The UW Intersectionality Project is an effort of the College of the Environment's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in collaboration with UW Sustainability. This project is an effort to encourage all members of the University of Washington community to have authentic dialogues around diversity and environmentalism. 

The Intersectionality Project idea grew out of collaborative meetings between Terryl Ross, UW College of the Environment Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and Claudia Frere-Anderson, Director of UW Sustainability. Terryl and Claudia regularly meet to support each other in their work. Through these conversations, they wanted to find a way to bring people working around diversity and those working on environmental sustainability - two efforts rooted in different aspects of social justice - together for authentic dialogues and community building.

The Intersectionality Project's goals are to get as many people as possible to meet new people, have authentic dialogues with others around diversity and environmentalism, and to help build community within the University of Washington. Please take a little time out of your busy life to meet some new people, have fun and make a difference. 

Participate

  1. Dialogue with someone you know.
  2. Get matched and dialogue with someone you don’t know.
  3. Do a joint activity with the new person you met.
  4. Tell what you learned, online.
  5. Recruit two people to do the same thing.

How The Project Works

  1. Dialogue #1
    Meet with someone you know and have a dialogue about:
    • Family of Origin: Talk about your family of origin in terms of diversity (e.g. class, race, religion, birth order, etc.) Be sure to discuss how your family celebrates holidays.
    • Commitment to Diversity: Talk about your exposure to other people, cultures and demographics over your life time. Be sure to address which communities you feel most comfortable with; which ones you are uncomfortable with.
    • Commitment to Environmentalism: Talk about your relationship with different aspects of environmentalism (e.g. sustainability, climate change, environmental justice, etc.) and what you would like to see going forward.
      Example: Claudia and Terryl meet and discuss these subjects.
  2. Matching - Meet Someone New
    Based upon the conversation you had with someone in the previous section (#1), you both recommend someone new for the other person to meet. The person you recommend should have a different demographic or lifestyle from the original person you interviewed.
    Example: Claudia introduces Terryl to Toren and Terryl introduces Claudia to Rickey.
  3. Dialogue #2 - Authentic Dialogue The new person and you have the following dialogue:
    • Family of Origin: Talk about your family of origin in terms of diversity (e.g. class, race, religion, birth order, etc.)  Be sure to discuss how your family celebrates holidays.
    • Commitment to Diversity: Talk about your exposure to other people and cultures over your life time.  Be sure to address your education-related experiences, travel, jobs, etc.
    • Commitment to Diversity: Talk about your exposure to other people, cultures and demographics over your life time.  Be sure to address which communities you feel most comfortable with; which ones you are uncomfortable with.
      Example: Claudia and Rickey meet, and Terryl and Toren meet--each pair discusses a, b, & c.
  4. Joint Activity - Do Something Together
    Based upon your discussions with each other, you will do an activity together within two months of your previous dialogue.  This activity can be as large or small as you want it to be. You can have coffee together, read a book, go to lunch, go to a movie, attend religious services, volunteer, etc. together.
    Example: Claudia and Rickey decide to read a book together.  Terryl and Toren decide to attend a workshop on climate change.
  5. Teachable Moment - Share What You Learned
    Once you have done something together, post your experience. You can share your experience with your connections on social media. If you would like to share your experience with the UW community, you can post on the UW Sustainability Facebook page, or use the #UWEarthDay hashtag on Instagram or Twitter. You can also email sustainability@uw.edu with an experience you'd like us to share on social media.
    Example: Claudia, Terryl, Rickey, & Toren all post on social media and discuss their experiences related to this project.
  6. Keep The Chain Going - Recruit Two New People
    Everyone recruits one new pair of people that do not know each other to join the project and follow all of the steps. 
    Example: Toren recruits her co-worker, Mitchell to join the project and encourages him to have a Diversity Dialogue with, Lance, someone from another race. Mitchell and Lance do not know each other.  Rickey recruits Nancy, the chair of the board he is ion to meet with Bill, one of her college buddies.  Nancy and Bill do not know each other.