Salt Lake County— Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson announced the appointment of Efren Corado Garcia, as the new diversity affairs officer for Salt Lake County. Among many other duties, Garcia will oversee the Mayor’s Council on Diversity Affairs (CODA) and the implementation of the Council’s recently completed Action Plan. The Council, now chaired by Pastor Corey Hodges, is comprised of diverse community members who work side-by-side with county employees to shape equitable policies around housing, criminal justice, healthcare, and other essential services. Garcia said,

“I am honored to hold such a critical position. I look forward to continuing to strengthen relationships established by those who have spent years laying the building blocks at Salt Lake County and look forward to the work that is yet to come. Our goal is to reach for common ground with fairness, optimism, and reverence to the injustices we have faced over the years and during the challenges of 2020.”

In 2018 Garcia joined the Salt Lake County Division of Arts & Culture as the Arts for All program coordinator. He partnered with organizations serving Salt Lake County and promoting inclusivity and access to the arts for residents in areas ranging from homelessness, mental health, veterans’ affairs and the economically challenged. When COVID-19 closed performing arts venues, Garcia voluntarily redeployed to the Salt Lake County Health Department to support the county’s Quarantine and Isolation Unit serving vulnerable populations. He acted as a shelter site lead managing safety policy, client care, and staff training.

Garcia, a Guatemalan native found his love for the arts in Southern California. Salt Lake City became his home after attending the University of Utah to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree and a Laban Movement analyst certification. He taught at the University of Utah, Utah Valley University, and worked for Utah Humanities before joining Repertory Dance Theater. Garcia has served as an appointee to the Salt Lake City Arts Council Board for the past five years. He has worked to highlight the need to decentralize traditional standards measuring distribution of resources to under-represented communities. “Efren’s background including his work with the creative community will help us reexamine equity, diversity, and inclusion by identifying the intersectionality of our shared experiences,” said Mayor Wilson. “By stepping onto the front line of COVID-19 response, Efren demonstrated the strength of his character and put into action his commitment toward Salt Lake County’s goal of delivering every county service through a lens of equity, diversity, inclusion, and access.”

Garcia’s first day is Monday, January 11.