Speaker 1:

Welcome to HSDF The Podcast, a collection of policy discussions on government technology and Homeland Security, brought to you by the Homeland Security and Defense Forum.

Today's program features Karinda Washington, Executive Director of Social Impact at the Department of Homeland Security. Ms. Washington delivered keynote remarks at HSDF's third annual Celebrating the Women of Homeland Security on March 30th, 2023. In her speech, Ms. Washington reflected on her career and shared valuable advice for other women in the homeland security field.

Karinda Washington:

Thank you all for being here today. It is an honor and a privilege to represent the best agency in the federal government, Homeland Security, and all of the men and women, all 250 plus, that number keeps changing, 260 plus thousand employees all around the world. It is an honor and a privilege to stand before you today, and on such a special topic. As we were walking in, I saw diversity, equity, and inclusion just on all the signs. And social impact is at the very foundation of that work.

To my DHS colleagues that are here and those who are former DHS colleagues, I thank you for your service, I thank you for your support. And on this 20th year of our department, wow, how far we've come and how blessed we are to be where we are. And I am so thankful and so proud of the vision of where we're going.

To our interns, I see you. See quite a few of you over there. Thank you for showing up today. Because it's you that drives me to do what I do each day. And so, I thank you all for taking a chance on DHS. We're not going to let you down.

I want to start by sharing a story. It just happened just a few weeks ago. An officer at the United States Secret Service Uniform Division stood before a group of high school students, and he shared this story. "When I applied to the United States Secret Service Uniform Division, I was a starving student athlete at an HBCU in Texas. I was driving for Uber and Lyft and I was working for Jimmy John's. And I thought, 'If I get this job, if Secret Service takes a chance on me, what a difference it would make for my family.' Because see, my mom was a single mom raising three children. And I know a lot of celebrities might stand up and say when they make it that they want to buy mom or dad a brand new house or buy a new car. I'm proud to stand here today and let you know, I bought my mama a brand new washer and dryer. And I get to use it every time I go home."

That's Officer Francis. And Officer Francis will soon be Special Agent Francis. These are the doors that we open. These are the doors that we champion. These are the doors that are necessary, that public-private partnerships create to make possible every single day.

It's Women's History Month. Happy Women's History Month. For every rockstar woman that's sitting next to you, give her some dap. Because if it was not for us, we are women celebrating our stories and sharing our stories. And so, then there's Secret Service Officer Wilson, who also shared that she was the only woman in her class, recently, in 2023.

And so, if we are going to be a department to evolve, to continue to open doors, one thing that we have to be certain of, that onlys and first become historic references. Because only and first means that in all these years, on our 20th year, we've got a lot of work to do.

So social impact defined. Megan already let you know, she let the cat out the bag. I'm from Michigan, so therefore my point of reference must come from Michigan. According to the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, social impact is a significant positive change that addresses oppressing social challenge. Creating social impact is the result of a deliberate, deliberate, intentional set of activities.

So why is social impact at Homeland Security? Why would we be the first federal agency to have a social impact office? Well, let's talk about it. 260,000 plus employees all around the world. An 82 billion plus budget. And on this DHS anniversary, 20 years, we're impacting local communities like never before. We're in every community, on every block, on every continent, you've got DHS represented. So why not have a social impact mission?

The Office of Social Impact and Campaigns at the US Department of Homeland Security, and those campaigns, I hope you know at least one of them. If you see something, say something, and Blue Campaign, which is our human trafficking awareness campaign that will soon transfer over to our Center for Countering Human Trafficking.

The work that we do is intentional and it's deliberate. And it's not hard to talk about why we exist. We exist to ensure DHS resources are shared with underserved and underrepresented communities, period. All of them. Contracts, jobs. I like to say DHS is hiring and we're buying. Everybody won't be an employee. Some are intended to be an employer. And so, we want to unlock a number of opportunities that have been traditionally and systemically designed to lock certain communities out. I'm here to stand and let you know the door is open, DHS is open, and we're here.

Due to our work, DHS is being invited in some of the most non-traditional places and spaces. In a climate when law enforcement is taking a challenge of how to recruit and retain, law enforcement is being asked to stay out of certain places and spaces. Our department, and God bless our secretary, because if you did not see any of the hearings these last two days, our department is being challenged in certain ways. Yet, youth and young adults in communities all over the country are asking, "How can I join DHS?" How can I be like Officer Francis? How can I be like Officer Wilson?"

