Christina Brooks Hired As First Diversity And Inclusion Director For City Of Fort Worth
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The city of Fort Worth has announced the hiring of its first Diversity and Inclusion Department Director.
Christina Brooks has been hired after holding a similar post in South Bend, Indiana.
As the first diversity and inclusion officer and LGBTQ liaison for the city of South Bend, Brooks has been responsible for overseeing the creation and implementation of an inclusive workforce, talent, community and diversity purchasing and contracting policy development and programs. She also oversees the Human Rights Commission with jurisdiction over St. Joseph County.
"We look forward to welcoming Christina Brooks to Fort Worth," City Manager David Cooke said. "She is a results-driven diversity and inclusion professional with 20 years of experience working with underrepresented populations in public, private, local, national and international settings. Her years of experience in organizational inclusion policy and process change will prove to be extremely valuable as we move forward with our enhanced diversity and inclusion efforts."
"I want to thank the South Bend community for the opportunity to serve as the city's first Diversity and Inclusion Officer," Brooks said. "Now, I'm excited to return to my home state of Texas and join the City of Fort Worth administration at a pivotal and important time. I have a sober-eyed view of the intense and necessary work that has yet to be done, but I'm reassured that both Fort Worth's community and administration are well positioned to work together to advance healing and change where it's needed."
Before joining the mayor's office in South Bend, Brooks held positions at University of Notre Dame in the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Undergraduate Admissions, TRIO Programs and Human Resources as Notre Dame's first program manager for staff diversity recruiting.
Before that, she was co-founder and executive director of Brooks Running Start Foundation in Washington, D.C., which focused on inner-city youth development. She also held leadership positions for the A. Phillip Randolph Institute's Tulsa, Okla., Chapter, and School Redesign Task Force with Tulsa Public Schools.
Other leadership positions include the board of directors for Goodwill Industries of Michiana, Black Catholic Advisory Board-Diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend, Community for Peace and Nonviolence, and Black Faculty and Staff Association at the University of Notre Dame.
Brooks holds a bachelor's degree from Indiana University at South Bend with concentrations in political science and history and a master's in nonprofit administration from Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame. She also holds a Master Contract Compliance certification through the American Contract Compliance Association from Morgan State University.
She is married to Reggie Brooks and they have five children.
This new position resulted from the work of the city's Race and Culture Task Force, which looked at equity in several aspects of the city. The director will manage the newly created Diversity and Inclusion Department, formerly known as the Human Relations Unit of the City Manager's Office. This department is responsible for coordinating implementation of the task force's recommendations and promoting equity in the provision of all municipal services. The department also enforces various civil rights laws, promotes cultural awareness and provides staff support for the Human Relations Commission.
Brooks is expected to begin work in Fort Worth on Monday, December 9.
