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Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get Messy: The Everyday Work of Inclusion

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Maxine Gullo

City of Carmel-by-the-Sea

Assistant City Administrator

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Why is this topic so important to me? It’s my heritage.

**32 Miles from here on the Central Coast, both of my grandfathers worked as laborers on the fields

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24 Years – Local Government

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The racial makeup of Carmel-by-the-Sea was 3,464

93.1% White
0.3% African American
0.2%Native American
3.0% Asian
0.2% Pacific Islander
1.2% from other races
2.1% from two or more races.
4.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race

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�What I know for sure …..

24% Female

8% Latino

Work To Do

City Manager Demographics

Source: ICMA Membership Data (September 2021) and U.S. Census 2020 (August 2021)

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“Of the seven Monterey Peninsula cities, only two of 10 employees at the top of the government structure is a person of color – that’s Monterey Assistant City Manager Nat Rojanasathira and Carmel Assistant City Administrator/Human Resources Director Maxine Gullo.”

--Monterey County Weekly, June 4, 2020

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Why does this matter?

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Personally

My father started as Maintenance Worker for the City of San Jose and worked for 31 years. His employment provided us (his family) with great health insurance, benefits and so much more!

My childhood experiences influence my style at the bargaining table.

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Professionally

My sphere of influence has changed in every role and was significant during the Pandemic.

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My diverse perspective makes an impact on the work we do.

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What is the one thing I wished someone would’ve told me…..

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Break Down Barriers

Policy

Practices

Recruitment

Workforce demographics

Bargaining, contracts

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Notification Example – Share Information

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Anton “Tony” Dahlerbruch

Chief Executive Officer

Peckham & McKenney

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Who Am I?

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35 Years – Local Government

prior to serving municipalities as a recruiter

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Active participant in the

city management profession

Past Leadership Positions

Board of Directors, League of California Cities
President, City Managers Department, League of California Cities (and other positions)
Member, League of California Cities Policy Committees

Revenue and Taxation Policy Committee
Community Services Policy Committee

West Coast Vice President, Executive Board, ICMA
Executive Board, California City Management Foundation
Chair, South Bay Cities City Manager Area Group
Co-Chair, Cal-ICMA Ethics Committee
Vice President, MMASC

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Why is this topic in the fabric of who I am?

First generation in American (Jewish); father and family escaped Nazi Germany in the last boat to the U.S.
Raised in a family environment that advocated equality and civil rights
Parent of severely disabled son (29 yrs. old) who has re-enforced significance of accessibility and accommodation

Personal and professional focus

Recognizing the inequity of pay and opportunities, I have committed myself to affecting change.

As a student worker in 70’s, advocated for improving compensation of classification of workers
Attended vigils and political events during school years
Challenged professional associations and pushed to achieve inclusion while in leadership positions
Promoted and hired staff, and advocated for diversity, as a professional
Recruit with a firm that prides itself and dedicates itself to finding women and candidates that represent diversity
Authored articles

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How to Work with a Recruiter

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How do we find people?

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Rumi Portillo�City of Palo Alto Chief People Officer

My Career in Human Resources

City of Palo Alto – 5 years

Town of Los Gatos – 10 years

City of Sunnyvale – 4 years

City of San Jose – 12 years

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Diversity at home …�Japanese mother,

British father in the military

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Mi Familia

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Happening in 2024 …

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Palo Alto Human Resources

Reflecting Diversity in the Workforce

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�Diversity Equity and Inclusion�Palo Alto Model

Public council commitment
Executive team workshops
Awareness through reading material, discussions
Publish workforce demographics
Next, with DEI consultant assistance: employee survey, focus groups, training

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Recommendations

Start where you are – consider your sphere of influence

For HR, that may mean recruitment, bargaining table, benefits, training

Seek resources and professional expertise

Universities and Library Associations can be great, low-cost sources

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�DEI - Examples from Palo Alto�

Council resolution and Race & Equity workplan and Periodic staff reports to Council

Palo Alto Reads program hosted by City Manager

Diversity Challenge to read, listen or engage on DEI topic for 7, 14, or 21 days

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�DEI – Examples from Palo Alto

Exec Team workshops (series of 3 sessions) in collaboration with:

Stanford University Office for Inclusion, Belonging and Intergroup Communication

Tulane University Design Thinking for Social Impact at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center

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Sample Exec Workshop: Starting the DEI Conversation

Objectives for this session are to launch our journey together on the topic of race and equity, prompt thinking as individuals and as an Executive Leadership Team and reflect on our roles as leaders.

Agenda (Opening and Closing Statements by City Manager)

“White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism”
Video (45 minutes)
Facilitated Breakouts
Takeaways and next steps

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Sample Author Program�hosted by �City Manager��(invite community and employees)

https://mailchi.mp/a5b87b583b24/palo-alto-reads-author-event-with-jennifer-eberhardt?e=0ee0179a97

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Resources at MGULLO.org

Sample Virtual Library
Palo Alto Race & Equity web page where you will find sample Council Resolution, committee work and reports, DEI activities

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Questions?