ROCHESTER, N.Y. — President Jimmy Carter will be remembered for many things, including his efforts to advance women and people of color.
Lonie Haynes models much of his work at Rochester Regional Health after the ideals of President Carter.
Carter instituted diversity, equity and inclusion appointments during his presidency before DEI was a thing.
A leading DEI officer discusses how it has influenced his life’s work.
“I knew Jimmy Carter when I was a child,” said Georgia native Lonie Haynes. “My admiration and really love for the man is almost Georgia lore.”
Haynes says his life is highly influenced by the 39th president of the United States.
“President Carter, was really a phenomenon when it comes to diversity, putting women and Blacks in administrative positions,” said Haynes, whose life work involves DEI.
“He was very progressive when he was looking at ensuring that there was diversity within his administration,” Haynes said. “But it didn’t happen just as his presidency, he did as governor of Georgia. And as a child, I watched him really do phenomenal things in the government and around placing people in different places within the government in Georgia.”
Haynes is the chief diversity, health equity, inclusion and justice officer and senior vice president at Rochester Regional Health.
“Looking at the work that he did is inspiring for me,” Haynes said. “It reminds me that I can do this. I’m standing on his shoulders, and a lot of the people that he hired.”
In fact, by the end of his term, Carter appointed more women and people of color to the federal judiciary than all previous presidents combined.
“I think that’s important to me to know that and remind myself daily in this whole era of anti-woke and anti-right, that someone like Jimmy Carter was really leading this before it was even a tagline,” Haynes said. “He was doing what we should have been doing. And so, I’m reminded of that daily.”
He believes Carter’s legacy will be his ability to build bridges – bringing people together from all walks of life to work for common goals to make the world a better place.
“I think for myself, someone who works in diversity, inclusion, it is that North Star for me, I think a North Star for a lot of us, as we look at where we are in this world and what we want to do,” Haynes said. “His legacy is just immeasurable. So, the work that he did really set the bar for a lot of us.”
Much of the work Haynes does at RRH he models after the ideals and aspirations of President Carter.
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