To ELMies, ELM Families, Clients, & Friends,
The world continues to rightfully protest the death of George Floyd and the countless Black lives that have ruthlessly ended throughout the entire history of our nation. We see this as a critical point in time to course a new direction, by personally taking responsibility and encouraging all of those around us to do the same.
The call for anti-racism action on the part of this country’s community and business leaders is loud, and we hear it. We know that answering this call requires the hard work of listening to the needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals who make up our staff, our clients, and our community members. It involves stepping up and being willing to make mistakes as we address how racism, anti-blackness, and implicit bias has impacted all aspects of American life. And it involves committing to doing things differently, so real change can occur.
At ELM, diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values. Over the years, we’ve designed several of the world’s largest technology companies’ Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion learning courses. And internally our DEI Committee has established our DEI statement available to everyone on our website, surveyed our employees and required DEI learning and workshops, created inclusive business practices, and sought outside expertise from Strategic Diversity Initiatives based out of Minneapolis, MN.
But we’re pushing ourselves not just to live our values, but to LEAD with our values. In this historic moment of uprising and change, we commit to pushing ourselves – and others – toward real transformation. We know this won’t be easy. We know we’ll fail. And we know we’ll keep going, because there is no other choice. To this end, we commit to developing the following initiatives to change not just ELM, but our industry as a whole:
- Paid Internship Program to develop opportunities for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) who are interested in pursuing a career in creative design / learning design
- Mentorship Program for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) who are interested in developing as leaders in the creative design / learning design field
- Employee marketplace for engaging with – and supporting – BIPOC-owned businesses and non-profits
The momentum of this movement is strong, and to keep it strong we wish to see your anti-racism responses too. Let us know if we can be of help.
The ELM Team
