Join UCOP leaders and colleagues this week to celebrate our diverse community and the ways in which we express our culture. Led by UCOP employee associations and affinity groups, Multicultural Week 2021 features virtual events that express culture through dress and fabric, literature, visual and performing arts, spoken word and music.

All UCOP staff are invited to participate! Attend our virtual live events (see below) and spread the word to your colleagues. And, share stories, photos or videos that represent how you, your family and your community express culture on the Multicultural Week kudoboard.

Monday wrap-up

At the Monday, Oct. 18, kick-off event, Glenda Humiston, vice president, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Rachael Nava, executive vice president and chief operating officer, UCOP, joined the Sustainability Affinity Group, OP Staff Assembly, UCOP Pride and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women to kick off the week with an opening celebration.

Glenda and Rachael shared their thoughts on the importance of Multicultural Week, including how sharing our cultures and learning about others’ helps us to understand how our individual and collective experiences shape and influence us.

“Our collective UCOP culture is enriched by the vast diversity in perspectives and experiences that we all bring to the table,” said Rachael. “I think this is a great opportunity for us to learn from one another and to celebrate our incredible diversity.”

“It is so critical to do events like these,” said Glenda. “I’m a former Peace Corps volunteer and one of the first things I did there was cultural training to optimize my experiences in other countries. One of the Peace Corps’ goals is to take knowledge to folks somewhere else, but it is also important to receive knowledge from the communities we serve and bring it back to the U.S. This helps to form cultural bridges — to go beyond cultural divides.”

Presentations by identity- and interest-based staff associations followed these remarks. We learned how these groups facilitate cultural exchanges throughout the year by providing venues to explore community within safe spaces along with opportunities to learn, network and mentor one another. A highlight of the event was a cultural expression in the form of a personal story by UCOP Pride member Angelic Navarro.

Schedule of events

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. PT

• Executives:
  – Alex Bustamante, senior vice president and chief compliance and audit officer
  – Brent Colburn, senior vice president, External Relations and Communications
  – Charlie Robinson, general counsel and vice president, Legal Affairs
• Staff organizations:
  – Black Staff and Faculty Organization (BSFO)
  – UCOP Pride

Thursday, Oct. 21, 11 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT

• Executive: Nathan Brostrom, executive vice president and chief financial officer
• Staff organizations:
  – Latino Staff Association (LaSA)
  – Native American, Indigenous Pacific Islander Staff Association (NAIPISA)
  – UCOP Pride
  – Veterans Among US

Friday, Oct. 22, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. PT

• Executive: Rachael Nava
• Staff organizations:
  – Asian and Pacific Islander Staff Association (APISA)
  – Sustainability Affinity Group (SAG)

Zoom info

• Web: https://UCOP.zoom.us/j/95470066394
• Meeting ID: 954 7006 6394
• One tap mobile:
  +16692192599,,95470066394# US (San Jose)
  +16699006833,,95470066394# US (San Jose)
• Dial by your location:
  +1 669 219 2599 US (San Jose)
  +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
  +1 213 338 8477 US (Los Angeles)
  +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
  *4 (from UCOP office phone)
• Find your local number: https://UCOP.zoom.us/u/asTDR3g7A

For questions, contact nancy.pluzdrak@ucop.edu.

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