Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council

GRAEF is dedicated to aligning our culture and business practices to be a beacon of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all people.

GRAEF’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

A letter from John Kissinger, President and CEO

We all have recently been reminded that there is a great deal of work that needs to be done in our world – especially in business practices. With this renewed focus, GRAEF has been steadfast in our dedication to aligning our culture and business practices to be a beacon of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all people.

This is not a passive commitment on our part, but an active component of our core GRAEF culture. 

In summer of 2020, GRAEF formed the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (DEIC) to accept the challenge of shaping a culture that models inclusion and embraces diversity in all its forms. The Council is a close partner to leadership at GRAEF, a driver of courageous conversations, a believer in "comfort with discomfort" and an innovator looking to continuously improve GRAEF's impact on the workforce, workplace, and marketplace. 

We hold a shared commitment to these guiding principles:

  • We believe that diversity can only thrive within an inclusive environment.
  • We are committed to advancing a culture of inclusion, equity and fairness in all our business dealings (internal and external), regardless of race, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability or handicap, in all the places where we work, and the communities in which we live.
  • We are committed to the long journey of uncovering and mitigating the unconscious biases within ourselves and the systemic biases within our workplaces and marketplaces. Therefore, we will actively challenge our assumptions and question our biases.
  • We believe that Black lives matter because all lives do matter, and that this is an issue of human rights.
  • We are committed to becoming “comfortable with discomfort” as we embark on the journey toward greater inclusion.
  • We recognize that the workforce, workplace and marketplace are undergoing rapid changes, and we will adapt and grow with agility so that we can continue to succeed.

There is always more we can do. Here at GRAEF, this is just a starting point. We are on a journey towards real change, action, and accountability to appreciate diversity in all forms; inviting dissenting voices to the table and using difference as a bridge to greater innovation; recognizing exceptional talent, and celebrating the key to GRAEF's continued success in a rapidly changing marketplace. 

We look forward to the progress ahead, 

John Kissinger, PE, SE, LEED AP
President and CEO

Mission

GRAEF is committed to becoming a leader in the industry with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion. To that end, in 2020 GRAEF created the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council (DEIC). 

The DEIC exists to guide GRAEF in building a culture that models inclusion and embraces diversity in all of its forms. The Council works with GRAEF's leadership and employees at large to uncover and mitigate unconscious biases within ourselves and the systemic biases within our workplaces and marketplaces. 

We recognize that this is a journey and are committed to challenging our own beliefs, and to becoming comfortable with discomfort as we strive to recognize and appreciate many faces and colors of leadership; invite dissenting voices to the tables and use difference as a bridge to greater innovation; exceptional recognition of talent; and the key to GRAEF's continued success in a rapidly changing marketplace.

Meet the GRAEF Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council (DEIC)

The DEIC or Council, was formed in the summer of 2020 to accept the challenge of shaping a culture that models inclusion and embraces diversity in all its forms. 

As a body, the Council is a close partner to the leadership at GRAEF, a driver of courageous conversations, a believer in "comfort with discomfort" and an innovator looking to continuously improve GRAEF's impact on the workforce, workplace and marketplace. Meet the Council members:

Jenny Christel, Director of Human Resources

Jenny Christel

Director of Human Resources


Jenny Christel
Director of Human Resources

Favorite quote: "Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success."

Why I love being on the Council: I really enjoy learning more about each team member and hearing their diverse perspectives and ideas. Each of us on the council is deeply committed to building a culture of greater diversity, equity and inclusion and I look forward to continuing to learn from one another along this journey.

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Anuja Patil

Anuja Patil

Civil Engineer



Anuja Patil
Civil Engineer

Favorite quote: "Respect others the way you would like to be respected."

Why I love being on the Council: Imagine a world with a single color, one kind of fruit to eat or only one musical instrument to entertain! Not exciting, right? Diversity is the beauty and essence of our world. The DEIC is a bridge encouraging us to connect with others from all backgrounds, respect diversity, work in harmony and enrich ourselves. Happy to be part of that bridge!

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Carrie

Carrie Warner

Senior Human Resources Business Partner


Carrie Warner
Senior Human Resources Business Partner

Favorite quote: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." – Maya Angelou

Why I love being on the Council: As an employee who's worked at GRAEF for over two decades, I care about fostering our environment so that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is one of our top priorities. Everyone at GRAEF, whether it be a candidate, employee or client should feel not only welcomed, but also included. Our Council is passionate about this initiative and I've enjoyed working towards this goal and learning a lot.

