Ithaca College hosted an open session Sept. 5 for the campus community to hear from the first candidate for the director of Staff Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging position, Leon Holden. 

The director of Staff Equity, Inclusion and Belonging is the last open position in the three-person leadership team of the newly formed Center for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. The director will report to Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Kirra Franzese.

When President La Jerne Cornish announced the center in March, she appointed Luca Maurer, former director of LGBT Education, Outreach and Services, as executive director of Student Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Belisa González, who previously served as a professor and director for the Center for Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity, was appointed as dean of Faculty Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. The center officially opened July 1. 

The college initially shared that there were three candidates for the position. On Aug. 20, David Prunty, revenue generation and special projects coordinator, announced that the open session scheduled with the first candidate for Aug. 21 was canceled. The college has not shared information about future open sessions for candidates. 

About 15 staff members attended the Sept. 5 session to listen to Holden’s presentation and ask him questions.

Holden works as the director of Human Resources at the Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services. Holden said he received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Brooklyn College. Holden worked as an employee for Consolidated Edison Company of New York. When a human resources position opened, his department manager encouraged him to apply. After his second application, he got the position and quickly discovered his love for human resources. Holden decided to get his certification from the Society for Human Resource Management. Before he joined INHS, he worked as a people operations manager and business partner at Kimberly Goldson. 

Holden said he loves his job and his staff at INHS, but he likes that the director position would give him more time to build connections with staff and support an inclusive work environment. 

“I’m not going to this interview process because I want to leave [INHS],” Holden said. “I’m the first HR professional that [INHS] has ever had in their four decades of existence, and so I’ve been tied down a lot into the tedious things of HR. …  I would really love to focus on equity, inclusion and diversity and belonging on a grand scale.”

Holden said he could not provide an outline of his plans to create an inclusive college culture because he would like to get to know the staff beforehand.

“As an HR professional, it’s important to me that I know who I’m working for because as staff, I work for you,” Holden said. “Your needs are my priorities. What I can tell you is what I’ve been doing, and what I think works for my staff, and how I can probably build on that here with the needs that you guys present to me.”

Holden said that as the only human resources professional for INHS’s 47 staff members, he has led a variety of initiatives for the nonprofit, including team building, bonding and professional development. Holden said he feels it is critical to build an environment where people feel comfortable being themselves and feel like they belong. He said he tries to get to know each staff member personally and make them feel valued. 

“[I] try to connect with [staff] in a way that they know that I’m here for them, and they know that I’m going to support them, and that their voices need to be heard,” Holden said. “I make sure everyone knows that they are appreciated. Every email ends in, ‘I appreciate you.’ Every conversation that we have ends in, ‘I appreciate you.’”

Holden said he tried to build his staff’s social awareness. Holden said INHS had limited professional development, so he spoke with local leaders — including González — who had experience with professional development centered on equity and inclusion to build new workshops. Holden said he secured grants to finance professional development on topics like bias training, management and emotional intelligence. 

Holden said he has also planned several staff bonding events, started a two-page HR Snapshot that he publishes at least once per month and started and revamped programs that teach staff how to work through challenging situations. 

Holden said that because he has lived in Ithaca for less than two years, he tries to get involved with local organizations to learn more about the community’s resources and offices. Holden said he serves as a board member of FoodNet Meals on Wheels and Alternatives Federal Credit Union and vice president of the Diversity Consortium of Tompkins County Board. 

Christina Moylan, interim dean of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, acknowledged that Holden knows several people who work at the college. She asked Holden what he believes the college’s largest problems with equity and inclusion are based on what he has heard from college faculty and staff. 

Holden said he feels that while the environment is not perfect, he can see that the college is taking action to improve. 

“I’m very proud of the Center for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging because I feel like it’s a step in the right direction, so that we get to a place where the staff knows that they can go — this one general place that they know is for them,” Holden said. “When they walk in, they should be getting the services, the attention, the love that they need, and they should walk out of there feeling differently than they walked in.”

Nicole Eversley Bradwell, executive director of the Office of Admissions, asked Holden about his personal interest in the position beyond his desire to work in equity and inclusion on a broader scope. Holden said he has always wanted to work in academia because people are committed to continually learning and are more open to adapting as knowledge and customs evolve. 

“The things that I want to do on a big picture will be received very well [at the college] because of that education background,” Holden said. “[Staff are] not here because you want to show up every day and get a job. You’re here because you want to make a difference in the lives of students and in the community. And so I want to be a part of that.”

Managing Editor Malik Clement contributed reporting.