COMMUNITY, LEADERSHIP, AND BELONGING

Community, Leadership, and Belonging are essential values of the NEA. We applaud the efforts NOLS has undertaken to provide more resources and training to students and staff in these areas, including improved systems for reporting incidents that harm the community, the creation of Employee Resource Groups, and the increased availability of training opportunities and affinity spaces.

In addition to these efforts, we also recognize that there are areas for significant growth at the school and within the NOLS Employee Association itself. We are all on a learning curve. We embrace efforts that consider this spectrum of experience and that meet employees where they are.

This plank affirms our commitment to these areas and underscores their connection to our work.

Belonging underlies many of the our advocacy efforts, in particular our advocacy for a living wage for all NOLS employees and for a front-line employee-focused voice at the highest levels of decision making at NOLS.

This is because NOLS benefits from employees who represent a range of experience and thought. The promise of stable, dignified work makes being a NOLS employee more realistic and sustainable to a wider range of people, allowing us to build a community that’s more reflective of society.

Internally, we strive to have a board that represents all NOLS employees in their range of experiences, goals, and needs. Our work in this area is ongoing, and will only serve to make the NOLS Employee Association more effective in our advocacy on behalf of our members.