>> Guys, we are going to move into our next panel discussion. It's going to be called
"Boots from the Ground: Making Accessibility Happen." Mr. Manny Ramirez, are you ready?
>>
Hello, Vince. Can you hear me?
>> I can hear you.
>> All right, all right, wonderful, wonderful. And, um, I'm trying to turn—
>> Okay, take your time, take your time, no problem.
>> Can you see my video? Am I coming through loud and clear?
>> Yes, sir, loud and clear. I can see you. Now, uh, waiting for your other looks from your panel.
All right, all right, they're coming in. Miss Davis, yes.
As we're able, yep, take your time.
All right, Miss Lane.
>> Hello, good seeing you again, good seeing you.
>> Thank you.
>> I think that's it, right?
>> Yes, let's see, uh, one more person, Mr. Carroll.
>> And I think we're waiting on Linda.
>> Yes.
>> Okay, well, while you're waiting for those last two folks to come onto the panel, uh,
Manny, I will let you, um, take—oh, there's Linda,
good to see you again—I'll let you take it away from here and, uh, start your introductions.
>> All right, can you hear me, Vince? I'm getting a note on my system that
says my mic is disabled, but if everyone can hear me, we're good.
>> I can hear you.
>> Okay, we'll rock and roll with it. All right, well, thank you very much, Vince,
and good afternoon, everyone, uh, or good morning if you are, uh, not yet in the afternoon hours.
Um, hello, my name is Manny Ramirez, uh, and my pronouns are he, him, his. Um, I'm a light
brown Hispanic male with very short black hair, and I'm wearing a royal blue dress shirt. Uh,
I am a program manager and trainer for the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS,
uh, and, uh, I work in the Strategic Talent Recruitment, Inclusive Diversity, and Engagement
team. We also call ourselves "STRIDE" because it's such a long name. Um, and our team is nestled
inside of the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer at the DHS headquarters. We're led by
our Executive Director, Sharon Wong, who actually moderated a panel of leaders earlier this morning,
and we are looking to build on their words of wisdom and guidance today. So, I'm happy to serve
as your moderator for today's panel titled "Boots on the Ground: Making Accessibility Happen," or
we can become more aware of what accessibility is and how we can leverage it more efficiently.
I believe most people support the concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility,
also known as DEIA, but some may have questions on how do I support DEIA, as specifically
accessibility, on a daily basis. And today, we'll talk about that and share ideas on how to bring
it to life. You'll hear thoughts that surround a theme of "people first" and accessibility for all.
You know, we all have a shared responsibility to support DEIA and create a culture of inclusion in
a workplace, an environment that everyone feels like they belong. Today, you'll hear perspectives
from DHS headquarters and components. We'll talk about some accessibility tools, programs,
and opportunities, because accessibility is about supporting the whole person, and what
does that look like on the ground level? Because, as just mentioned in our previous presentation,
one size does not fit all. Okay, so you've heard a lot of great content over the last couple of days,
and we want to help you put it into action. And I'm absolutely privileged to be joined
by talented people who will serve as our panelists. So, let's get to know them.
So, um, we already have our cameras on, um, but as I call you, I would love for you to share
your name, pronouns, visual description, your title, and a short summary of your past work
experience. And then, on a personal note, if you don't mind sharing how you guys start on
your DEIA journey and why this is a passion for you. So, we'll start with Linda, please.
>> Wow, Manny, on first, thank you. Good morning. My name is Linda Aase. I am a white,
mature woman with short, sandy hair, a small frame. I'm wearing black and white rim glasses,
and aqua's short-sleeve cap top, a blue pendant necklace, and small gold hoop
earrings. A headset. My pronouns are she and her. I am an HR specialist at USCG,
United States Coast Guard, and this selective placement program coordinator for the Coast
Guard. I am a passionate disability advocate. I am a person with several invisible disabilities.
I am the proud mother of a young adult with an intellectual disability. I was
the former disability program manager at the United States Department of Commerce, with
46,000 employees. I stopped as an assistant to the United States member in the House
of Representatives, job coach for people with disabilities, and that is a little bit about me.
>> Thank you so much, Linda. And we'll go to Laura, please.
>> Thank you, Manny, and good afternoon, everyone. Um, again, my name is Laura
Davis. My visual description: I am an Asian white female with shoulder-length brown hair.
I'm wearing brown frame glasses and a green blouse with a navy blue jacket. My pronouns
are she, her, and hers, and I identify as having multiple disabilities as well,
including a hidden disability, anxiety disorder, as well as a physical disability that impacts
my mobility. In my position as a Departmental Disability Employment Program Manager within the
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties for the Department of Homeland Security,
my goal is to strengthen the overall Disability Employment Program and increase opportunities
for individuals with disabilities throughout the employment life cycle.
Serving in this role, I'm responsible for developing related program policies
and procedures and providing guidance and technical assistance to components.
