Welcome to Around the Table, a regular series where we talk to people in our network and share the incredible work they are doing in their industry. Pull up a chair and join us for conversation and connection.
Name: Marquelle Jones
Organization: Hendley Elementary (DC Public Schools)
What first sparked your interest in education? What do you like most about teaching?
It started from me coaching football. It made me realize how much I loved working with kids and how I had a talent for explaining things to children. What I love most is the positivity that the kids display day in and day out. It really brightens my day.
What are some of the challenges you have faced while teaching?
Early in my career I struggled a lot with classroom management. Over time I’ve learned better strategies for classroom management.
What is the best thing about teaching the third grade?
Honestly everything, but mostly just the creativity they show. They are definitely showing more and more creativity by the day, both in artistic expressions and in their storytelling through journal entries.
What is the best advice you’ve received in your career?
The best advice I received was that you can always start strict and lighten up, but you can never start soft and then try to be stricter.
What advice would you give to someone looking to become a teacher?
To make sure you listen to your students and remember these little people have a lot of feelings and emotions.
What are some ways people can donate or support your school and DCPS teachers? Are there any fundraisers happening now or in the near future?
They can send donations and supplies to area schools. We don’t have a current fundraiser going but we will soon for our cheerleaders to get uniforms.
When you aren’t working, what do you like to do?
I’m a pretty big gamer. I could play games all day and I like reading a lot.
I heard that you love sports! What is your favorite sport to watch/play? And who is your favorite team?
My favorite sport to watch and play is football. Ironically enough, it calms me. Unfortunately, my favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys.
Have you ever coached any sports, either as part of the DCPS or in your community?
Yes, I currently coach flag football both here at my school and in my community through a wonderful organization called Flag Star Football.
If we were literally around the table right now, what food would you have brought to share?
Mac and cheese. I love mac and cheese, it is my favorite side dish and I’m very critical on how I judge people’s mac and cheese.
It’s considered the Super Bowl for transportation research.
Every January, the attendees rush through the streets of downtown DC with rolled up posters in hand, hotel reservations made a year in advance, and name badges with ribbons proudly displayed, many of them looking forward to snapping a pic in front of the large-lettered “TRB” sign.
Hundreds of presentations are projected on screens throughout the day; exhibit halls are filled with eye-catching booths; business cards are exchanged with VIPs at networking dinners; and let’s not forget, the long day usually culminates in exclusive after-parties.
Avid Core’s Stephanie Mace and Amanda Roberts pose in front of the infamous TRB sign.
Our team has been connected to TRB since 2009. We were responsible for developing outreach materials for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s
Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative Research Program (STEP) booth and we began to understand the importance of this annual gathering of innovative transportation minds.
Planners, engineers, decisionmakers, techies, researchers, educators, and others from all over the world travel to this annual meeting. We continue to recommend the TRB annual event to our clients and partners. Now, with the recently funded Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, opportunities to modernize infrastructure are ripe.
With this in mind, we wanted to share three of our takeaways in case you missed this year’s event:
1. Stay home, Colin. One of my favorite presentations focused on North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)’s creative use of social media to disseminate important safety information. Carly Olexik, chief communications officer, and Aaron Schoonmaker, social media coordinator, had the entire room laughing as they shared lessons learned on their simple, yet clever, viral campaign. This was proof that despite a limited budget, social media content can dramatically catapult the number of engagements and shares in a short amount of time.
NCDOT’s winter weather safety campaign timeline and results.
2. There’s a committee waiting for you! Not sure where to begin or how to get involved? Don’t worry. TRB is known for having a task force or committee that meets every person’s interest area. The committees are very well organized and offer great networking opportunities. Volunteers are always welcome to present, run sessions or even help plan. Look through the directory and sign up as a friend – it’s a great way to make an impact in the transportation space.
3. This is a tight knit, supportive community. Innovative minds flock from all over the world to try and solve some of the most challenging transportation-related issues. We were so happy to meet some of our clients for the first time in person, reconnect with other partners, and make new connections. Presenters are willing to discuss their research, eager to share their presentations, and are open to learning more about your suggestions. It is a very welcoming environment and you’ll feel a part of it once you attend your first TRB event.
Avid Core’s Amanda Roberts reunites with partners from Cogstone and Kearns & West at the WTS event.
