April is Water Conservation Month, and the Avid Core team is committed to doing our part to secure safe, affordable, accessible drinking water for all communities and future generations. This month, we are donating to DIGDEEP, a non-profit organization working to provide rural communities in America with clean running water. We encourage you to join us to see where you can help—financially or otherwise—and to seek help when you need it.

Many of us take our access to potable water for granted. Take a minute to think about where your clean water comes from and how it gets to your faucet. It’s a hidden journey that only seems as easy as turning the tap on and off.

Experiencing life without the faucet changed my perspective on consumption and waste. I grew up on the Navajo reservation and my grandparents did not have running water. Clean water was hauled from a well several miles away and stored in barrels, eventually used to drink, clean, and cook. My grandparents survived on about eight gallons per day compared to the national home average of 350 gallons per day.

During the summer months, water was essential and not to be wasted. I remember spending time as a kid bringing in heavy five-gallon water jugs into their hogan (traditional Navajo home) to ensure that they had enough clean water to drink. Today, my Masaní (maternal grandmother) still does not have running water, and whenever I visit her, I bring in those same five-gallon jugs to make sure she has what she needs.

During the past year, my community suffered greatly from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to other inequities, the virus has highlighted significant gaps in water resources among tribal communities and prompted the community to conserve our water to sustain health measures. Even beyond the pandemic, practicing water conservation is an effective method for us to maintain our water supply for future generations and for rural communities to access for future use.

Clean drinking water is an extremely sensitive resource and not an unlimited one. To help put it in perspective, only 2.5 percent of the earth’s water is freshwater, of which 1 percent is accessible for drinking, agriculture, irrigation, and power generation. With dwindling sources of fresh water and fast-growing populations, we must do our part now to conserve this sensitive resource.

In my Navajo culture, water is a sacred resource. We have a phrase, “tó éí ííńá” (water is life) that you will likely find painted on windmills across the reservation. Water, to my people, is considered the very essence of life and existence. When we all take steps to conserve our water, we not only secure the long-term supply for future use, we sustain life for future generations.

What does it mean to conserve water?

Conserving water means to practice using water more efficiently to reduce waste. Practicing a low water use lifestyle helps to maintain our current water supply, helps the environment, saves on energy costs, and allows for future needs.   

So why conserve now?

According to a Government Accountability Report, 40 out of 50 state water managers expect water shortages by 2024, highlighting the need to conserve water usage. Bodies of freshwater across the United States have supplied Americans with freshwater for years but changes to the climate, such as more frequent longer-lasting droughts and less precipitation, have shifted the attention to a more conservative approach. Across the western U.S., aquifers are depleting quickly due to high demand.

What can you do to conserve?

This is a significant problem that will take cooperative and comprehensive solutions to solve. While we know individual actions will only play a minor role, we believe that taking small steps matters. When we all make small changes in our daily lives together, we can create lasting change in maintaining our water supply for all to enjoy.

Here are some practical strategies you can take today:

• When washing your hands, turn the faucet a half turn instead of a full turn.
• When brushing your teeth, turn off the tap between rinsing.
• Install low-flow aerators designed to reduce the amount of flow and save on cost.
• Check for toilet leaks by placing a few drops of food coloring in the back of the toilet; if a leak is present, you’ll see the color in the toilet and you’ll know to change the toilet flapper. Leaky toilets can waste 200 gallons per day.
• Water your lawn only when necessary and avoid watering on windy days.
• Collect rainwater to water indoor plants.
• Only run full loads in your dishwasher and washing machine.
• Consider replacing old home equipment (washers, dishwashers, water heaters, toilets) with newer, more efficient appliances. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), households can all reduce their water waste by 20 percent by installing water-efficient devices and fixtures to prevent dripping.

When practicing conservation in my own life, I feel inspired and empowered to start thinking of the more significant ideas and solutions.

Let’s take these steps together this Water Conservation Month and work toward securing safe, affordable, and accessible drinking water for all communities and future generations.

PlanRVA recently selected Avid Core to support the development of community outreach and engagement strategies to address current and future needs related to transportation, environmental planning and emergency management. 