I'm also the chair of the Disability Employment Advisory Committee, where we collaborate with
stakeholders across the department, to include our partners in OCHCO, specifically STRIDE,
as well as some other components of OCHCO, OCIO'S Accessibility, and Usability, and all of
our components stakeholders are DPMs, disability program managers, reasonable accommodation program
managers, selective placement coordinators, and Operation Warfighter coordinators.
Uh, someone mentioned in a previous session, coordination and collaboration is the key to
having a model disability program, so that's what we're striving for.
Um, prior to joining CRCL, I was the lead special emphasis program manager,
um, and I was an acting director, um, uh, for diversity and inclusion for a short time at
USCIS. Uh, over this span of my 30 plus years, hopefully, I'm not dragging myself too much,
I've held several positions at the U.S. Department of Treasury. Uh, those included DPM, disability
program manager, reasonable accommodation program manager, Diversity Program diversity and Outreach
branch manager, as well as the acting director for EEO. And finally, on a personal note, just a
little bit about myself and what made me become so passionate and brought me to this career field is,
um, I'm actually a CODA, and that stands for a child of deaf adults. So both of my parents are
deaf. Um, I was born and raised in a by bilingual, bicultural, um, family, uh, and community. So
starting from a very young age, I had to speak up for my deaf parents to ensure that they had
equal access to communication. Um, and this is all before the ADA, so, um, I was the one to go
with my parents to their doctor's appointments, um, to the banks, you know, apply for loans,
etc. Uh, so thank goodness for the ADA, um, and yeah, so I'll turn it back over. Thank you.
>> Thanks, Laura. I'm sure many can identify. Yes, all right, uh, let's go ahead and go to Darius.
>> Uh, good afternoon. My name is Darius Carroll. I'm an HR specialist and selective placement
program manager for CBP. Uh, my pronouns are he and him. Uh, I am a brown-skinned black
man. I have a low haircut. I have a blue short-sleeve shirt with a blue and white,
I think there's like a blue, white, and gray tie. Um, uh, I've been in this role for at least
five years, I think, and, uh, my passion comes from educating and advocating for the masses
and letting people know that, you know, we are one. Uh, no disability should go
unrecognized and shouldn't have chances and opportunities to work in this great Department
that we work for, Homeland Security. And, uh, just fairness, you know, being a black man,
we, I've, uh, inherited and been a part of many discriminations before in the past, so I think
it's only right that everyone should have the opportunity, everyone should have a chance to, uh,
be a part of this great organization and deal with DHS. So that's really my story,
really my passion is, is education and information to the masses and people with IWDs.
>> All right, thank you so much, Darius, and last but not least, of course, Miss Michelle.
>> Good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here. My name is Michelle Lane,
and I am a partner, partner in crime, if you will, with Mr. Carroll here at
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I am an African-American female of lighter brown, uh,
complexion. My hair is pulled back away from my face. I'm wearing gold earrings,
a tan blouse with a black jacket. As far as my DEI journey and my passion, I actually have been,
and I can't believe it every time I think about it, but I've been with the Department of Homeland
Security, or with CBP now, for 22 years. Uh, I've always touched on the area of disability, but
as most of us who have been in the community for a while with, uh, all of the resurrecting,
if you will, and, and, and focus on the different executive orders and the program becoming more
prominent at agencies, uh, that when my role became more significant, uh, it started every all
the way back to where the selective placement program coordinator was in our EEO office.
So I've been through that entire journey where that role came from our EEO office to here in
human resources, advocating for having it in Human Resources with our staffing
specialists who deal with the applicants on a daily basis. So, uh, everything from
ensuring that CBP had a specific website, uh, attracting individuals with disabilities to
apply to our agency. So I think once I got more into it, the more passionate I became
about it, and they also became a parent of a child with the intellectual disability,
so that drove my passion even, even more so. But that's a little bit about me.
>> Thank you so much, Michelle, and thank you to all our panelists for
sharing a little bit about yourselves and your backgrounds. Uh, as we jump into the program,
I want to provide some background. In 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 1435,
which is advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility in the federal workforce.
The Executive Order or EO defines the term accessibility as the design, construction,
development, and maintenance of facilities, information and communication technology,
programs, and services so that all people, including people with disabilities,
can fully and independently use them. So, this begins to broaden our horizons on how we look
at accessibility. In addition to accommodations, we look at access to employment, participation,
activities, and programs, reduction or elimination of physical and attitudinal barriers.
Executive Order brings accessibility to the forefront, ties DEI more closely, and highlights
how we should be integrating accessibility into everything we do. It's built-in versus bolt-on.
So, we've got a chance to hear what accessibility means or regarding the EO.
Let's humanize this definition here from our panelists. So, for our first question, in your own
words, what does accessibility mean to you and why is it important? We can start with Linda, please.
>> Thank you. Accessibility is the icing on the DEI cake. It is the essential ingredient
in creating a culture of intentional diversity, equity, and inclusion. It creates a culture
of intentional belonging where everyone has a voice and feels safe to bring their
whole self to work and be fully engaged to participate and have a seat at the table.