We grew our staff by three and continued our internship program. Members of the Avid Core team also presented at four conferences across the country and attended dozens of events and webinars.
Our team had a lot of fun socializing, strategizing, and celebrating together both in-person and online.
Thank you for all your support this year. We can’t wait to see what 2023 brings!
Welcome to Around the Table, a regular series where we talk to people in our network and share the incredible work they are doing in their industry. Pull up a chair and join us for conversation and connection.
What drew you to the world of archeology? I always had an interest in the past, even as a kid. I had a high school teacher who had a degree in anthropology which furthered my interest. I was a political science major for my first two years at Arizona State University, taking anthropology classes to fill my science and humanities requirements. I was offered a job doing archaeological survey on the south rim of the Grand Canyon and realized I could actually do archaeology as a career. Paid to go camping — A dream job for a child of the 70s!
What do you think is the biggest challenge the industry is facing today? It’s a tie! First, the death of qualified archaeological technicians. While many companies pay a living wage, many do not in order to secure contracts by being the lowest bidder. It is very difficult to attract young people to an industry where the wages vary so widely. Entry-level technicians generally go from job to job as they build their resumes. In addition, it is rare to have one organization with fieldwork full-time, 52 weeks per year, so the field technician lifestyle can be rather nomadic.
This leads into the second issue: Clients (federal, state, and private sector) want the cheapest option. In order to be the cheapest, a company may pay a low wage, short them on per diem, and ask to work unreasonable hours at an unreasonable pace. This leads to disenfranchisement of the labor pool and dangerous conditions leading to injury. So, the two are interrelated. Call your congressman and tell them not to be so cheap!
What current projects, conferences, or events are you working on now or in the future?
DAWSON, the company I work for, is doing projects all over the U.S. Just last week I was in Vermont doing a project for a federal client. As for conferences, the Annual Meeting for the Society for American Archaeology is coming up in March in Portland, OR. Looking forward to that!
What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career? Again, it’s a tie. From a mentor in the archaeological compliance sector: Business is business. Friendship is friendship.
From an archaeology professor: Sometimes, you gotta learn to be an asshole.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to join the field today? Specialize! Have a skill other than “dirt” archaeology. GIS, bioarcheology, archeobotany (my specialty), and geomorphology are all good options.
When you aren’t working, what do you like to do? I have a hobby! I do fused glass pieces. Right now, I am mostly doing pieces containing cremated pet remains. I had several containers with various well-loved pets in the house and was thinking about what to do with them (watch Hoarders – you’ll understand). So I experimented with fusing the cremains into glass pieces.
It works quite well, so now I do it mostly for friends and friends of friends. I don’t do it for money – just a promise of a donation to an animal charity. I have done bowls, plates, candle holders, and Christmas ornaments. Currently, I have Coco Chanel (a lovely chihuahua) who is going into some glass cacti pieces.
If we were literally “around the table” right now, what food would you have brought to share? Cookies! Lemon ones. . .
Avid (adjective) – having or showing a keen interest in or enthusiasm for something. It’s more than just our company’s namesake. Passion for our work and for the things we love is part of our core values. In this recurring series, we’ll share some of the things we’re Avid Fans of with you.
The winter holidays, much like Halloween or Valentine’s Day, have garnered their own ever-expanding cinematic subgenre. From animated classics like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or A Charlie Brown Christmas to live-action favorites like A Christmas Story or Elf, these films (and many, many more) often help set a festive tone and provide wonderful, end of year entertainment for viewers of all ages. This month the Avid Core team looks back at some of our all-time favorite holiday live-action and animated films.
Alex – Die Hard(1988)
John McTiernan’s classic action thriller Die Hard is probably no one’s first choice for holiday movie night. Following the hair-raising adventures of New York cop John McClane as he attempts to stop a team of ruthless thieves in an LA office building on Christmas Eve, Die Hard is a masterpiece of action cinema. While it doesn’t have much in the way of Christmas miracles, carols, or impactful life lessons, Die Hard provides an exciting, holiday-adjacent cinematic break in between all those back-to-back-to-back A Christmas Story reruns on TBS, as well as ample humor, character, and practical special effects.
