Creating Inclusive Spaces: The Impact of CEO’s Affinity Groups
In celebration of ERG (Employee Resource Group) Day, we are proud to acknowledge and honor the contributions of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Affinity Groups. These voluntary, employee-led groups are formed around common interests, backgrounds, and experiences that give employees from diverse backgrounds a sense of belonging and provide a supportive community.
Below, you'll find information about a few groups open to both employees and members of the Emerging Leaders Program, CEO's 12-week internship for participants. These groups support parents, amplify LGBTQ+ voices, and empower justice-impacted employees.
Play-Doh Posse
Play-Doh Posse (PDP) supports employees identifying as parents, connecting them with the resources to succeed as professionals from a variety of backgrounds. PDP aims to enrich the lives of parents at CEO through mutual connection and advice, forming a community around the shared experiences of parenthood.
Throughout Play-Doh Posse’s time, a common interest in food and family developed during a meeting, birthing the idea for a cookbook! PDP's Parents Doing Parenting Cookbook was created to emphasize the importance of connection with family through meals while balancing the busy schedules of professionals.
Illustrating "the bonds of friendship, the warmth of family, and the vibrant tapestry of everyday life,” the cookbook represents a concerted effort to gather quality quick eats and cherished family recipes, each with its own rich story.
In April 2023, during Second Chance Month, the Play-Doh Posse participated in panels hosted by Affinity Group Justice-Involved Voices, where CEO employees discussed parenting through a justice-involved lens.
Tyeisha Montgomery, a CEO Talent Acquisition Specialist based in Detroit, is one of the founding members of Play-Doh Posse. She was awarded the Community Award for affinity groups and considers the award a win for PDP and a testament to its value.
“Parenting is hard,” spoke Tyeisha. “I think when you become a parent, your identity is often tied to your children. For me, I’m Peyton’s mom, Iyana’s mom, and Ian’s mom. It took me a long time to find out who Tyeisha was outside of being a parent. Because for a while if it wasn’t kid-friendly, I didn’t go. We want to encourage people here at CEO to be true to themselves and understand that parenting is just not easy. Every day you choose to do it again is a win. You’re not always going to get it right. Just picking up and trying again; not being afraid to apologize is important.”
PDP accepts many identities, from aunts to uncles, grandparents, and even those with pets. This evolution has allowed the group to take on greater membership and open up to those who seek community in parenthood.
In the future, PDP plans on tackling a variety of topics that affect parenthood and those that care for young children. These plans include partnering with CEO's LGBTQ+ affinity group regarding topics of parents of queer identity and more.
LGBTQ+
The LGBTQ+ Affinity group’s goal is to increase LGBTQ+ visibility and understanding at CEO for both staff and participants. The group also serves the important role of improving organizational policy and identifying opportunities for CEO to grow. Committed to advocacy and education, the group has made great strides in supporting LGBTQ+ individuals within the CEO community.
The LGBTQ+ affinity group has become an important resource for the organization, achieving remarkable results towards inclusivity. Unique to the group are its “kikis,” events where members can communicate on a personal level within a setting that is less constrained than typical organizational meetings. These kikis help to promote community building as well as open dialogue between group members.
A major achievement of the LGBTQ+ affinity group is its introduction of pronoun buttons in CEO’s offices and the production of a video on inclusive language and pronoun usage for Pathway To Employment (P2E) classes for participants. P2E instructors and job coaches can use these buttons at any time, especially during classes when pronouns are being discussed.
The group also maintains a list of pride events in every city CEO holds a location. This is to keep CEO informed about local Pride Parade events in June and allow sites to sign up for them.
LGBTQ+ meetings foster conversations that range from historical topics to the experiences of being a queer individual today. These gatherings play a vital role in connecting older and younger members, enhancing communication across generations.
These shared spaces are invaluable to those outside of queer identities as well, providing insights on how to express love and appreciation for loved ones within the context of contemporary LGBTQ+ identity.
“Community, definitely, is always the biggest thing for me. Finding and building community with people that are like-minded which is what the affinity group system is for. Being able to know people from different sites, different genders, different sexual orientations, it’s nice to see the visibility of our smaller community within CEO itself. I know there are a lot of people in CEO who are queer but don’t come to our meetings, and I wish they would, but the biggest thing for me is building that community,” says Mary Murphy, a leader of the LGBTQ+ Affinity group.
DEI Community Collective
The DEI Community Collective exists to celebrate the rich diversity at CEO, engage staff around a variety of DEI topics, and advocate for a more inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute to the organization’s collective mission.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is woven into CEO’s mission to serve the justice-impacted community. The group pushes for new measures towards DEI and fosters safe spaces for important discussions. Through company-wide meetings on current events, the group encourages everyone in the organization to find and share their voice.
When DEI Community Collective first came to be, it set out to be the group that would take on the issues of the day and create a space for them. They continue to live out their mission by providing meeting spaces for the whole organization to educate on important events and DEI policy.
As a Senior Associate of Program Coverage & Coaching, Kristen Payne was a former co-leader of DEI Community Collective from 2020 to 2024 and current co-leader of SWAG, CEO’s all-inclusive women’s group. When asked about her time as a leader of the DEI Community Collective, she spoke of the group’s commitment to its mission as particularly memorable.
“My proudest thing about being a part of DEI Community Collective as a former leader is that whole concept of taking what’s happening in the real world and creating spaces that would find a certain angle. We would create some content that was relevant in real time. That’s what I enjoyed and felt most proud about when I think about my time as a co-leader there.”
Justice-Involved Voices
Justice-Involved Voices (JIV) assists formerly incarcerated employees with the challenges of reentering society. In an effort to provide a shared space for discussion and development regarding work, family, and community, the group seeks to create a network of support that celebrates successes while providing learning and growth opportunities.
JIV has allowed for many justice-impacted staff members to build community and strengthen ties with CEO's mission. During a Second Chance Month development day in April 2023, panels were hosted on a variety of topics. This day was full of events catered to justice-impacted (JI) staff, which intersected with other affinity groups for a perspective on JI life within other communities.
In an effort to boost JIV members’ involvement with a variety of programs at CEO, the group organized a challenge for its members to participate in as many CEO events as possible. Labeled as a scavenger hunt, winners would be identified as JIV Champions and receive medals.
A notable achievement of JIV was the launch of the Returning Strong Podcast, each episode of which serves as a strong public-facing view into the lives of justice-impacted individuals.
The success of the Second Chance Month events was impactful, and high attendance inspired JIV leader Mattie Lemay, CEO Oklahoma City’s business account manager and job developer, to propose incorporating the event’s panel structure into monthly meetings. This change would encourage more in-depth discussions and provide a focused space to address topics important to members.
“The purpose for JIV in CEO is more than just an affinity group. More than just a monthly meeting. It's really looked at as an opportunity for the entire organization to view things through a JI lens,” says Mattie.
In addition to these groups, there are also the following active affinity groups that serve other communities and interests within CEO: UNFAIR, People with Visible and Non-Visible Disabilities, SWAG, Veteran Voices, Sustainability, Peer Wellness Space, and Unidos.
These affinity groups reflect CEO's commitment to creating an inclusive, supportive environment where every team member can thrive. If you're passionate about making a difference and want to work in a workplace that values diversity and connection, explore careers at CEO.
