Can you explain your role within the center and your background in DEI?
As chair of the steering committee, my job is to help identify potential funding opportunities, recommend research questions that may align with the center’s equity research emphasis and policy analysis, and help co-organize steering committee members around strategic areas of racial equity work.
I started consulting in DEI in 2004 but transitioned to work directly for large civil and commercial contractors within construction to gain a deeper understanding of executive leadership, as well as industry needs. I relaunched my consulting firm in 2021 to assist and enhance DEI programs for organizations across construction. I have led trainings and Employee Resource Groups (ERG) and worked within organizations on systems design, organizational change, allyship, and leadership development.
Why should organizations and public policy researchers care about this space?
We are truly at a pivotal point across the country where, more than ever, research and policies are essential for equitable impact. Without reliable research, analysis, and collaboration with policy experts, organizations navigate these complexities in isolation. This hesitancy, coupled with concerns about a lack of long-term commitment to DEI, highlights the necessity for data-driven policy and practice development.
What has the Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy been doing on infrastructure equity?
We’ve been able to focus on many of the pressing challenges associated with community and infrastructure development. This has ranged from participating in the Engineering News Record Groundbreaking Women In Construction Conference in 2021 to speaking at the National Association of Minority Contractors – Southern California Chapter. We’ve also been engaged in issues of equity around development for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympic Games, through the RAND-initiated, National Coalition of Equity Impact’s four-part discussion series, which explores economic impact, design, and building resilient communities through equity-centered contributions. I look forward to the center’s future work on equity and infrastructure policy.
How can people support to this work?
Infrastructure equity is often missing from policy development. In construction, topics such as environmental justice and equal access to transportation, green spaces, clean water, economic development, and more have emerged as key elements of policy infrastructure plans. Many discussions have centered around the historical injustices to communities of color through infrastructure, resulting in a reassessment to include stakeholders and ensure social, economic, and environmental well-being of affected communities.
For more information about the center’s current research or how to make a contribution, visit The Campaign for RAND or email racialequity@rand.org.
More Profiles
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Zaire Overton is the special projects administrative assistant within RAND’s Office of the President, supporting the RAND Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy, director Rhianna Rogers, and other special events and initiatives.
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Cindy H. Hsu is division chief of critical care at University of Michigan and assistant professor of emergency medicine and acute care surgery. As a CAREP health equity fellow, she worked on applying an equity lens to emergency clinical trials.
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RAND senior physician policy researcher Marielena Lara, Pardee RAND Graduate School Ph.D. student Carlos Villegas and RAND policy analyst Gabriela Castro describe their work on a micro-research project focused on equity in disaster management.
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Nancy Staudt is the Frank and Marcia Carlucci Dean of the Pardee RAND Graduate School and Vice President of Innovation at RAND. She is a scholar in tax policy and legal studies. In this issue, Dean Staudt discusses the role of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in her current and prior roles.
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Jason M. Etchegaray is a senior behavioral and social scientist at RAND and was among the inaugural cohort of affiliates and ambassadors at the Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy.
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What does it mean to apply an equity lens to research and analysis? RAND education policy researcher Peter Nguyen and economist Jhacova Williams offer their perspectives.
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Mahshid Abir is an emergency physician and senior policy researcher at RAND, and fall 2021 health equity fellow in the RAND Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy.
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Shamena Anwar, RAND economist, is interested in identifying the sources of racial disparities in the criminal justice system, as well as evaluating criminal justice system reforms. Her work has examined the role that race plays in areas such as motor vehicle searches, parole release decisions, and criminal jury trials.
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Joye Hunter is Director of Research Financial Operations at RAND. In a 30-year career, Joye has also held financial positions in several RAND research units as well as an administrative position in the Pardee RAND Graduate School.
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Pierrce Holmes discusses what he learned as a summer fellow at the Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy. Pierrce was funded through a Segal Fellowship from his home institution, Brandeis University.
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RAND president and chief executive officer Michael D. Rich reflects on year one of the RAND Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy and the next steps for equity research at RAND.
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Alice Huguet and Andrea Prado Tuma discuss their innovative work to bring media literacy lessons to Black and Latinx youth and to engage youth in policy discussions.
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Rhianna Rogers, inaugural director of RAND’s Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy, shares her insights about the future of the center.
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Jack Riley, vice president, RAND National Security Research Division; director, RAND National Defense Research Institute; and executive sponsor of RAND's employee resource group for Black employees, on the importance of addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in RAND's work on national security policy.
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Cynthia Gonzalez, director of Pardee RAND Graduate School's Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream, talks about her passion and insights for the school and why it is time for a new approach to community well-being.
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The RAND Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy develops solutions to build racial equity in systems and policies for the future. One such area is protecting our climate in ways that are equitable and equity-oriented. Benjamin Preston, director of RAND’s Community Health and Environmental Policy program, shares more.
