Taylor-Watson Joins U.S. Figure Skating as Organization’s First Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (Aug. 4, 2021) - In mid-July, U.S. Figure Skating welcomed Kadari Taylor-Watson as the organization’s first Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In the role, Taylor-Watson will work alongside U.S. Figure Skating staff, Board of Directors and Committee leadership to identify, promote and implement programs to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the organization and throughout the skating community.

The creation of this new position for the

organization was the result of work that began during the summer of 2020 with the formation of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group appointed by Anne Cammett, President of U.S. Figure Skating’s Board of Directors. The 14-member Working Group, formed on June 15, 2020, presented five key initiatives to the Board of Directors in early September of 2020 as a result of their work. The board unanimously supported the recommendations of the Working Group, creating the “Five Pillars” of U.S. Figure Skating’s DEI focus (Education, Outreach and Support, Representation, Data Collection, and Professional DEI Staff), which included the creation of a standing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force and the addition of a fulltime staff position that will focus on helping U.S. Figure Skating become a more welcoming organization for all.

“During the past year, we have had honest and frank conversations, reviewed policies and procedures and taken many much-needed steps,” said Cammett. “There remains much work to be done, we are thrilled to welcome Kadari to the U.S. Figure Skating family. We look forward to the leadership she will provide and to working closely with our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force as we continue moving the organization in the right direction of becoming more welcoming to everyone.”

Prior to joining U.S. Figure Skating, Taylor-Watson, who is a doctoral candidate at Purdue University, spent two years at the Third Future School network in Colorado Springs, and has over 10 years of experience researching and teaching systematic inequalities at the university level.

“I’m excited to get to work developing strategic initiatives aimed at accomplishing the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion goals,” Taylor-Watson said. “In my first few weeks, I’ve been learning about the history of the sport and the organization, and look forward to helping both better serve and reach all communities. We need to develop practices, programs and policies that empower all people to skate as they are.”

 

 

-U.S. Figure Skating-

U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the International Skating Union. In 2021, the organization is commemorating its Centennial Celebration, highlighting the contributions of its members, clubs and supporters since 1921. U.S. Figure Skating is comprised of 600 member clubs, collegiate clubs, school-affiliated clubs and more than 1,000 registered Learn to Skate USA programs representing more than 186,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.