Sarah – Muppets Christmas Carol(1992)
We all know the story. Scrooge, three ghosts, Tiny Tim, epiphany, redemption. Dickens’ novella is infused into the Christmas season for good reason — it reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas (clue: It’s not greed, consumerism, or apathy) and it shines a light on our responsibility to care for those in need, especially children. What could possibly improve this 179-year-old classic? Drumroll… Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo, and award-winning actor Michael Caine. That’s right, the Michael Caine plays Scrooge with great conviction, opposite dozens of Muppets. Dickens himself is also woven into the film as the first-person narrator, embodied in Gonzo, which is genius. This feeds us some of the best unspoken lines from the book and Dickens and Rizzo have some giggle-worthy side conversations. The Muppets are hilarious and endearing and somehow the story doesn’t lose any gravity. Oh, and the music is amazing.
Ashley – The Holiday(2006)
No one makes a cozy rom com quite like Nancy Meyers and The Holiday is my ideal blend of holiday sweetness, love stories, and beautiful settings. The casting is SPOT ON – Cameron Diaz! Kate Winslet! Jude Law! Jack Black! And there is a storyline for everyone. I giggle at Mr. Napkinhead. I tear up as Arthur finds the strength to walk down the aisle and be honored. I swoon as the leads fall in love. I sing along to “Mr. Brightside” as well as all of the holiday musical favorites. I try to have the self-control to save my annual rewatch for Christmas Eve but sometimes the season calls for an earlier holiday home swap!
Steph – The Grinch (2018)
I can never look at whipped cream in an aerosol dispenser the same after watching Illumination’s version of The Grinch. My daughters and I laughed so loud that we probably could be heard in the theater lobby. The hysterical scene where Fred, the lovable, wild moose, discovers the magic of whipped cream will forever live rent-free in my brain. It’s the reason why we went back to the theater to watch the movie a second time and have since purchased it, streamed it and laughed until tears were shed. Recently, we’ve had to limit the number of times my youngest daughter can watch it in a day. She’s that addicted to Fred and Max the loyal dog. We’re all fans of the animation, the narrator (Pharrell Williams), the hip-hop music created by Tyler, the Creator, and obviously the valuable lessons learned about acts of kindness and compassion.
And since I had a really difficult time deciding, I had to add in an honorable mention for A Christmas Story. As a Jewish kid with immigrant parents, this was my Christmas reference guide. I was shocked when I learned that my college roommates didn’t get bunny suits and BB guns for Christmas.
Rossana – Home Alone 2: Lost in New York(1992)
This was a hard one to answer. I’m really big on Christmas and Halloween movies because they are very STACKED genres. Though I have a list longer than a CVS receipt for favorite holiday films, I will say Home Alone 2 is up at the top. What makes me love this movie most is that it was actually the first movie I got on VHS when I came from Cuba to the US. At the time, I didn’t know how to speak English except maybe a handful of words, but you don’t need to understand all of it to know what’s going on with Kevin. When I watched it as a kid, I began making makeshift traps to catch burglars in my family’s apartment (though it ended up just annoying everyone in the house). The day my family put up their Christmas tree, I watched Home Alone with my little sister and partner. It felt like a warm hug directly infused into my soul.
Amanda – Scrooged (1988)
Although it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed this Bill Murray classic, I have fond memories of watching this movie as a child with my father during the holidays. I loved the fairy (Ghost of Christmas Present) and was scared of the bullet-ridden corpse of his old boss (even though it was kind of funny when he tried to drink and couldn’t… you know, cause of the holes). This movie may not be a traditional Christmas heart-warmer, but it embodies my family’s quirky sense of humor.
Susan – Winter Sonata (2009)
For holiday movies, I never really sat and chose a movie to watch. They were always on cable TV, so I watched what was on. However, I watched this film called Winter Sonata which is an anime based on a Korean Drama; a must-watch that came out in 2002. It’s not a traditional holiday movie but it is one I really enjoyed watching. The movie is beautiful, sweet, and really grasps the melodrama genre. It makes the audience appreciate sharing and receiving love during the holidays. I’m a sucker for romance and drama, so anything in those genres will always be in “my watchlist.” I know a romance movie gets me glued when I want to watch clips of the movie again right after I watched it, which is what I did with this film. Everyone should give the film or show a chance because they are both great.
Virginia – The Preacher’s Wife(1996)
Two words: Whitney Houston. If I had to pull together a soundtrack of my pre-teen and teen years, the best of and even the not-so-known Whitney Houston ballads would be a staple. A closer runner up is Home Alone, the first movie I saw in the theater and one of the few movies I know almost word-for-word. It’s a classic!
