The City of Olympia are currently seeking community members to join a collaborative design process involving the Social Justice and Equity Commission and select members of the Olympia Police Department. The goal is to establish a framework of transparency and accountability in Olympia's Law Enforcement that fosters collaboration, builds relationships and enhances accountability.

Currently looking for 8-12 community members, with an emphasis on those most impacted by policing and historically underrepresented individuals. To provide more information and address any questions people may have, we have organized drop-in information sessions to learn about the project, how to participate, and the timeline.

Olympians envision a community with equitable access to opportunity and believe that there are likely instances where people in our community are experiencing discrimination. 
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The City of Olympia’s new Social Justice and Equity Commission’s and City staff are working with Truclusion, a third-party research consultant, to complete a human-centered, inclusive assessment of discrimination in Olympia. Truclusion is engaging with the community to craft a report detailing where there are opportunities to better meet the desires, needs and challenges of community members; particularly those who may be excluded from the Olympia experience currently. 
To help inform that work, Truclusion is conducting a survey of the Olympia community. Residents and those who spend time in Olympia can take the anonymous survey online: http://s.alchemer.com/s3/539f1d5d6c8a.

Truclusion is attending community events and working with local stakeholders to help drive community participation. The digital survey is available to all community members in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog through July 16.  ​

BUILD Family and Allies,
 
Well, the time has come for me to move into the BUILD Past Chair role.  It is hard to believe that it has been two years serving in the BUILD Executive Leadership, and the experience has been an honor representing the BUILD Business Resource Group.  I look forward to continuing to serve and represent BUILD in the Past Chair role and am excited for the new executive leaders to make their mark.  When I was nominated for the Co-Chair position in 2021, I realized the responsibility required a three-year commitment.  In accepting the role, I wanted to ensure that I honored that responsibility and followed thru as BUILD’s Co-Chair, Chair, and soon-to-be Past Chair, especially being part of the first elected executive leaders to lead the business resource group following the inaugural Chair.  It has been a privilege to represent the BUILD Business Resource Group.  This is an amazing space and platform to elevate the Black voice in Washington State Government and the communities we serve.

​"Gary Lott’s upbeat leadership skills help to boost agency morale, according to former WDVA Director,
Alfie Alvarado. “There is no task, big or small, that he will not accept if it is to help others,” former WDVA
Director Alvarado wrote in nominating Lott for a South Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award in 2019.
If you've been to one of our public events, chances are you've seen Gary running around with a
camera, networking with media and assisting with sharing our BUILD message across numerous platforms. Gary is a highly motivated, passionate, and skilled communications expert who has experience working in many aspects of media. Gary has worked briefly in the Governor's Office, recently was with the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, is currently working for Employment Security Department, and even works during gamedays as a photographer for the Seattle Seahawks...GO HAWKS!!!

​“Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory or an acceptance of the way things are. It’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible—and there is still so much work to do.” 
— Barack Obama
 

​Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, serves as a day to reflect on the journey to freedom for Black people in America.  As Washington State, along with the rest of the United States of America, seeks to celebrate Juneteenth, the black community reflects on our history and the significance of Juneteenth in this country.  Many Americans are unaware that enslavement of our people did not end once the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It ended two years later in 1865, when more than 2,000 troops arrived in Galveston Bay Texas to enforce the freedom that belonged to black people. The impact of delayed action from a promise that was given and not fulfilled for 2 years is an all too familiar feeling.