The past, present and future of diversity at Edenwald Senior Living
When David Brown started working at Edenwald in 2013, senior living Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs tended to fly under the radar. Today it’s a different story.
“It’s just a completely different environment that we’re in now than it was when I first started,” Brown – Edenwald’s vice president, chief information & equity officer – says, “in a positive way.”
Edenwald is a Towson-based, LGBTQ+ friendly senior living community that’s always been known for its inclusivity, but the formation of its DEIB committee in 2022 has taken that innate spirit of acceptance and tolerance to new levels. (The B stands for belonging and was added to reflect the values of the community.) Brown assembled the committee at the suggestion of the Edenwald Board of Directors and serves as its chair.
The DEIB committee is composed of five residents, seven staff members and three board members. “We have a perspective from every part of Edenwald,” Brown says.
In the committee’s annual newsletter, “The Common Grounds,”Brown writes, “Our mission is clear: We are committed to fostering an environment at Edenwald that is intentionally inclusive, warmly welcoming, and entirely accepting of every individual who calls this community home.”
In its early days, many members of the DEIB committee, especially the residents, thought the best way to increase diversity in the community was to bring in more residents of color. While Brown acknowledges its importance, he knew the most effective way of bringing about increased diversity was through molding the community’s internal culture.
Brown adhered to a “diversity formula” created by senior living expert Rob Love:
E + I = B …. D
An environment of Equity and Inclusion creates a feeling of Belonging, which, over time, will lead to Diversity.
Brown reports that the committee has embraced this philosophy. “We realize the focus needs to be on our internal culture, and we have come a long way in the last two years. It has definitely shifted,” Brown says.
Education Yes, But First Some Parties
A key component of shaping the internal culture has to be education, according to Brown, but before that, he focused on increasing awareness and building personal connections. With that in mind, the committee held a variety of events (themed parties, mostly) designed to have residents and staff comingling and getting to know each other better. “Now they have a deeper connection with each other,” Brown says.
The committee’s events have brought the community together to celebrate occasions such as Juneteenth and Pride Month. The biggest event, however, was its Cultural Celebration Day. The purpose of that event was “to celebrate our differences and honor the unique perspectives of our heritage. This celebration was designed to serve as a reminder that while our traditions, languages and customs may differ, our capacity for empathy, compassion and joy knows no boundaries,” Brown says.
Held in October 2023 and 2024, the Cultural Celebration Day featured food from a variety of cultures, music, games and even Edenwald President and CEO Mark Beggs in the dunk tank.
Brown reports the DEIB events have gone over extremely well with the residents. “I’ve received emails saying, ‘Oh, this was such a nice event,’ and prior to that they were kind of anti-DEIB,” he says. “We have several residents in the LGBTQ+ community, and we’ve received nothing but positive feedback from them, which is great.”
Education and Senior Living DEIB
With the Edenwald staff and residents now continuing to enjoy more personal connections, the committee is turning its attention toward DEIB education. For Brown, the foundation of the educational effort is a clear definition of DEIB for all Edenwald stakeholders. Here’s what he and the committee created:
Diversity
Recognizing, understanding, accepting and valuing everyone’s individual experiences and differences.
All of the unique characteristics that make you, you.
Equity
Ensuring everyone has fair treatment, access and opportunity while removing any barriers to correct imbalances.
Meeting people where they are.
Inclusion
Everyone is welcomed, valued, respected, supported and feels like they are a part of the Edenwald community.
Every voice is important and deserves to be heard.
Belonging
Everyone feels secure and included and can be their authentic selves. A feeling of connection that allows you to be yourself without judgment or exclusion.
Feeling accepted for who you are.
DEIB Under Attack
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, DEI initiatives go all the way back to the 1960s, when companies developed diversity training as a response to newly enacted affirmative action and equal employment laws.
In recent years, however, DEIB programs have come under attack from certain quarters of the country.
This is not an issue at Edenwald, according to Brown. “Actually, it doesn’t affect us,” he says. “Fortunately, we don’t have that problem within our own community, but I do see it when I interact with people in various groups that I chair and co-chair outside of Edenwald, and you know it’s pretty bad in some places.”
Brown theorizes on what’s driving the anti-DEIB sentiment. He feels it’s a combination of demographics, geography, politics and socioeconomic status. “It’s how some people were just brought up.”
Brown’s solution, not surprisingly, is education. “I believe it’s about educating people and listening to their perspectives and trying to understand their ‘why,’” he says. “Why they may behave like this, or have this thinking, and then kind of reverse engineering it and going back to them with factual information, and maybe it could change their minds. Maybe it won’t. But I think education is a big part of it.”
DEIB as Edenwald Senior Living Evolves
As Edenwald and Goucher College work together to bring about Maryland’s first University Retirement Community, Brown and the DEIB committee will have the chance to expand their inclusiveness and belonging efforts with an entirely new group of people.
“We’re going to be bringing a whole different demographic to the Edenwald campus,” Brown says, referring to Goucher College students. Cultural competency classes for Edenwald residents will begin in October. “So, the residents will understand how to communicate and interact with this college generation,” Brown says.
Some of the current Edenwald staff are high school or college students, so there’s already plenty of co-generational experiences happening in the community. It’s a good start, Brown believes, but there’s still more education needed. “They’re college students,” he says. “It’s just a different vibe that the residents will need to understand when it comes to intergenerational activities and communication.”
“A lot of the residents are excited about it. I know some residents may be anxious about it because we’re bringing in kind of the unknown. But I feel like a lot of the residents want to be in that position where they can kind of be like a grandparent figure.”
Brown’s already been brainstorming with the vice president of DEI at Goucher College to identify a number of ways, including work groups, that Edenwald residents and staff can start interacting and building relationships with Goucher College students.
Brown is optimistic (and passionate) about the future of senior living DEIB at Edenwald. “As we move forward,” he writes, “let’s remember the power of unity and the potential that lies within our shared goals. Each one of us contributes to the rich tapestry of Edenwald. By embracing our diversity, we’re weaving a story of inclusivity and belonging that resonates with all.”
