(PORTLAND, OR) Freda Ceaser, MSW, joins Central City Concern's (CCC) executive leadership team as director of Equity and Inclusion on Tuesday, Sept. 19. CCC, a nonprofit organization founded in 1979, provides housing, healthcare and employment in Portland for people experiencing homelessness and poverty.
"Freda has been a valued member of our staff for 13 years and has always viewed her work through an equity and inclusion lens," says CCC Interim President and CEO Rachel Solotaroff, MD. "She will move CCC's initiatives forward that promote diversity and inclusion as well as address racial and cultural equity in our services and as an employer. We're excited she's formally moving into this role."
Freda worked her way from the front lines at CCC's Employment Access Center to her current position of Director of Employment Services. She has provided consistent leadership and involvement in CCC's Diversity Committee over the last five years and is instrumental in CCC's ongoing Equity and Inclusion assessment work. Most recently Freda provided the vision and advocacy for Flip the Script, a new reentry program for African-American clients that provides wrap around services with a focus on breaking the cycles that send people of color back to prison.
"I am so honored to serve in this role especially in light of these uncertain times that we find ourselves in as a nation," Freda says. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to work on these important issues with an incredibly dedicated team focused on improving, creating and implementing programming for underserved and marginalized populations, as well as their emphasis and focus toward promoting a workforce that reflects the agency's diversity, equity and inclusion values."
Freda is a lifelong Portland resident and earned her Masters of Social Work degree from Portland State University. Her lived experiences, education and work in the trenches are the driving forces for her passion for promoting racial equity in the community.
September 20, 2017
