Trainings

Training & Development

Training Updates for 2025-2026

 ✔  All of our trainings (excluding Racial Healing Circles, Lunch & Learns, and special programs) are available as self-guided classes.
 ✔  8 Hours of RESJ training are required each fiscal year.
 ✔  Our two current mandatory classes are: 'Advancing Racial Equity: The Role of Government' & 'Understanding Structural Racism in Montgomery County,' which must be taken every other fiscal year, starting July 2024. Both need to be taken within the same fiscal year.
 ✔  'Advancing Racial Equity: The Role of Government' gives you 4 hours of training and is a prerequisite for Understanding Structural Racism.
 ✔  'Understanding Structural Racism in Montgomery County' gives you credit for 4 hours of RESJ training (with the completion of a reflection form).
 ✔  Racial Healing Circles, Inclusive Language 101, Biases, Empathy, Inclusion-Creating an Environment of Belonging, Heart Leadership, ORESJ self-guided training, Unconscious Bias Self-Paced class, ORESJ department-approved trainings, and ORESJ Lunch & Learn programs also provide credit for RESJ trainings.

Training Offerings

Please check the ORESJ website and the Access MCG ePortal/Oracle for current training information. All of our trainings (excluding Racial Healing Circles, Lunch & Learns, and special programs) are available as self-guided modules and can be completed at your own pace.
Examples of our training:

 ✔  ORESJ self-guided training - 2 hours of RESJ training.
 ✔  Heart Leadership (NEW): a 2-hour training delves into the dynamics of heart leadership and how it relates to racial equity and social justice.
 ✔  Biases, Empathy & Inclusion-Creating an Environment of Belonging Course: a 2-hour training that unpacks the most important components of authentic belonging and how it manifests in the workplace.

Summer/Fall Training Dates

 ✔  Advancing Racial Equity: The Role of Government – MANDATORY – an introductory training on how we can begin to understand racial inequity in government and in our County through biases, systemic racism, psychology, and history - 4 hour RESJ training credit.
 ✔  Understanding Structural Racism in Montgomery County – MANDATORY – a Zoom that takes a deeper look at the systems that perpetuate racial inequity within our communities - 4 hours RESJ training credit with form (provided in registration and follow-up e-mail).
 ✔  Racial Healing Circles: a 1.5 journey of healing through storytelling, intention, and mindful listening.
 ✔  Inclusive Language 101: a 2-hour training course that covers how we can use language to bring people together and have meaningful conversations with one another by helping to create a safe space.
 ✔  Lunch & Learns: a 1-hour event around relevant topics related to racial equity & social justice.

Our Core Teams continue to work diligently in their respective departments using the GARE national practice model of normalizing, organizing, and operationalizing racial equity. Currently, we have Equity Leads who are leading the way through scheduled gatherings with their Core Teams, where race is explicitly identified as a focus of work in government. Our Core Teams receive training on biases, inclusive language, book clubs, racial healing circles, and field trips to historical sites in our County to support their journey toward racial equity and social justice. Our Leads are responsible for advancing equity in their departments and the community.
Some of these include:

  •  Office of Agriculture - Resource Guide for BIPOC Farmers
  •  Public Libraries – Diverse authors, no more late fees, multicultural events
  •  Department of Recreation – no more fees for recreation centers (if over 16)
 

Continuous professional development is crucial to our Equity Leads’ ability to facilitate challenging discussions about race. Nine Equity Leads and three Core Team members were able to participate in Leadership Montgomery’s REAL Inclusion Program. It is a cohort program that lasts about 9 months. Systemic beliefs, policies, and practices that create racial inequities are examined within the context of organizational leadership. Additional Equity Lead trainings have included:

Director Trainings

In an effort to bring department directors together to learn, engage with one another, and connect progress towards moving race equity forward as equity-minded leaders of their respective departments, directors have also participated in the two-day Racial Equity Institute Phase I Workshop and follow-up debrief sessions, facilitated by Leadership Montgomery.

General Staff Trainings

We are continuously monitoring the racial equity pulse of our County. As such, hate crimes are on the rise. Our work, including our training, takes on a greater importance both in the County and in our communities. We are committed to creating classes and programs that equip staff with a deeper understanding of systemic racism and actionable solutions. Ultimately, our vision of a more just Montgomery County starts with education and continues as a journey as we help employees take action on all they have learned.

Enrollment

If you are an employee and would like to participate in a current training being offered by our department, please enroll via Oracle. If you have any questions about any of our training offerings, please contact Jeanette Rojas at [email protected]