Q&A with Raahi Reddy

Before arriving at Estolano Advisors, Raahi was the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of Oregon Metro for nearly six years. In that time, she directed the agency to implement its strategic plan to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the agency. Raahi’s leadership at Oregon Metro led to tangible results in the Portland metro region which served as a blueprint for other jurisdictions around the country. Raahi states, “I am excited by what we have accomplished and would love to share the ways we can apply a racial equity lens to the work of the public sector, especially in delivering on equitable outcomes for communities across the region. I want to make sure the most marginalized communities share in the benefits of public investments and programs.”

We are delighted to have Raahi join Estolano Advisors as a Principal and Director of our Pacific Northwest office. Her extensive knowledge of the region and deep commitment to equity and inclusion are valuable assets to our team. Read on to learn more about Raahi’s accomplishments, inspirations, and favorite places to spend time in the Pacific Northwest!

What attracted you to EA?

The monumental task of delivering equitable outcomes for our communities requires us all to work together—no one government or community partner can do it alone. I hope to use my skills and experiences to help local governments, communities, Tribal nations, and labor organizations to achieve the ambitious and equitable goals they aspire for in their projects. I had the pleasure of working with Estolano Advisors for two years to deliver on a once-in-a-generation effort in our region, the Construction Career Pathways Project. I experienced firsthand what an impact there can be to have skilled strategists, thought partners, and coalition builders to help us achieve our goals. I could not think of a better firm to join that shares my values and has that mix of expertise and shared mission than Estolano Advisors. I am excited to be able to join the team and help other governments, private partners, community organizations, Tribal nations and others across the country do the kind of great things we did in the Portland metro region.

What accomplishments are you especially proud of FrOM YOUR TIME AT OREGON METRO?

I am proud of bringing together 16 governments across our region to design a common and consistent strategy to diversify the construction workforce on all our public sector projects. Our work over the past five and half years delivered over $2.9 million locally to provide wraparound supports for women and BIPOC workers interested in construction. We have established a mandatory anti-harassment and bystander intervention training on all our construction job sites to ensure we build a welcoming environment for diverse workers on our projects. And we delivered a regional Project Labor Agreement embedding equity provisions throughout, ensuring these jobs are quality careers.

I am also proud of the work under my tenure at Metro to create a meaningful capacity building program for our BIPOC and women-led community-based organizations. The program was designed to deliver $1.2 million of grant funding to selected Community Based Organizations over three years. The fund provided much needed resources to community organizations to build internal infrastructure to grow their civic engagement work in their communities. Imagine if we replicate this model of capacity building funding for Community Based Organizations and Tribal nations working on large-scale infrastructure and climate programs across the country! I look forward to sharing the lessons learned from this work with others seeking to deliver equitable outcomes on projects they are leading.

YOU’VE HAD A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, LABOR, AND ACADEMIA. IN THIS NEW STAGE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS A CONSULTANT, WHAT KIND OF WORK ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT PURSUING?

I have been successful in helping a diverse set of stakeholders to align around common goals, develop shared vision, and a strategy to get them there. Some concrete skills I bring are a deep understanding of workforce development issues, challenges, opportunities, and mechanisms. I also have experience building stakeholder tables and working with diverse voices to develop, negotiate, and execute the technical elements of community benefit and workforce equity agreements with clear deliverables and accountability mechanisms.

I am most excited about working with governments, Tribal leaders, community, and labor partners to help design and implement high road workforce strategies and community benefits on game-changing investments in the country. There is a once-in-a-generation opportunity with federal investments to activate local economies. I am looking forward to working with local coalitions, governments, and Tribal nations to help them use these opportunities to design and deliver inclusive workforce strategies that create quality jobs for women and communities of color, grow child care infrastructure, and ensure climate infrastructure developments provide multiple benefits to local communities and Tribal citizens.

MUCH LIKE EA’S WORK, YOUR CAREER HAS BEEN GUIDED BY THE PURSUIT OF EQUITY. WHAT HAS YOUR INSPIRATION BEEN FOR THAT?

I have always been fascinated by how much work is such a critical piece of who we are, not only to survive but also as something that has meaning and brings dignity. My inspiration comes from my mom working in health care. It was such a hard job, and yet, it brought so much joy to her. I am grateful I get to work on projects that inspire me and advance quality jobs in communities where their full potential and talents have been held back by racism, sexism, colonialism, and economic divestment. It makes me so happy to think that we will make a powerful impact on people's lives and that impact can be felt for generations to come. That is the kind of impact my mom’s work and her choices have had on my siblings and my life.

What are your favorite places to spend time in the Pacific Northwest?

One of my favorite places to spend time in the Pacific Northwest is on the Oregon coast. I have traveled to almost every town along the 363 miles of coast. And I am always looking out for whales. Every year gray whales, blue whales, humpbacks, and orcas travel north and south along the Oregon Coast. I am thrilled every time I see a misty breath shooting up from the top of the water!

We also have gorgeous mountains in the Pacific Northwest. One of my favorite places to hike is Mt. Saint Helens, Lawetlat'la, and witness in real time the regeneration and growth of the flora and fauna after the devastation of a volcanic explosion. It is both inspiring and other-worldly to experience!