Bre – Almost Christmas (2016)
Who doesn’t love a good wholesome movie that encompasses family, drama, comedy, and a good love story all in one dysfunctional family? Almost Christmas is a movie that reminds me that no matter how much a family goes through, they can always find the happiness, love and joy that melds them together.
Welcome to our series of posts about accessibility in communications. Accessibility is the practice of making information, activities, and/or environments sensible, meaningful, and usable for as many people as possible. This is super-important because persons within your audience all have different needs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15 percent of people around the world—that’s over 1 billion—live with a disability. Imagine how many people would never get your message if you didn’t make accessibility a priority!
Accessibility compliance is essential for organizations required to abide by Section 508 and related policies. More importantly, actively pursuing compliance is part of social responsibility and best communications practices. At Avid Core, we are committed to providing equal access and opportunity to people of all abilities and helping our clients and colleagues do the same.
Outside of my work at Avid Core, I write articles about movies and TV shows. Part of my process involves finding images to go along with what I write. Typically, the supporting imagery I use ends up being mostly film stills or, occasionally, poster art. After I find my images and format them accordingly, I go about composing the corresponding alt text.
Alt text, or alternative text, is a set of words that describes the appearance, context, or function of an image or graphic used on a webpage or within a digital document like a PDF. Screen reading devices, used by individuals with visual impairment, need well-constructed alt text to fully transcribe given information. Screen readers read alt text (along with every other component) out loud, helping the user understand what the image is and how it relates to everything else on the page. Alt text can accompany anything from photos and illustration to graphs and charts.
For example, online articles about the making of a film often come with behind-the-scenes photos. If a particular photo shows the film’s director giving instruction to the production crew, then the alt text for that image could include the following: “The film’s director, speaking through a megaphone.” For example:
Alt text example: A film director speaking through a megaphone (Image credit: Yahoo Entertainment, Yahoo.com)
But there’s a lot more that goes into writing effective alt text. Here are some tips that will cover alt text composition, the kinds of visuals that require alt text, and how to ensure that your alt text operates in the most inclusive way possible.
Tip #1: Be Specific and Concise
When writing your alt text, it’s important to be as specific and concise as possible. It may take some practice, but alt text is most effective when it doesn’t describe the entire image, just the main components or actions within.
The first thing to consider is the image itself and the general content it’s supporting.
Ask yourself what the intended audience is supposed to be getting from the image in the first place. Reflecting this in the alt text is crucial. When using a generic or stock image as a visual aid, it’s important that the alt text ties into what the surrounding content is about.
For example, if an online article detailing a certain director’s approach to working with actors ends up using a stock image, then the alt text for that image needs to have direct links to the article. For example:
Alt text example: Director [insert name here] speaks with the film’s two stars (Image credit: stock photo, Pexels.com)
Additionally, it’s important to avoid overly descriptive or conversational language, as these fillers can often pose a distraction to people using screen readers. Screen readers often cut alt text off at around 125 characters, so brevity is of the essence!
After creating the written content and finding the right associated imagery, alt text is the final puzzle piece that leads to a cohesive and accessible presentation.
Tip #2: Know When to Provide Proper Names
Because I generally write about well-known franchises, like Star Wars or movies and shows based on characters from DC Comics, writing alt text is easy. All I typically have to do is point out who the people and characters in the image are and name the movie or TV show that they’re appearing in. For example:
Alt text example: Henry Cavill as Superman in Zack Snyder’sJustice League (Image credit: HBO Max)
In this instance, the alt text points out the major or most relevant elements in the picture — who the subject is and what media they’re from. Since it’s an iconic character being portrayed by a famous, contemporary actor, naming the actor is key (as well as naming the film).
Generally, well-known people, places, or things should be referred to by their proper names as this helps keep the alt text short and sweet.
When it is not a well-known person, you will want to describe the person in the image. Personal identifiers relating to identity and representation, whether it deals with sexual orientation, gender, race, or anything else, should always be treated with the utmost care, diligence, and respect. It’s also important to avoid making assumptions; if you don’t know how the individual being depicted identifies, use “person” instead of “man” or “woman.”
