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Gaithersburg REDI office reports internal gains, cites departmental policy wins
Summary
The city's REDI office told the mayor and council it has grown capacity and produced 22 policies through cross-department cohorts, with staff survey measures of perceived inclusiveness rising since 2023. The office emphasized slow, trust-based community engagement and named equity leads across departments.
Hazel, the city's REDI program manager, told the mayor and council on Feb. 23 that the office's three-year effort to align city systems around racial equity is focused on "aligning our systems, our policies, our practices, and procedures" to produce equitable outcomes.
Hazel said the office administers a biennial REDI survey and reported improvements between 2023 and 2025: 91.1% of staff described the organization as a diverse, equitable and inclusive workspace (a near 4% increase), 97% said examining REDI principles is valuable, and 81.1% reported active involvement in advancing REDI at work. "We want folks to have an equal outcome," Hazel said, describing the office's approach to tailoring supports so people can succeed.
The presentation highlighted four REDI pillars adopted by the council in 2021 and described cross-department cohort work run from June 2020 to December 2025. Staff completed four cohorts and formed 21 teams that produced 22 policies, practices or procedures intended to make equity considerations operational in departments. Hazel said the city attorney's office produced an archive to support legal and historical understanding, and departments produced tangible changes: Parks & Recreation reworked a financial-aid process to reach intended families; Economic Development created a small-business toolbox to reduce cultural and language barriers; Finance revised procurement steps to deepen engagement with disadvantaged business enterprises.
Hazel introduced named equity leads and ambassadors across departments (including Gabriela Joctane, Sarah Fleming, Akuma Karimova, Mary Armbruster, Courtney Davis and Jason DeMarkey) and presented certificates recognizing their extra training and leadership. She said the REDI core team has 12 members representing nine of the city's 11 departments and that the cohorts have led to a 22-policy portfolio ready for implementation.
Council members praised the effort and emphasized outreach and language access. Several encouraged sustained outreach to non-English-speaking residents and partnerships with trusted local organizations. Hazel underscored a deliberate, "slow" approach to engagement to build trust rather than checking boxes.
The council made no formal vote on the presentation; Hazel said the work will continue with training, a language-access program, GIS-tagged equity tracking and further cross-agency collaboration.
