Sierra Hatfield is a biracial Appalachian woman dedicated to embedding equity within systems that were not designed to sustain it. During the day, she is the Equity Systems Manager for the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan where she writes policies, investigates internal allegations of harassment, and helps foster a workplace culture that normalizes, organizes, and operationalizes racial equity for over 1,600 City employees. She is the youngest person in the history of the City to hold this position, and her leadership is characterized by a deep commitment to support staff to sustain equity methodologies, to work in partnership with other departments and community groups to increase their sense of belonging, and to use play and people-centered innovation to make public service delivery “better.” When Sierra is not working, you will find her teaching and performing with Great Lakes Circus Center and the nonprofit she founded, Grand Rapids Circus Project, which seeks to increase racial equity in circus arts. She is an alumna of the University of Kentucky with a degree in Political Science.