That's what accessibility means to me. Thank you, Manny.
>> Thank you, thank you, Linda. All right, how about, um, uh, let's go to Laura, please.
>> Yeah, that, that was great, Linda. I, I would add, um, you know, accessibility, whether
it's accessible information, uh, communication technology, and or accessibility to a building or
office space, it really means equity, um, for all. Uh, by the way, it's not just required by laws,
um, I know it's highlighted in DEIA, but it's also required by the Rehab Act as amended by
the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act. Um, uh, and it's just simply the right thing to do.
Um, it's also, I think one of the previous panelists, I don't know if it was early earlier
today or yesterday, but mentioned, um, it's, it's built into our core values and our mission here
at the department. So, through accessibility, DHS can attract the best, including those with
disabilities and foster a work environment where all of our employees have equal access
to information and communication technology and access to succeed on an equal playing level along
with their colleagues without disabilities. So, without accessibility, which should be baked into
everything we do, have been taken away. Snippets of every single speaker, I, I must admit, from the
last two days. I think Annette Carr talked about the blueberries and the muffin, so we need a big
accessibility into everything we do, and if we don't, we can't really achieve full inclusion.
Um, so yeah, bottom line, I like to explain it as, it accessibility is like the floor, right? It's,
it's meeting the minimum requirements, other law providing reasonable accommodations, for example.
However, as a department or as a federal, you know, the federal government, we should
be encouraged to aim for the ceiling and go above those minimum requirements, and not just because
it's in the executive, what about, I'm happy that it is. Um, uh, finally, that accessibility has
been coupled with other DEI um, diversity inclusion initiative. So yeah, thank you.
>> Thank you, Laura, and I'm seeing another theme evolving here with food,
right? We talk about blueberries and icing, uh, so we can continue that if sure,
um, so let's go ahead to Darius, no pressure to include food in your response, though, sir.
>> Thank you, thanks on that, man, but just to piggyback off Laura and Linda, accessibility
is about inclusion, and it's about making people feel comfortable in providing access to different
things that we don't have. And it makes me think about, uh, when I was with the hiring center, I
was a lead specialist, I was a training specialist as well, and we had a young lady on our team, and,
and she was a deaf young lady. And I made sure that every meeting we had, whether it was a,
um, just a potluck or whatever, that she had someone there to help her and understand,
and she had a sign language personnel. And we wanted to make sure every time that she
was represented at every meeting we had because it was about inclusion. We wanted her to feel
part of that team. So when I think about, uh, accessibility, that's the first thing
that comes to my mind is that young woman that I train, and we made sure that everywhere she went,
everything that we did, we made sure that she had a representation there for her and that she felt
comfortable as being a part of our team in every field activity we had at the hiring center. So
that, that's the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about accessibility. It's inclusion.
>> Thank you so much, Darius, right? And then being intentional,
I've heard that word a couple of times already, and we must be intentional and
deliberate and proactive. I love that. All right, and then, uh, Miss Michelle, please.
>> Um, I, I love what everyone said, but, uh, Darius, in particular, about feeling
comfortable and welcome, and so I, I looked up the definition. I know we said our own definition, but
these are these are great keywords, uh, when you think about accessibility as being approachable,
uh, availability, within reach, and so dealing with applicants regularly like Darius and myself
and being an HR specialist. That's what I think of, and that making them feel comfortable, uh,
adding that little extra touch where, oh my goodness, I'm talking to, uh, or eat,
even if it's just via email, I'm corresponding with someone, someone's listening to me. I'm not
just getting an automatic message from a mailbox. Someone's actually concerned that, or interested
in the fact that I want to be an employee of this organization. So, I think adding, uh, that extra
touch and making people feel welcome and assisted, and, and I won't use food, but another kind of
analogy or metaphor, if you will, whatever you would like to call it, I think about accessibility
too is being like knocking at a door, um, but instead of having to knock to get in,
you're given the keys and the tools to get in, and you're, it's that, eat, physical, whatever it
might be, or the application process, it's more accessible. Now I'm not having to necessarily
jump through hoops, and sometimes it takes that, but at least you're being pointed in the right
direction. But I feel like accessibility is just that, uh, you're, you're being given the keys to,
uh, to get the tools and achieve whatever it is that you're attempting to do or trying to achieve.
>> Oh, thank you so much, Michelle. Yes, and I can't agree more with you and all of
our panelists and making sure that folks have the, um, the keys, the tools, uh,
and availability and opportunity, right? Uh, so it's, so a key, and you made, you said a word
that stood out, I mean, it's making sure people feel welcome, and I think others use belonging,
um, and that's really how we make sure people feel valued and welcomed,
uh, and part of our organization. And so that's really a way that we keep people here because DHS,
like many other organizations, try very hard to, um, to recruit, uh, and acquire talent.
