Lady Idos, deputy director and head of the DOE Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility, spoke to Sandians about how the nation’s largest employer, “the federal government, must model practices where all employees are treated with equity and respect.”

Idos, who uses the pronouns she and they, presented virtually June 21 as part of the Sandia Pride Alliance Network’s Pride Blitz.

Idos began the presentation by discussing their role in conducting a plan to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

To develop the DOE’s strategy, Idos helped perform an internal analyses that identified areas of improvement, an external analysis that provided feedback on the self-assessment and finally in implementing a governmentwide plan. Idos said the team mapped out clear goals, which included requiring hiring managers to complete training on inclusive hiring, promoting paid internships and establishing an employee resource group for disability inclusion.

Idos also spoke about how to transition the country’s energy system without exacerbating social, economic or health inequality, emphasizing the concept of energy justice. They discussed how the concept has become a priority for the federal government and reviewed a series of recent executive orders with the goal of increasing equity in the clean energy transition.

Before assuming their current role, Idos served as the chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where they developed and implemented a labwide comprehensive IDEA strategy.

Idos has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco, a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a diversity and inclusion certificate from Cornell University. Recognized for their outstanding contributions, Idos received the prestigious 2022 U.S. Secretary of Energy Achievement Award. They were honored for their instrumental role as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Standup Team.