The Town of Brookline is committed to embracing the diversity of its community. It recognizes that individuals of color and other marginalized groups face significant barriers regarding equity in housing, employment and other areas that limit their access and opportunities. Although Brookline, both publicly and privately, has avenues to address issues of inequity, it has not been done in a strategic way—meaning there is no master plan to get to where they want to be as a Town. The Town is looking forward to addressing issues of inequity in a constructive, comprehensive way.
This work is spearheaded by The Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations, which aims to support a welcoming environment by encouraging cooperation, tolerance and respect among and by all persons who come into contact with the Town of Brookline, and by advancing, promoting and advocating for human and civil rights through education, outreach and advocacy. The mission of the Office and the goal of the Town shall be to strive for a community characterized by the values of inclusion. The Office provides professional and administrative support to the following Town Commissions: Commission on Disability, Commission for Women, and the Commission for Diversity Inclusion & Community Relations.
Recent accomplishments include:
- Resolution to use a broader census tract as a benchmark to determine workforce diversity
- Completed revision of the Town’s EEO policy, that mandates diversity and inclusion training to management and hiring managers
- Developed and implemented a complaint process for those that face discrimination
- Continued police training in implicit bias and developing cultural competency programs for the police force
- Developing and implementing police- community events/socials
Lloyd Gellineau, PhD., MS is the Director of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations and Chief Diversity Officer for the Town of Brookline. Gellineau has 31 years of experience in human service/public health delivery and management—with emphasis on working with diverse and disadvantaged populations. Lloyd has extensive experience working with agencies that received state contracts from the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, and the former Department of Mental Retardation. Gellineau sits on several steering committees for the Town and State including the Domestic Violence Roundtable, the Jennifer Lynch Committee against Domestic Violence, the Local Human Service Officials Association, the West Suburban Community Health Network, the Council on Aging, the Commission for the Disabled, Brookline Coalition Against Substance Abuse and the Massachusetts Association of Human Rights and Relations Commission. His office also staffs the Town’s Women’s Commission and the Commission of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations, and the Holocaust Witness Project Committee.