Tip #3: Ensure Your Alt Text Adds Value
With alt text, it’s best to avoid phrasing like “an image of” or “picture of.” The HTML code used in website coding already identifies images and pictures as such and this kind of phrasing also takes up unnecessary space at the start of your alt text. That kind of phrasing is typically reserved for captions, which are different from alt text.
When composing alt text for an image that already comes with its own caption, simply copying and pasting the caption text is not good practice. Captions and alt text serve separate but related functions and should be treated as such. For example:
Caption: Director David Lynch on the set of Twin Peaks Season 3 Alt text: David Lynch, a film director, speaking through a megaphone (Image credit: Yahoo Entertainment, Yahoo.com)
When it comes to shorthand or abbreviations, it’s generally better to avoid them altogether. If initials must be used in your alt text, the full name or title of the subject must be typed out first, then follow it up with the initials. When typing out initials, use dashes, spaces, or periods in between each separate letter so the screen reader can read it properly.
Tip #4: Look Out for Typos
This may seem obvious, but as with any written work, spell-checking is a must. Misspelled words can greatly affect user experience, cause interruptions or confusion, and basically and unnecessarily impede what should be a smooth experience.
In terms of basic readability and user interface, well-constructed (and error-free) alt text can help a user maintain their concentration and rhythm as they go through a webpage – especially one that may come with a broken image. This is important even for those not using screen readers. When an image fails to load, the alt text will indicate what the missing image was supposed to be. If effective alt text fills in for that “absence,” it can help users not feel left out as they continue interfacing with the rest of the content.
Tip #5: Understanding Different Image Types
In addition to imagery like photos and illustrations, there are also decorative images that are often used on webpages or digital documents. These graphics are used to visually break up the content on a page; they don’t need alt text if there’s no meaning or informative function assigned to them. Inserting the word “null” into alt text fields pertaining to decorative images, if possible, helps screen readers skip over them during the transcribing process.
In addition, button images, which are included for navigational purposes, serve as a function key which the reader can use to submit something or simply click on for more information. Alt text for button images is particularly important as it explains their intended purpose/functionality. It also comes in handy when images fail to load.
Additional Resources for Alt Text
Alt text continues to be a crucial component of website building and general internet usage. It helps individuals with visual impairments or who have a learning disability to better engage with online content on a day-to-day basis.
Online communication is an ever-present element in people’s education, work spheres, and leisure activities and it’s therefore important to help make sure that all users are considered when producing and formatting online content. Popular online platforms, like WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and many others, have alt text options that let their users optimize their alt text for a better, more inclusive, and hopefully more equitable experience.
To learn more about screen reading technology and how alt text benefits users with visual impairment, the University of California – San Francisco created an excellent educational video
Welcome to Around the Table, a regular series where we talk to people in our network and share the incredible work they are doing in their industry. Pull up a chair and join us for conversation and connection.
What drew you to the world of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) consultation and education?
I would say that the space really picked me. I started doing the work following George Floyd’s murder. My brother also faced a severe injustice by law enforcement that made front page news. It just became part of my lexicon and part of the work I did from a strategic transformation standpoint. I’ve already been working on strategic transformation, so now I really focus on change, change management, and change management strategy. This really fell neatly into the work I was doing.
Establishing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is establishing strategic transformation within institutions. That adoption set me apart and I have been called on to use my expertise.
What current project are you working on?
Johnson Squared Consulting launched our own DEI certification program! We offered it as “pay what you can” because we saw the space for training and certifications getting narrower and narrower. Institutions that have taken over DEI certifications, focus on theory and, frankly, have their own internal DEI issues, so we saw a real need for tactics. This space allowed us to launch Sarah Jane Academy, which was named after my aunt. She was the first Black professor in the United States, and a very early feminist and abolitionist.
Sarah Jane Academy is opening the aperture to make sure people can get top-tier DEI-practitioner-level training while not breaking the bank. Some of these courses cost up to $8,000, so we offered our first cohort as “pay what you can.” This is narrowing the playing field to help eliminate barriers to DEI education and certification.
Can you further explain how Sarah Jane Academy works?
The Sarah Jane Academy is based on tactics. The course is about how the field itself has emerged and what top challenges you might experience as a practitioner currently—and then moving into the role. Our approach is to diagnose, protect, strategize, advise, and measure. And we are really going through those steps and scenarios to help practitioners and advocates come up with their own DEI action plans and what they need to execute for their organizations. We want this to be as realistic as possible as to what they might encounter.
