Salem Hires City's FIrst Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

SALEM, MA — Salem made city history on Tuesday with the introduction of its first Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Regina Zaragoza Frey is a Colorado native who was the Manager for Inclusiveness and Equity for Thorne Nature Experience, one of Colorado's first and largest environmental education organizations. She was also the founding member of Boulder County's LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and served on the Chamber's DEI Committee.

"In my new role, I will strive to advance racial equity in the city, amplify underrepresented voices, address systemic racism prevalent in government entities and strive to galvanize community support for DEI efforts," she said. "I have begun the process of getting to know community members, the Race Equity Task Force, the city staff, and partner organizations and look
forward to continuing this effort in the coming months."

She speaks English, Spanish and is highly fluent in French. She earned a Master of Law in Ethics and Compliance from the University of Colorado.

"I am pleased to welcome Regina to our community and to this important new role," Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said. "Regina will be a leader in some of the most important work we are undertaking today. In addition to advancing the recommendations and groundwork outlined by the Race Equity Task Force's recent report, she will help us strengthen our hiring, retention, and training practices, examine policies and projects through an equity lens and galvanize the forthcoming Race Equity Commission.

"There is a lot to do, but I'm confident that, working collaboratively with one another, we can move this important effort forward and that Regina will be a singular, insightful and important leader in that mission."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)