversations.
We are committed to owning the past failures and current realities of The Mountaineers with humility and honesty. We commit to ask questions as opportunities to learn, not to defend our actions, and to assume best intentions from each member of our community. This won’t always be easy and by committing to this work we know we’ll make mistakes. We appreciate your engagement in this process, and want to acknowledge and thank our community and the members of the committee for their work to benefit The Mountaineers community.
About The Equity & Inclusion (E&I) committee
The Board of Directors has chartered a E&I Committee to oversee this work. Our committee members are working to create mechanisms by which we can make good DEI related decisions org-wide. We made progress in 2019 and 2020, and are currently working on our 2021 goals, which include an E&I Toolkit for Mountaineers volunteers.
Committee Members
Volunteers
- Siana Wong (she/her), E&I Committee Chair, Board Representative, Olympia Branch
- Ashley McLoud (she/her), Everett Branch
- Beth O'Connor (she/her), Seattle Branch
- Gabe Aeschliman, Seattle Branch, Board Representative
- Lisa Katzman (she/her), Olympia Branch
- Natalia Martinez-Paz, Tacoma Branch
- Robert White (he/him), Seattle Branch
- Serene Chen (she/her), Seattle Branch
Staff
- Kristina Ciari (she/her), Membership & Communications Director
- Sara Ramsay (she/her), Associate Director of Leadership & Operations
- Tom Vogl (he/him), CEO
Resources
The most important first steps you can take are to spend time reviewing available resources to become knowledgeable about issues concerning equity and inclusion, as well as to gain an understanding of how your life experiences influence your biases and how you interact with others.
Please start with our 3 Simple Steps to Get Started on Your Equity & Inclusion Journey.
Get Involved
Want to get involved or get updates about this work? We can add you to our E&I Working Group Basecamp, where the committee shares regular (2-3 times a month) updates and calls for feedback. Email Kristina Ciari at kristinac@mountaineers.org to be added to the group.