Falmouth's Recently Hired Diversity Officer Announces Resignation
Five months after beginning her role as Falmouth’s first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer, Jacquelyn (Jacki) Hartman has announced that she will be stepping down at the end of the month.
Ms. Hartman, who confirmed her resignation yesterday, March 3, moved to Falmouth from New York City with her husband after his Boston-based family introduced her to Cape Cod during the early stages of the pandemic.
She would not say why she is resigning.
An increase in interest and discussion surrounding the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion led to the official approval of the position at Falmouth’s June 2020 Town Meeting. Ms. Hartman told the Enterprise in October that she was interested in the position after reading an article about the town’s desire for such a position and applied immediately when the job was officially posted. She was hired just before the start of the 2021 school year.
The school department was pleased when Ms. Hartman was hired, with Superintendent Lori S. Duerr saying she was “ecstatic” to have someone filling that role in the Falmouth school district.
During her tenure as DEI officer, Ms. Hartman worked directly under the administrative direction of both Ms. Duerr and Town Manager Julian Suso.
“I am delighted to have a person of Jacquelyn Hartman’s education and experience join us as the Town of Falmouth’s first diversity, equity, and inclusion officer,” Mr. Suso said upon her hiring in September.
During her five months working for the town and school district, Ms. Hartman met with community members to build trust under the DEI umbrella within different stakeholder communities and was working on creating new DEI initiatives in town.
“I do have a lot of ideas for the future,” Ms. Hartman told the school committee in December.
Mr. Suso said yesterday that the town will be in discussion with both the school department and the select board to assess the situation and determine the next steps.