Resource Type: Articles

- Larkin Tackett
In many ways, today feels like the 387th day of March, 2020.
More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, our team of consultants is holding a tension. On the one hand, we are grateful to our clients for the opportunity to grow and to serve from the safety of Zoom. One the other hand, we feel the tremendous pressure, trauma, and learning loss the pandemic has caused, especially for students from Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and low-income communities.

- Alex Cantu
At MAYA, we are constantly evolving and adjusting our organization to make it more equitable. Everyone on our team plays a role in building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. Over the last six months, we have added two new positions and so hiring has been on our minds a lot. Let’s be honest, hiring is a lot of work for both the company and the candidates. So often, processes are built to be quick and take shortcuts, but those shortcuts lead to a lack of equity. In rethinking our hiring practices, MAYA made some small and big changes to help strengthen our own hiring practices.

- Constance Carmona
These are just a few things MAYA is thankful for. Expressing gratitude feels appropriate during this time of year, especially during this challenging time of COVID. MAYA has recognized how grateful we are for the opportunities we have had to advance professionally and give back this year, all while keeping students progress and education improvement at the forefront of everything we do.

- MAYA Consulting
Rakima Parson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist a part of Centered Counseling and Consulting PLLC. This past fall, we met Rakima after attending her learning session on Keep Cultural Bias Out of Performance Reviews at Equity Space: Designing for an Inclusive Community. We were thrilled to reconnect with Rakima to discuss what it means to be a life-long learner, how caregivers can best support children at-home during quarantine, how to create belonging across communities during the pandemic, and the value of sweat.

- Larkin Tackett
My inbox is full of statements from organizational leaders, many of whom are white, about standing with the Black community. This language is necessary but insufficient. As described in one of MAYA’s go-to newsletters to learn what we can do to increase inclusion--5 Ally Actions--solidary is not enough. We must shift from the language to the labor of allyship and anti-racism…