2020 reminded us of how much work needs to be done for Black and Indigenous People of Color to be treated with justice. After the murder of George Floyd, our CEO, Chris Anderson acknowledged this disparity and wanted to make an impact.

As president of DJ&A, Chris has accepted responsibility for helping to improve opportunities for BIPOC and female populations in the engineering, surveying, and environmental consulting industries. Like people all over the world who witnessed Floyd’s death through the lens of a cell phone recording, Chris felt deeply the sting of injustice. He educated himself about racism by reading books like “White Privilege,” “Biased,” and “Talking to Strangers” and provided these books to DJ&A employees to read as well. He created time for discussion groups for employees to process feelings regarding Floyd’s death and the subsequent cultural upheaval that evolved from it.

Since 2020, DJ&A has led several efforts to increase diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging. The book discussions brought thoughtful dialogue between employees and helped open minds. Chris was also very open to disagreement around the book discussions, saying how every voice is important at DJ&A and everyone should feel empowered to voice their own ideas. Through his leadership, we have established an active Inclusion Committee at DJ&A that is currently advertising the second round of scholarships to populations that are historically underrepresented in our industry, including those from Indigenous populations. The committee is also moving forward with scheduling company-wide cultural sensitivity trainings. Up first is Julie Cajune, a Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes member and coordinator of the tribal history project at the Salish Kootenai College. These actions are just the first steps of what will be a continually evolving, ongoing effort for years to come.

Michelle Halley, Human Resources Manage