Global HERC Community

“Higher Ed Leaders Spotlight” features stories and perspectives from higher education leaders dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the higher education workforce.


Jenny Lee Berry is the Community Relations Manager at Oregon Health & Science University and former Regional Director of Greater Oregon HERC.

You’ve said that many of the community organizations you work with have been facing the same challenges for 20 years. Is there an example of that and how you’re working to overcome that?

What I’ve heard for a long time is some folks in the HR world saying, ‘Oh, we just don't have the diversity in Oregon. Oregon is just not racially and ethnically diverse, so we can't find the people.’ But what are some of the strategies that we’ve tried? How have we learned to listen to our communities in those 20 years? Knowing that the sentiment is that Oregon is not diverse, that we’re not going to have people of color apply for these jobs—that is the problem statement. How do we get to a solution?

Some people have said, ‘Let’s create programs to bring people back in and create a welcoming environment.’ So now there are more employee resource groups and affinity groups. As much as employee resource groups are super important to build community from within, sometimes they’re only seen as communities that just want to bond with each other, and there’s very little to do outside of that. And so, you have a silo effect.

In Portland, the average length of stay from someone that’s recruited from out of state is about 18 months, and then they leave the state or their position because they don’t like how they’re the only person of color in their department, or they feel very isolated that they have to be the one speaking for their community and being put on the spot. I’ve heard that we can’t seem to retain people. And so Partners in Diversity is a really great organization that we started to help professionals of color meet each other through community galas and networking events.

What has been the most enjoyable aspect of your job on a personal level?

I work a lot with our community-based partners and different community leaders to create and forge partnerships. I often hear a lot from community leaders that have been in this work of service for decades [that] their challenges and concerns have remained constant. And so with my job, I find a lot of enjoyment in trying to chip away at inequities.

How do we create opportunities that promote real engagement and real partnership, where it's not on a consultation basis, but it’s co-creation, cooperation, and partnership? I think it's really just redefining what partnership looks like. And how do we amplify some of the work that's already happening? Our community leaders and organizations have been doing this work so much longer. How do we help create the right paths and opportunities to connect the dots?

What's been the biggest highlight of your time at OHSU?

Our response to COVID and our vaccination efforts.  It’s been a tremendous opportunity to collaborate within our organization in addition to our community partners to set up culturally relevant, culturally specific vaccination clinics that are open to everybody, but specifically have interpreters and outreach materials that serve the community. Seeing people getting vaccinated, saving lives, saving themselves, and helping to stop the spread of COVID has been just an amazing opportunity.

I’m not afraid to talk to people because of my role, so I have also helped with canvassing and outreach to the general public, as well as people coming to our vaccine clinic that might have some hesitancy or are deliberating about the vaccine. I share my personal reasons as to why I got vaccinated, and also make that connection to health care providers on-site in case they have more of a science-based question.

But really my approach is to be compassionate and to hear their concerns. As you can imagine, there are a lot of different types of concerns people have—everything from misinformation to really legitimate fears—so it’s been fascinating and rewarding.

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About the Author: Harold Gutmann is the director of brand and marketing strategy at Santa Clara University. He is a longtime writer and editor who is proud to work in higher education, and encourages all job seekers to consider it.

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