Des Moines Federal Executive Council
Hosts 'Diversity in the Workplace'

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) Diversity Committee hosted 'Diversity in the Workplace' training to all federal employees. HUD's Des Moines Field Office Director, Bruce Ray, is Vice-President of the FEC and Operations Specialist, Krista Bowersox, is the Diversity Committee Chairperson. The Diversity Committee was responsible for organizing the training opportunity for all federal employees. Given that this was the first time the FEC Diversity Committee had hosted a day of training, it was a huge success with over 220 federal employees attending the sessions.

Groups were given an egg and supplies and told to create a structure for the egg so that it wouldn't break when dropped. This exercise showed that diverse groups could work together.

Attendees experienced the challenges faced by people with disabilities.

The training day consisted of three sessions: Sessions I: 'Cultural Competence and Diversity'. Abraham Funchess, Division Administrator of the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans, Iowa Department of Human Rights presented an interactive discussion of diversity. Session II: Welcome to My World, A Disability Awareness Simulation presentation by Director Robert Jeppesen and his staff from the Central Iowa Center for Independent Living. The simulated disabilities demonstrated the challenges faced by people with disabilities. Also, during Session II: The English Language Learners (ELL) class of Teacher Kathryn Potts from Meredith Middle School of the Des Moines Public School system presented 'Faces of Freedom'. 'Faces' portrays people from many cultures coming to America and the challenges they face. Session III: 'Workplace Transitions - Iowa Refugee Perspectives' by the Iowa Refugee Bureau. Bureau Chief John Wilken along with his staff representing several nationalities spoke on their reactions to arriving in the US and tips for working with people who speak other languages. Evaluations were collected from all attendees and training certificates were given to all attendees. This is an opportunity for federal agencies to training their employees and they will receive a certificate on Diversity Training at no cost to their agency. While the planning of the training was intense, the rewards were huge.