Beacon Hill Event Honors Arlington Diversity Director For Black Excellence

Arlington MA

05 March, 2021

5:09 PM

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Your Arlington Last Updated: 05 March 2021 Written by Elizabeth Berman, Bob Sprague Arlington's director of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), Jillian Harvey, has been honored for her work at the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus's Black Excellence on the Hill event after she was nominated by state Sen. Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington). "I was truly surprised and grateful to be nominated, Harvey said in a March 3 news release. "The Black Excellence on the Hill ceremony was a humbling experience, and so inspiring to be surrounded by such passionate individuals making such significant impacts in their communities." Hired in December 2019 as the town's first diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator, and promoted last October, she said "it has been an exciting and challenging year to say the least. I am looking forward to continuing to advance the racial-equity initiatives for the Town of Arlington, through training for staff, programming and events for community members, in addition to the other projects and collaborations that are underway. "Racism is baked into every aspect of daily life, thus dismantling and rebuilding our institutions will take time and significant effort. I am proud to work for a municipality that has recognized the need for change, and understands that equity work is a lifelong commitment." Over 250 attend More than 250 people attended the virtual event on Friday, Feb. 26. The annual event honors the Black leaders, trailblazers, and changemakers who continue to contribute to communities across the Commonwealth. Friedman said she thought of Harvey immediately as the perfect honoree when the nomination application opened. "Jill's work allows people to engage in long-avoided discussions about diversity and equity, and then pivot to planning meaningful change," Friedman said in the release. "Her work has already enhanced Arlington's approach to becoming a more equitable community. I am so happy that the Massachusetts Black & Latino Legislative Caucus helped me recognize Jill for her outstanding work." As DEI director, Harvey serves as a staff adviser to the town's Human Rights Commission, LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Commission and Disability Commission, and is the ADA coordinator. She also works with the town manager and human-resources director to improve strategies to recruit and retain a more diverse municipal workforce. Harvey also leads efforts to train current town staff on matters of diversity and equity, most notably participating in the Race, Equity & Leadership (REAL) Training program, in coordination with the National League of Cities. That program got underway in January 2020 following published comments in October 2018 by Lt. Rick Predrini. 'Worked tirelessly' The news release from Friedman's office said that Harvey "has worked tirelessly over the past year" to elevate the town's dialogue around diversity-and-inclusion issues, and she has provided several opportunities for the traditionally-suppressed voices to speak up in town-wide conversations. Harvey led a town series called "Community Conversations" last summer, which discussed race-related issues, and on Sept. 22 featured a discussion with Lt. Pedrini, whose virulent commentary has roiled the town for nearly two years. In that forum, the officer apologized for the substantial harm caused by his writings published in a statewide police newsletter. This session allowed the community to directly hear from Lt. Pedrini and included an opportunity for a diverse panel of Arlington residents to confront Pedrini and explain to him the harm that his words caused. "This session was unique in its power and efficacy and Harvey's work on this established a model for how challenging conversations can be facilitated across the Commonwealth," the news release said. Currently, Harvey is working to establish a state DEI collaborative, which will connect people doing similar work across the state's municipalities. YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.