Paul Slack Named Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) named Paul Slack as vice president of Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, a newly-created position that serves on the LSS Cabinet and reports directly to the CEO. Slack joined Lutheran Social Service in 2019 as its Social Justice Advocate prior to being promoted to Social Justice Advocacy Manager. Previously, he served for several years as a consultant to the organization.
“Paul has been instrumental in building and strengthening relationships in communities currently served by LSS, and in communities where LSS is expanding services and establishing a greater physical presence,” said Patrick Thueson, CEO of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. “He has worked with our Advocacy team at the State Capitol, formed alliances with other social service organizations and established relationships with key community leaders. Internally, Paul has led more than 100 Social Justice dialogues to better-equip leaders, served on the LSS Anti-Racism Taskforce and led a variety of important partnerships across our services. I am thrilled to welcome Paul to the LSS Cabinet in this new and critically-important role.”
In his new position, Slack will be building on the organization’s work to identify and implement ways to improve current practices and promote LSS’ values and commitment to diversity, inclusion and social justice.
He will also be collaborating internally on recruitment and development strategies to ensure equity and opportunity, foster relationships with diverse external organizations, partners and vendors and monitor reporting systems to benchmark progress.
“The global response to George Floyd’s murder has engaged a moral compass and spiritual awakening, making racial and social reform uniquely possible,” Slack said. “Since this nation’s founding, policies and practices that unfairly advantage one identity over non-white and non-male identities have been embedded in America’s systems. LSS is uniquely positioned to pursue a social justice that repeals the racial and social inequities which robbed us of incredible human ingenuity and carve out a path where people of every identity can inform our democracy, thrive without obstruction, and co-create a world that reflects a positive image of themselves.”
Before joining Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, Slack served in pastoral ministries for more than 30 years in several regions of the U.S., most notably as founder and pastor of New Creation Church in Minneapolis. He has also served as president of the board of directors for ISAIAH, a multi-racial, state-wide, nonpartisan coalition of faith communities fighting for racial and economic justice in Minnesota.
More recently, he was selected to serve on the Cultural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council (CECLC). This council advises the Commissioner of Human Services on reducing disparities and inequities that affect cultural and ethnic communities throughout Minnesota.
Slack holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Point Loma Nazarene College in San Diego, California and a Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Massachusetts. Residents of Minneapolis, Slack and his wife, Dedra, have two adult sons who are both teachers.