Interior GLOBE
Meeting Notes

March 30, 2005

Interior GLOBE Program Review

Wednesday, March 30, 2005, Interior GLOBE members met in Washington, D.C., to review the Interior GLOBE mission, objectives, current activities, and business approach. This meeting was held in lieu of a regular monthly meeting. A sense that we had accomplished many of the objectives that were identified when GLOBE was first created 12 years ago, and the difference between the current culture at DOI versus what existed when GLOBE was established have led to a need to review our purpose, objectives, and approach to how we conduct our business. Current and former officers, as well as some local members, met today to conduct this review. The following are the suggestions that came from the meeting.

We started by looking at Interior GLOBE’s mission and by-laws. The mission has two components:

• Provide a forum for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Interior employees to meet and address issues of concern.

• Provide a means to work with Departmental and bureau management advocate personnel policies and practices that encourage diversity, improve the workplace environment, and eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation and on gender identity and expression.

The Interior GLOBE by-laws contain six purpose statements under section II, Purpose:

1. Promote understanding of issues regarding sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (to include gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered persons) in the DOI by providing information, views, and services that will contribute to improved agency operations, personnel management, and employee effectiveness.

2. Support the policy of nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation and on gender identity and expression.

3. Provide outreach to employees in the Department on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

4. Provide a means to work with Departmental and bureau management to advocate policies and practices that encourage diversity, improve the workplace environment, and eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation and on gender identity and expression.

5. Work for the creation of a diverse workforce that assures respect and civil rights for all employees of all sexual orientations and all gender identities and expressions.

6. Provide a forum for Interior employees to meet and address issues of concern related to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

The group reaffirmed the mission and the purpose statements for Interior GLOBE and used those as a starting point for the review of the objectives and business practices. The group also agreed that it is imperative that we work with the Department and avoid even the appearance of an antagonistic approach. However, it is important that GLOBE focuses on the issues that are of concern to gay, and lesbian, and transgendered people within the Department with an appropriate level of support and advocacy. Using a brainstorming technique, the group developed the following set of ideas for objectives and business practices that should be further investigated and used to create annual work plans for the organization:

• Work with the Interior personnel office to develop mechanisms to develop and advance GLBT employees, similar to the way other minorities are developed and advanced.
   

• Make a more concerted effort to distribute the minutes of Interior GLOBE meetings to the membership.
   

• Have outside speakers at monthly GLOBE meetings.
   

• Canvass the membership for interest in holding a meeting rather than having a set monthly meeting date and time.
   

• Meet with the Secretary to ascertain her views on diversity within the Department.
   

• Promote domestic partner benefits within the Department.
   

• Advocate for “protected class” status for GLBT employees.
   

• Enquire if HRC and other GLBT support groups have a program focused on the Federal Government or the Federal workforce.
   

• Several accomplishments were identified for the first purpose statement of the by-laws:
   

  • Hold a Pride celebration during FY 2005.

  • Request a full-time GLBT liaison in Washington, D.C.

    • Investigate the status of the former part-time liaison.

    • Benchmark other agencies and the Interior bureaus, in particular USDA.

  • Support and further develop information dissemination efforts, e.g., e-mail news articles, minutes, and other items.
     

• Issue an annual all-employee e-mail, reminding employees of the existence of Interior GLOBE, its purpose and functions; recommend this be a combined message for all sanctioned employee special interest groups.
   

• Develop a GLBT diversity scorecard for the Department.
   

• Investigate the use of graduate students to accomplish some of the objectives of the Interior GLOBE program.
   

• Update the GLOBE bulletin board regularly.
   

• Use the Special Emphasis Program display case to showcase GLBT issues in concert with the Pride celebration.

  • Consider a Walt Whitman theme
     

• Encourage direct recruitment of gay,, lesbian, and transgendered people.
   

• Research past minutes and other documents to identify past commitments from Departmental leadership that can be presented again to this Administration’s leadership.
   

• Have a quarterly meeting with the Civil Rights Office regarding GLBT issues.
   

• Develop mechanisms to increase membership, participation in meetings, and diversity of Interior GLOBE membership.
   

• Investigate holding joint meetings with other GLOBEs located near the Department.
   

• Canvass the membership for additional ideas.
   

• Ask the membership to become more active in Interior GLOBE activities and to be proactive in encouraging colleagues to join Interior GLOBE.
   

• Investigate holding social activities.
   

• Decide at the next meeting whether to continue with the former business practice of holding monthly meetings or to switch to bimonthly meetings or some other approach.
   

• Centralize the records of the organization. Most past presidents have files of documents regarding activities that occurred under their tenure.

The group decided to convene a second meeting to develop an annual work plan and other mechanisms for implementing the proposals recommended above. The meeting is scheduled for May 5 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM in MIB room 2444. The meeting is open to all members who wish to participate in developing the work plan.

The group also decided to proceed with the election of new officers for FY 2005. A slate of volunteers was presented for consideration and will be forwarded to all members along with a call for additional nominees. A vote will be taken at the April monthly meeting, scheduled for Thursday, April 7, from 12:15 to 1:15 PM, also in MIB room 2444.

 

Action items from today’s meeting:

All members are encouraged to review the suggestions developed today and offer recommendations for enhancement of these or ideas for additional items. Please submit recommendations to Ike Kelley (mkelley@usgs.gov) by May 1 for consideration at the follow-on meeting, or attend the meeting, if you are able.

Prior to the start of today’s meeting, the group reviewed the status of discussions with the Office of Civil Rights regarding holding a Pride celebration this year. The most immediate action at this time is getting a list of three names to OCR so they can contact a speaker. Interior GLOBE wants Congressman Lewis and has concurrence from last year from the Director of Human Resources for the Department and from the Director of the Office of Civil Rights to request Congressman Lewis for this year’s program. One of the primary discussion topics for the April monthly meeting will be the additional planning for the Pride celebration. The meeting is open to all members. An announcement will be issued shortly.

If you have questions or comments regarding today’s meeting, you may contact Ike Kelley or any of the other organization officers.

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Revised: 10/03/08