As we do this, both personally and within our organizations, it's likely that external support may be necessary. While it may feel overwhelming to begin or deepen existing equity work within our organizations, we don't need to have all the answers.

Hiring a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) consultant can very well help us get more clarity about what the scope of the work could really look like and can help us take action. As with any type of consultant you hire, ensuring the right fit is critical. Here are some considerations and guiding questions that may be helpful in your selection process.

EXPERIENCE
It may go without saying that experience is important, but when it comes to facilitating difficult conversations, experience is essential. The types of skills needed to facilitate this type of work take time to master. While it may not be necessary to be well-versed in youth development for providing anti-bias training, it can be helpful to understand the out-of-school time field in order to provide deeper equity strategy support.

• How long have you been a DEI consultant and/or have been in a capacity to facilitate this type of work?
• How familiar are you with the out-of-school time field?
• What is the level of diverse representation within your team (if applicable)?
• What are the types of organizations and audiences that you typically support?
• What kind of experience do you have delivering anti-racist training?
• How do you as an individual and/or as a company put equity into practice?

APPROACH
Some consultants provide training for staff, while others conduct equity audits to assess policies and practices. Length of engagements also varies, with some consultants providing long-term sustainable support and others focusing on short-term capacity building. It's important to be clear on what you are looking for in terms of depth and scope, to find the best match.

• What is the scope of support you provide?
• Do you offer follow-up support and/or coaching?
• How do you infuse equity-driven practices within your process working with organizations?
• How do you incorporate and balance research and authentic voice?
• What are key practices or principles that make your trainings and/or equity support effective?

CONTENT
The realm of DEI work encompasses many content areas, from allyship/co-conspirator training, to implicit bias and microaggression workshops, to culturally responsive pedagogy, to organizational equity strategy advising, and much more.

• What are the content areas that you cover in trainings?
• What are the levels of work you can support (example: personal, programmatic, structural, et cetera)?
• How do you tailor your trainings for different audiences (example: Board, Directors, Coordinators, Direct-service)?
• How do you tailor trainings for identity group configurations (example: all white participants, different intersectional identities, mostly people of color, mixed, et cetera)
• Are there specific frameworks that guide your work and/or you use for this work?

If after your exploratory conversation with a potential consultant you feel like your thinking has been pushed or the consultant has helped you expand your thinking in some way, this is a good sign. And of course, as with anything else, recommendations are always great! Getting a firsthand account of someone else's experience with a consultant can be invaluable.

Jimena Quiroga Hopkins is the Founder and Principal at Thrive Paradigm (formerly DWL West), a national consulting firm focused on supporting youth-serving organizations and nonprofits with their equity strategies. She is an NAA Executive member and has been working to advance equity in the afterschool field for the past 20 years.