Akron hires first DEI director, responds to racial equity task force recommendations
The city of Akron has hired its first director of diversity, equity and inclusion, one of the chief recommendations from the Racial Equity and Social Justice Taskforce created more than two years ago.
The city also has released its responses to the task force's 117 total recommendations.
Tammy Tucker began working as the city’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion Nov. 7, the city said in a news release Thursday. She was previously the director of diversity and inclusion for Ohio State University’s College of Medicine.
“I am humbled by the vote of confidence entrusted by Mayor [Dan] Horrigan to serve as the inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the City of Akron,” Tucker said in a statement. “The work the Racial Equity Social Justice Taskforce has outlined is encouraging as it addresses our most vulnerable places. I am empowered to create authentic sustainable brave spaces for practices, policies and procedures that focus on the humanity of all.”
The city said that Tucker will focus on implementing the task force's strategic plan and "building equity through community relationships." She'll also "help promote a more diverse, centralized, inclusive work environment for all employees by accelerating the city’s efforts around race, gender, disability and other protected class equity goals;" create "accountability mechanisms and ensuring regular reporting to policy makers;" and "develop and adapt a strategic DEI framework which incorporates DEI principles into the city’s operations, programs, services and policies."
“I’m beyond excited to welcome Tammy to our team,” Horrigan said in a statement. “Improving Akron’s DEI efforts, both internally and externally, has been a focus of my administration from the start, and bringing in someone who can devote the bulk of their time and attention to these increasingly important objectives will be critical to our progress. Tammy brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role, and I know she is ready for the work ahead.”
Tucker earned a master’s of education as an administrative specialist and a bachelor’s in English literature, both from Central State University.
Tucker has previously worked at Ohio State University, Ohio University, Cuyahoga Community College and Central State University. At Ohio State, Tucker worked on all students completing implicit bias mitigation training. At Ohio University, she was director of TRIO Student Support Services and helped students who identified as first generation, limited income or with a disability earn their bachelor's degrees. She also worked in TRIO services at Cuyahoga Community College and Central State University, where she also helped high school students with ACT preparation and college admissions through the Upward Bound program.
She's also worked on welfare reform with jobs and family services in Franklin and Cuyahoga counties, prison reentry within Cuyahoga County, workforce investment with the city of Cleveland and racial reconciliation in the Episcopal Church.
A mother of three adult daughters, Tucker is an avid writer and published poet who enjoys playing tennis, reading and cooking for family and church functions.
Racial Equity and Social Justice Taskforce recommendations
Also on Thursday, the city released its responses to the Racial Equity and Social Justice Taskforce recommendations.
The recommendations focus on six areas: equitable workforce development and job creation, the criminal justice system, health care/public health, housing, education and communications.
Racial Equity/Social Justice Task Force:Task force submits wish list of racial equity, social justice priorities for Akron leaders
Of the 117 total recommendations from the task force, the city identified 92 to incorporate and 25 that are "either unsustainable or unrealistic to implement at this time, but will keep them in mind for future opportunities," according to a news release.
Of the 92 the city is incorporating, the city said 43 have already been implemented or are already practiced, and "the city has firm plans to work towards the remaining recommendations in the coming years," with a timeline for each, according to a news release.
The city responded to each of the 117 recommendations and provided an explanation in the response.
“These recommendations are the result of 14 months of research, discussion and hard work on the part of the RESJ Taskforce members, and they have laid the foundation for important and necessary change here at the city,” Horrigan said in a statement. “I firmly believe that acting on these recommendations is just the first step. We will continue to listen, learn and work towards sustainable solutions to create a more equitable city for all."
Akron City Council in June 2020 declared racism a public health crisis, which included a call to establish a task force to develop a strategic plan. The task force began its work in November 2020 and released its five-year strategic plan in February 2022.
After receiving the strategic plan, the mayor’s office put together a team to review and issue a response. The team spent the next six months meeting with each department in the city and every cabinet member to discuss the recommendations specific to their work. The team also determined which recommendations the city planned to incorporate, set the suggested timelines and estimated funding needed to implement the changes.
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron hires first DEI director, responds to task force recommendations