Um, how do we retain that talent, and I think accessibility can play a part in that. And so my
next question is, how does accessibility, uh, as a priority, support retention programs and efforts,
and how can we bring it to life? So, I'll start with Miss Laura, please.
>> Okay, thank you. That's a great question. We've heard a lot about hiring, uh, recruiting,
and hiring, so I'm glad we're kind of moving the discussion towards retention.
Um, so let me just start by setting the stage, um, and I'm going to take it back to some laws
and requirements. So all federal agencies are required by Section 501 of the Rehab Act to
have an affirmative action plan for persons with disabilities and targeted disabilities.
Um, this rep, it's, it's, uh, where, I guess, it's reported and monitored using the,
um, the annual MD 715, Part J. So the Part J, it's a special program plan for the recruitment,
hiring, and advancement and retention of persons with disabilities, which is then turned into,
after it's been formally submitted to the EOC, the agency's affirmative action plan. So it's that
plan that kind of outlines all of our programs and our goals and what we're doing to achieve
those goals. It also establishes metrics for agencies to become a model employer and requires
agencies to have policies and programs in place to retain employees with disabilities. So specific to
retention, some of those requirements include that we analyze our workforce separation data
to identify potential triggers and barriers for retaining employees with disabilities. It requires
us to describe and review our accessibility of technology and facilities, and it also requires
us to provide information on our reasonable accommodation programs, including our work,
our personal assistance services, describing the effectiveness of those policy and procedures
and/or practices that the agency is implementing to improve upon those programs. So with that,
let's say from a workforce data lens, we heard a little bit about some workforce
statistics in some of the earlier sessions, but DHS employees with disabilities represent 15.3
percent of our workforce. That's over 33,000 employees. Um, and we've seen a
significant increase over the last five years. 1.4 percent of those employees who reported to
have a disability has a targeted disability. So when we talk about targeted disabilities,
um, some of those categories might include someone who's deaf-blind, has a developmental disability,
epilepsy, those are just a few categories. Um, the complete list can be found on the SF-256,
which I think we're going to be talking more about a little later on. Um,
so while we're steadily increasing our workforce representation of employees with disabilities,
um, because of targeted outreach and recruitment efforts, we are also experiencing, unfortunately,
higher than expected separations of employees with disabilities. So we know that there are
some challenges there with retention. Um, as of FY 23, third quarter, DHS employees
with disabilities are leaving at a rate of 16.8 percent, and employees with targeted disabilities
are separating at 1.64 percent. Both of those percents, why they don't sound too that high,
they're both higher than the onboard rates and the higher rate for each one of those respective
groups. So that right there is a trigger. We want to see the opposite, really. Um,
so based on the data reported by our components in the last two years, we've also seen a gradual
increase in the average number of days it takes to process requests for reasonable
accommodation and a decrease in the percent of requests being processed timely. Um, so those,
again, are triggers. This could be attributed to several factors, including perhaps we have more
employees with disabilities, more employees are in need of every small accommodation,
um, and we need to make sure we are constantly evaluating our programs to ensure that we have
sufficient resources and staffing in place so that our employees can get what they need so they
can be successful. So those are some tidbits. Those are just some areas that we need to make
do a deeper dive across the department. While all employees, again, with a disability, don't
necessarily require a reasonable accommodation to a disability, um, be an intentional and ensuring
accessibility coupled with effective reasonable accommodations ensures that we're providing,
um, the tools necessary for employees to succeed in their job. Related to the
reasonable accommodation program and another area of opportunity to improve our retention efforts,
um, is reassignment as a reasonable accommodation of last resort. By law, DHS is required and
obligated to consider reassignment if there are no other accommodations available to enable an
employee to perform the essential functions of their position. So if, if I may just quickly
give you an example for those of you who are not familiar, say we have a TSO employee who
recently developed a medical condition. TSOs have statutory regulatory physical requirements. Um,
so due to this developing medical condition, that person is no longer able to physically meet those
requirements on the position. So after exhausting all those available resources and considerations,
um, it, you know, the last resort is to offer a reassignment as a reasonable accommodation. So
while searches are conducted at a component level, um, if, if those searches are unsuccessful and the
HR is not able to find a qualifying position for which the employees could be considered, the next
step is to conduct a department-wide search. Um, and, and I just see that as an area of opportunity
where we can do better. We, we've noticed over the last three to four years, maybe longer,
that our success rate for reassigning employees, um, uh, there's a lot of room for improvement.
So, and, and just let me just make one final point because I know I've taken up a lot of time,
but just to clarify, this is not an option if a vacant position is identified as a,
you know, a viable position for consideration. Component hiring offices,
um, and hiring supervisors need to, um, understand and kind of cooperate in the process that this,
this, this is our duty and our obligation, um, under the law to take care of our employees.
So if we do have another position that they qualified for, it is not an option. They do
not have to compete for that position. It should be a directed reassignment,
um, and process accordingly. Um, so I, I, I'll leave it at, on that note, and,
um, I'll turn it back over. There are some other areas that we're working on,
but I, I know we're, we're kind of, you know, stressed for time. Thank you.
