KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) has announced the hire of a new Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI).
Elena Mireles-Hill has been selected for this new leadership position, which officials say was created to advance DEI and Anti-Racism (AR) standards and practices internally.
“The current conditions of our community, especially around issues of racism and oppression, implore that institutions like KZCF take seriously our role and influence in advancing the equitable community that Kalamazoo County deserves,” Mireles-Hill said in a statement. “We know that we cannot hold our community accountable to that which we aren’t willing to do in our own institution. I look forward to applying my leadership in this new role and working alongside our Anti-Racist Transformation Team to continue to transform the ongoing work of KZCF.”
Mireles-Hill has served on the foundation’s Community Investment team for the last six years.
According to officials, she has also led the formation process for the Anti-Racism Transformation Team (ARTT), driven various strategies in Community Investment for more equitable grantmaking and helped to establish ELLAS, a local group for leadership development in Latinx women.
This will be the first dedicated position to provide leadership inside the organization. The responsibilities of Mireles-Hill will include leading the planning for DEI training and development for staff and board members.
However, this is not the only new position that has been filled recently.
Officials say that Sholanna Lewis has now been promoted to Director of Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Kalamazoo. Before this position, Lewis served as a Community Investment Officer on the foundation’s grantmaking team.
“It’s been an honor to work alongside community to build upon the transformative work happening here,” Lewis said in a statement. “I’m proud of how far we’ve come and I’m excited to see where this work will go as we continue to grow our partners and explore ways to bring healing to Kalamazoo.”
In light of these new positions filled, officials are weighing in with their own thoughts –
“We’re delighted to have Elena and Sholanna in their new roles and take our DEI work to the next level,” president and CEO of KZCF Carrie Pickett-Erway said . “In addition, we’ve recently hired some outstanding folks into newly-created positions and promoted a number of staff members. This speaks to the growth and evolution of our work in and with community, as well as the high caliber of our team here.”
It is the mission of the KZCF “to remove barriers through building relationships and connecting resources so people can reach full potential.”
More information about the organization can be found at kalfound.org.
