DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION

As an agency we commit to using our voice and platform to fight against injustice. While we may not have the solution to change the world, we do have the power, resources, and heart to change ourselves and our community.

With this commitment and urgency in mind, we are taking the following steps to bring about equality, civility and justice for all:

Listen with our Hearts – Valley Youth House will provide opportunities for youth, families and staff to openly discuss how the issues of racism and discrimination have impacted them personally.  By providing Safe Spaces for people to share, we will build understanding and compassion for each other as a foundation for our continued work.

Plan with our Heads – Valley Youth House staff will work with youth and community leaders to develop an annual strategy to address issues of diversity, equity and inclusion both within our agency as well as in our local communities.  We will share these plans publicly and hold ourselves accountable to improve the climate and reality within our agency and our respective communities.

Speak Up with our Voices – We are committed to making Valley Youth House an actively anti-racist organization. This means we will actively speak out and address acts of racism, racist comments, and racist practices, policies and procedures. We know that racism and injustice disproportionately impacts many of the youth that we serve, and we will advocate for them with our public officials and the general public.

RECENT STEPS TOWARDS GOALS:

• Established 5 year DEI Strategic Plan
• Published monthly newsletter, The Catalyst,  for VYH staff and community
• Created 5 agency-wide Affinity Groups
• Instituted a Hiring & Promotion Policy
• Developed an Anti-Racist Policy
• Launched a pipeline for emerging leaders from historically under-represented groups called Leadership Valley Youth House
• Participated in our 2nd Annual George Floyd Memorial Walk
• Established a Community Garden at our Lehigh Valley office
• Hosted the B. Braun Black History Connection event
• Increased program funding from the Philadelphia Foundation

CHAIR

Richard Liu, MPH
Associate Director, Global Marketing, Virology
Merck & Co.
pronouns: he/him/his

COMMITTEE

Kevin Greene
Chief Operations Officer
Faces International

Dr. G. Christopher Hunt, Ed.D.
Vice President and Dean for Equity & Inclusion
Moravian University

Natasha Ljujic, MBA
HR Business Partner
Air Products

Marci Martinez-Howey
Associate Vice President, DEI
United Way of Greater Lehigh Valley

Heather Morris
Director, Contracts Management & Supplier Diversity
Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW)

Dr. Erica Patterson, DM
Director, Contracts Management & Supplier Diversity
Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW)

Forrest Patterson
Managing Director, Corporate Client Banking
JP Morgan

Jameel Rush, PHR, SHRM-CP
Director, Inclusion Programs
Google

Alma Scott-Buczak, SHRM-SCP SPHR
Associate Vice President, Human Resources
Lafayette College

STAFF ADVISOR

Shawn Mack
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Valley Youth House

smack@valleyyouthhouse.org

STAFF ON COMMITTEE

Tom Harrington
President & Executive Director
Valley Youth House

Kylin Camburn
Case Manager, Project Silk LV
Valley Youth House

Lawren Konschnik
Associate Director of Human Resources
Valley Youth House