>> Thank you, the job is never done, Laura, right? We, um, always, absolutely, thank you.
>> Thank you, uh, Mike, to bring in, uh, Michelle, please.
>>
Um, yeah, retention, I, I know, uh, we had a young lady we hired about three years ago,
uh, here in HR, and I was, I was so disappointed when I, when I heard this, uh, but she said that
she really didn't have, she, she couldn't find, maybe, uh, accommodation information,
and I was like, oh, that, that can't, that can't be true, um, you know, it's, it's, you know,
you just type it in on our page, and it's there, but, but it still triggered that, wow, you know,
we brought this highly qualified great person into our, into the workforce, and it's excited
about being with our agency, and that was like the first, one of the first impressions she had,
so, uh, the onboarding process, whether they say First Impressions the last Impressions sometimes,
uh, we, we need to, uh, better, and I know this is onboarding is an ongoing topic throughout DHS,
and I know heavily here at CBP, but ensuring that all employees are given this type of information
and as they come in the door, and we do make it our duty, we do make it our duty, and we've all,
I, I guess, probably going back at least 10, 12 years now, where we began including that
type of information before it was required, uh, in our selection letters that if you, in fact,
need some form of an accommodation, uh, please let us know in advance, so, uh, it's just as much
an onus on, on the applicant or the employee, incoming employee, but I do think that, uh,
retention, onboarding can ultimately affect, uh, retention, that person is still with CBP,
luckily, uh, so it did work out, but, but it helps that we have these different resource groups,
and we're paying attention to what people, our employees, have to say, the employee resource
groups are critical because that's how we get to the retention part, because those employees who
are here can help us better our processes and our communication and everything else, uh, to make it,
as we mentioned before, a comfortable, welcoming work environment, and that word starts to spread,
and then we have also found in recruiting that some of our, our best, uh, our hires are mainly
identified that they heard about the agency by referral, so if we make that positive impression
and retain those employees, do a better job at retaining employees, then that word gets out and
external to the agency, and we can better attract, uh, people, uh, to the workforce.
>> Thank you, Michelle, absolutely, and, um, employee resource groups, also known at DHS as
employee associations, are very key in giving, uh, different communities a voice, right, and
opportunity to, um, connect with people that, uh, have similar backgrounds and interests, and things
like that, so that's great, thank you so much, Michelle, and, uh, let's go to, um, Linda, please.
>> Thank you, so, um, here's a commercial break. Um, the Coast Guard and myself, because
of my difficulty with this, with getting the accommodation I needed, I formed the Disability
Allies Resource Group, which is the very first USCG disability affinity group that everybody
can join. So that's my little plug for that. Um, accessibility is a priority, it's the glue that
retains the employee and sends the message that we care about you, people first, right? We listened,
and we'll give you the tools you need to be a productive employee, like Laura said,
and we want you to be effective, and we want you to feel included and you, we, we're going
to include you in our cultural landscape. So, a sad story out the Coast Guard, we, um, run
on a person with great talent. The person was, is deaf. She was, she did not get the accommodation
she needed. The supervisor worked very hard to get her what she needed for three months prior.
After 30 days, the employee went to the supervisor and said, "I have to leave. I can't communicate."
So, Laura, to your point, we absolutely have to do a better job in accommodating first,
and we need to show that we care about the people we bring on, and that must be included in our
onboarding. People shouldn't have to look for the resources, they should be given them. So, just to,
I agree with the Lord 100%, yeah. And just a touch on that, Linda, you make a great point, um, it's
actually required, um, and the EOC's final rule, which, uh, clarified some of the requirements,
um, that federal agencies have when it comes to our reasonable accommodation procedures,
um, it requires all federal agencies to post our reasonable accommodation
procedures both internally and externally, in locations that are easy, easily accessed,
so that it should be easy, so that should not be happening, um, so that's very unfortunate,
but yes, all components are required to post their procedures internally and externally. Thank you.
>> Yeah, thank you, Linda and Laura,
um, continue on, like, as we talk about making sure that we have accessible opportunity to
Federal service, I want to ask, how can we diversify our hiring practices and increase
accessibility to Federal service? How can we do that better, so I'd like to invite, um, Michelle.
