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Two city employees in the equity division of the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services were recently placed on leave, adding to a growing list of diversity, equity and inclusion shake-ups in government agencies across the state.
Bureau officials confirmed to WW that the two employees—Angela Henderson, an equity and inclusion analyst for the bureau, and Shyvonne Williams, an equity outreach employee—were placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 19. The city declined to say why, as is typical for personnel matters.
BES is the city’s sewer and stormwater utility, funded by ratepayer dollars from monthly sewer bills.
According to Williams’ LinkedIn, she’s worked at the bureau since 2019. It’s not clear how long Henderson has worked for the city, though, according to one city document, she served as BES’s interim deputy director in 2021.
The most recent equity shake-up at BES is part of a recent spate of equity division purges across government agencies at both the state and city level. The Oregon Health Authority, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, the Oregon Department of Education, and the Oregon Department of Forestry have all seen turmoil in recent months.
All three members of the equity team at another city bureau, Portland Parks & Recreation, were placed on leave in September, WW reported at the time. It’s unclear why.