Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Cornell Cooperative Extension Essex County seeks to create a culture of belonging and inclusion in all our spaces in Essex County. We strive to create an environment where all community members feel welcome and invited to access our services and programming. We encourage all staff, volunteers, and participants to bring their whole, authentic selves to our events and offices and engage in meaningful connections with other community members. In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, CCE’s then statewide director, Chris Watkins, set the goal of becoming a model antiracist organization. Since then, CCE Essex has increased our efforts in diversity, equity, inclusivity and belonging. Some of our activities to date include regular discussions and trainings for staff and board members, allocating funding in the association budget to support additional training, professional development, and program access. To that end, we continue to work to examine our own privilege, bias and power as individuals and as an organization in order to better serve Essex County. Below are a set of resources that we have found useful in our start toward a more just and equitable extension service. If you have any questions or concerns, we welcome a discussion.     

Thank you,
Elizabeth Lee & the Staff and Board of Directors of Cornell Cooperative Extension Essex County

Last updated February 12, 2025