This episode features Vannessa Dorantes, Commissioner for the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Connecticut and an Executive Governing Board Member of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). Having worked for DCF since 1992, Vannessa shares her journey as a social worker rising through the ranks to be appointed Connecticut’s first Black DCF Commissioner—a journey that included battling imposter syndrome to finally understanding her self-worth.
During this episode, Commissioner Dorantes talks about the need to clearly understand EDI principles, what it means to stay true to them, and the importance of relating those values to others in your workplace. From paving the way for other BIPOC leaders to representation, she relates the work of EDI to her lived experience in the field and as an administrator. “Is racial justice work something that should be a thing set aside to focus all of our attention on, or should it be woven throughout all of our work? My response is that it’s both, until it doesn’t have to be.”
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Disrupt the Dialogue is produced by APHSA. Editing and sound design for this episode was done by Bea Mitchell (they/them).