Capital Region network to promote inclusion, diversity

Bridge Network to host webinar on workplace issues on Jan. 19

Albany Capital Region business professionals have launched a nonprofit called The Bridge Network to help bring individuals, businesses, and communities together with the mission of providing better access of information and resources to businesses working on promoting inclusion, diversity, and equity in the workplace and beyond.

The grassroots initiative was sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May. Walter Thorne, ad director of the Albany Business Review, reached out to Miriam Dushane, managing partner of Alaant Workforce Solutions, seeking to transform conversations about inequality into meaningful action.

“I think people are not as aware as they should be about the inequities that are happening really in our backyard in the Capital Region,” Dushane said. “Oftentimes when I talk to different individuals they ’ll say things like ‘we never thought that was a problem here,’ or ‘I didn’t know that was even something we had to worry

about in Albany.’”

Dushane said the whole group hopes to bring more awareness to inequity issues that impact people every day at work and at home.

The group has begun to establish a network of people, tools, and trainings, and launched a community information portal.

The group’s first seminar will be held virtually on Tuesday, Jan. 19, and include a panel of business professionals moderated by Yolanda Caldwell, the chief diversity officer at The College of Saint Rose. There is no cost to attend the event, but you must register, and space is limited. The events the group will host will not generate any revenue, Dushane said.

Those who have signed up for the seminar so far range from people who work for the state of New York, to those in banking, health care, at large corporations, educational facilities, nonprofits, law firms, and small businesses, Dushane said.

“At this critical moment in our nation’s history, we want to be the conduit for change, and that starts with taking decisive action,” said Thorne in a news release. “By fostering education and awareness, and building a network — a bridge — that connects individuals with people, tools and resources, we have an opportunity to make a profound difference that will better lives and our community.”