kthornton1@smcgov.org

With the hopes of escaping the Los Angeles heat and knowing no one, Kai Thornton arrived in the Bay Area in 2014. Much to his surprise, he was immediately immersed in a university setting that gave birth to his exposure to rich and diverse cultures. Kai developed connections with folx who encompassed a variety of ethnic/racial communities in the Bay Area which helped to cultivate the cultural awareness and humility that would come to inform much of his work. As Kai graduated and advanced in his career, he held various professional positions that promoted his understanding of how to speak with and engage with folx of different backgrounds, such as working at a group home for youth who were at risk and providing case management for folx in the special needs community for several years. Kai joined the Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) in 2022 as the Multicultural Organizational Development (MCOD) Program Coordinator II.  MCOD is an organizational change framework focused on building BHRS’s capacity to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging principles in the workplace. Kai is specifically proud of the efforts made towards changes reflected in decision making and power that embraces the entire workforce and community, while also highlighting their voices. In addition, Kai believes that some of the greatest impacts of his work and the work being done in ODE is in the Prevention and Early Intervention programs, such as cultural humility groups, the Parent Project (PP), the Health Ambassador Program (HAP), and cultural humility work done in collaboration with Dr. Melanie Tervalon. Kai reiterates that the ODE team is the “kindest and nicest team [which] pushes me to be a kinder and more gracious person.” Kai is greatly passionate and proud of his work towards decreasing marginalization and promoting representation. He would like to leave a lasting effect of always “opening doors, keeping them open, and taking them off the hinges.”