Virginia-based Avid Core partnered with Kearns & West, ONE EIGHTY, and Burford Advertising for this effort, bringing together talented community engagement and strategic communications experts from four woman-owned small businesses. The Avid Core Team will work with PlanRVA to implement inclusive strategies, shift organizational culture, and bridge diversity and equity gaps to best serve the greater Richmond community. 

“As a company that specializes in diverse and comprehensive public outreach, Avid Core is well positioned to help PlanRVA achieve its mission to make connections that make an impact on the region’s residents and link people to one another, to places, and to resources,” said Avid Core co-founder Amanda Roberts. 

“Most innovative, comprehensive, and viable solutions happen when there is equitable participation. We are ready to build strong community engagement plans to get stakeholder input on transportation, emergency management, and environmental planning in the Richmond Region.” 

PlanRVA is the only organization where representatives from each of the Richmond Region’s nine localities can come together to analyze, plan, consult, and collaborate. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the agency made a commitment to public accessibility and highlighted its priorities for inclusivity and equity. 

To kick off our work with PlanRVA, the Avid Core team is creating an agency-wide community engagement strategy. The strategy is rooted in feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders, including local tribes, community groups, and minority-owned businesses. 

“Our team brings decades of experience engaging with historically underrepresented communities and Tribal Nations in our work with federal, state, and local government clients,” Avid Core co-founder Virginia Quiambao Arroyo said. 

“Our strong program management qualifications and emphasis on collaboration and coordination offer PlanRVA the right blend of expertise for comprehensive and equitable outreach.”

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“I have been mulling over this message since the onset of the rise of violent crimes and deadly attacks against Asians and Pacific Islanders. I referenced past and recent instances of my family being attacked or ridiculed with anti-Asian sentiment. I wrote about the trauma that comes with being terrorized for simply existing, for being the subject of someone’s deep-rooted hate or fetish. I wrote about how it is possible and why it is important to stand against anti-Asian hate crimes without criminalizing black and other brown communities. I went down so many rabbit holes on various topics because I felt the need to educate and explain, but I realized that it cannot be done in one message or blog post. This feeling of defeat and hopelessness is even further compounded by the terrorist in Atlanta unveiling that he sought to eliminate outlets that contribute to his sexual addiction, further exposing the vulnerability that women, especially women of color, face day-to-day.

We must remind ourselves that racial and gendered hate crimes, violence, and murders are a long legacy and the collaborative work to eradicate it never ends. I hope everyone impacted has the love and support needed to heal from the senselessness.”

— Virginia Quiambao Arroyo, Avid Core Co-Founder   

Avid Core stands in solidarity with the Asian and Pacific Islander community. We denounce and condemn the hate crimes and racist attacks against Asians perpetrated this week and in recent months across the U.S.  

Avid Core reaffirms our commitment to the collective effort needed to effect change.

We will continue to grow our allyship with the Asian and Pacific Islander community through enforcing our anti-discrimination policies, maintaining a safe and healthy workplace culture, creating spaces for co-workers to support each other, and speaking out and intervening when we witness discrimination.

Avid Core recognizes that to effectively address anti-Asian racism, we must also work to end all forms of structural racism leveled at Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other communities of color. We pledge to continue putting our founding values of inclusivity, integrity, and equity into practice.

In memory of the six Asian women murdered in Atlanta on March 16, we are donating to Futures Without Violence and the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence. We are also donating to Stop AAPI Hate to support their continued efforts to track and respond to the surge in racism and xenophobia. We encourage you to join us to see where you can help—financially or otherwise—and to seek help when you need it.

Avid Core, along with our close partners at Cogstone Resource Management, celebrate the historic appointment and confirmation of Secretary Debra Haaland.

We believe Secretary Haaland will continue the vital work at the Department of the Interior while fostering effective dialogue and ensuring representation for Indigenous communities.

As public outreach consultants and archaeologists, we offer few recommendations for Secretary Haaland to improve discussion efforts and foster authentic and honest relationships with Tribal Nations.  

The letter below was sent to the new Secretary following her appointment:

Dear Secretary Haaland,

Congratulations on your historic appointment as Secretary of the Interior. With this appointment, the Department of the Interior is in a unique position to incorporate Indigenous perspectives on critical issues such as social injustice, responsible protection of ancestral tribal lands, climate change, and federal-tribal affairs, which have long been overlooked.

