YWCA Greater Lafayette Appoints Floyd Keith as Senior Director of Racial & Social Justice

YWCA Greater Lafayette has appointed Floyd Keith as the new Senior Director of Racial and Social Justice. This newly created position is made possible through a partnership with the City of Lafayette. The focus of this initiative is to establish, support, lead and manage efforts to identify and eliminate structural and systemic racism, and develop internal and external operations, thought leadership and educational offerings of YWCA’s Racial and Social Justice organizational imperative.YWCA Greater Lafayette is grateful to have the opportunity to collaborate with the City of Lafayette and Mayor Tony Roswarski. "The City of Lafayette is thrilled to be partnering with YWCA to provide a community resource for racial justice information and training for our community," states Mayor Tony Roswarski.  "This collaboration will provide the necessary resources for Greater Lafayette to obtain valuable information from YWCA, a reputable organization whose mission is to empower women and eliminate racism.  We look forward to working with Floyd Keith who will bring a tremendous amount of experience that will engage everyone as we battle racial injustice in our community.”President and CEO Lindsey Mickler stated, “Given Keith’s depth of experience, we are eager to have him as the Senior Director of Racial and Social Justice, and the opportunity to collaborate with key stakeholders in the community. YWCA Greater Lafayette is ready to embark on a challenging and necessary initiative using a multi-pronged approach to address equity, social justice and prevent gender violence.”In the last year, YWCA Greater Lafayette Board of Directors has re-examined how to best address the public health crisis of systemic racism.  YWCA Greater Lafayette Association Board Chair Beth Bangs stated that “out of these discussions came the vision for a new position to specifically address how we as an organization can best facilitate change and support those in our community who are affected by this crisis. The appointment of Keith is an exciting step in that direction.  Floyd brings a passion for bringing people together to work toward positive change.  I look forward to watching him bring that change to our community.”Keith will work with agencies and organizations locally and statewide to identify and address systemic racial disparities and support YWCA Greater Lafayette’s efforts to expand and bring diversity to Tippecanoe County’s overall populations and align YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women with other partner organizations.“I am excited about this opportunity to work with an advocacy organization such as YWCA Greater Lafayette.  Having the prospect to embrace YWCA’s mission is an intriguing and exhilarating task which is in line with my lifelong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Most importantly, this is another opportunity to stand up for justice and never block it’s path.”Keith will oversee a comprehensive organizational review to identify systemic racism in all YWCA programs and initiatives, and inventory systems in place that engender racial disparities. Additional responsibilities include reviewing and making recommendations regarding equality and diversity policies; reporting, gathering and analyzing data through a racial lens to determine the nature and scope of racial discrimination within the community; developing and conducting educational workshops to improve systems for inclusion in local and state government; and working with YWCA’s leadership to develop performance measures.Floyd Keith has accumulated forty-five (45) years of service and expertise in the sports profession with twenty-four (24) of those years in the capacity of high-level executive management. Previously, Floyd served for twelve (12) years as the Executive Director of the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) from 2001-2013.  Prior to BCA, he coached NCAA collegiate football for thirty (30) years as a head and assistant football coach on the Division 1 level.  Mr. Keith has been associated with and contributed to a continued pattern of success in both administration and coaching.Press Release   Floyd Keith Bio