Hello, I’m Danielle Droppers, and I’m running for one of the Region 6 Board of Directors seats. I’ve been an SEIU member for over six years, and a steward for four years, part of the Citizen Action for Political Education (CAPE) Council since 2017, and recently served on the Diversity Equity and Inclusion General Council Workgroup. It’s clear through my participation over the years that I am passionate and committed to standing up for worker’s rights. Anti-racism, equity, and policy change would be key priorities I would focus on in a Board of Directors role to ensure SEIU values are operationalized in meaningful ways and our goals are aggressively pursued for our collective success. I’m interested in running for a board seat in an effort to continue supporting the focus on SEIU becoming an anti-racist and fully-inclusive organization to ensure that ALL members have a voice in our union. I see my role as helping to build capacity within this area and share ideas for future implementation strategies. In my work with the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) a division of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), I oversee six Regional Health Equity Coalitions that represent 11 counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. With a Master’s degree in Social Work, most of my career has been committed to advocacy, social justice and racial equity. I’m most passionate about serving diverse and underserved communities to contribute to systems change efforts for the purpose of identifying and addressing institutional and systemic barriers that stand in the way of communities accessing the opportunities necessary to be happy, healthy, well and successful. The intersection of these issues with worker’s rights are much of the reason why I’ve been so committed to SEIU work over the years. Unions have key roles to play in achieving equity and I’m ready to do the work of listening to our members, and taking action. This is work I care deeply about, and have been committed to for years. I would appreciate the opportunity to serve as your voice on the SEIU Board of Directors. Other affiliations: Current President-Elect of Oregon Public Health Association (OPHA), graduate of Oregon Labor Candidate School (OLCS), and recently concluded two years of service on the Portland Police Bureau Training Advisory Council. Also, several years volunteer service at many non-profits like Planned Parenthood, Miracles Recovery Support Services, Portland Women’s Crisis Line, etc.