Allentown hires equity and inclusion coordinator

The City of Allentown now has an equity and inclusion coordinator. 

Mayor Matt Tuerk announced this week that he has named Lucinda Wright to the newly created position. She will begin in the new role starting May 1. 

Wright has served as Allentown’s special events coordinator or the past four years.  

In her role she helped plan and coordinate special events that occur in the city including Juneteenth, the Halloween Parade, and Lights in the Parkway. 

As equity and inclusion coordinator, Wright will work to help the city nurture a supportive and inclusive workplace by assessing each department for inclusivity and belonging, make recommendations for improvement, and assist managers with implementation.  

She will also assist the City’s Human Relations Commission in collaborating with organizations across Allentown as they work through their progress in the diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging space. 

 “Our equity and inclusion coordinator will need to lead change in Allentown,” said Tuerk. “Lucinda is the perfect candidate for this position partly because she knows this community, and also because she’s demonstrated an ability to lead change in a large organization.” 

 Prior to working for the City, Wright served as the assistant director at Bright Futures, a local early learning center, for more than a decade. Her work focused on inclusive classroom settings and early intervention for children who displayed developmental delays or behavioral concerns. 

 In her action plan, she created a mentorship program at the center that facilitated additional specialized training for employees in the early childhood setting and established inclusive practices through partnership with local organizations. 

Wright, who was born and raised in Allentown, is bilingual and attended both Allen and Dieruff High Schools and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Muhlenberg College Wescoe School of Continuing Education. 

The city is currently hiring a special events manager to fill the position she is leaving.