OMAHA, Neb. — Cammy Watkins has been named Co-Executive Director of Inclusive Communities.
"She had done such incredible work and she has been a great partner of mine and has been a real leader within this agency, so it only made sense for the sustainability of our organization and to also handle the extreme growth that we have seen for Cammy to step in as an equal partner," said Maggie Wood, Executive Director of Inclusive Communities.
Although the organization is already diverse, leaders said there was room for more and created a shared top management position.
"For us to truly promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the community, you have to model that first. Many people say, 'I can't do that, that's not possible,' especially with a small team and budget. But the only way we can dispel those myths is to show that we are doing it internally and that puts us in a better position to support other organizations," said Watkins.
Watkins has served as Deputy Director for the past several years. Wood and Watkins are now on equal footing but will oversee different areas.
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"I am very much involved in programming and I started in the programming role and Maggie is a wiz at development. Instead of separating those pieces it made sense that we are stronger together," said Watkins.
They say they are working to strengthen diversity and inclusion in other organizations, so this move is in line with their efforts.
"Oftentimes we work with businesses or organizations and they struggle and say, 'We can't do that, we can't create another space for another leader. We need to continue on with just one person at the top,'" continued Wood.
They say having respect for one another is the only way this dual-leadership system can work. Something these ladies say they have for themselves and have in abundance for each other.
They say this is not a model that will work for every organization, but they want to work with all companies to figure out an inclusion strategy tailored specifically for them.
For more information go to inclusive-communities.org.
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