Who We Serve
The goal of our office is to enact systems change throughout state government.
Who We Serve
State Agencies and Community Members
We work with state agencies and community members to change how state government works. Our goal is to make government work better for all Washingtonians.
Agencies
We help state agencies think about fairness in everything they do - from making policies to serving people. We do this through two main approaches:
Relational Partnership - Building real relationships with communities Impact work - Making changes that actually help people
We give agencies the tools, training, and support they need to create their own fair practices. When agencies use these approaches well, their workplace culture improves, and they serve people better. Over time, these good practices become normal and keep working because people see the positive results.
Community
Everything we do is meant to serve the people of Washington. We especially focus on communities that have been left out or treated unfairly by government in the past.
Even though we work mostly with agencies, we know our real job is changing government policies and practices to help all Washingtonians. That's why we also see ourselves as serving the community directly.
We encourage agencies to build their own relationships with:
- Community members
- Community organizations
- Commissions that represent different groups
- Find a Commission that represents you!
How we are different
We're honest about the fact that state government hasn't always worked well for many people. While some families have been helped by government services, there are also policies, practices, and people that have harmed communities of color and other marginalized groups. We admit this upfront and keep it in mind in everything we do.
We work hard to remove these harmful practices from how government does business and serves people.
We are different because we:
- Hold ourselves accountable
- Are bold about being transparent
- Take responsibility even when it's uncomfortable
- Welcome difficult conversations because we can learn from them
- Work to recognize and change our own unconscious bias and internalized racism
- Make clear commitments to racial equity and measure our progress openly
- Won't settle for anything less than a government that works for all Washingtonians
- Model this behavior and invite others to work with us