Mission: Existing at the intersection of environmental and transformational justice, the Adirondack Diversity Initiative (ADI) works to make the Adirondacks a welcoming and inclusive place for both residents and visitors while ensuring a vital and sustainable Adirondack Park for future generations.

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Vision: An Adirondack Park and North Country where ALL people feel a sense of safety, connection, and belonging whether they live here or are visiting.  We want everyone to feel that they belong here, as the Adirondacks belong to us all.

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ADI’s operating philosophy honors the lived experiences of members of the community in all aspects of our work.  This stems from our belief that communities must play a central role as actors and stakeholders in articulating, facilitating, mobilizing and executing efforts that advance justice. 

 

Our program interventions seek to mobilize transformational change in the Adirondack North Country region.  Our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) work focuses on building culturally conscious communities, businesses, and organizations by expanding cultural and critical consciousness around issues of systemic racism and structural oppression. We empower communities with the tools and strategies needed to take action, while expanding access to unique Adirondack opportunities for   historically marginalized groups.  

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ADI exists as the only program of its kind in the region. It is the result of unprecedented bipartisan support at the state level and endorsement by more than 40 community agencies across the Adirondack North Country. Coalition building, mobilizing our communities, and community outreach is at the core of ADI’s work philosophy for creating a vital and sustainable Adirondacks.  Working with allied organizations and recruiting and training community members, ADI has a large and increasing network across the Adirondacks and broader New York.  Working with community members, local organizations and regional stakeholders, ADI creates tools, strategies and interventions that reduce the impact of the legacies of systemic racism and structural oppression that continue to plague our nation and the Adirondack Park region impacting those who are the least well off politically, economically and socially.  Each of our initiatives was born out of Adirondack constituencies identifying long standing issues and needs and engaging members of the community directly in the solutions.