Please review The Difference Principles below and choose at least one principle that your nominee embodies. You must be specific about why your nominee represents and epitomizes your Difference Principle(s) of choice.
The Difference Principles:
Compassion: We value the impact of every individual's lived exerience and recognize and celebrate their strenghts. We approach every interation with those around us with humility, patience, empathy, and respect, and we commit to meeting everyone at thier station in life. We are in tune with our own feelings and we practice self-care regularly. We support everyone's autonomy because we are aware of the power dynamic between us and the individuals we serve.
Communication: We understand the significance and complexity of good communication and we are open-minded and practice active listening. We believe that healthy communication fosters positive development, camaraderie, and leads to the overall health of our organization. We commit to being trauma-informed and respectful of diversity in all forms of our communication.
Teamwork: We share a belief that an organization can be most effective when collaboration and cooperation are at the center of thinking, planning, and decision making. We are determined to foster an environment of problem-solving with our peers, leadership, those we serve, and stakeholders. Ultimately, our bonds are strengthened when we give and receive constructive feedback. We understand that a tenacious and strong team will always support each other.
Equity & Inclusion: We respect and are grateful for the talents, experiences, and perspectives of everyone with whom we interact. We strive to improve access to resources within the systems in which we work and we strive to empower individuals to reach their potential and foster equitable participation. We agree that inequalities of income and wealth, positions of responsibility and power, and the social bases of self-respect are permissible only if they benefit the least among us.
Integrity: We are transparent, trustworthy, reliable, and take responsibility for each of our actions. We celebrate our successes and are accountable for and learn from our failures. We act ethically and authentically in every circumstance and act as an example to our peers.
Progressive: We use evidence-informed practices to fulfill our mission, strengthen the organization, and enhance our programs. We are flexible, adaptive, and utilize innovation to remain at the forefront of our field. We remain educated and knowledgeable of best practices through training and learning opportunities to ensure quality and outcome-driven methods.