OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is pleased to announce the hiring of Erin Lopez Nielsen as the agency’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“While we’ve been working on DEI initiatives for many years within the agency, we felt it was time to make an even bigger commitment with the creation of a new position solely dedicated to DEI – both internally and externally,” DFI Director Charlie Clark said. “This position answers directly to me, works with our executive leadership, our Diversity Advisory Team and will be working with our licensees and regulated entities moving forward to ensure Washington’s financial services industry is a leader nationally in providing equitable services to all our state’s residents.”
Recognizing the necessity for and importance of this work, the agency set several first-year goals for this new office within DFI, including:
- Creating processes and systems to measure the impact of DFI’s equity and inclusion work as it relates to service delivery. Include research identification, and recommendation of assessment tools and resources that would measure the ongoing impact of our work with our stakeholders, consumers, and employees;
- Providing advice and consultation to agency leadership recommending avenues to increase awareness, support, and culture change in implementing DEI principles and practices in or service delivery;
- Developing recommendations to establish and implement equity and inclusion components in the agency’s strategic plan;
- Representing the agency with external audiences;
- Developing, reviewing and participating in the development of DFI’s operating policies and processes to ensure all employees are meeting the intent of Executive Order 17-01, Reaffirming Washington’s Commitment to Tolerance, Diversity and Inclusiveness;
- Facilitating the informal resolution of concerns of community partners across all agency operations. Conduct inquiries into concerns, resolve them, and bring systemic concerns to the attention of the Agency Director; and
- Creating dynamic partnerships that maximize engagement opportunities and strengthen stakeholder and consumer confidence in our services.
Lopez started with the agency Nov. 1 and has already begun working on agency goals, meeting with community and industry leaders and representing the agency on committees working toward financial equity for Washington residents.
“I am excited to be working on financial health, as I started my career working in non-profit providing alternative financing and education,” Lopez shared. “My core value for wealth equity has continued over the last two decades, working in different industries on strategies to bring more money into underserved communities. I am energized by the growing actions for change and look forward to co-creating solutions within the work of DFI.”