Identity, Equity, and Belonging at MCC

Dominant stories about conservation often neglect indigenous peoples, migrant workers, Black farmers, and poor and working-class families’ long-standing relationship to land. MCC is in solidarity with these communities and seeks to elevate a fuller story of the environmental movement.

MCC is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusivity, and anti-racism. Our vision is to ensure that all people — especially those facing marginalization — experience safety, belonging, and validation at MCC. We view this work as both a process and a goal and we take action to identify and interrupt oppression within ourselves and our organization.

OUR COMMITMENTS

• We make intentional efforts to validate the diverse identities and backgrounds within MCC’s community.
• We expect inclusive excellence of our community.
• We create opportunities for BIPOC and LGBTQIA2+ people to share their lived experiences. We amplify these stories outwardly and at all levels of the organization.
• We provide identity-specific programs and services to those under-represented at MCC.

OUR ACTION

• MCC has a team of 10 staff members who serve on the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee (est. 2019). They oversee our strategic direction and actively assess DEI-efforts across the organization.
• From 2021-2022, we participated in a year-long program, The Shift Accelerator, to examine our current DEI practices and improve our impact. All current efforts are organized around a 3-year strategic plan.
• We regularly train all members, staff, project partners, and our Board of Directors on issues of identity and inclusivity.
• We measure member and staff sense of belonging on an annual basis and analyze results disaggregated by gender, race, and membership in the LGBTQIA2+ community.
• We offer a variety of resources to make our programs more accessible.
• We respond to bias proactively and train, track, and assess all incidents to improve the safety of our community.

If you have an incident to report, please reach out to any member of our program team or submit an anonymous report here.

OUR COMMUNITY

We work hard to provide resources and support to our community. If you have a question about what it would be like to serve with us given an identity/s that you hold, our admissions team is available to discuss this further. 

To start, check out the identity-specific programs and services at MCC:

Community Spaces

• We currently offer two community spaces, Corps Members of Color and LGBTQIA2+ Corps Members, to build community, connection, and support during the season. The groups come together for an annual campout and are open to all participants who identify within the respective community.

Affinity Crews

• We run specialty crews made up of members who hold the same or similar identities. This currently includes the Piikuni Lands Crew, Women’s+ Trail Crews, and Women’s Fuels and Fire Training Crews.

Financial Assistance

• Native Corpsmember Award - All American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native members serving in one of our AmeriCorps programs are eligible to receive this award. For those eligible, you can opt into the funding during your onboarding process. The award comes as taxable income and is dispersed in one of your first two paychecks once the program starts.
• Priority Assistance - Some of MCC’s programs offer limited gear and housing assistance and we manage a temporary relief fund should members encounter unforeseen circumstances throughout their term. These assistance programs factor in identity in a variety of ways. Where available, our gear assistance prioritizes members who come from a low-income or working-class background. Within our housing offerings, we aim to place all interested Black, indigenous, and trans members. 

THIS LAND

Our offices are situated on the ancestral homelands of the A’aninin (Gros Ventre), Annishinabe (Little Shell Chippewa) Apsáalooke (Crow), Nakoda (Assiniboine), Dakota/Lakota (Sioux), Ktunaxa (Kootenai), Niimiipuu (Nez Perce), Ojibwe (Chippewa),  Ne Hiyawak (Cree), Piikuni (Blackfeet), Qlispé (Upper Pend d'Oreille), Seliš (Bitterroot Salish), Shoshone, and Tsétsêhéstâhese (Northern Cheyenne). 

We honor the many indigenous people with ties to the lands on which we serve and recognize their continued presence and stewardship. For MCC, honoring this history and context includes:

• Partnerships with Native-led organizations and Tribal Governments to offer tribally based conservation-service and leadership development programs. If you would like to invite MCC to partner with your community, please contact Stacey Casamassima.
• Educating our staff and members on the history of the land and peoples.
• Providing opportunities for our community to hear directly from indigenous people about their culture and ties to the region.
• Beginning new service activities with a place-based and site-specific land acknowledgment.
• Allocating resources to support Native people’s participation in MCC programs.