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Tammy

Tammy Pearce

Structural Designer, Business Development Associate


Tammy Pearce
Structural Designer, Business Development Associate

Favorite quote: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear."

Why I love being on the Council: I joined the Council because I am committed to seeing this firm become the best place to work for every person that would want to, no matter gender, race or religion.


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Lori

Lori Rosenthal

Vice President, Facilities Group Leader


Lori Rosenthal
Vice President, Facilities Group Leader

Favorite quote: "The time is always right to do what is right." Martin Luther King

Why I love being on the Council: I am very excited to be part of this energy that can help bring cultural change to GRAEF.

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Meron

Meron Asnake

Transportation Designer

Meron Asnake
Transportation Designer

Favorite quote: "My Grace is sufficient for your weakness."

Why I love being on the Council: I am excited to be part of a team that is dedicated in creating diverse and inclusive culture within our company, so every employee feels seen, heard, and supported.

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Alex Motl

Alex Motl

Traffic Engineer

Alex Motl
Traffic Engineer

Favorite quote: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” -Viktor E Frankl

Why I love being on the Council: Serving on the Council supports my personal commitment to listening, learning, and then acting to strengthen and promote diversity and inclusivity within both my company and my community. I truly believe that bringing people of all different backgrounds together results in a more creative, engaged, and empathic society.

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Leaf Erickson_DEIC

Leaf Erickson

Civil Designer

Leaf Erickson
Civil Designer

Favorite quote: "Grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Why I love being on the Council: It is meaningful work.

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Violet LaPlant_DEIC

Violet LaPlant

Structural Engineer

Violet LaPlant
Structural Engineer

Favorite quote: “The more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I thrive.” – Elliot Page

Why I love being on the Council: I’ve personally experienced the love and support GRAEF has for minority groups, and I want everyone else to have the opportunity experience that regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion. Being on the council gives me that opportunity to make the firm a more welcoming place for all to feel valid in who they are.

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The Mission in Action

Parental Leave

GRAEF has adopted an enhanced parental leave policy which gives parents additional flexibility and time to bond with their new child and adjust to their new family situation during this critical phase of parenthood. This policy provides a family-friendly, equitable and inclusive workspace which cultivates an atmosphere where employees can thrive professionally without sacrificing essential family obligations.

Fireside Chats

Fireside chats are a casual conversation among employees to share stories, and thoughts about diversity, equity and inclusion. The informal, small group setting offers a safe place for each person to feel comfortable sharing personal experiences so that others may learn from these stories, juxtaposed to their own. Each chat is hosted by a different person, creating unique and diverse conversation in each session.

Hack-a-thons

Where there is a problem, a solution must be found, and GRAEF’s hack-a-thons do just that. In GRAEF’s hack-a-thons, a diverse group of individuals work together to solve a problem and reimagine the way we do things as a firm. No idea is a bad idea in the facilitated and structured way of solving problems using multiple perspectives, experiences, and inputs.

Focus Groups

Focus groups allow GRAEF to gain valuable knowledge by understanding the opinions of employees. The groups provided input what on GRAEF can do to continuously improve and build a culture of inclusion. Feedback from the focus groups helped shape the viewpoints of GRAEF leadership to make firm-wide decisions that align with most employees.

Firm-wide Unconscious Bias Training

Working with an external consultant, GRAEF offered unconscious bias training to employees. The workshop opens our viewpoints to help us to understand why we think and perceive the world in the way we do. Recognizing that we all have biases helps us to learn and provide a safe place to explore why these biases exist, and how we can overcome them.

GRAEF Foundation

The mission of the GRAEF Foundation is to support the future of Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) based careers, and to promote charitable endeavors related to engineering, planning, and design.

The GRAEF Foundation annually awards college scholarships to Engineering majors. It promotes diversity in the real estate business by its funding of scholarships to a professional development program aimed at minorities. The Foundation has also funded software for charitable firms designing and constructing infrastructure projects in underprivileged communities overseas. This is currently done at five universities. The Foundation also funds college design programs and competitions.