>>
How we can, how we can diversify, um, I, I think our hiring practices,
I think we here at CBP do an excellent job. I know when we, when we do the MD 715, of course, we tout
all the lovely and wonderful things that, that we are doing, uh, to better attract and retain,
um, individuals or persons with disabilities. But, uh, one of the things we do is, uh, workshops,
and the workshops, uh, with the hiring managers and their mission support specialists, and it,
it's, and we're, we even have taken it a step further, not just our hiring center, but we have
what we call Business Partnership meetings, BPMS, we call them, uh, internally, and they welcome,
uh, we're, uh, Jeff Jack, our veterans program manager, who was going to also speak today,
he is on them regularly, and he speaks to these programs and the hiring authorities and how, what
a great, you know, program it is and how easy it is to, to recruit veterans with disabilities. Uh,
we again, we do it in workshops, at least two to three times a year, the HR specialists present to
our hiring managers to remind them of the various hiring flexibilities and to diversify and not be
so hung up on the typical standard, as we call it in HR, to post and pray practice of just putting
on an announcement, but, but using diversifying your, your tools that or hiring using your hiring
flexibilities, uh, to attract, uh, qualified applicants and from Schedule A to 32 percent
or more veteran. So, I think education is the key in awareness, uh, you'd be surprised, and Darius
will tell you too, we, within the last year, to have, I won't say inundated, but we have become,
um, so almost overwhelmed within the last six months or so with requests from our offices for
more non-competitive hires. They want to use Schedule A and 30 percent or more veterans,
and we're, we're thrilled, which we're trying to maintain the, you know, momentum and get them
what they need, and, you know, we, we have our own repository and the various databases and tools out
there, but, but I think that's the key, to just showing by example, and I know Jeff does this,
uh, with doing articles of success stories, uh, letting managers see these stories out
on the internet, uh, or on.gov, you know, public facing, also letting the other managers see, "Wow,
you know, the Office of Trade, for instance, is having so much success with using these different
hiring authorities, you know, how, how come no one's telling me about that or how come we're
not doing more of that?" I know Darius and I got an email just last night, I think it was Darius,
uh, from an office, an IT office, who's talking about, "We want to do more Schedule A hiring," so
the word is getting out, and I think our hiring managers are, are, hopefully, it just appears
that way, are spreading the word that using, diversifying our practices and not sticking to the
old traditional job opportunity announcement way of getting qualified individuals is the way to go.
>> All right, thank you, Michelle and Darius. Like to see if you can add anything on, uh, with that,
as, as used. Can we, can clearly see that, uh, you and Michelle work together very well.
>> Yeah, uh, yeah, Manny, uh, kind of piggybacking off of what Michelle said, I think the big word
here is collaboration. I think collaboration with, uh, me coming from the hiring center,
now working at National recruitment, me working so closely with Michelle and Jeff Jack about the
veterans and, and, uh, letting hiring managers know the different hiring authorities that's out
there and working with the hiring center who goes into more of the job announcement, uh, process of
it, and me being a team lead coming from over there for so many years, now working over here,
us working together to say, hey, a hiring manager can feel it with a 30 veteran and also letting
you know that 30 veterans can come on [unclear], a temporary term or temporary, and then be converted
to the next pay period to a permanent position, uh, learn about VRA, the Veterans Recruitment Act,
that's the two-year probationary period where you can grow and develop, uh, uh,
a veteran that's coming in, a new employee, you can grow them for two years before converting
them, a military spouse program, so it's just a lot of different vet authorities that that's out
there that we can expand on, uh, with our hiring managers and having a collaboration with Michelle,
having so much knowledge about scheduling, and Jeff Jack veteran, me coming from the
hiring center and working that process, now having that everyone in collaboration, so, uh,
to piggyback off Michelle said, and now we, we're inundated with hiring managers now saying, hey,
can I get 10 to 12 resumes, can I get 15 resumes, can, can you point me in the right direction,
we don't have the time, so having that knowledge, having that information, and everyone being on the
same page inside of HRM to make sure that we're getting the best candidates for CBP,
uh, has been a tremendous help. So I would say that, uh, diversifying will be the huge word,
is collaboration, all of us working together and being on the same page to make sure that we're,
uh, that we're representing everyone from every angle, love schedule a veterans, uh,
and employees to get people on board as much as we can.
>> Wonderful, yes, absolutely, collaboration, uh, with bringing diversity of thought and the
cognitive diversity to the table, having the right people at the table. Yes, I love it,
okay, and how about you, Laura?
>> Yeah, I mean, it's just so great to hear all the wonderful things that are going on at CBP,
and I'm sure at many of our other components, um, but yeah, just a, um, I guess foot stomp this,
you know, leadership has really shown their commitment, um, oh, CHCO, uh, every year,
um, issues, and it's, um, from the, I'm sorry, but Sharon Wong's title,
the Executive Director of DEIA, now -- I, you've gone through many name changes,
um, but Sharon Wong actually, um, issues hiring goals annually for
individuals with disabilities and targeted disabilities, and so those annual goals,
um, are consistent with, um, the affirmative action plan, um, outlined in the EEOC's final
role, but also consistent with our commitment to DEIA. Those goals have established the 12 and 2
percent goals for individuals with disabilities and individuals with targeted disabilities.
