BREMERTON, Wash. –
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility held its first Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Employee Resource Group meeting August 3, 2023, during an event that attracted dozens of employees looking to learn more about the newly formed group. The BIPOC ERG was formed to be inclusive of multiple cultural groups represented at the command.
“To the BIPOC co-leads, this ERG represents an appreciation of those who have come before us and a celebration of what lies ahead,” said Taylor Lindbom, BIPOC ERG co-lead. “We are here to provide a platform for our members to share their cultures, highlight our coworkers’ accomplishments and promote networking and career advancement opportunities.”
The BIPOC ERG intends to use the group's new platform to showcase one of its core values — ingenuity.
“Ingenuity is the ability to solve problems in ways that may not always be apparent,” said Lindbom. “This is an element embedded in all cultures represented by the BIPOC ERG. The shipyard is full of people with different backgrounds who have different ways of thinking, skills and experiences that can help create innovative solutions.”
Although the BIPOC ERG has been in place for just a few months, the co-leads have been busy networking with the command’s other ERGs, such as the Asian American and Pacific Islander ERG, the Veterans ERG and the Puget Women’s Employee Networking Group to put on events like the command’s Juneteenth celebration.
“All the ERGs have been incredibly welcoming and have gone out of their way to support BIPOC in our first year,” said Lindbom. “Based on the outreach and support we’ve received, BIPOC will continue to collaborate with other ERGs in hosting cultural celebrations and awareness along with career-orientated events.”
Lindbom says that BIPOC monthly meetings will be a place for outreach, celebration and cultural acknowledgement, while building a strong community at every level of the command. All employees, regardless of ethnicity, have a place within the BIPOC ERG. The BIPOC ERG is slated to have their strategic planning session in September, at which time a regular meeting schedule will be established.
“We’ve already received messages from people across the shipyard on becoming more engaged with the ERG,” said Lindbom. “We look forward to creating these opportunities for members to share cultural knowledge, attend conferences and lead BIPOC events.”
Employees can learn more by emailing psns_bipoc_inbox@us.navy.mil.