HealthCare Access Maryland (HCAM) is thrilled to announce a brand-new position within our organization: Director of Training, Equity, and Inclusion. On Monday, November 29th, 2021, Joshua Morris, a longtime HCAM staff member with the Connector program, was promoted to Director of Training, Equity, and Inclusion. Joshua began his career with HCAM in 2015 as a Certified Navigator and in 2017 was promoted to Certified Navigator Team Lead for Baltimore City. Joshua is also the Chair of the Diversity Committee at HCAM and has served in this role for almost three years, bringing together HCAM staff to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion throughout the organization. 

As part of the organization’s larger strategic plan, HCAM is dedicated to focusing on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) across all areas of the agency. This includes addressing structural racism in alignment with our programmatic goals. Across our programs, HCAM recognizes we must address and dismantle the systemic barriers experienced by our clients to improve their access to care. This position will focus on working closely with Health Equity leaders across the city and will work to increase training opportunities for our staff. This newly added position will be grounded in DEI practices and oversee the implementation of training curriculum for HCAM staff, which include trauma-informed care, cultural competency, HIPAA, Mental Health First Aid, conflict resolution, and evidence-based practices.

“I’m both thrilled and honored to take on the role of HCAM’s Director of Training,  Equity, and Inclusion! Together, I know that our team and community partners will  foster a culture where education extends beyond the norm and ingrains awareness, ally-ship, and action to support our vision for DEI.” – Joshua Morris

HCAM looks forward to the growth of the organization as a whole, especially for our individual staff members. With this new position, a larger and more strategic focus on training for staff members will be front and center, along with prioritization to increase DEI efforts within the organization. 

Traci Kodeck, HCAM’s CEO, shared the following: “We are proud to hire our first Director of Training, Equity, and Inclusion to facilitate our training curriculum and DEI strategic plan. Joshua floored the interview panel with his thoughtful and passionate ideas regarding this position. As he stated in his interview, this would be a ‘dream job’ for him. We are honored to have Joshua as part of our leadership team.”