b'THE BUSINESS CASE(Whats our why?)Over the past decades, the concepts of diversity and inclusion have evolved in significant ways. What began with the Civil Rights Movement has become a critical strategic imperative for business success. Initially, diversity was almost exclusively related to equal opportunity, which wasprimarily focused on race and gender. In the workplace this resulted in the implementation of Affirmative Action. Today, diversity encompasses a host of traits that makes a person unique: race, gender, religion, ability, age, sexual orientation, background, education, experiences, talents, skills, and much more. The death of George Floyd in May 2020 brought worldwide attention to systemic racism and resulted in organization and companies assessing the state of diversity and inclusion within their organization.Diversity is everything that makes us who we are, and all the ways we are different from everyone else. When we view diversity as more than race and gender, to include diversity of thought, ideas, ability, background, and experiences, it sparks creative insights, better solutions, and ultimately, greater efficiencies and service to the people we serve. But making an organization more diverse is not enough. Diversity without inclusion will not yield the true benefits of diversity. Therefore, it is critical that we focus equally on inclusion. Inclusion is creating an environment where all differences can be leveraged to help us achieve our mission. Creating a workplace environment that taps into the unique talents and strengths of different employees leads to greater employee satisfaction and higher productivity while allowing us to understand the diversity of our workforce and clients. As such, diversity and inclusion are not just about who we are, but the way we carry out our mission. This includes the way we work together; the way we think about and solve problems; the way we engage our employees and tap into the unique strengths each brings to the workplace; and the way we ensure a safe and sound organization. Our efforts should be reflected in the workplace, the community, and the behavioral health industry. 10'