The Partnership's PEAR statement

Video recorded staff presentation 8/18/2022

PEAR Strategic Plan

On March 21, 2022, Governor Inslee signed Executive Order 22-04, Implementing the Washington State Pro-Equity Anti-Racism (PEAR) Plan & Playbook. The Executive Order directs all Cabinet agencies to develop a PEAR Strategic Action Plan, implement it, and report our progress on implementation.

In this Executive Order, the Governor clearly states his intention that we and our sister state agencies do our part to create a PEAR ecosystem in the state of Washington. Our founding statute also directs us to support a healthy human population and a vibrant quality of life. Achieving these goals will help us achieve our mission, but it’s also quite simply the right and deeply decent thing to do.

I and the Executive Team are committed to implementing this Executive Order. While responsibilities may vary across our staff for implementing the specifics of the PSP PEAR Strategic Plan, we know that each of us must do our own anti-racism, pro-equity work. We look forward to continued work with the Equity & Environmental Justice Team, supervisors, and all staff to build diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental justice into the programs and products we lead and every staff member’s work plan.

We also plan the following:

• The Executive Team will continue working with the Equity & Environmental Justice Team to develop our DEI Action Plan, and with all of you to implement it.
• Executive Team members plan to reflect on the state’s diversity, equity, and inclusion competencies, assess our personal progress toward them, and make individual action plans based on them. We’ll make ours available to others as a model for the agency.
• In 2023, we will update our agency’s strategic plan, and ensure that we infuse pro-equity, anti- racism and environmental justice work into it, in accordance with the HEAL Act and our own values.

I am looking forward to continuing this journey with each of you, our partners, and the Office of Equity. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any member of the Executive Team or our PEAR Team – Mel, Lea Anne, Denise, and me – with questions or ideas.

Laura Blackmore
Executive Director
The Puget Sound Partnership

Partnership PEAR team