Career Spotlight - Jamaal Thomas

Photo of Jamaal Thomas
Friday, July 31, 2020
What is your current role at Yale University?
 
I’m the Equity and Access Representative for Yale’s Office of Institutional Equity and Access and a Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Faculty and Staff.
 
What are your main responsibilities?
 
In my role, I work to help ensure that members of the Yale community have an equal opportunity to succeed in the classroom and workplace, by addressing concerns about alleged discrimination and harassment in violation of civil rights laws and Yale policy. This can involve an accommodation, climate assessment, formal investigation, or another remedy tailored to the needs of the individual raising concerns with my office. I also promote equity and inclusion for individuals with disabilities, by identifying and implementing reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities in our reasonable accommodation program. I also monitor personnel activities in order to ensure compliance with Yale policy and discrimination law. 
 
What do you like most about your work?
 
I appreciate the opportunity to help people in the Yale community get what they need to succeed at Yale - whether access to opportunities, resources, supports, or an improved working environment. 
 
How does your job affect your general lifestyle?
 
My job gives me the space to ensure that I have a healthy balance between work, family life, and outside interests. Although my workload can be intense, I’m still able to carve out time to cook, play with (and read to) my son, and spend time with my wife. I’ve even found time to do some volunteer work in the community. 
 
How did you begin your career?
 
I started my career as a court representative for a non-profit in New York City that provided alternatives to incarceration for young people involved with the criminal justice system. I advocated on behalf of young people for a program that provided alternatives to incarceration for adolescents facing incarceration. It was my first job out of college. I worked there until I entered law school, and later worked for the same organization as a Program Planner, Grant Writer, and their General Counsel before departing to work for Yale. 
 
What steps would you recommend one take to prepare to enter this field?
 
One of the best things about this line of work is that it attracts people from a wide range of backgrounds. In my time in this role, I’ve met talented people in this field who came from the Law, Human Resources, Student Affairs, Advocacy, University Compliance, etc. 
 
I think that someone interested in entering this field should familiarize themselves with the relevant civil rights and affirmative action laws and policies, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (among others). 
 
I would also recommend obtaining practical experience in conducting fair and neutral internal investigations in a higher education setting. It’s particularly important to become familiar with approaches to resolving these matters that are sensitive to the experiences of those involved (which are often traumatic). We often handle highly charged matters which are sensitive in nature, and it’s very important to minimize unnecessary stress (or retraumatization) during the interview/investigation process. There aren’t many informal ways to get this experience, but one could gain it through work in Human Resources or Student Affairs.
 
I think that a person who is interested in this work should also take the time to enhance their individual cultural competence to better understand their own identities. We are fortunate to work with an incredibly diverse population of students, staff, and faculty, and it’s important to adapt your approach to different groups of people. There are formal trainings and courses on the topic, but one could also engage in a lot of the work on their own by learning about themselves and different cultures. This can be used as an opportunity to acquire more formal knowledge about the communities they may work with at Yale, and to understand more about the role that culture plays in all of our lives. 
 
Although these steps are helpful, the most important thing one can do to develop cultural competence is to interact with diverse groups. Even if you have natural opportunities to interact with people from other groups in your personal or professional circles, joining one (or more) of Yale’s eight affinity groups for different staff populations can be a great opportunity to learn more about the perspectives of people from other communities. 
 
What skills, abilities, and personal attributes are essential to success in your job/this field?
 
There are many skills that are critical to success in my line of work. It’s important to be an active listener, to have strong interpersonal, writing, inductive reasoning, and speaking skills, and to have expertise in conflict resolution. We are asked to resolve difficult and unstructured problems that require creative thinking and strong decision making skills. 
 
All of the skills and abilities required for success in this field can be learned, but a strong commitment to independence, discretion, and fairness (both procedural and substantive) is critically important. Some of the people who come to our office have concerns about being treated differently because of who they are, others need options for support and accountability after a traumatic experience, and still others need a modification to their work environment (or practices/policies) due to a medical condition. All of them expect us to address their concerns with processes that are administered fairly and impartially. They need us to help ensure that they have consent and agency regarding who gets to hear their story and to be honest about the limits of confidentiality in our processes.
 
If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? If not, what would you change?
 
I would definitely choose the same path. Every choice that I made in my career has helped inform the work I do now. My work as a court advocate helped me learn the value of informed and honest advocacy for people who need support. My time as a planner taught me the importance of giving equal attention to multiple identities, experiences, and perspectives when facilitating conversations, resolving conflicts, and developing programs. My experience as a lawyer provided an ethical framework for my work as a professional and helped me hone the skills needed to conduct a neutral and impartial investigation. If I made a different set of choices, I think I would be worse off for it.
 
What does YAAA mean to you, and how have you contributed as a member of the steering committee?
 
YAAA means community to me. It’s an opportunity to connect and build community with folks of African descent from all walks of life and areas of the niversity. I have contributed as a member of the steering committee by leading YAAA’s Men’s Health Day initiative since 2015. The initiative involves blood pressure screenings in barber shops and community locations during Father’s Day weekend. Over the last five years, I partnered with some terrific individuals (special thanks to Moleek Saxton, Jonathan Bailey, Fallon Thomas, and Jose DeJesus) to expand our partnerships with community stakeholders and triple the number of community members screened. I’m looking forward to working with our planning committee on events that will empower African American and Latinx men in our community around health issues in the coming year.