Community Relations Service News Fall 2021

New Job Openings

CRS will be accepting applications for a conciliation specialist position in Utah starting December 9. Applications will be accepted until December 23, 2021, or until 100 applications are received (whichever comes first).

CRS is also hiring three conciliation specialists in Phoenix, Arizona; Sacramento, California; and Portland, Oregon. These openings are for applicants who have completed an academic program of study or degree program from a college, university, or vocational school, in the last two years (six years for veterans). Applications will be accepted until January 4, 2022, or until 100 applications are received (whichever comes first).

Please share these openings with others who may be interested and encourage them to submit their applications as soon as possible. Please help CRS support its goal of ensuring we have a diverse and highly qualified applicant pool by sharing this information broadly.

CRS Staff Updates

Two new employees joined CRS’s Washington, D.C., headquarters office this fall. Jordan Mathews joined CRS as a program analyst through the Presidential Management Fellows program, after finishing a Master of Social Sciences at Uppsala University in Sweden. Ms. Mathews formerly served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. David Lin joined CRS as a budget analyst. He brings 12 years of experience working with the DOJ and the U.S. Department of Commerce to CRS.

CRS welcomed a new regional director (RD), Benoy Thomas, to its team in November. RD Thomas brings 28 years of professional experience in human services and management of large-scale federal, state, and private sector agencies to CRS. He oversees agency casework in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

In November, Theresa Segovia became the CRS senior advisor for law enforcement/Hate Crimes Prevention Act gender-based affairs. In this newly created position, she will serve as a subject matter expert on law enforcement and gender-related bias issues and support alliances and collaboration across agencies and national networks to expand CRS’s reach. Ms. Segovia moves into this position after five years as CRS associate director.

Three interns also joined CRS for the fall: Natalia Rios Martinez, a student at Iowa State University, is working with the Washington, D.C., headquarters office; Ayesha Shaikh, a student at George Washington University, is supporting the Boston, Massachusetts, regional office; and Jacob Berrol, a student at Georgetown University, is working with the Los Angeles, California, regional office.

College and University Resources

In September, CRS hosted a webinar with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division to share information on programs that campuses can use to engage students and communities in response to conflict and tension related to bias incidents and hate crimes. The webinar featured a panel of faculty and students from Broward College, who participated in a CRS-led Dialogue on Race program. The panel discussed how the program helped students hold difficult and important conversations about race and broaden participants’ perspectives. College leaders said the program helped them set the tone for future conversations and build a stronger campus community.

Information about the Dialogue on Race and Campus-SPIRIT programs is available on the CRS website. Additional information about resources available for college and university campuses can be found in this brochure. To learn how to bring these services to your community, please contact the agency at askcrs@usdoj.gov.

Preventing and Responding to Bias and Hate Incidents Against Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Communities

In response to nationwide concerns about bias incidents and hate crimes targeting AANHPI individuals, CRS developed a tip sheet with best practices that can be used to develop a community response plan. The tip sheet also includes links to additional resources for AANHPI communities concerned about hate crimes.

Toolkit for Responding to Bias and Hate Incidents in K-12 Educational Settings

CRS also developed a toolkit with best practices, strategies, and resources for supporting safe and inclusive educational environments that are free of harassment and discrimination. The toolkit also includes links to information about CRS services that can help communities hold dialogues to enable divided communities to address differences and move toward solutions, by focusing on the common good through the respectful sharing of perspectives.

Virtual Facilitating Meetings Around Community Conflict Program

CRS now offers a virtual version of the Facilitating Meetings Around Community Conflict (FMACC) training. The virtual FMACC program provides community leaders with the basic tools needed to successfully facilitate in-person meetings to address and respond to conflicts in their communities using skills-building exercises and scenarios. This training uses the same format as the in-person training and builds on the successful pilot of the FMACC program in February 2020.

The virtual format allows organizations to hold a training safely amid social distancing measures or bring together geographically dispersed groups. More information can be found in the FMACC brochure.

Virtual Conference on Confronting Hate: Strategies for Prevention, Accountability, and Justice

On October 25, CRS participated in a virtual conference hosted by the DOJ Civil Rights Division, which focused on the rise of hate activity, online hate, the recently released 2020 hate crime statistics, and the role of criminal, civil, and community responses to acts of hate. CRS Deputy Director Gerri Ratliff moderated a panel on alternatives to prosecution in response to hate incidents. She was joined by Seema Gajwani, special counsel for juvenile justice reform and chief of the Restorative Justice Program Section at the Washington, D.C., Office of the Attorney General; Sumayyah Waheed, senior policy counsel at national civil rights organization Muslim Advocates; and David Carter Dinielli, visiting clinical lecturer in law at Yale Law School.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 2020 Hate Crimes Statistics

The FBI released its annual compilation of bias-motivated crimes in August, showing a total of 8,263 hate crimes reported in 2020. The data show that hate crimes remain a concern for communities across the country. In response to the increase in the number of hate crime reports, and in particular, hate crimes motivated by race, ethnicity, and ancestry and gender identity, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement that said, “Preventing and responding to hate crimes and hate incidents is one of the Justice Department’s highest priorities. The FBI Hate Crime Statistics for 2020 demonstrates the urgent need for a comprehensive response.” See CRS’s analysis of the data on our website.

CRS Brochure for American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

CRS developed a new brochure on available services for American Indian and Alaska Native communities, such as mediating disputes on the use of tribal lands, facilitating dialogues between tribal leaders and local law enforcement, and conducting trainings on how to plan safe public events with surrounding communities and groups. The agency works with and brings together diverse parties – including federal, state, and local officials; tribal officials, tribal leaders, and tribal law enforcement; civil rights groups; and others – to facilitate common understanding and strengthen community relations.

Sign up for CRS updates and job opportunities at: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOJ/subscriber/new?topic_id=USDOJ_525