Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
OUR PEOPLE ARE OUR GREATEST ASSET
The diversity of our people is what makes Durand exceptional. We recognize that each person has unique strengths. Inclusion and diversity are fundamental to our culture and values. We believe no one should be discriminated against due to their race, religion, color, sex, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, or expression.
As Durand continues our focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), it is important we be intentional and inclusive, ensuring our agency provides respectful representation of EVERYONE’S celebrations, traditions and values. In doing so, we have chosen to emulate the National PTA’s Multicultural Calendar in effort to adopt an inclusive, multi-cultural holiday calendar which builds awareness, fosters interest and fairly represents all events and values of our staff, clients and community. For more information about Durand’s recognized holidays for the 2023-24 school year, please click on the link below.
A Statement from our CEO, Ray Cristofoletti
Durand’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is deeply rooted in the vision of our founder Dr. Simone Durand Schumann, who worked to establish a community in which all members are respected, valued, and recognized for their individual attributes and talents.
Since 1972, Durand has been at the forefront of utilizing research and best practices to deliver services to individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Durand uses its resources to support families and to educate staff and the wider community about how to best serve its constituents.
Our staff members are central to helping Durand to deliver exceptional services and to grow as a learning organization. We are committed to making sure that staff from diverse backgrounds and talents are invited, welcomed, recognized, and appreciated for their differences. All staff can be sure that their voices matter and that their contributions will be used beneficially.
As we enter the second half-century at Durand, we affirm Dr. Durand Schumann’s vision and remain steadfastly committed to acceptance, equity, and inclusivity for our entire community.
Durand is a place where:
- Your voice will be heard
- Everyone will do their best work
- Each person can be their authentic self without concern for judgment or retaliation
- All feel valued and respected
- Coworkers are treated with humanity, kindness, and respect, allowing them to feel safe and accepted
We are doing and plan to do things that we believe will help us attract the best talent. As a natural consequence of doing these things, we believe we’ll also build a more diverse team. Some of those things include:
- Keeping the interview panels diverse
- Ensuring that “not a culture fit” is not code for “isn’t like us” in the hiring process
- Continuing outreach to pockets of untapped
- Measuring diversity on a periodic basis to see how we’re doing
- Focusing on our culture and being very clear through words & actions about what is acceptable and not acceptable behavior
We provide:
- Inclusive Workspaces – all-gender restrooms, rooms for nursing parents
- Nationally recognized Juneteenth as a paid holiday
- A series of formal/informal learning events and resources throughout the year on topics such as unconscious bias.