National Sea Grant Office Values Statement

As the federal administrator of the National Sea Grant College Program, the National Sea Grant Office is committed to:

Removing barriers to and increase participation in our research grants, fellowships, and internships to include underrepresented groups and individuals;
Developing a set of guiding principles that make explicit how we will evaluate existing and implement new programs, projects, work, and recruitment to advance greater racial equity and address systems of oppression;
Serving as a leader among the various components of the Sea Grant network to actively and explicitly address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion across all aspects of our office operations and programming; and
Becoming a leader in equal employment opportunity practices and offering employee training on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion has shaped our beliefs and practices as we interact with others within the National Sea Grant Office. Specifically, as an office we strive to:

Create a welcoming environment, so that each person feels accepted, included, valued, and safe;
Insist on respectful behavior because words and actions, or the lack thereof, have powerful meaning;
Create a safe and welcoming environment that encourages the open expression of ideas;
Initiate conversations that address implicit and unconscious bias within our organization and with the communities in which we work;
Listen to and learn from colleagues and stakeholders with different cultural and/or ethnic backgrounds from our own to more effectively amplify diverse perspectives;
Recognize how we as individuals and as an organization benefit from or are hindered by systems that perpetuate injustice and racism; and
Hold ourselves accountable to do the hard work to address systemic racism and other systems of oppression through regular reflection, conversation, and evaluation as part of our program meetings.

National Sea Grant Office Values Statement

The people of the National Sea Grant Office value and actively support diversity, equity, and inclusion in both our organization and the communities we serve. Access to Sea Grant’s research, outreach, education, and employment opportunities is available to everyone, regardless of race, color, religion, place of origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, disability, or veteran status.

The ways in which people interact with their communities and natural resources are a function of their beliefs, values, needs, and life experiences. By explicitly incorporating diverse perspectives and inclusively collaborating across stakeholder groups, we can foster more equitable and sustainable natural resource management, and resilient communities and economies.