LUNA is proud to announce that our Manager of Strategic Engagement, Tiffany Hanson, has earned the 2022 United Way of Central Indiana ELEVATE award for Diversity Equity and Inclusion Advocate of the year! This honor is awarded to a young professional or small group (either through an employer or as a volunteer) who has committed to raising awareness and advocating for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Central Indiana community.
On winning, Tiffany said, “It is an honor to have been nominated for this award, let alone to have won it! I think, if I were to thank anyone, it would be all of my friends and colleagues who have taught me so much about who they are and what their life experiences are like so that I can be effective in diversity, equity, and inclusion work.”
Through her role here at LUNA, Tiffany has worked to build meaningful partnerships with organizations and community stakeholders within the populations that we serve through our services—immigrants and refugees, as well as the Deaf and hard of hearing communities. She serves on the board of directors of the Indiana Latino Expo and works closely with team members at organizations such as Immigrant Welcome Center and Exodus Refugee Immigration. She also served on the board of directors for the Diversity Roundtable of Central Indiana as the Professional Development Director for three years, helping to bring speakers and topics related to these communities to the DRTCI educational events.
Tiffany also collaborates with our partners on online educational opportunities that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. For instance, she works closely with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to create impactful webinars such as Understanding Reasonable Accommodations—Inclusive Workplace Best Practices, featuring one of LUNA’s team members offering her own perspective as a Deaf employee, and Removing Barriers to Employment – A Deeper Dive into Disability and National Origin Inclusion, featuring several of our partner organizations. If these topics seem interesting, you can check out our full list of LUNA’s webinar recordings here.
Tiffany and the 2022 ELEVATE Award Recipients, images courtesy of Jennifer Driscoll
In addition to her work at LUNA, Tiffany regularly contributes to several organizations that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. She worked as the Director of Marketing and Communications for Indy Pride for four years, helping to significantly grow their programs and creating the Indy Pride Career Fair, the first LGBTQ-focused recruitment event in our region. She serves on the editorial board of Indy Maven, a digital media company created by women for women, and now regularly contributes to their content. Tiffany also recently began supporting the Women Equity Brunch team as their Development Director, helping to secure funding for their high-energy, impactful event series that is designed to bring together hundreds of women, from all walks of life, to focus on women’s experiences and issues.
“We celebrate the work that Tiffany does on behalf of LUNA and our stakeholders, as she pushes for language access initiatives in our community and works toward widespread sustainable change. We are proud of all the inclusive efforts Tiffany leads and grateful to have her representing our company.” – Marina Hadjioannou Waters, LUNA President.
When asked about her vision for the Central Indiana Community, Tiffany shared, “We really do have an abundance of cultures here in Central Indiana… here in Marion County alone, over 100 languages are spoken! My vision is to create more opportunities for Hoosiers to come together to learn about one another and embrace the fabulousness of our neighbors.”