One Olmsted

Envisioning a workplace and community where everyone is treated equitably.

One Olmsted is Olmsted County's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative. It originated from a resolution passed by the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners in 2017 formalizing Olmsted County's commitment to health, social, and racial equity as guiding priorities and values.

Our mission with One Olmsted is to eliminate disparities and create equitable outcomes for everyone in Olmsted County through our commitment to diversity and inclusion and development of strong community partnerships.

One Olmsted seeks to:

• Ensure an inclusive workforce environment to retain staff and support staff learning and development through awareness and education opportunities.
• Ensure Olmsted County services to residents are equitable, that barriers are reduced, and are provided in an environment that promotes inclusiveness.
• Build teams that represent community demographics. 

Highlights of One Olmsted progress to date

• Implemented five alliance groups for employees. Alliance groups are voluntary, employee-led groups whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace. Members include employees who share a characteristic in common. The alliance groups in place are: Mental health, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color), LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersexual, asexual), a diverse abilities group, and an Allies group (employees who would like to be good allies to historically marginalized groups of people). 
• Placed a focus on One Olmsted throughout the Olmsted County organization. Each department has identified annual DEI goals and senior leadership teams have participated in DEI strategic planning sessions.
• Launched a Code of Conduct Policy. This helps to ensure all employees are operating together in an atmosphere of cooperation and respect. The Code of Conduct aligns with our organizational mission, vision, and values, as well as our One Olmsted DEI initiative.

Highlights of what to expect with One Olmsted in 2022

• One Olmsted will offer “Coming to the table circles for healing and education” in partnership with the City of Rochester and the Rochester Public Library. These will be spaces for community to come together to understand our history, recognize continued impacts, and move toward healing.
• Continue developing community engagement opportunities that encourage diverse groups of residents to share their lived experiences as they relate to local government. We will also participate once again in Welcoming Week events in September – a week dedicated to bringing together people of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the significance of inclusive spaces to our collective prosperity.
• Continue to take part in community events to share One Olmsted information and our commitment to DEI in the county.
• Workgroups will continue to discuss efforts that include inclusive demographics, data collection, employee and community DEI curriculum, DEI language, cultural competency and humility, recruitment and retention, the history of the county, communication, and community engagement.

Questions?
If you have any questions about One Olmsted, please email Lisa Morris-Helmstetler or Clara Sifuentes.