The NH Tech Alliance and the Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE) are partnering to offer ongoing virtual or in-person Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office hours open to any NH business interested in learning how to implement DEI best practices and be connected with DEI resources. Participants will work directly with Equity and Racial Justice consultant Kile Adumene.
Kile’s upbringing in Nigeria exemplified the importance and impact of being in community. She has a natural instinct to listen and connect people. Kile has lived in NH for over 20 years and brings a wealth of lived and professional experience. As a Black-immigrant and highly skilled community organizer she understands the importance of building the capacity of others to organize for themselves and their communities.
She is a co-founder and currently facilitates the Manchester Community Action Coalition. The Coalition hosts regular meetings in the Manchester community for people of color, immigrants, and others to come together to address their needs and have a voice in the community and civic matters. Kile consults with nonprofit, public, and philanthropic institutions statewide seeking to strengthen their social impact via racial justice lens.
“The fact that Kile is so plugged in to the various DEI efforts going on throughout the state makes her an incredibly valuable resource to businesses and organizations like ours that are striving to be more inclusive.” Said Julie Demers, Executive Director of the NH Tech Alliance. Demers noted that “this is an effort that cannot be limited to one industry, sector or agency. Working with someone with as much experience in this area as Kile, ensures that we will be a part of a broader, more collaborative effort to ensure businesses in New Hampshire are moving the needle forward toward meaningful equity and inclusion.”
NH CWE Director, Chandra Reber, noted that “Today, small business owners must take tangible action to acknowledge and mitigate the impact racism and other forms of oppression and discrimination have within their own small business. But it can be challenging to know where to start, what actions will have the desired impact, and how to handle it when missteps are taken. This partnership between NH Tech Alliance and the Center for Women & Enterprise will help small businesses from all sectors access the guidance and support they need to navigate their own DEI challenges at no cost to the small business.”
The DEI Office Hours are part of a larger DEI strategy of the NH Tech Alliance which is being driven by its charitable arm, the NH Tech Foundation. Additional priorities of the Alliance’s commitment to DEI will focus on relationship building within underserved communities, strategy development, goal setting and development of an implementation roadmap to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the sector. In addition to the Center for Women and Enterprise, this effort has been supported by the Entrepreneurs Fund of NH, the Pierson Family Foundation and a Fundraising effort which was fueled by the NH Gives Campaign in 2021. The NH Tech Foundation’s participation in the NH Gives campaign was its first public fundraising effort.
More information can be found at nhtechalliance.org/dei
Current Issue - May 2024