Chatham County's first Human Relations Director, Esther Coleman, begins job

By Debra Henzey
Posted Monday, January 7, 2008

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Esther B. Coleman Fills New Position

Pittsboro, NC - Chatham County's first Human Relations Director, Esther B. Coleman, joined the county on Jan. 2, 2008. The position was approved by the Board of Commissioners last year to promote better relationships between the county residents and to promote non-discrimination practices and policies throughout the county.

Coleman's new position is in the County Manager's Office and will be part of its Community Relations function, led by Debra Henzey. Coleman also will work very closely with the Human Relations Commission, which played the key role in securing the new position.

Henzey said that "my role of fostering better public understanding and involvement in county government goes hand in hand with Esther's efforts to promote positive relationships between various groups of residents. Esther is well qualified to assume this new role, and I look forward to working her with her."

Coleman is originally from Virginia, but now lives in Chatham County. She has extensive experience in promoting non-discrimination and human relations.

Since 1996, she served as director of instructional enhancement for Palm Beach County Schools (Florida), as an independent consultant to schools, as a personnel/ instructional specialist and teacher for Virginia Beach City Schools, as executive director of the American Association of School Personnel Administrators, and as director of personnel for Loudoun County Schools (Virginia).

"In these positions, I had the opportunity to develop programs and to offer workshops that promoted the hiring, retention and promotion of minority faculty and the fostering of an understanding between various racial groups in school systems," Coleman said.

"During my entire career, including my classroom teaching experience, I have been preparing for the human relations position in Chatham County," Coleman added.

Even her early years as a classroom teacher were critical. "That is where I had the chance to observe the development of human
relationships, including how young people start to develop values and beliefs about others," she said.

In working with Palm Beach County Schools, Coleman coordinated the Undoing Racism initiative, which addressed reducing discrimination barriers and involved both school employees and community members from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.

"This gave me a chance to learn more about the community's Latino and Haitian residents as well as various other ethnic and racial groups in the school system. Another project involved working with two low-performing schools with nearly 99% African-American and Latino populations to help them improve student achievement," Coleman said.

At the American Association of School Personnel Administrators, Coleman wrote several publications related to promoting non-discrimination and valuing diversity in school systems. During her five-year tenure, the organization also offered various seminars and conferences, including working with other national organizations to host a summit on increasing the number of teachers of color in the classroom.

For two years, Coleman managed her own consulting firm, which advised school systems and related groups on how to make sure teachers understand various cultural, ethnic, and racial groups.

Coleman said that starting a County Human Relations Office will be a challenging task involving several phases. "We cannot immediately do everything that an established human relations function does, so it will be important to learn from other offices across the state about how they got started."

A critical initial phase is to find out more about the current status of human relations in the county. Coleman said, "We need a clear picture of what the real human relations issues are before we can develop strategies to address them."

This will involve getting to know many people across the county and asking them to identify existing or emerging issues related to human relations, she added.

"I want to hear from residents of the county if they have been involved in or have seen evidence of discrimination or know about suspected hate crimes or conflicts between various groups in the county. This information will be compiled and documented."

Even though the office may take some time to evolve, Coleman said that she is excited about the work ahead. "Helping people better understand and get along with others who are different than themselves has countless benefits for all of us. A united community promotes better schools, a more attractive place for businesses to locate, and a better quality of life."

Coleman can be reached at 545-8393

[where: 27312, 27514]