Note from the COO

Ellen Collins
Ellen Collins
Chief Operations Officer
MS Alliance

Greetings Friends, 

It’s summertime. Many a song has been written about the mellow, long days of sunshine.  Whether you’re finding that the living is easy or have chosen to sit back and unwind,  I hope you all have found some time for rest and relaxation this season – all while celebrating our nation’s Independence Day in July and uplifting our LGBTQ+ friends in June during Pride Month.

At the Alliance, summer is an excellent time for planning, building, and enhancing our programs and services for you, our members.  We have listened to your feedback.  Your experience matters to us, and as a result, you will see some updates and changes in several of our signature programs. As we work to become more representative of the issues facing the communities we serve, we have begun to lean into the work of creating a robust diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging (DEIAB) framework.  

Later this summer, using feedback that we have received from you, the Alliance will begin a series of internal meetings and evaluation to reflect on our roles and responsibilities. We will develop strategies that we think will best support our members as we work together to create more just and equitable communities throughout our state.  We are excited about this process and look forward to sharing more with you in the coming monthsl.

In early fall, we will begin a series of forums around the state and look forward to seeing friends and colleagues in person, as health advisories allow.  Be on the lookout for more information regarding this.  In the meantime, kick back, enjoy the slower pace, and gear up for a transformative year ahead.

All my best,

Ellen

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