Cultural Competence and Diversity

Contributed by: Ava Adler

In an effort to promote cultural competency and diversity within the Washtenaw County Trial Courts CASA Program, a committee was formed made up of CASA volunteers and staff and community members who could help inform us in this arena. We met in December and January and came up with a plan aimed at both increasing the diversity of our volunteer pool and improving the training we offer in cultural competency.

Participants included two volunteer advocates (Venkat L. and Grace W.), Patricia Doty-White from the Alpha Wives organization, Pat Horne-McGee, director of the Washtenaw County Head Start Program, Donna Huntsman, Executive Director of Friends of CASA and Ava Adler, CASA Coordinator. The group brainstormed about organizations and events where we could do outreach for both volunteer recruitment and community education. Some of these included the University of Michigan Women of Color Task Force, African-American Fraternities and Sororities through their service clubs, Links, Inc (a volunteer organization of professional women of color and the church community.

We also identified the Eastern Michigan University School of Social Work and Education as a resource for a diversity curriculum and discussed some specific books and movies which could be used as part of that.

A list of contact people was generated and our next step will be to communicate with them and offer to do a presentation to their organization about CASA and the serious problem of neglect and abuse in our community.

If you would like to join our committee or have any ideas about moving this effort forward, please feel free to contact Ava Adler @ 734-222-3734 or adlera@ewashtenaw.org

CASA Community Member of the Week

Name: Sinead M.

Role: Board Fellow on Friends of CASA through University of Michigan Business School

What interested you about the CASA program?

I wanted to be able to continue to work within the nonprofit sector during my time at business school. Being able to work directly with Friends of CASA allows me to use some of the skills I am learning at school and immediately start making an impact.

Tell us a little bit about your previous Work and/or Volunteer Experience and/or Education:

I worked as a teacher through Teach for America for two years on the South Side of Chicago before returning to school at Stanford University and earning a Masters degree in Education Policy. After working for a few years in Palo Alto doing Education Policy research, I decided to attend business school at the University of Michigan in the hopes of one day being able to reform an entire school district.

Hobbies/Fun Fact(s) about Yourself:

I used to compete all around the world in Irish Dancing and placed in the World Irish Dancing Championships.

What is your favorite quote of all time?

"the best thing you've ever done for me is to help me live my life less seriously...it's only life after all." -indigo girls

How did you hear about the CASA Program?

Through the Board Fellows program at business school.