What do you think is the biggest challenge the industry is facing today?
The biggest challenge we are facing is developing cohesive DEI best practices. There’s a lot of research that’s just starting to emerge regarding training, launching a DEI action or effort, and measuring progress. Coalescing all the best practices out there, emphasizing them, and having someone to curate what’s going to offer their organization the best efficacies is challenging. I think all those elements are missing and that’s what people are really struggling to find at this stage.
What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career?
From my husband: “You can delegate tasks, but as a leader you can’t delegate responsibility.”
What advice would you give to someone wanting to join this field?
Deal with your own career trauma early on because this space can really bring up areas you haven’t addressed. Really take a close look at yourself to make sure you’re not projecting that trauma onto coworkers, partners, and clients.
For young professionals, especially Black women and women of color, what general career advice do you have?
Avoid the survivor bias mentality. The reasons we don’t have a lot of diverse representation at the top are not only just because of generalized biases, but because there’s a tendency to want to hold the gate close or even close it. You keep the gate closed because you’ve had to do so much, or you’ve had to work so hard and you feel as if someone who looks like you may outshine you—something in that regard. It’s very easy to internalize racism when you are excelling in your career and in some scenarios you kind of become the “pet.” There’s this phenomenon called “pet to threat.” It gets harder as you move up the ladder. Avoid being a token gatekeeper and avoid it taking root in you as an individual.
The way to avoid falling into survivor bias is to take notes around what you contributed. When you feel the need to kind of block someone else’s passage, look to see what your tendency is. Nine times out of 10, the tendency is against someone who looks like you. It might be a woman, someone who fits within your culture or your demographic. That’s survivor bias. Ask yourself what feelings come up that could cause you to block someone else’s career path.
If we were physically around the table right now, what food would you have brought to share?
This mantra has been on repeat over the past two years. Focused on the mission to ensure an inclusive, responsive, seamless and employee-centric experience through which all team members feel valued and supported, Airis McCottry Gill and her team at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Experience Office (VEO) have sparked systematic change that will ultimately impact more than 400,000 employees’ journeys.
Ms. Gill comes from a long line of public servants and Veterans that influenced her career. As VEO’s Executive Director of Employee Experience and Organizational Management, Ms. Gill draws from her personal history to understand the importance of gathering feedback and building trusted relationships. She reminds herself of who she is representing and serving every day when she sees her screensaver –- her grandfather’s World War II Draft Card. Ms. Gill began her public service journey at the General Services Administration (GSA) focusing on customer service. This eventually led to her spearheading employee experience efforts, including the launch of the Journeys of VA Employees Map, in 2020.
The Journeys of VA Employees Map project created a series of firsts for Ms. Gill and the VEO team. This level of employee experience (EX) research had not been conducted in the federal government space and conducting in-depth interviews at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic produced its own set of unique logistical challenges. The team quickly shifted from in-person to virtual interviews, allowing the work to expand geographically from nine to 33 regions. Researchers found that employees wanted to share, desired to be heard, and for the Department to do something with the information that was being collected.
“You share.”
The Veterans Experience team spoke with VA employees from across the country to capture the diversity of their experiences. The stories emphasized employees’ deeply positive relationships with the VA as well as opportunities to improve the employee experience. Employees shared specific information about their journey, moments that mattered, bright spots, and pain points.
“We listen.”
The Veterans Experience team utilized a human-centered design approach to understand VA employees’ experiences. Beginning with qualitative research— including interviews and interactive research activities— the team gained a comprehensive perspective of the lives and needs of employees across multiple geographies, tenures, and types of roles. The research team curated a research sample of over 11,000+ data points from in-depth interviews.
This extensive research provided the team with a detailed understanding of VA employees: who they are, what they need and hope for, and what they expect.
“We act.”
Out of this research, the team developed a VA employee experience tool as a first step towards creating or enhancing new programs and services to benefit VA employees. Some of the new programs and services being developed and piloted to date include:
Welcome Kits
Anonymous Job Applications
My Buddy Program
actiVAte
Monthly “Ask Me Anything” Sessions
Identity Insights
Ms. Gill and her innovative team continue to evaluate ease, effectiveness, and emotion to ensure the employee experience is improving and addressing new needs. The Journeys of VA Employees Map was recognized as the first-of-its-kind across the federal sector and operationalized to make a difference in VA employees’ experience, ultimately trickling down to positively impact Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors. The lessons learned throughout this project are currently being shared with other agencies in hopes of improving employee experience across the federal work environment.