Um, now we do, um, add some additional information and those annual hiring goals, so,
um, for individuals with targeted disabilities, we, we set that at two percent, but it excludes
our, um, TSO occupations and on law enforcement occupations because of the, the challenges and
the statutory and Regulatory, uh, medical and physical requirements. Um, but what, what DHS
has also done, uh, which is also, um, just goes to show our, our leadership commitment to support, to
support our hiring goals, we, we created a whole new goal for a schedule a hires, which is also set
at two percent. So the department is, is whole, you know, challenging each one of our components,
um, to attain all, all three of those, those goals. So, in addition to that, I, I can't speak
too much to it, um, but I know that your office also issues, um, annual hiring goals for veterans
and Veterans with disabilities, so, and I think veterans with disabilities or the 30 or more,
um, is set at a 10 annual hiring goal, um, correct me if I'm wrong, my HR friend.
>> Thank you, Laura, and, uh, yeah, um, Executive Director Sharon Wong, uh, as the leader of our
STRIDE team, uh, so thank you for the plug there, Laura, uh, and just to add a couple, if I could,
um, ways to diversify our, um, hiring practices. First and foremost, actually,
right, is each one of us can be an ambassador for the agency, for the Department, right? We
share our story, we get in the community, and, and really connect with people and,
and share with them what the experience is like working here. You know, that can, uh,
debunk some of the myths and misconceptions about the organization, it really, uh,
um, uh, encourage folks to learn more about working at our organization. Uh, also,
um, we work hard in STRIDE on our, um, Chief Talent Recruitment side to us, uh, have a Minority
Service Institution strategy. We have, uh, partnerships with HBCUs, uh, establish, you know,
MOUs with them, just so really looking to tap into the diverse talent pools that are available to us.
Um, and I just thought of something real quick, uh, Laura, you mentioned TSOs, can you tell us
what TSO stand for, for those that may not know? I am so sorry. So TSOs, that's with our, uh,
Transportation Security Administration, they are our, um, Transportation Security Officers. All
right, excellent, thank you, now I know we're a little over time, folks, we got one more
question and then we'll wrap up, uh, so for my panelists, I'm actually going to combine our last
two questions, um, and so what we want to do is, what are some successful or promising practices,
um, that you, uh, have seen or how we have an opportunity to implement here at DHS,
uh, and also, uh, from an individual and Leadership standpoint, how can
we implement those, uh, so I'm actually going to start with, uh, Linda, please.
>> For me, that would be doing the right thing, walking the walk, talking the talk,
putting people first, and like Laura said, following policy. It's easy.
>> Excellent, thank you so much, Linda, and how about, uh, Michelle?
>> I agree with Linda, um, I think, uh, we, our leadership has to, uh,
set the standard and, and be, be the model. Uh, it's fine that they encourage our other
hiring managers to hire individuals with disabilities, but if they lead by example,
I think their staff will be even more willing, um, uh, to do better. Not that they're not doing it,
but do better with recruiting and being thinking more outside the box when it comes to recruiting.
So I, I think it starts, it starts at the top, uh, and, cherishing our staff to do so and maybe even
setting goals for themselves. I challenge you, hiring manager Michelle Lee, to hire at least
two people within this fiscal year, at least two, and, and build on that.
>> Thank you, Michelle, and you know, I'll move on, uh,
to Darius, but I like how we can, how we're pointing out how leadership can set the tone,
and also feel free to offer how we, as individuals, can, can also follow their
lead and sometimes even lead from our seat in the organization. So, Darius.
>> Yes, sir, yeah, I was going to touch on that, Manny. Um, I think for leadership to have an open
mind, I think it starts with the information, it starts with the information us letting them know
that, hey, this is an easier process, this is a process, uh, that you can get qualified employees
who have qualified resumes, who have qualified background and expertise. So I think it's a lot
of times informing the hiring managers about the people that we are sending them their way. We send
hundreds of candidates every year, so I think the first thing is education, information, and letting
them know exactly who the applicants are that we're giving them. And, uh, to just, you know,
like you say, open-minded to a different practice. We've been doing the job practice for so long,
like Michelle said, you post and pray, we've been doing that so long, a lot of people just
get caught on that wheel of doing the same thing over and over and over again. But I think, uh,
we're being the change that we want to see in CBP. We're, we're collaborating, we're bringing in,
I'm here, uh, Michelle's here, Jeff's here, uh, our, our team is diverse, our team is, uh,
fresh, we're coming with ideas, we're meeting these people, we have these relationships. So
I think having the relationships, having the conversations, having the meetings,
as Michelle said, as Laura and Linda have said, having the meetings, having the conversations,
doing the education, doing the work, and being collaborative around the board, I think would
eventually get us to hitting our targets and beyond here in the next couple of years.
>> Thank you, Darius, so much, good stuff in there, uh, but one comment that stood out to
me is "be the change," really like that. Thank you, and last but not least, how about Laura?
>> Sorry, having a problem with taking myself off a mute there,
um, yeah, so I, I agree wholeheartedly with all the other presenters, my fellow presenters, um,
maybe some of the, uh, some other recommendations, um, uh, I guess a good way to demonstrate
commitment to both DEIA and EEO, um, which is outlined in everyone's performance metrics, right,
um, as well as secretary priorities, leadership can, and probably should, if they're not already,
um, support and encourage all employees to participate in various training,
career development opportunities, details, career development, as well as participating
in all these great amazing special emphasis programs that every component posts regularly.
