The Illinois Section of the American Water Works Association is a 501c3 organization based in St. Charles, Illinois. We focus on safe and sustainable water for Illinois.

We have a Diversity and Inclusion committee that is focused on education, training, and engagement of all of our members. We have been focusing on building our training curriculum the past year and want to now focus more on celebrating our members through our communication channels. We currently have a quarterly publication, monthly e-newsletter, social media channels and are launching an app.

We would like to have a robust communication calendar that would not only draw attention to national observances (Women's History Month, Disability Employment Awareness Month, LGTBQ History Month), but also celebrate the diversity of our industry (focus on our members who work in payables, sewer collection, human resources, lab techs, etc.). We would like to not only build out a calendar of celebrations, but have the content ready to be shared. How can we engage and celebrate our differences through our communications?

The goal for this project would be to create a communications calendar focused on diversity and inclusion and have content written for each that would bring attention to the topic, is meaningful to our members and engage our membership.

The Diversity and Inclusion volunteer leaders as well as staff are able to assist students with this project.

The Diversity and Inclusion committee volunteer leaders are available to connect with the student to answer questions. They meet monthly and would be a good opportunity for the student to provide updates and ask questions of the full group.

The Executive Director is available and will serve as the primary contact. We can set up weekly or bi-weekly meetings to check in and answer questions and ensure we're on task for the project.

We also have a Marketing Coordinator who can provide additional support and will be creating the graphics to go along with the content.