Diversity Committee

From AFSWiki

At the 2010 National Volunteer Assembly (NVA), volunteers voted to establish a Committee on Diversity to develop a strategy of inclusion that is in line with the AFS mission and vision, and supports our hosting, sending and volunteer recruitment efforts.

The committee will begin the process of defining diversity for AFS-USA, understanding our current student, host family, and volunteer demographics, and make recommendations for improving our presence within underrepresented communities.

Background

AFS-USA is the oldest and largest international high school exchange program in the US. As a leader in intercultural learning with its mission to work “toward a more just and peaceful world," the question that comes to mind is, does AFS reflect a commitment to the essence of its vision – inclusion? The honest answer is that we don’t know. At best, we could be a diverse organization, but we have no real measure to support such a claim. At worst, we are sorely under representing certain groups, and therefore off-track in the pursuit of our mission. From a business perspective, we could be neglecting opportunities to grow our student and host family numbers, volunteer base, and funding, which are all detriments in the current financial and regulatory environment.

Governance

The Diversity Committee (DC) is a committee of the National Volunteer Assembly (NVA). As such, the DC is accountable to the NVA for achieving the goals outlined in the approved proposal and background paper. On a yearly basis, the NVA will review the work of the DC and vote on new diversity initiatives brought forth by the DC. On a monthly basis, the DC will report to the National Council, submitting meeting minutes and answering questions that may arise from the DC’s activities.

Overall Objective

The National Volunteer Assembly voted to establish the Diversity Committee to evaluate, monitor and implement diversity initiatives across the organization. The committee will begin to define diversity for AFS-USA, understanding our current student, host family, and volunteer demographics, and make recommendations for improving under-represented communities, so that AFS-USA reflects the country as a whole. The aim of which is to improve program quality, access diversity resources, and achieve the AFS mission and vision.

Specific Objectives

The Diversity Committee (DC) will focus on data collection, analysis, and interpretation, as well as research on best practices and demographic trends. The DC will utilize a variety of methods to understand the current status of diversity within the organization, including surveys, focus groups and AFS application questions. The DC will prepare and submit for review an annual status report, including successes, challenges, and opportunities for further development. The DC will also propose diversity initiatives to the NVA for its approval for the year to come.

Methodology

The Committee will initially meet to develop the work plan for the year. Work will then continue by conference calls and regular email correspondence, with sufficient frequency to complete the agreed upon tasks.
The Committee will provide a report at each meeting of the NVA, as well as monthly meeting minutes to the National Council.
During the intervening periods between NVA meetings, the Committee will go to the National Council for approval and adoption of its activities.
During the intervening periods between NVA meetings, recommendations from committee task forces will be sent first to the full Committee for approval, and then on to the National Council.

Composition

There shall be 10 members on the Diversity Committee; both volunteers and staff members. The committee will seek to have a representative group, involving staff and volunteer members with experience in hosting, sending, volunteer development, sponsored programs, development, and information technology. Much weight and considerations will also be given to the regional and demographic makeup, as well as even mix of staff and volunteers; experience in diversity initiatives; training and development experience; and experience in organizational development strategies. Initially, a coordinating group composed of MaryAnn Nation, Carrie Jacobs and José Ruiz-Salas will create and implement a process for recruiting and vetting prospecting committee members. Once the application process is complete, the coordinating committee will make its recommendation to the National Council for approval. Until the DC is ready to elect a chair, the coordinating group will function as the committee’s chair.

Committee Members

José Ruiz-Salas – Chair, Diversity Committee; National Council member; Sending Coordinator, Sierra San Joaquin Team
Carrie Jacobs – Team Specialist, Portland Office
Megan Shook – Sending Coordinator, Baltimore Team
Darin Smith-Gaddis – Sending Program Specialist, New York Office
Kate Wood – Corporate and Foundation Relations Specialist, New York Office
Elmer Woods - Sponsored Programs volunteer, Miss Tennky Team

* Jim Laden - Organizational Learning and Development Specialist, Portland Office; Diveristy Committee Facilitator

Method of Appointment

On a yearly basis, or as needed to maintain the required number of members, the Diversity Committee will initiate a recruitment process for new members. New members will go through an application process and vetted by the DC. The DC will submit to the National Council for approval a list of new and returning members. The Chair will be chosen by the DC members of the committee.

Committee Member Commitment

Members will be asked to:

Commit to being active and responsible members for a minimum two-year term (members may renew for up to three terms)
Attend meetings via conference call (bi-weekly or monthly)
Attend one face-to-face meeting (subject to approval)
Research focus areas and read specific materials provided as background information
Participate on sub-groups that will undertake actions outlined in the proposal and could include: data collection and analysis, research, community exploration, and training and development

Committee Member Recruitment

We are welcoming volunteers and staff to apply to be members of the Committee on Diversity, and in this way help in the continuous development of our chapters, teams, and AFS-USA. Please download the application form and submit to diversity@afsusa.org. Questions regarding the committee or becoming a member of the committee can be directed to the same email address. Next round of applications are due no later than May 30, 2011. Staff who wish to apply must obtain permission from their immediate supervisor. Important aspects to selection of committee members:

passion for diversity issues
actively participates
not overly committed to other AFS work
works well with others, open, flexible, tolerant
ability to coordinate and manage multiple tasks
open-minded to a wide definition of diversity
accountable for his or her performance

Important aspects to the overall composition of the committee:

cross-functional: sending, hosting, volunteer development
even mix of staff/volunteers
IT experience
experience in diversity initiatives
training and development experience
cross-hierarchical: exec staff, NC, team, board, AFS international
experience in organizational development strategies

Implementation Timeline

Action	Timeframe for Completion
solicit interested volunteers and staff for committee	to begin immediately at NVA
Depending on level of interest, create an application and selection process, which clearly outlines the commitment and expectations	mid-May
invitations to go out to interested volunteers and staff	beginning of June
initial telephone conference of interested volunteers and staff select chair	mid-June
plan for data collection, research, and exploration of communities	beginning of July
begin research activities begin exploration of communities	beginning of September
face-to-face meeting	end of September
implement data collection	January 1, 2011 – depending on how quickly data collection can be implemented, or integrated into Global Link, and what reporting measures are put into place (e.g., by calendar year, program types)
submit preliminary report to the NVA	April 2011

Related Items

Demographic Research

Sending: Student Ethnicity Report This file provides ethnicity data for all sent students between 2000 and 2009, by year, team, program and region.

Currently, there is no historical data regarding host family demographics, though due to DoS regulations, family income is now a required part of the host family application starting in 2010.

Volunteer Demographic This volunteer demographic report was created using information provided by registered volunteers. The list of registered volunteers was pulled from Global Link February 2010.