Just yesterday, Homeland Security special agents were in an elementary school in Baltimore. And the note and the photos that I received of elementary school students saying, "I want to be a forensics specialist. I want to be a special agent. I want to be a data analyst." And to have a special agent look that young woman right back in her eyes and say, "And you will." DHS has a job for you.

We know that in order to make all these things happen, it takes all of us to get the job done. The initiatives that we have started are designed so that our friends over at General Counsel. Anybody here, don't be shy. Anybody here a part of General Counsel? Ever been? Are you an attorney? Legal department? Anybody? Don't be shy, I'm not coming for you today. I promise. I promise I'm not.

Equip, empower, hire, retain is one of our flagship programs. It is a virtual experience that allows DHS employees to talk about their career paths and their journey. It has allowed us to connect with organizations like National Police and Activities League, Boys and Girls Club of America, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts. Youth-serving organizations that are marveling of all the things that DHS can bring to bear.

And then there are times, I didn't forget about you lawyers because I'm coming for you, but in a positive way, there are times when we have to pivot and we have to create and we have to design. Because when we're talking about underserved and underrepresented, preexisting programs don't work for these communities oftentimes.

And so, if we're not willing to bend, if we're not willing to shift, if we're not willing to adjust, and if this pandemic didn't teach us anything else, if we're not willing to pivot in less than 24 hours notice, there will continue to be certain communities, certain demographics still left out of the conversation and never having an opportunity to have a seat at the table, let alone being invited into the room.

So about that room and about those attorneys. I was in a federal building in Baltimore. I had taken our interns that semester to have a day in a life experience with special agents at HSI Baltimore. An OGC, an attorney at our General Counsel's Office gave me a call. It wasn't a call that I wanted to take, but it was a call that I had to take. It was a call to let me know that the idea of creating a new paid high school internship program for underserved and underrepresented communities may not be possible, because that particular attorney couldn't find the authority by the deadline that I had asked for.

So there I was, young people above me, on the floor having a great time. Being inspired, wanting to put an application in, and all I can do is look out the window in Baltimore and think about the young people that I see on the nightly news at night that may not make it from that federal building home, may not make it from school home. And someone in my ear telling me it may not be possible.

I asked that attorney to jump on a Teams call for me real quick. "Let's have a little conversation." Because I'm also from Detroit, Michigan. So we had a little conversation, because I needed him to see my face. I needed him to understand why this was so important for me, for some young people that I had never met. I painted that picture. I said, "You're in the position that you're in to help me get to, yes. You're in the position that you're in to be my partner in this. I am not an attorney, but I do know that there are policies and procedures that I have read that individuals have been, have stretched and marked far wide. I'm asking you to be my partner in this."

Four months later, and as I stand here today, four students are undergoing their background check. They will on board at the US Department of Homeland Security under a paid high school internship program that is a public-private partnership funded by the private sector, so that these young people have an opportunity. Thank you.

I didn't do that alone. That attorney went to work. That attorney built coalitions within OGC. There were individuals who called me on Saturday mornings and said, "I think I found one, I think found an authority." I said, "Work that authority. Let's go." Because if we're not doing this, if everybody is not seeing themselves having a role to play in this space, we won't get there. We're there today, and we've got more work to do.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and allyship. It must be more than a talking point. It must be more than a talking point. There is no way, in four months, that I've seen most things in government get done, let alone signed, sealed, delivered, MOU sign by the private entity and the public entity, and all mines are clear and cleared by OGC, like of all people. OGC doesn't clear most things, but they did this, and I'm so proud of my colleagues.

There is power in opening doors for people of underserved and underrepresented communities. There is power in white men opening doors for women, people of color, and here's why. Typically, they're already in the room. Typically, conversation's already been said. At a department that is predominantly white and male, I know that all too well. And so, if there had not been white men opening doors for me, white men allowing me to be the voice in the room beyond just the seat at the table, I wouldn't be standing before you today as a career senior executive service member with the title Executive Director for Social Impact.

These are the moments, these are the times that we utilize our platform, that we utilize our access, to ensure the next generation has that access to. 16% of DHS employees are Black, 22% Hispanic, Latinx. Less than 10% AANHBI, but only 9%, 9% are in a senior executive position. 260,000 employees. I would dare say that that is representative of a number of C-suite situations as well. That that representation is just not there. And so we all have a role to play to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, allyship. It's more than a talking point.