As you are aware, the Department of the Interior is responsible for managing our country’s natural resources, federal and public lands, and honoring the Federal Government’s trust responsibilities to American Indian, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native nations, organizations, and villages. However, a deep mistrust overshadows the Indigenous community’s attitude toward the Government, specifically the Department of the Interior. Now is the time to rebuild that trust.

Tribal representation matters. As tribal and historic preservation consultants, we help government agencies rebuild relationships with tribal nations and organizations based on renewed trust. Communication challenges, non-existent tribal consultation, and ineffective policy implementation have left the Indigenous population powerless in the public policy decision-making process. As the Biden Administration and the United States Congress prepare to undertake new legislation to address social injustice and environmental issues, we are confident you will use your knowledge and experience to ensure that Indigenous leaders and tribal perspectives are present during these discussions.

To encourage successful government-to-government relationships, we offer a few recommendations on improving the consultation process and opening the lines of communication with Tribal Nations:

1. Work with federally recognized tribes to ensure they have the available resources to engage in federal consultation.

A recent Government of Accountability Office (GAO) study reported that some tribes do not have the existing resources to engage in meaningful consultation. Native American tribes listed many factors, including limited funding, the lack of staff, and high volumes of consultation requests with short deadlines, that have prevented thorough assessments of project consultation. We recommend your agency broaden the availability of resources to assist tribes as they engage in discussions with federal agencies. We ask that your agency identifies ways to support Tribal governments in their efforts to participate in consultation dialogue.

Although the federal government only needs to consult federally recognized tribes, we recommend including state-recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in the consultation process. Many state-recognized and non-federally recognized tribes lack the resources to start the federal acknowledgment process and thus remain unrecognized even though they continue to practice their cultural traditions and have Indigenous knowledge of the land. Under federal law, the Government is required to consult with experts. Tribal members from state and non-federally recognized tribes are the experts.

2. Be transparent and share detailed information on how tribal input is considered in public policy decision making.

In a previous GAO study, tribes emphasized a disregard of tribal relations. We recommend creating a standard information-sharing process that includes a post-project debrief for Tribal leaders. Tribal leaders would appreciate hearing information explaining that tribal concerns were addressed and accommodated, even if project planning does not favor tribal interests.

3. Provide Tribal leadership with direct access to Department leadership during the consultation process.

As sovereign entities, Tribal leaders are responsible for decision making for their tribe. For the tribe, this is the equivalent role as the President of the United States. We believe you understand the importance of showing respect to the Tribal leader by having Department leadership or other high-ranking officials with decision-making power participate in tribal consultations.

4. Develop a tribal consultation policy to accommodate rural Indigenous communities.

A recent Census Bureau study estimates that over half of Native Americans living on rural tribal lands do not have access to essential wireless broadband services. The lack of internet connectivity for tribal members presents difficulties when engaging in virtual consultation. Many tribal members rely on their mobile phones for online services but lack available service areas and struggle with unreliable cellular coverage. When federal agencies hold online webinars or request online public comments, they disproportionately exclude tribal members who do not have broadband access. While there have been significant improvements to communications funding on tribal lands, we recommend that your agency develop public outreach and consultation policies designed to include rural tribal community members who do not have internet access. General mailing services, text messaging systems, or public town hall-style meetings are ways for your agency to promote rural tribal communities’ inclusion in the consultation process.

We appreciate the monumental task before you and recognize that decades of structural inequity will not be dismantled overnight. As minority, women-owned small businesses, we stand ready to work with you to ensure Indigenous and marginalized voices are heard and considered through the Department of the Interior’s work.

Best wishes,

Virginia Quiambao Arroyo
Avid Core

Desiree Martinez
Cogstone Resource Management

It’s been quite a wild journey! While new to owning a business, Amanda and I have known each other and worked together for more than a decade. We launched Avid Core with a solid understanding of our individual strengths and weaknesses and our established working relationship allowed us to have frank conversations and make calculated business decisions quickly. We kicked off our first year eager to endure the growing pains of entrepreneurship, but nothing could have prepared us for the bumpy road ahead.

