New city Diversity, Equity, Inclusion coordinator presents plans, goal to Malden City Councillors

Kashawna Harling has been on board since November in new DEI role

By Steve Freker

Kashawna Harling is not new to the city of Malden, but is several months into a different role serving and supporting residents of the community.

Harling has dealt with hundreds of Malden teens, young adults and others in the past several years as coordinator of the municipal Career Services office, as well as directly supervising the Mayor’s Youth Summer Employment Program (MYSEP).

In November 2023, Harling was hired as the city’s new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Coordinator, a post that had been vacant for much of 2023.

At the request of several Malden City Councillors, Harling appeared before the Council recently and outlined her plans and goals in her new role.

Chief among her goals, Harling said, is outreach— both to city staff and also the community.

“I want to make sure everyone who needs a resource has one in me if they want to discuss anything, if it’s a complaint, a suggestion or to express a need for assistance through a resource,” Harling told the Councillors at a recent meeting.

The new Malden DEI Coordinator, who is part of the staff of the office of Mayor Gary Christenson, said another key goal is to include as many people in possible in the outreach plans.

To that end, Harling and the Mayor’s Office staff recently hosted a well-attended public meeting in the Council Chamber on DEI, explaining what DEI actually is and the ways in which the community can access information and services in this realm.

“We want to reach out to more staff as well as more community members— more than just the same faces,” Harling said. She told the Councillors she has made survey forms available to many different groups around the community to try and formulate a database of contacts and information about exactly what people might be seeking from her as the DEI Coordinator.

Harling said she also intends to plan her own events from the Mayor’s Office as well as participate in others in the community.

Councillors At-Large Carey McDonald and Karen Colon Hayes and Council President Steve Winslow all commended Harling on her presentation and encouraged her to move forward on the goals she had put out for their information.

“We appreciate the work and presence you have already established with the Racial Equity Commission and what you plan on doing in the future,” Councillor McDonald said. “DEI is really always a responsibility for me as a City Councillor and for all of us Councillors. It is also exciting for Malden to be a part of the new regional consortium on racial equity (REACH) which will keep us up-to-date on best practices and DEI strategies.”