This presentation will bring the strategies, tools, wins and woes experienced by Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as it built a Racial Equity Strategy from the ground up. Presenters will dive into how they got started, how they achieved buy-in at the department and then county-wide level, and how to bring staff and branch leaders into the conversation. Specific examples from DHHS-Social Services Branch including leading with leadership, a hyperlocal approach to onboarding at a Family Resource Center: understanding tribal partnerships and the impacts of colonialism, and setting a strong foundation for the state-wide REIB roll-out.

Ryan Bishop – Deputy Branch Director – Social Services Branch Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, Social Services Branch

Eric Kanaga – Program Manager II, Rraninou’Waduk | The Center at McKinleyville Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, Social Services Branch

Neftali Miller-Rubio – Program Manager, Racial & Cultural Equity Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services

Monique Upshaw-Smith – Program Manager II, CalFresh and Medi-Cal Programs Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, Social Services Branch