THE WORKING GROUP

The Working Group (WG) is a committee of the Board of Directors.  The WG works in tandem with the Board, the TC and the USAF Administration. Its mission is to foster and promote inclusivity and diversity within the USAF, and to provide USAF instructors tools and information for addressing these issues within their dojos.

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Sharon Dominguez, New York Aikikai, is the Chair of the WG as well as a senior delegate and USA representative of the International Aikido Federation (IAF) Gender Balance Working Group. The WG is comprised of TC member Harvey Konigsberg, Woodstock Aikido, Board member Julia Freedgood, and Dojo-cho Christine Wong, Aikido of Santa Barbara and Arturo Peal, Aikido of New Orleans. 

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Some efforts the Working Group has been involved in include:

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Gender and equity training has been completed by the entire Board, Technical Committee members, the Technical Advisor, Administration, Consultants, and the Working Group.

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On-going production of USAF Aikido Online classes for adults and kids, featuring instructors within the diverse USAF community, and globally transmitted live on the USAF FaceBook page.

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A series of online conversations focusing on Gender, Equity, Race, and Implicit Bias have been initiated for USAF dojo-cho and instructors. The initial roundtable discussion on Race & Bias was well attended with over 80 participants.