Human Resources Manager Jocelyn McGiboney, recently attended The Municipal Leader Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate Program through Georgia Municipal Association (GMA). This program is designed to equip municipal leaders with the knowledge, tools and resources to create a foundation for sustainable, equitable and economic prosperity for their city and its residents by creating an environment that values differences, fosters relationships and seeks a spirit of belongingness. This program is for individuals, targeting city leaders such as mayors, city managers, city council members, and senior staff. It supports day-to-day operations within city governments and aims to support municipal leaders by providing resources and connections with other city leaders for evaluating various areas of their governmental functions. 

Participants met monthly in person at GMA in Atlanta from 9 am – 4 pm over eight months. The program also included Emotional Intelligence testing, two virtual training classes, a book discussion of “How to Be an Inclusive Leader” by Jennifer Brown and a Capstone Project on an area of interest chosen in one of the modules. Jocelyn created her project in the area of Human Resources for an evaluation of various areas, including obtaining leadership support, developing diverse contacts with trusted colleagues, evaluating Duluth’s employee pay chart, HR Manual policy review, Performance Appraisal review and Recruiting/Retention of Diverse candidates. Jocelyn obtained feedback on the project from various employees prior to submission. The certificate program and project are resources for the continued development of the City of Duluth’s initiatives to recruit and retain diverse staff. She plans to use this knowledge to continue building Duluth’s workforce to show that our leadership team values our employees and plans to continue improving our recruitment and retention efforts and embracing our vibrant workforce to positively impact our community.