Civil Rights

The City of Madison Department of Civil Rights has hired Kristy Kumar for the position of Equity & Social Justice Manager. This is a new position to lead a new division within the Department. Kumar officially starts in January and will report to Norman Davis, Civil Rights Department Director.

“I look forward to welcoming Ms. Kumar to Madison,” said Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, “Racial equity is a priority for my administration and I am looking forward to her leadership in this work.”

“Kristy Kumar is an experienced social justice organizer and program manager working to create anti-violent, joyful, and equitable communities,” said Norman Davis.

In addition to creating the Manager position, Mayor Rhodes-Conway also filled the vacant Equity Coordinator position by transferring Tariq Saqqaf, the Neighborhood Resource Team Coordinator, into a newly-defined, combined role. “Tariq has been involved in the racial equity and social justice initiative for several years and we are excited to see how he will bring his skills to this new role,” said the Mayor.

The new division will also include Jason Glozier, existing Disability Rights and Program Specialist, as well as language access programming--work that is key to advancing equity and social justice for our entire community.

Kumar will be leaving a job as Assistant Director at the Center for Students of Color at Brown University.

While at Brown, she created Nurturing Alignment, a skills building initiative that aligns social justice values with everyday practices. She also served as the Assistant Director of Educational Programs at the Women and Gender Advocacy Center at Colorado State University. There she led interpersonal violence prevention programming to create cultures of consent. She has served as a Fulbright Scholar in Malaysia and has worked with a number of organizations to lead anti-human trafficking efforts. Kristy received her M.A. in Human Rights focusing on race, gender, and equity from the University of Denver and a B.A. in Political Science and Global Poverty and Practices from the University of California, Berkeley. She's passionate about all things related to food and cooking, storytelling, and art as activism.

This hire was possible through the support of City staff and community members who are committed to racial equity.
Kumar will begin work January 4, 2021 and relocate to the Madison area by mid-March 2021.