'Exhausting': Worcester Diversity Officer Speaks About Resignation

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester's outgoing chief diversity officer — the city's third since 2016 — issued a statement Thursday about her departure from the job. Stephanie Williams' resignation last Friday sparked questions from city councilors and community groups about the city's ability to retain people in the position.

Williams, whose last day is March 18, said she decided to leave the job after about 15 months to use her skills in a place where she could "have more of an impact." She also said she wanted to take control of the narrative around her departure.

"There is some great work that has been done and that is being done around diversity, equity and inclusion within the municipality," she said. "My decision to resign was not based on one particular experience or person, rather a decision that my skills would be best put to use in an environment where I can have more of an impact."

Word of Williams' departure came Friday afternoon in a news release from the city manager's office with the headline, "City of Worcester Seeks New Chief Diversity Officer." Over the weekend, the Worcester NAACP issued a statement questioning why Williams was leaving — and withdrawing its support from the city's upcoming tercentennial celebration over the matter.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, At-Large Councilors Khrystian King and Thu Nguyen requested more details from the city manager about Williams' departure. The group Black Families Together followed up on Wednesday with its own statement.

Worcester hired its first diversity officer, Malika Carter, in January 2016. Carter left in July 2017 and was replaced by Suja Chacko, a city human resources employee. Chacko left the job in March 2018, and Williams took over in November 2020 during a time when City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. Augustus was working on race and social justice reforms following protests over the murder of George Floyd.

In her statement, Williams highlighted that diversity officer jobs in general are often "exhausting, particularly when organizations are not ready."

"A chief diversity officer is a disruptor because we are expected to challenge the status quo," she said. "We are positioned to point out incongruence between organizational values and apparent contradictions that plague our practices, procedures, and policies. Many of the current structures and practices in place revealed a disconnect between organizational and institutional impact needed in order for this work to be successful."