Public works employee becomes Olympia’s new equity and inclusion coordinator

When a protests against racism and in support of social equality first swept the nation about a month ago, the city of Olympia already had changes in mind to better consider equity and diversity in its operations and decision-making.

City Manager Jay Burney told The Olympian last week that the demonstrations and the rapid shift in public perception around those issues accelerated some of those city discussions.

Burney recently installed Olivia Salazar de Breaux, a public works staff member and chair of the city’s internal committee on diversity and equity, to the newly created position of equity and inclusion coordinator. Her job will in large part be to serve as a conduit between the city and external groups, including advisory committees and outside community organizations to ensure they are aligned on common goals.

One of her first tasks will be seeking public input as the city works to establish a human rights commission.

The city human resources department is being reorganized to include more outward-facing efforts to improve the way the city applies a lens of equity to how it delivers services to residents. Those efforts will include a revamped training and development program for city staff and changes to the hiring process to ensure there aren’t barriers to minority candidates.

“I think most city managers come into a position and take time to evaluate things, while not making many changes in their first year,” said Burney, who was promoted from his assistant city manager role in May. “I look at what we need right now, and I see the need to move and quicken the pace, and to not wait any longer.”

Born on a military base in Heidelberg, Germany, de Breaux and her family moved to Lacey in 1980. She began working with the Washington State Hispanic Women’s Network while still in high school, has been heavily involved with The Hispanic Roundtable of South Sound since 2006, and co-founded the South Sound Girl Boss Collaborative, a networking arm for female entrepreneurs, in 2017.

High on de Breaux’s list of priorities is to have the city adopt tools created by the Government Alliance on Race and Equity into the decision-making process. As the chair of the city committee on diversity and equity, de Breaux has overseen monthly events for city staff that have focused on many topics, including racial equity and transgender rights.

She also wants to connect with local organizations to begin building a centralized network of resources for city employees to use when considering issues of equity. The Latino Leadership Network, YWCA and Blacks United in Leadership and Diversity (BUILD) are among those she hopes to link up with.

“We want people to come to the city and feel like they belong, they matter and they are empowered,” de Breaux said. “I have lived experience, coming from a Mexican-American background and growing up in poverty. I know what it’s like to feel invisible for a while.

“Another thing motivating me is that I’m a mom, and I’m thinking about this next generation and the world they’re growing up in. This is an opportunity to change things for the better, so this city and the world look a lot better for them.”

A proposal for a local human rights commission, which would likely include members of city government as well as representation from the general public, currently sits with the general government committee chaired by City Council member Renata Rollins. Its next meeting is 5 p.m. July 22.

A human rights commission would serve the city council in an advisory role, with one of its first tasks likely to be discussing a board to provide oversight to the Olympia Police Department. As equity and inclusion coordinator, de Breaux will be the staff liaison between the city and the human rights commission.

“That’s work Olivia can do as the staff lead to work with the general government committee to define and establish the new commission, and then that commission itself,” Burney said. “She can ensure those conversations about equity and diversity are happening, that all groups are contributing to our public process, and that we as a city are meeting the needs of the entire community.”