@universityofvirginia's President Jim Ryan addresses the importance of #Raceequity work as he kicks off #ClassroomtoBoardroom.

At 31, #SymoneSanders has charted a remarkable career crafting campaign strategy and advising on policy at the highest level of #Americanpolitics — and as a #Blackwoman from North Omaha, Nebraska, she has done so with the odds stacked against her. On January 16, 2021, Sanders joined Ben Allen, Executive Director of The Equity Center at the @universityofvirginia in a conversation about navigating the “-isms”, the opportunities and limitations of #DEI work, and how building more responsive #careerpipelines is the future of #economicopportunity. Pick up a copy of her new book, “No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America” at your local bookseller.

Join leading Black artists, thinkers, and Charlottesville community members for a conversation about higher levels—how art and community can deliver us to places that change our hearts and minds, and how to return from those places with an amplified ability to listen, learn, and grow. Together, we can make the space; we can rewrite the code—but only if our social fabric is there to support us.

We need a new model. Our current pace of change demands a diversity of perspective in order to meet the moment—moment after moment. What do we know? The range of human potential is vast, and a flexible understanding of employee value can maximize your potential as an organization. Not only that, but the impact of financial inclusion on an individual level can echo through generations. This conversation - led by Black women from multiple generations - will underscore the value of diversity and inclusion and highlight how understanding these ideas on a human level can increase opportunity and change lives.

Successes & Challenges from Year 1 On October 6, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced an investment of $1.7 million in the expansion of Network2Work, an innovative workforce development program pioneered by Piedmont Virginia Community College that connects jobseekers to high-quality careers and wraparound supports. We have gathered a panel of leaders from the Shenandoah Valley, Hampton Roads, and Greater Richmond regions to provide insight on the program and different ways it is taking root in their local communities.

How New Job Growth Industries Can Drive Equity & Economic Opportunity What does an equitable jobs recovery look like? This panel will explore three innovative models for creating well-paying jobs, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. Unsurprisingly, their solutions lie where we have not traditionally looked. Context: Persistent employment gaps between race, age, and sex remain unchanged or worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a Jan 2021 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For example, white men between the ages of 45 and 54 years old reported 4.8% unemployment in Q4 of 2020; Black women ages 18 to 19, a staggering 20%.

In the past 30 years, the portion of national wealth held by households in the top 10% of income in the U.S. has risen from 60% to 70%, according to Deloitte. Charlottesville, Virginia and the surrounding area provide no exception. In our community, 10,940 families (or 17% of the total population) do not make enough money to afford the essentials of life, as documented by the Orange Dot Report 4.0. This burden is not equally shared. 35% of Black families in the Charlottesville area make less than $35,000/year, compared to 14% of white families. The United Way of Greater Charlottesville and community partners have set ambitious goals for lifting people out of poverty - especially Black families - in part through a newly constituted Financial Resiliency Task Force. In this panel conversation, we will hear from members of the Task Force about centering interventions on the clients they are seeking to serve, the importance of relationships between community organizations, and how you can be a part of the work.

It is a critical challenge of our moment: To embed diversity, equity, and inclusion into the fabric of our organizations in a comprehensive and collaborative way. The Inclusive Excellence Framework (IEF) has provided a transformative model for such change at institutions of higher education across the country, as well as at over 100 state agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a number of non and for-profit organizations in our region. Come; hear from leaders from across sectors about their experience with Inclusive Excellence.

The population of the Blue Ridge Health District (BRHD) in Charlottesville, Virginia and the surrounding area is 14% African American. However, Black residents compose 18% of COVID-19 cases, 40% of hospitalizations, and 25% of fatalities. The Hispanic community is 5% of the BRHD population, yet accounts for 29% of cases, 17% of hospitalizations and 4.5% of fatalities. Put simply, Black and Brown residents in the Blue Ridge Health District make up a smaller share of the population yet carry a substantial share of disease burden, recovery complications, and death. Partners at Cultivate Charlottesville's Food Justice Network and The Equity Center sought to address this inequity by providing wraparound services to COVID-positive households throughout the pandemic. What resulted is a model for future public health crises and other emergency events that can support economic mobility and long-term wealth building for Black and Brown communities. You can learn more by reading The Equity Center's COVID-19 Wraparound Services Program Evaluation.