You are likely leading the first. The first Woman to, you fill in that blank. The first individual to, you fill in that blank. She's there. He's there. We're here. And all of us are looking for someone, something to attach ourselves to that's bigger than ourselves. And we know that to be impactful, we have to build coalitions and partnerships in order to get it done. These public-private partnerships that I'm talking about, especially with the high school internship program, the way that those students are paid is not by Homeland Security, it's because private sector corporations made donations to youth-serving workforce development organizations so that they can pay the students, and we've got the opportunities. These models work. It's not some arbitrary innovative idea. But we've got to be able to pivot, stretch ourselves, think beyond, understand what's in the realm of possibility to get it done.

DHS's success depends on the strength of partnerships. Secretary Mayorkas has said it time and again, we are a department partnerships. We partner all over the place. From private sector to academia to other governments. We do that daily. And my personal jam is partnering with youth-serving organizations. They get me up in the morning. They're the inspiration that I need in order to ensure that DHS's legacy is signed, sealed, and delivered for the underserved and the underrepresented.

I put Officer Francis' story out in the street, put Officer Wilson's story out in the street, but there's another story that needs to be told, my own. Even when I applied to Homeland Security 13 years ago, I was a part of that demographic. I could relate to Officer Francis. Because when I got the email, that said, "Could you be in DC for a job interview on Friday?" Absolutely, I could be in DC on Friday, and then call my parents. "Can I borrow some money. Because I need to buy this plane ticket to get to DC because I have a job interview on Friday." And my parents lent me that money.

And then we talk about the village. Come on village. A cousin who was a teacher in Baltimore at the time, and his wife took off work for the day. Picked me up at BWI. Drove me down to the Nebraska Avenue Complex and sat in the visitor's lot. Now, you know that that was a different time because I don't know that it was kosher for this strange vehicle to be sitting out at the visitor's lot at the NAC, but it happened. True story. And they sat there in that lot and waited for me to complete the interview.

And then my parents said, "We don't have money for a hotel. You going to fly yourself back tonight. And so you got to bed right here in Detroit that you could sleep in." And so I flew back. They drove me back up to BWI and I flew back. And then I waited and I waited and I waited. And then finally, after I completely forgot about the job, I got an email that said, "Here's your tentative job offer." And I thought, "No way. Seriously? I'm going to get this job? This is amazing. Oh, well, they're going to do a background check. Great. I know that I don't have any issues in regards to the whole law enforcement situation, but this credit, wow, this is going to be interesting."

And then it happened. Adjudicator. I learned the word adjudicator through this process. The adjudicator called and said, "We got to figure out something about these credit cards and this student loan debt." What's going on? What's the plan?" And I said, "If you give me a chance, I'll submit you a plan." I wrote that letter to this adjudicator. Listen, it was the best dissertation that I had ever written on how I was going to get through this. And we would get through it together.

And I said, "If you give me this job, it will be three times what I'm making right now in Detroit. Three times, one job, triple my salary. So let me break it down to you on how I'm going to take care of these credit cards. And then I also have a plan on how I will take care of these student loans. You will not be disappointed, Mr or Ms Adjudicator." They took a chance on me.

And so, I slept in my cousin's basement in upper Marlborough, Maryland for three months to pay off my credit cards. Then I put a plan in place to pay off my student loans, and I did that. Wouldn't life be funny that one day after a speaking engagement, I met that adjudicator, who said, "I am so proud of you. We took a chance on an amazing young woman from Detroit, and I'm proud to say I had just a little bit of something to do with that, to be where you are. And you've even surpassed me in grade level. You are my DHS legacy." So I charge you, before I leave this podium, you're here today. I may be preaching to the choir for some of you.

A dear friend of mine, Mike Tenbusch, wrote a book. It's called The Jonathan Effect. And he said each one of us needs to just choose our one. Choose your one. Your one person, your one policy change, your one department, your one company, whatever that is. And you know what that is. It had you up this morning, thinking about it. That's your it. Choose your one and stick with them until they get there.

Isn't that powerful? Stick with it. Stick with them until they get there. You're not here today by chance. It was deliberate. The sun is shining, but it's cold outside. It's supposed to be spring, but those poor cherry blossoms, I'm not sure. But you're here today because you're going to make impact. And guess what? I look forward to witnessing everything you do that you put forward to address social challenges in our local communities, because we're going to get there together. Thank you.

Speaker 1:

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