With stay-at-home orders in place, our personal and professional worlds collided as we facilitated difficult client discussions with toddlers dancing to “Baby Shark” in the background. We developed and implemented company policies, while managing our own at home to protect our loved ones from the deadliest pandemic of our lifetime. We executed outreach strategies to disenfranchised stakeholders, while our nation continued to grapple with the pain and consequences of institutional racism and social injustice.

Like so many of us, we have done our best to face adversity and recognize the privilege and responsibilities we have as business owners and employers. There are still many lessons to learn through this journey, but this year proved our personal and professional perseverance.

So, what have we learned? What does the next year hold for us?

People and Partnerships

From trying to keep in touch with family and friends, to protecting and helping the most vulnerable in our communities, we have had to get creative to stay connected. Social distancing has taken its toll, yet it remains that there is much more to be gained through maintaining strong relationships, developing collaborative partnerships, and just generally helping others.

While our strong foundation and friendship made the transition to operating a business remotely a bit easier, building our company culture and team has been difficult. We find ways to build relationships with prospective staff in advance of hiring. We have had to tailor our recruitment strategy and rely more on our intuition to determine if someone not only has the right skillset but is also the right fit for our “core”.

Despite the hurdles that come with a new small business being forced to work remotely, we have adapted. It has allowed us to be flexible in the types of work we pursue and is valuable in many circumstances, whether it is a small, one-time project or a large effort with full-time employees. We are exploring long-term volunteer opportunities to help our neighbors and enhance our public spaces. We will also be reaching out to potential partners who share the same creative and collaborative spirit.

Expanding our network has been difficult with not being able to attend networking events and meet new people. Instead, we’ve mastered the various types of digital outreach tools (ex: Zoom, WebEx, Teams, Meet, FaceTime & GoToMeeting) to help us stay connected. Despite the distance, we look forward to hosting more virtual discussions in 2021. Please reach out if you want to connect and do not be surprised if you receive an email or phone call from us!

Certifications

We are close to receiving our Virginia Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Small, Woman, and Minority (SWaM) certification. This year we will be looking to expand our DBE certifications in other states to add value to projects looking for innovative ways to enhance communications and public involvement while meeting small business goals. At the federal level, we are in the queue to receive the Small Business Administration’s Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) certification, and we are working toward eligibility for the 8(a) program. We look forward to leveraging new and existing relationships with federal, state, local, and private partners to utilize these certifications. If you would like to discuss potential partnerships under these programs, let us know!

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Over the last year we have witnessed a historic call to action around the world to address the need for real change in unjust practices and policies, to admit that racism lurks within our institutions, and to accept the challenge that comes with dismantling it. As a woman- and minority-owned small business, we take our responsibility and commitment to this call to action seriously. We pledge to create a company culture and workforce that reflects the rich diversity that makes us such a powerful nation. While we have taken steps to fulfill this pledge, we will continue to work with subject matter experts to routinely evaluate and refine our policies and procedures, cultivate a dialogue within our team to openly discuss difficult and uncomfortable issues. We are committed to developing solutions for those issues to be addressed.

In our work, we have always looked to employ environmental justice practices and expand culturally sensitive outreach and communications strategies to communities. We have been working with thought leaders to combine their organizational development and training expertise with our expertise in communications and outreach to create a DE&I program that is reflective of authentic experiences and equips organizations with the communications tools needed to implement their plans. Stay tuned for more on this initiative later this month!

We are ready to build off the momentum of an exciting, yet tumultuous first year. Despite the hurdles, like all of you, we showed up and overcame the obstacles. We grew our existing work. We won new work. We grew our team. And now, we look forward to the road ahead!

— Virginia Quiambao Arroyo & Amanda Roberts

Launching a company during a pandemic has come with its own unique set of challenges. 2020 has been such a hard year for so many and we are so grateful for the support you have shown us at Avid Core.

Despite the unique set of circumstances, Avid Core has grown this year as company and put our core values into practice at every turn.

Our team has learned about ourselves and the ways we complement each other. We’ve examined how to continuously improve the work we do, and we’ve started to carve out our niche as a strategic communications and public outreach firm.

We look forward to the years to come and can’t wait to see what’s ahead in 2021!