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County presents first annual countywide DEIA and accessibility report; equity action plan launched
Summary
Staff presented the county’s FY25 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility annual report and introduced a three‑year Loudoun Equity Action Plan developed with employee input. The report outlines six focus areas, training uptake, regional collaboration and next steps for departmental impact plans and dashboards.
Loudoun County staff presented the FY25 countywide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) annual report and the newly finalized Loudoun Equity Action Plan, a three‑year strategic roadmap developed with broad staff input.
Michael Rush, county equity lead, told the Board the report fulfills a directive from the board’s January 2023 equity resolution and that the plan was created with feedback from roughly 4,000 employees and stakeholders. The report highlights six strategic focus areas drawn from that resolution: strategic planning, education and awareness, county operations, equal employment opportunity, data analytics, and community engagement.
Key points staff reported: - A Loudoun Equity Action Plan (three-year roadmap) has been completed and will guide departmental implementation. - Nearly 785 county employees and more than 300 county partners participated in professional development offerings on equity and DEIA topics; training satisfaction ratings exceeded 90% in surveys. - Staff expanded a central digital resource hub and said the county is active in regional DEIA partnerships, including the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) efforts and GARE cohorts. - Staff completed a two‑year study of segregated schools in Loudoun, with recommendations and proposed next steps forthcoming to the board. - Work is underway to explore a potential Human Rights Commission; staff will present structure and next steps in a future report.
Supervisor Brian Turner and others asked about measurable outcomes and asked staff to develop outcome metrics. Turner said the report contained many outputs (trainings, resources) and he requested more outcome-oriented measures demonstrating program effectiveness; staff acknowledged the request and said they plan department-level impact plans and dashboards to track progress.
Rush described next steps: full implementation of the equity action plan across departments, department-specific impact plans, development of dashboards and ongoing regional collaboration. Rush thanked the board for its support and described DEIA efforts as part of the county’s commitment to creating access and opportunity for residents and employees.
