Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The Slavic ERG — Building Belonging Through Culture and Community
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The Slavic ERG — Building Belonging Through Culture and Community
Season 1, Episode 53 — February 2026
26:01 min
This episode sits down with James, an ODHS eligibility worker approaching his 11th year, and Natalia, a leader within the Slavic Employee Resource Group, for a conversation that begins as a simple question — what does “Slavic” even mean? — and quickly opens into something much bigger. Through a warm, funny, very human exchange, they walk listeners through the scope of Slavic identity across multiple countries and cultures, and the practical reality that “Slavic” is not one language, one history, or one experience. It’s a wide umbrella — and understanding that umbrella is part of what the ERG exists to support.
From there, the episode explores what the Slavic ERG actually does: internal education for coworkers, mentoring support for state employees, and a steady drumbeat of community presence through events across Oregon. James and Natalia describe how ERG funding works, what it can and can’t be used for, and how much of their budget goes directly into showing up in the community — tables, outreach, and relationship-building that extends far beyond Portland into places like Bend, Klamath Falls, and eastern Oregon. In a state as geographically spread out as Oregon, they make the case that ERGs are not just affinity spaces; they can become bridges — between agencies and communities, between language and access, and between “being bilingual” and being truly bicultural.
At the heart of the conversation is the idea that even inside a shared label, there are real differences — different national histories, different dialects, and sometimes different political perspectives, especially in the shadow of war. James speaks candidly about the work of holding that complexity with care: making room for varied viewpoints while drawing a firm line when conflict becomes personal or targeted. The episode closes, as this series often does, with a reflection on Oregon itself — Natalia describing it as a place of safety and new roots, and James describing it as home — a state whose diversity of landscape mirrors the diversity of people now building lives here, on purpose, together.
Celebrity PSA for the Day: Getting to the “Grey” areas of CRM (13:54)
Credits
Hosts: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe — Communications
Shenika — Community Partnership Coordinator, District 10
Produced by: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe
Contact: Questions / feedback: [email protected]
View all episodes
By Oregon Department of Human ServicesSeason 1, Episode 53 — February 2026
26:01 min
This episode sits down with James, an ODHS eligibility worker approaching his 11th year, and Natalia, a leader within the Slavic Employee Resource Group, for a conversation that begins as a simple question — what does “Slavic” even mean? — and quickly opens into something much bigger. Through a warm, funny, very human exchange, they walk listeners through the scope of Slavic identity across multiple countries and cultures, and the practical reality that “Slavic” is not one language, one history, or one experience. It’s a wide umbrella — and understanding that umbrella is part of what the ERG exists to support.
From there, the episode explores what the Slavic ERG actually does: internal education for coworkers, mentoring support for state employees, and a steady drumbeat of community presence through events across Oregon. James and Natalia describe how ERG funding works, what it can and can’t be used for, and how much of their budget goes directly into showing up in the community — tables, outreach, and relationship-building that extends far beyond Portland into places like Bend, Klamath Falls, and eastern Oregon. In a state as geographically spread out as Oregon, they make the case that ERGs are not just affinity spaces; they can become bridges — between agencies and communities, between language and access, and between “being bilingual” and being truly bicultural.
At the heart of the conversation is the idea that even inside a shared label, there are real differences — different national histories, different dialects, and sometimes different political perspectives, especially in the shadow of war. James speaks candidly about the work of holding that complexity with care: making room for varied viewpoints while drawing a firm line when conflict becomes personal or targeted. The episode closes, as this series often does, with a reflection on Oregon itself — Natalia describing it as a place of safety and new roots, and James describing it as home — a state whose diversity of landscape mirrors the diversity of people now building lives here, on purpose, together.
Celebrity PSA for the Day: Getting to the “Grey” areas of CRM (13:54)
Credits
Hosts: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe — Communications
Shenika — Community Partnership Coordinator, District 10
Produced by: Dr. Bethany Grace Howe
Contact: Questions / feedback: [email protected]