The 2024 Diversity & Inclusion Awards honorees were presented by the Wichita Business Journal and all information on the honorees can be viewed here: Read about the 2024 Diversity & Inclusion Awards honorees - Wichita Business Journal
SHELLEY ANDERSON
OWDS Program Coordinator, Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas
Individual Honoree
How did diversity and inclusion become important to you? In grade school, I learned about the Civil Rights Movement. The concept of a citizen of this country being persecuted or mistreated simply due to the color of their skin blew my mind. I was outraged. I wanted to learn more and make sure that didn’t happen anymore.
How do you approach conversations about diversity inside and outside your workplace? Seeking and valuing different perspectives is essential when approaching any decision. Ensuring that representation from a broad range of backgrounds is present in the conversation has to be the starting point. Those of different race, gender, religions as well as different experiences and expertise have to be represented in order to have a meaningful discussion.
What DEI initiatives are you a part of at work and in the community? I work with clients involved in the criminal justice system. This population has a level of systemic and societal issues to combat in order to achieve success. Most citizens don’t realize what barriers and stigmas and judgments they have to deal with when attempting to rebuild their lives. I recently was appointed by the .ayor of Wichita to the Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights Advisory Board. I am excited to be able to work with other citizens on important issues that effect the community.
What do you see as the greatest challenges for achieving true diversity in Wichita? Trust is the basis of community. Members of the community need to trust the different agencies, leaders, and governing bodies that they will truly represent them and they have their best interest at heart. Honest communication will be essential this process. The need for creating spaces where citizens feel comfortable sharing their cultural needs and perspectives cannot be overstated.
What would you like to see in the next five years in Wichita? Establishing a well-known and effective means of communication would be essential. Hearing directly from the citizens about what they have experienced and what they need has to be a first step. Amassing data would be a great starting point as well. Researching and sharing data concerning diversity, available services, and successes and failures would create a factual starting point. From there efforts and ideas that work or don’t work can be measured.
What would you consider your greatest accomplishment in the DEI realm so far? My resume speaks for itself. I have dedicated my professional career to working with underrepresented and often misunderstood populations. I have experience working with children in state’s custody, the parents in those systems, the homeless, clients with serious medical conditions, and those involved in the criminal justice system. Those populations have included all genders, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, etc. The successes I have seen these clients achieve motivate me to keep going.