EACE Affinity and Interest Groups

Community College Affinity Group

The goal of the EACE Community College Affinity Group is to provide a space for EACE members to learn about community college student populations and their environments. We plan to accomplish this by doing the following:

Provide this space to members of community colleges to be able to collaborate with 4-year colleges and employers.
Increase awareness of community college student talent to 4-year schools and employers.
Develop a larger talent pool for employers through joint recruiting events with 4-year counterparts.
Share best practices to assist members with overcoming community college’s unique challenges including limited resources, facilities and serving a non-traditional campus.
Developing an employer pipeline for employers with seamless continuity between community colleges and their 4-year counterparts.
Create a greater appreciation by 4-year schools and employers with respect to developing the future workforce.

For more information on the Community College Affinity Group, contact the group leads, Cathy Cosgrove and Tracey Hanton.

Minority Business Recruiting Group

The EACE Minority Business Recruiting Group (MBRG) aims to increase EACE membership of minority-owned and/or led businesses. The goal is to provide such business leaders across industries with empowering opportunities to engage and build community with other businesses and career services practitioners, resulting in a more equitable EACE community. Through this initiative, minority-led businesses will have greater access to talent through connections to campus career centers, the ability to join an affinity group where professionals will be given the space to focus on their unique recruiting needs and will have access to support structures and resources for their continued growth. This committee welcomes employers from all ALANA (Asian, Latino, African, and Native American) businesses, women-led businesses and LGBTQIA led businesses in order to have a far-reaching representation of thought and action.

For more information on the Minority Business Recruiting Affinity Group, contact the group lead, Darlene Johnson.

HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) & HSIs (Hispanic-Serving Institutions) Affinity Group

The EACE HBCU/HSI Affinity Group welcomes members from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) as well as those with interests in these areas to connect and engage in this community. The group endeavors to facilitate professional development opportunities and provide networking and innovative resources for HBCU and HSI professionals. We seek to create collaborative spaces for members of the HBCU/HSI community to discuss their needs and be introduced to creative approaches to engaging the student population. Partnerships between these institutions and employers are cultivated in order to be best positioned to serve HBCU/HSI students. Recognizing the challenges and ongoing transformation of HBCU/HSI institutions, the group provides a platform for career services professionals to learn from one another and share best practices and resources.

For more information on the HBCU & HSI Affinity Group, contact the group lead, Ruben Britt Jr.

LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group

The LGBTQIA Affinity group is a forum to bring together EACE members of the LGBTQIA community and those who serve those students and prospective recruits in their day-to-day roles. We want to empower our members to become aware and develop best practices to grow LGBTQIA visibility in the workplace and how to support students as they enter the workforce.

“To develop the future workforce” is the cornerstone of EACE’s mission. Join us as we live out this mission for our LGBTQIA members and students we serve. We also invite and affirm those who have intersectionality with other marginalized groups to utilize this space as a forum to share your ideas and grow. Our group not only will support our students, but give our members an intentional network with which to serve our own unique voice within EACE and build community.

For more information on the LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group, contact the group leads, Amy Smith and Steve Savitsky.

Neurodiversity Affinity Group

The mission of the Neurodiversity Affinity Group is to connect higher education career professionals as well as human resource and recruiting professionals, who are interested or currently dedicated to improving the employment rate for neurodivergent individuals. This affinity group will provide resources to educate career professionals and employers on neurodiversity, share best practices for career training and hiring processes, and build partnerships among higher education institutions and employers to develop career opportunities that promote inclusion for neurodivergent individuals in the workplace. The perspectives of neurodivergent self-advocates will be incorporated into best practices and resources for this affinity group.

For more information on the Neurodiversity Affinity Group, contact the group lead, Chiara Latimer

Latinx Affinity Group

The Latinx interest group provides space to discuss challenges and opportunities that exist for the Latinx community in career development. The mission of the group is to activate its members to motivate and propel the growth and success of Latinx individuals. The group will celebrate the nuances that exist between the 33 countries that are under the umbrella term Latinx, providing context for how these differences should be taken into consideration when employers, colleges, and universities create support structures and engage with these populations. Overall, this will be a space to educate, organize, and plan as well as execute approaches and strategies to move towards an equitable future for the Latinx community.

For more information on the LatinX Interest Group, contact the group lead, Tibisay Hernandez.

First-Generation Interest Group

The EACE First-Generation Interest Group provides a forum for higher education and recruiting professionals to connect and discuss opportunities, challenges, and strategies to support first-generation students during their college experience and as they enter the workforce. First-Generation students are defined typically as students who come from families where their parent/guardian did not complete a four-year college degree. This Group will serve as space for discourse and share resources on supporting, empowering, and ensuring the personal and professional success of these students and early career professionals.

For more information on the First-Generation Interest Group, contact the group leads, Jenny Nesenjuk and Luis Mercado.