When asked how we can support our Veterans, Ms. Gill smiled and enthusiastically responded, “Listening to what our Veterans, families, and caregivers have to share…and finding ways to help.”
If you are interested in becoming of a part of the Veterans Affairs’ mission, please visit www.vacareers.va.gov.
Working with local organizations already serving your community can be a great way to reach historically underserved populations. Trusted partners can amplify information about public engagement efforts and encourage their memberships or the people they serve to get involved.
One way to make it easier for partners to share your information is to package up the resources and information into what we call a partner toolkit. A partner toolkit is a repository of resources designed for local organizations, your community partners, to share easily with their members and/or followers.
The specifics of the toolkit vary depending on the subject matter, your community, and the needs of your partners. Content could include:
Sample social media posts
Social media graphics or videos optimized and sized for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn
Sample newsletter text
Sample email copy
Downloadable flyers, posters, or postcards
Talk to your community partners about what they need to best share this information and which channels are most effective. Partners may also mention languages they would like to see materials translated into and you should explore the feasibility of providing those options.
You’ll also want to think about how to best host the elements of the toolkit. Consider a shareable Google Doc with all the information in one place or creating a hidden page on your website to host the various materials.
Your next consideration is the delivery of the toolkit to partners. I strongly recommend personalized messages to each community partner, highlighting the materials and sample content that is most applicable to their organization and audience. While sending a mass email can work, a personal touch is more likely to get better results and to build your relationship.
Screenshot of HRMPO’s Partner Toolkit, which was hosted in a Google Doc.
We created a partner toolkit as part of our work with Harrisonburg Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Organization (HRMPO) that included social media materials and sample email text in English, Spanish, and Arabic. Ann Cundy, HRMPO’s Director of Transportation, said it was one of the most effective tactics implemented.
“Personal emails to community partners with a link to the partner toolkit of ready-made materials to share took a little more time than an email blast with a blind copy, but also netted us increased responses and participation,” Cundy said.
“Our biggest survey response days always aligned with community partners doing a social media post or email blast.”
You should be prepared to close the feedback loop after the public engagement period you promoted with the partner toolkit is closed. Let your partners know how much you appreciated their support and how the information shared by the people they serve made a difference.
While a true partnership goes beyond information sharing, developing a partner toolkit can be a great way to start working together and to learn more about what communication channels your community prefers.
Interested in building relationships with local organizations in your community? Let’s chat!
Welcome to Around the Table, a regular series where we talk to people in our network and share the incredible work they are doing in their industry. Pull up a chair and join us for conversation and connection.
What drew you to the world of transportation planning? My undergraduate work in engineering taught me how to be a better problem solver and then urban planning in grad school introduced all the need for community connection and engagement to advance big technical plans. Transportation planning is a passion of mine because it combines all my background experience into one field that is broad-ranging and impactful.
What are you proudest of in your work as a transportation planner? My best moments happen at a small scale when I interact with members of the community. Seeing the lightbulb pop on when a concept or position is recognized tells me that we are making a difference.
You’ll be presenting with Avid Core’s Ashley Dobson and last month’s Around the Table interviewee Ann Cundy at the Association for Metropolitan Planning Organizations Annual Conference. What do you hope people take away from your session? I’m so excited for this! My hope is that we are able to show that there is a new way to engage with the community and it doesn’t involve just traditional night meetings and newspaper advertisements. There are so many new and exciting ways to have meaningful conversations around complex issues and you don’t need a huge staff or tons of money to make it work.
What do you think is the biggest challenge your field is facing today? Regional planning has always had a problem being taken seriously. We don’t have direct ties to immediate change like a zoning case or an economic development prospect might have. We continue to try and find ways to be a resource for decision-makers to have all the information they need for their work.
What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career? I think in school we learned about different types of planning and the importance of incremental decision-making. Enacting real change is not an overnight process – it takes a lot of time and patience and understanding.
When you aren’t working, what do you like to do? I love to watch soccer, hike and bike around the Richmond region, and spend time with my family.
If we were literally “around the table” right now, what food would you have brought to share? Such a good question! I make a pretty legit lasagna.
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