The City of Chaska added Celebrate Diversity as a strategic direction into its 2019 Strategic Plan and are devoted to their goal for a racially equitable community. Several 2-year success indicators were determined including redefining the role of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and expanding member participation in the HRC. Just as the City Council and the HRC members were embarking on this journey; dealing with the sensitivity of racial tensions and inequity within the community, the murder of George Floyd occurred and exponentially amplified the sense of urgency for the City Council and the HRC to resolve issues and effectively collaborate toward building a racially equitable community for all.

In the past, both the City Council and the HRC were working within the community toward equity and inclusion; however, due to a lack of clear roles and coordination of services, the groups were working past each other rather than with each other. Frequent confusion in responsibilities, duplication of work, and lack of communication between members fostered an environment of frustration rather than trust.

Both groups had acknowledged that an outside facilitator with experience in local government would be essential in guiding the conversation between the Council and the HRC. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not feasible to do the work in-person so a virtual facilitation solution would be necessary. Finally, the groups established three outcomes for the work of the team during the process: (1) establish an effective and efficient working relationship between the City Council and HRC; (2) agree to a shared understanding of team member roles, responsibilities, and objectives – including developing a shared understanding of what the HRC is and is not and (3) agree to shared expectations focused on how the City Council, City staff, and HRC members will all support one another to achieve success in their respective roles, responsibilities, and objectives.

With those outcomes in mind, the City of Chaska and the HRC engaged HueLife for the virtual facilitation services required for the project. HueLife was selected specifically for their considerable experience in successfully facilitating difficult conversations and workshops, their commitment to creating a safe space for difficult conversations to occur, and their incorporation of state-of-the-art techniques and processes that affords maximized learning and facilitation through a virtual environment. With those three foundational interests met, both groups could be assured that the work would move forward with individual members still maintaining strong positive and mutually supportive relationships among stakeholders.