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ERGs and ODHS: “Humberto Nation of MiGente Goes Beyond the Acronym”
Season 1, Episode 31: Dec. 10, 202530 min, 28 sec.
What’s inside The Big Picture
This week, The Big Picture heads to Corvallis for a conversation with benefit eligibility worker and Mi Gente ERG chair Umberto Nation, who breaks down what ERGs are really meant to do. He explains how they began as a way to bridge communities who often view government as distant, and the ODHS staff who share their cultural background and language.
Umberto highlights the internal side of ERGs—recruiting, supporting, and promoting members of underrepresented communities—and the external work of showing up locally, hearing real concerns, and bringing that insight back to the agency. He also shares how ERGs stepped up during COVID-19 to reach people who might otherwise have been cut off from critical information.
The episode reflects on why these groups matter now, especially as some states move away from them, and how they help ODHS stay connected, informed, and human in its service to Oregonians.
Credits Hosts: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe — Communications Shenika — Community Partnership Coordinator, District 10
Produced by Dr. Bethany Grace Howe
Contact Questions / feedback: [email protected]
And in our Celebrity-SA: “Neil Before the Awesomeness of the SAGP’s… (16:51)
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By Oregon Department of Human ServicesSeason 1, Episode 31: Dec. 10, 202530 min, 28 sec.
What’s inside The Big Picture
This week, The Big Picture heads to Corvallis for a conversation with benefit eligibility worker and Mi Gente ERG chair Umberto Nation, who breaks down what ERGs are really meant to do. He explains how they began as a way to bridge communities who often view government as distant, and the ODHS staff who share their cultural background and language.
Umberto highlights the internal side of ERGs—recruiting, supporting, and promoting members of underrepresented communities—and the external work of showing up locally, hearing real concerns, and bringing that insight back to the agency. He also shares how ERGs stepped up during COVID-19 to reach people who might otherwise have been cut off from critical information.
The episode reflects on why these groups matter now, especially as some states move away from them, and how they help ODHS stay connected, informed, and human in its service to Oregonians.
Credits Hosts: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe — Communications Shenika — Community Partnership Coordinator, District 10
Produced by Dr. Bethany Grace Howe
Contact Questions / feedback: [email protected]
And in our Celebrity-SA: “Neil Before the Awesomeness of the SAGP’s… (16:51)