This session will provide an overview of the Employer Action Guide that has been created by the Equity Committee of the Duluth Workforce Development Board. The guide provides best practices for employers for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the areas of recruitment, hiring, onboarding, retention, and advancement. The speakers will provide an overview of the best practices and the tools that are included in the guide. Many of these best practices apply to employers nation-wide, but the guide is tailored toward the greater Duluth region. The Employer Action Guide was originally released in early 2021 and recently went through an update that was released in early 2025.
Learning Objectives:
Participants should walk away from the session with an understanding of where to find the Employer Action Guide online and how to use it to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within their organizations. Participants should be able to apply the tools in the guide to their organization regardless of the size of their organization or of the Human Resources Department.
About our Presenters:
Claire Farmer-Lies
Claire Farmer-Lies is a University of Minnesota Duluth alum and has dedicated a decade to her role as Communications & Marketing Specialist at Residential Services of Northeastern Minnesota (RSI), a Duluth-based nonprofit healthcare and human services organization. Beyond her work at RSI, she serves as vice chair of the Duluth Workforce Development Board and has contributed as a member to its Diversity & Equity sub-committee since 2018.
Cassy Burr
Cassy Burr graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 2014 with dual bachelor's degrees in social work and sociology. She first joined the Equity Committee of the Duluth Workforce Development Board when she was in charge of running some workforce programming at a local non-profit back in 2020 and has been involved with the Committee ever since. She currently works for Lutheran Social Service of MN as a Housing Counselor.
