Multiethnic Resource Team (MERT)

A MERT is an internal leadership team whose members are advocates of racial and ethnic reconciliation in a local context. Its members must first be learners of the reconciliation process and, as a team, must be willing to model the diversity behavior in which you are calling others to participate. In short, the MERT must be a committed core community who are the first partakers of racial righteousness and ethnic diversity.

Multiethnic leadership development is an essential service Salter McNeil & Associates provides to campus and academic leaders. The MERT is one of the primary vehicles through which this development occurs. A highly functioning MERT is essential for the establishment of sustainable change that can transform the culture of a college or university.

A MERT team is an essential resource for any leader who wants sustainable change. The MERT team can augment and support the efforts of leadership and work collectively to create a community of racial reconciliation.

A successful MERT is a guiding coalition of diverse individuals who are

• role models
• representative of various constituents
• empowered by a pastor or president
• committed to diversity and reconciliation

As a collective, they are equipped to provide advocacy, consulting and trouble-shooting for their organization, institution or church. They help to steer the institution away from cosmetic or superficial changes and towards a deep-seeded cultural shift that reflects a biblical understanding of ethnic diversity, racial reconciliation and cultural competence.

Salter McNeil & Associates, LLC will work with the existing diversity committee to help this group provide leadership, coordination and communication regarding cultural and ethnic diversity initiatives on campus, and will provide training to the diversity committee in leadership development, intercultural communication, conflict resolution and team building.