JTIE History & Committee

History

Inclusive Excellence Boone County intentionally fosters equity, diversity, and inclusion by creating educational experiences, raising awareness and providing training and strategies to bring together a community committed to inclusive excellence.

Inclusive Excellence Boone County was created to be a catalyst for positive change, and since our beginnings in 2017, we’ve been driven by the same ideas we were initially founded on: bringing people together for collaboration, addressing implicit biases, and facilitating change in our community.

This initiative is directed at everyone in the community. 

The committee formed following a presentation focusing on implicit bias observed in expulsion rates in early childcare centers. Attendants requested a follow-up event centered around local data and strategies to address implicit bias in our community. The committee's goal: facilitate change through collaboration. 

Coming together from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, our skilled team of professionals is the backbone of Inclusive Excellence Boone County. Their ideas help shape the direction and mission of our organization as it continues to develop.

  • Kari Utterback, PMP (She/Her/Hers)

    I get to work at Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services as a Sr. Planner working on community engagement. Inequity has been so intentionally set up through systems over time, I think it will take a group of people intentionally breaking down barriers to get to a more equitable society.

  • D’Andre Thompson (He/Him/His)

    D’Andre Thompson is a Program Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist with the Boone County Community Services Department. His work involves the administrative support of the Boone County Children’s Services Fund and Domestic Violence Fund with an emphasis on equitably inclusive solutions for the County’s funded agencies and programs. He’s passionate about the work being done through the Journey Toward Inclusive Excellence for Boone County committee because he believes this committee is uniquely positioned to impact lives by sharing valuable resources and creating safe space for human development.

  • Verna Laboy CTA, CHW (She/Her/Hers)

    As a Columbia/Boone Co Public Health Community Health Worker, I am passionate about addressing health disparities among people in our marginalized populations. This work aligns perfectly for me. We desire a commitment where we all feel like we belong & contribute to making it a commitment where we can all thrive together.

  • Sunitha Bosecker (She/Her/Hers)

    Sunitha enjoys serving alongside all the amazing humans on the JTIE committee and working on creating and supporting inclusive spaces. She is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and also helps small businesses and nonprofits navigate their marketing projects. Sunitha works as the DEI Facilitator at Ragtag Film Society.

  • Hilary Aid (She/They)

    As a children's librarian at the Daniel Boone Regional Library, I connect members of our community to one another and to local resources. Serving on the JTIE committee gives me a truer vision of the many members of our diverse community, which challenges me to grow personally and professionally.

  • Nikki Carter (She/Her/Hers)

    Nikki serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for MU Health Care, in Columbia, Missouri. Nikki leads MU Health Care’s DEI efforts across its extensive network of hospitals and clinics. Prior to joining MU Health Care, Nikki led the Inclusive Impact Institute as its director and gave the community its first comprehensive organization dedicated to innovation, strategy, and solutions to issues of diversity and inclusion.

  • Lauren Williams (She/Her/Hers)

    Daniel Boone Regional Library
    Libraries provide access to information and welcoming spaces for all people - inclusion is a foundational value of my profession. I'm dedicated to the Journey's work because I want to be a part of creating a community where everyone can thrive.

  • Alejandra Gudino (She/Her/Hers)

    I center my work on inclusion and equity around the vision of connecting with each other to honor and celebrate our stories, to lead and hold space to grow, and to “exist” in our diversities. I’m the DE&I Director for Columbia College.

  • Secily Devese (She/Her/Hers)

    Secily Devese is the Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager for Veterans United Home Loans. Her passion for inclusivity and equity is what eventually led her to the Inclusion and Social Impact team where she hosts experiences and trainings that help her co-workers mitigate their biases.

  • Taylor Claiborne (She/Her/Hers)

    I’m the Manager of Inclusion and Engagement for Shelter Insurance Companies. I have a passion for being able to create opportunities for learning and environments where people feel comfortable showing up as their authentic selves.