Madison 365, a non-profit organization that “fosters dialog between diverse communities,” recognized Naomi Takahashi, MSW ’12, for her contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Naomi is the director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and UW Health, where she supports DEI program expansion and strategic development. She was also a Field Faculty Associate at the school for several years.
As explained at last year’s Diversity Forum, “Takahashi’s passion for changing the structures and systems that perpetuate inequities in our community stems from growing up as a multiracial woman in Wisconsin, as well as having participated in a variety of workplace systems in Dane County from more direct-service roles as a clinical social worker, to acting as field faculty within the school of social work, to systems-level functions facilitating DEI organizational change.”