After nearly three years of service to the City of San Diego and Mayor Todd Gloria’s administration, which included building a first-of-its-kind equity framework, Chief Race and Equity Officer Kim Desmond has been recruited to take on race and equity work internationally with a global nonprofit organization.

“It is with a mix of pride and sadness that we bid our esteemed Chief Race and Equity Officer, Kim Desmond, best wishes as she takes on an influential role conducting race and equity work on the international stage," said Mayor Gloria. "Since she joined the City of San Diego, Kim has facilitated groundbreaking programs, policies, and dialogue that have fundamentally reshaped how the City approaches equity and inclusion. Thanks to her work, equity is engrained in everything we do – from policymaking to budgeting. While we will greatly miss her contributions and her presence, we are incredibly proud of all the work she has done and the difference she had made, and we are eager to see the impact she will make globally in her new role.”

In her role as Chief Race and Equity Officer and leader of the Department of Race and Equity, Desmond led the effort to integrate equity into Council Policy 800-14, removing subjectivity from budget decisions to eliminate disparities in City infrastructure projects. She also partnered with City departments to create the budget equity process to systematically integrate an equity lens into all aspects of the budget process.

To ensure that all 12,000 City employees are prepared to deploy an equity mindset, Desmond led an initiative to provide training to all employees to build their understanding of historic oppression, systemic racism, and implicit and explicit biases, providing them with the skills to identify and eliminate disparities. She also partnered with all 30 departments to create individual Tactical Equity Plans, which set goals and identify discrete objectives that each department can follow to eliminate equity gaps. 

Desmond’s last day with the City will be Aug. 6. Mayor Gloria’s administration will announce an interim Chief Race and Equity Officer in the coming days. To fill the position permanently, the City will conduct a national search.