Employee Resource Groups

Black Leaders of Bellevue

The mission of the Black Leaders of Bellevue is to provide effective leadership and promote the well-being and success of Black faculty, staff, and students, while advocating for full equity, recognition, and inclusion of our community members. We seek to create a protected space for individuals to openly express themselves without prioritizing the feelings of others and to show up authentically at work without fear of judgment. We also seek to sponsor programming and initiatives that promote career development, informal mentoring, diverse recruitment and retention, increased representation, and networking opportunities.

The network of Black Leadership seeks time, space, and resources for the coaching and development of current and future black leaders in the Bellevue School district. We want to tackle issues of racial equity and support of black leaders and families in the Bellevue School District through leadership development and opportunities to collaborate in a space designed for black leaders in the district. Our hope is to expand this to other black staff across the district seeking support and opportunities for growth.

For more information, reach out to:
Shomari Jones (joness@bsd405.org)
Genisha Wea (weag@bsd405.org)

SWANA

Do you have roots or connections to the SWANA Region (Southwest Asia and North Africa) and/or the Arabic Language? Join us to get to know one another, be in a community and build connections as the Bellevue school district staff.

What is meant by SWANA?
SWANA stands for Southwest Asia and North Africa, it typically refers to the region from Morocco to Afghanistan (west to east) including but not limited to: Kurds, Nubians, Sudanese, Armenians, Circassians, Arabs, Iranians, Druze, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Turks, Yazidis, Azeris, Turkmen, Afghans, Copts, Imazighen, and other identities and their intersections.

How is the term SWANA different from “The Middle East”, or “MENA”?
SWANA is a decolonial word for the Southwest Asian/ North African region in place of Middle Eastern, Near Eastern, Arab World or Islamic World terms that have colonial, Eurocentric, and Orientalist origins.

We are here to build community and impact our community by offering our voice and expertise, learning into the experiences that make our community unique. If you are interested in joining for our next meeting or want to hear more about BSD’s Arabic Language Initiative in our Heritage Language Program, feel free to reach out to us for more details.

For more information, reach out to:
Yusra Obaid (obaidy@bsd405.org)
Saida Oweis (oweiss@bsd405.org)

LGBTQIA+

BSD LGBTQIA+ Affinity Employee Resource Group aims to create an open and safe space for LGBTQ+ staff to meet, share fellowship, and join in the work to create an inclusive culture of acceptance, dignity, and respect for all LGBTQ+ persons at BSD. It serves as a resource for LGBTQ+ identified employees to express themselves and access the various resources available to them through the District and Human Resources. Additionally, our mission is to ensure the safety, well-being, equal and fair treatment, and access to opportunity that every other person at BSD receives, so that we may do our best work in service of BSD’s mission. We seek to highlight and address the unique issues facing the LGBTQ+ community, and to provide support and mentoring opportunities to its members.

For more information, reach out to:
Marcus Johnson (johnsonmar@bsd405.org)