For someone in charge of a county government program under ferocious attack by the federal government, Esi Lewis was upbeat and cheerful in our phone call.

Now starting her third year as Ulster County’s Chief Diversity Officer and tagged – unavoidably, in the current political climate – with the controversial DEI acronym, Lewis was hired by County Executive Jen Metzger in 2023 “to ensure that equity, diversity, and inclusion are guiding values in how we operate and what we do as a county government.”

For years now, the current president has denounced programs like Ulster's as fraudulent and un-American. In an executive order on January 21, diversity, equity and inclusion programs were deemed merely disguises for “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences.” The feds are using slash-and-burn management and “cost-cutting” techniques to obliterate such programs at every level of government.

Lewis's ‘office’ has a staff of one: Lewis, a non-practicing attorney and New Paltz town board member. Formerly the county's chief personnel officer, she and her office were elevated by Metzger to cabinet-level status in January 2023, at a salary of just under $85,000.

“So how does it feel to be Public Enemy Number One?” we asked.

“It's never great to be a target,” Lewis replied. “But most importantly I'm concerned for all of the vulnerable groups that we represent and all of the strides that we've made.” On the other hand, she said, “I'm hopeful that this new light on DEI will bring some more awareness and the need for it. I hope it'll bring [that] instead of just negativity.”

Asked about her office's accomplishments in the past two years, she pointed to the county's June 2023 decision to waive fees for applicants taking civil service exams. “That means opening the door to opportunity to more people who might not be able to take the exam but may be qualified,” she said.

Lewis cited the county's Think Differently initiative of October 2023, to create greater accessibility, acceptance, and safety for county residents with disabilities and “special needs.” Lewis has been developing an inventory of county agencies and services for the program and a website to create “a one-stop center for available resources.” Some recent studies show that such individuals may make up as much as one-quarter of the nation's population.

Lewis also touted the county's rehabilitation of the former Rodeway Inn, now Kingston Motel, for use as emergency housing. “We upgraded it to be specifically for our unhoused families, which included a playground, a library for after school summer activities,” she said.

Housing needs may strike some as far afield from the core of DEI. But Lewis said inclusion and diversity also includes “different socioeconomic status... I have to make sure that all of our residents are getting what it is that they need.”

Smaller things like the presence of ASL and Spanish-language interpreters at County Executive Jen Metzger's annual State of the County address are also the result of Lewis's advocacy. Such practices aren't unheard of, but Lewis hopes to see it become “commonplace.”

“I don't take credit for things just by myself,” Lewis noted. “But even if it's my idea, it needs to be brought out through our communications team... People now know what it is we need to do. So, I don't always have to say, ‘Hey, we need translation,’ because people already know it's part of what we do.”

Lewis's charter includes mandatory DEI training for all county employees. This reporter reviewed the training's interactive online module. Anyone expecting to find it comparable to the brainwashing sessions of the Great Cultural Revolution is in for a big disappointment. In fact, it's closer to Miss Manners than Chairman Mao – a series of enactments of social situations in which common respect for individual differences saves the day.

Legislator Joe Maloney of Saugerties was half right when he recently complained that the trainings “treat people like children.” If only our children were raised with a grasp on mutual respect.

Lewis said her efforts have been well received throughout the county and by local officials on every level of government.

“There are some mixed feelings, unfortunately, everywhere we go,” she told us. “But for the most part, we are well received ... I was just in Ellenville on Saturday for a breakfast with some of the churches and the NAACP. I've recently been recruiting for our Human Rights Commission in Marlboro, and so we are always thinking about all of the different corners of our county.”

What does she say to critics who question just what the public gets in return for her use of public money? How does one quantify the results? By email, Lewis replied: “Diversity, equity and inclusion creates happier, healthier, more productive service providers and community members. We can quantify the results with feedback from our residents and workforce.”

As for the common complaint that DEI is just “reverse discrimination,” Lewis offered a different perspective.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion seeks to rebalance power and ensure that those who have been historically disempowered or deprived of equal opportunities – including people of color, women, differently-abled individuals, and LGBTQIA+ individuals – are given a fair and equitable chance to succeed. This does not equate to discriminating against historically dominant groups.”

“I do think that people can misuse anything,” Lewis said in a phone call. “Shrinking it down to DEI, many people don't even know what the acronym stands for. And even when they know the words, they might not know exactly what they mean... To give more opportunities to everyone, reaching every corner of the county and age and ability and all of these things... It is to have a better, stronger, smarter, more productive workforce, more healthy, happy people within the county.”

Regarding looming fiscal threats from D.C, Lewis said that her office doesn’t rely on federal funds, but many of the agencies she works with, like the county's Office of Employment & Training and its Crime Victims Assistance Program, do. “That could hurt,” she said. “But we are going to be about the work to be sure that everyone has a seat at the table, feels welcome and has a fair shake at a healthy, productive life here in Ulster County.”

The federal Department of Justice has trained its sights on all DEI programs everywhere and sued state officials over DEI-adjacent policies like New York State's Green Light Law, which allows undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses. But Lewis hasn't been sued. Yet.

“This is where being left out is a wonderful thing,” she said.