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            <div>  <a href="/media/blog/2024/03/18/establishing-equity-commission-usda-senior-advisors-drs-dewayne-goldmon-and" hreflang="en"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/featured_image/public/2024-03/establishing-equity-commission-blog-031824.jpg?itok=bl4TPiiS" width="568" height="400" alt="Dr. Dewayne Goldmon (USDA Senior Advisor for Racial Equity, USDA), presents to the Rural Community Economic Development Subcommittee (RCED)" loading="lazy" />

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          <h3>
        <a href="/media/blog/2024/03/18/establishing-equity-commission-usda-senior-advisors-drs-dewayne-goldmon-and" rel="bookmark"><span>Establishing the Equity Commission with USDA Senior Advisors Drs. Dewayne Goldmon and Gbenga Ajilore</span>
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  <p>In January 2021, day one of the Biden-Harris Administration, the President issued Executive Order 13985 that charged the Federal Government, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with advancing equity for all, and making the necessary changes to ensure underserved communities are properly supported. Since then, USDA has taken action to understand where barriers to accessing its programs and services exist, identifying opportunities to advance equity and opportunity in agriculture, and changing its programs to remove barriers to access. With this bold and comprehensive action, USDA has committed to closing the racial wealth gap and addressing the department’s longstanding inequities in agriculture.</p>


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        <div class="usda-blog-teaser-author">Cecilia Hernandez, Designated Federal Officer
          Posted in
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                                                Equity
                                                Initiatives
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        <div class="usda-blog-teaser-date"> Mar 18, 2024</div>

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                                <a href="/media/blog/2024/03/18/establishing-equity-commission-usda-senior-advisors-drs-dewayne-goldmon-and#write-blog-response" aria-label="Respond to the story Establishing the Equity Commission with USDA Senior Advisors Drs. Dewayne Goldmon and Gbenga Ajilore"> Respond to this story </a>
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            <div>  <a href="/media/blog/2023/08/24/listen-better-serve-better" hreflang="en"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/featured_image/public/2023-08/ocx-listen-better-serve-better-blog-082423.jpg?itok=w3alvNo0" width="568" height="400" alt="Two hands holding soil with sprout emerging from soil" loading="lazy" />

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  <p>In support of Section 1006 of the American Rescue Plan and USDA’s commitment to advance equitable access to USDA program and services, the Office of Customer Experience, or OCX, spent the past year working to improve the support provided to USDA’s community-based partners who work to connect economically distressed and/or underserved communities with USDA programs and services, specifically American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Investment Program (ARPTAI) cooperators. The culmination of this work is <strong>USDA CARES</strong>, an initiative dedicated to <strong>C</strong>reate, <strong>A</strong>ssist, <strong>R</strong>ebuild, <strong>E</strong>mpower and <strong>S</strong>trengthen our communities and customer relationships. USDA CARES is comprised of a series of resources that directly address cooperators’ needs.</p>


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        <div class="usda-blog-teaser-author">USDA Chief Customer Experience Officer Simchah Suveyke-Bogin, Office of Customer Experience
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        <div class="usda-blog-teaser-date"> Aug 24, 2023</div>

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                                <a href="/media/blog/2023/08/24/listen-better-serve-better#write-blog-response" aria-label="Respond to the story Listen Better, Serve Better"> Respond to this story </a>
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