September 2020 Newsletter: How we’re building anti-racism and equity into everything we do.

Creating Inclusive Workplaces: What Public Works Partners is Learning

Public Works Partners has been committed to advancing anti-racism, equity, and inclusion since our founding, but we’ve come to realize that an implicit commitment isn’t enough. While our mission is clear, our values were not a central focus of many of our internal documents and guidelines. This summer, we set about addressing this. Check out our piece explaining the firm-wide process we’ve undertaken to make our values an explicit part of everything we do as a firm, and follow along with #StrategyForGood as we release updates on our progress and tips learned along way.

What We’re Doing

Sharing Our Recommendations for Life After Coronavirus

The Urban Design Forum’s multimedia collection of ideas and recommendations for City Life After Coronavirus will feature our “New Standards of Community Engagement.” Our community health practice has always focused on bringing the perspectives of community members who are traditionally left out of planning and development processes to the forefront. Our guide lays out the key questions planners and community advocates should consider as they build engagement campaigns, especially given the heightened need and changing tactics brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Thank you to the team at Urban Design Forum for featuring our work! Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Becoming a Nationally Certified WBE and WOSB

Public Works is now a WBE and WOSB certified with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a leading advocate for women business owners and entrepreneurs across the United States. We’re excited to contribute our expertise in stakeholder engagement, place-based planning, program design and development, policy analysis, and project management to community improvement projects across the United States. For more details about our firm’s competencies and current projects, check out our process and clients pages.

Upcoming Event: Join Celeste Frye for “Speak Up, Speak Out: Communicating for Justice, Equity, and Inclusion”

Join Public Works CEO Celeste Frye for a roundtable discussion with architects and communications experts on the advancement of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace on September 9. The panel, led by Celeste and hosted by the AIANY Marketing and Communications and AIANY Diversity and Inclusion committees, will examine panelists’ experiences developing and communicating firm values and identity in order to imbue justice and inclusivity across firm practices and culture. Register for the event here.

ONE MORE THING!

Public Works cooked up a storm this month! We hung out with Brooklyn Kitchen and learned how to make our own pita, hummus, and kofta over zoom. Find recipes (an maybe sign up for a class) here.