Neighborhood Partnerships is excited to announce the internal promotion of Derrick Taruc to the newly created position of Equity Integration and Digital Technology Manager. Derrick joined NP in July of 2016, and has overseen maintenance and improvement of the IDA database, supported the collection of data for program evaluation, and provided patient and timely technical assistance for the IDA Team and providers. Through NP’s equity journey, Derrick has been generous with his own lived experience, and a consistent voice for inclusion of those most impacted in our design and evaluation, while lending a clear-eyed assessment to equity planning and implementation around questions of accountability.
As NP deepens our equity work, we have identified the need for devoted staff support for oversight of our many projects and goals, and a through-line in our Equity Team to track history and progress. As all who have joined the movement for race equity will be aware, there is a constant tug between aspiration and achievement and a wealth to be learned in the distance between what we reach for and what we are able to accomplish. Derrick brings a calm, steady insistence about the feasibility and value of this accountability process, while always modeling a non-punitive curiosity that the long road to true equity requires. Derrick’s leadership in this work is already established, and we are gratified to be able to recognize his growth and solidify our organizational commitment to race equity in all of our work.
Derrick will continue to support the success of the IDA Initiative and Neighborhood Partnerships by managing database development and technical assistance, and the alignment of digital technology solutions to the technical and program requirements of the Initiative. He will also continue to bring humor, mad style, and cutting edge musical taste to our work.