As part of Phase Six of NATA’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access (DEIA) Response Plan, each NATA committee, commission and council was tasked with developing three to five actionable items that support one or more of the six NATA DEIA Commitments.
In this blog post, which is part of an ongoing series highlighting these efforts, NATA Career Advancement Committee Chair Nicolette Harris, DAT, LAT, ATC, outlines CAC’s actionable items, what the committee hopes to achieve and how members can get involved.
What are your committee’s three to five DEIA actionable items, and why were they selected?
- Develop and/or facilitate synchronous or asynchronous educational programming targeted at diversity, equity, inclusion and access. This commitment was selected in an effort to produce programming (e.g., educational session for annual convention, Timely Topics, continuing education for the professional development center, podcasts, etc.) as well as research that helps ensure athletic trainers are prepared to learn from, work with, and service diverse populations.
- Require all current and incoming representatives to complete training focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and access to facilitate a more inclusive working environment. This commitment was selected not only to ensure a welcoming environment for committee members, but to increase transparency around the commitment’s diversity, equity and inclusion commitments.
- Create a position description for CAC representatives that includes an expectation of commitment to the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and access. This commitment was selected for transparency to ensure that committee members were familiar with the expectations of themselves and their fellow members, generally, and as it speaks diversity, equity, inclusion and access.
- Review the application and nomination process for the CAC National Distinction Award to ensure it is both equitable and inclusive to all eligible members, including adding rubric criteria that requires nominators to speak to the nominee’s work within the DEIA space. This commitment was selected in attempt to modify practices, structures and barriers to ensure diverse members are sought for nomination as well as nominated candidates are representative of NATA and CAC values of diversity, equity, inclusion and access.
- Exercise due diligence in selecting diverse internal and external committee partnerships. CAC is extremely collaborative with other NATA committees and at times with external groups. This commitment was selected to make sure that committee collaborations support diverse individuals not only in our work, but in our financial and resource-driven support.
Tell us about the development process that led your committee to these actionable items.
The committee met as a group on two separate occasions (within our monthly committee meetings) to review the NATA’s six DEIA commitments and brainstorm how our specific committee charge would best display our own commitments to DEIA and help to fulfill the overall objectives of NATA. Initial ideas were formalized in an additional meeting between the NATA staff liaison, NATA board liaison, CAC chair and a subcommittee of CAC members.
How will the actionable items you’ve outlined impact NATA’s members?
We hope that our actionable items will lead to an increase in honors and awards for diverse individuals and ensure that nominees and award winners are more reflective of our profession. Furthermore, we believe education and professional development opportunities provided will benefit members by improving their understanding of DEIA issues and encouraging their participation in the development and implementation of solutions across the profession.
How do you hope your committee’s actionable items will contribute to NATA’s overall efforts to improve DEIA?
We hope that our actionable items help to improve the transparency regarding NATA’s and CAC’s commitments to DEIA and ultimately help to diversify the NATA leadership and its members. With such a large percentage of members within the CAC demographic, we want to do our part to help create an inclusive environment that diverse members genuinely want to be a part of.
Where are you in completing your three to five actionable items?
As for the committee, all members of CAC have already completed the Harvard Implicit Bias test. Likewise, we have already delivered one session on a DEIA topic for the 73rd NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo. We are continuing to develop more formal and informal educational opportunities around these theses and continue to solicit diverse speakers to support our educational efforts. Furthermore, we have been collaborating with the NATA Honors and Awards Committee to be informed on the correct procedures for marketing and modifying award criteria.
How can your fellow NATA members help bring these actionable items to life?
Help market and speak to the value of these changes and resources.
Where can members learn more about your committee’s DEIA efforts?
We will be arranging a series of social media posts highlighting the committee’s DEIA efforts across platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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