Um, it's just another great opportunity for us to learn, learn about different cultures, learn about
different needs, um, and specifically, um, what, what disability, as, as the topic, um, there's
just so much great information, and it's, it, it's almost impossible to absorb in just two days, so
I'm really wish this was like a week-long session, um, because there's just so much information to
absorb and, and understand. Another area where leadership can demonstrate their commitment is,
um, to support their employees' interest and involvement in DHS employee associations.
Um, we currently have two Department level, and I know there are others because Linda
talked about the ERG at U.S Coast Guard, but at the department-wide level, uh, DHS has two,
we have the Deaf DHS Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employee Association, and the newly established
Disability Alliance EA, both wonderful groups. So if you're interested in networking and connecting,
I highly recommend seeking out those groups. Um, and then just one final note, Andy, um, Imparato,
um, hopefully I'm pronounced his name correctly, he was one of the guest speakers yesterday,
um, and I think he said it best, um, accessibility equals heart, or just have a heart, be flexible,
be compassionate, um, and look at what can be done versus what can't be done to ensure
full accessibility, um, and just do the best possible, you know, try to expedite,
um, when an employee comes to you with a need, uh, because the sooner you provide
them with the tools and resources they need to do their job, the, the more that they can,
um, the better off they can be to support the agency's mission. So thank you so much.
>> Thank you, thank you, Laura. Thank you all. I'll just piggyback on a few things,
uh, what you heard here is education, education, education, right? We don't
know what we don't know, right? And we give each other grace when someone may, uh, take
a misstep and then take the opportunity to learn together, to learn more, right? And, for example,
we should be more aware of our biases, right? And how that may be affecting our day-to-day,
um, for example, you know, sometimes we look at the disability instead of the ability,
right? That could be our bias is kicking in, and we don't even know it, right? Uh, so,
um, also another opportunity for education, as mentioned before, understanding and knowing
reasonable accommodation process in point context and resources, right? Even if you don't have a
disability, being aware and knowing them so you can help your fellow employees and colleagues,
that's truly creating accessibility and supporting and, uh, and a DEI environment that is inclusive,
you know? And then it's about creating access, uh, space for accessibility and DEIA as a whole to be
talked about in our, uh, in our meetings and on a daily basis, right? Be intentional, be people-led,
right? Talk about taking care of the whole person, not just the employee. I think we're all
saying that today, you know? And we can provide access to training, career development programs,
it's so key, right? Making sure that there are, uh, no obstacles so that people can do that, and
of course, having access to technologies and, and you, uh, satisfying unique needs of individuals,
uh, to make sure that we're also aware that not all disabilities, as discussed earlier,
are seen from outside. There are many hidden disabilities and make sure that we're aware of,
um, our biases wedded to that as well, uh, and I can't, uh, support more of what Laura
said and making sure that we can tie them to overall employee performance,
organizational performance, and supporting DEIA and accessibility specifically.
So again, want to make sure I just share those things with you, uh, thank you for, uh, providing
me the time, uh, but how we have those, um, those things in our daily habits is about having the
right people at the table when decisions are being made. So just a few things to share, all right?
So I definitely want to say thank you to everyone, uh, for being part of our panel today, all our
panelists, thank you for sharing your stories and your perspectives. I understand that is a gift in
itself, and so I want to say thank you to you. Thank you for all the attendees, uh, for your
time. I know we've run over a few minutes, uh, we got a late start, so, uh, we appreciate you being
willing to be flexible with us. Uh, thank you for, uh, our fellow STRIDE members and EO and everyone
across the board that's been part of this program, of course, uh, the accessibility usability team,
you've been amazing, um, I hope you found today's program informative and encourage you to
go out there and learn more, uh, because we just scratched the surface, and so there's been a link
put in the chat box, please check into it more, um, and we're here, uh, to assist in that way. Uh,
I'm reminded today's events are the last two days have reminded me of Maya Angelou's, uh, quote,
"do the best you can, and so, you know better, and then when you know better, do better," uh,
and so hopefully today we've been caring, and, uh, you know, increased our knowledge and awareness so
that we can then do better for ourselves and for our fellow colleagues, uh, and actually
everyone in our community. It's been an amazing two days, uh, Vince, thank you for coming on,
Sir, so I appreciate you and your team, uh, for hosting this, uh, thank you for, uh, you know,
OCIO leadership, uh, for inviting us to be a part of this, uh, and I'll turn it back over to you.
>> All right, thank you very much, Manny, and all of the panelists. We've really enjoyed all
of the information that you shared and all your experiences, and, you know, I will be
tapping into you again next year because this was great. Might need more time, I don't know, Laura,
about a week, but we might be able to scratch it to another day, never know. All right, guys,
thank you very much, appreciate it very much. All right, we're about to close out our session.