Judge: DEI makes work force stronger

May 21—HERMITAGE — As Tiiara N.A. Patton was growing up in Cleveland, winding up on the federal bench wasn't even on her career aspiration radar.

"I'm living my wildest dreams," she said Tuesday at the Shenango Valley Urban League DEI Breakfast. "That means I'm living my ancestors' wildest dreams."

Patton, a federal bankruptcy court judge in the Northern District of Ohio, was the event's special guest panelist at the DEI breakfast, where she took questions from Shenango Valley Urban League President/CEO Dr. Erin Houston and an audience of about 100 people.

Houston said DEI — an acronym referring to diversity, equity and inclusion — provides workplaces and society in general an opportunity for everyone to be open to a wide range of identities and ideas.

"This is an opportunity for employers, anyone to be inclusive of people who are different from them, people from different backgrounds," Houston said. "It's not just about race but also acceptance of people of different religions, genders, even if someone has a disability, being accepting of that. Just being open to new ideas that might be different from yours."

Workforce DEI, said Patton, is not hiring unqualified people to check off a box or fill a quota. It's changing the hiring process to hire qualified people who make the workplace more diverse, and provide more diverse perspectives that can be invaluable in solving problems.

"The thing that gets my goat is when I hear someone say, 'If they're qualified, they'll get the job," Patton said. "Being a diverse candidate never signifies that they're not qualified," she said. "It's not checking a box, it's adding value."

Patton, whose courtroom is in Youngstown, employs a wheelchair for mobility after a shooting when she was 14 years old. She said her experience gives her a different outlook and imbues her with empathy that comes in handy in the courtroom.

That applies even when she has to empathize with someone standing before her bench and has to rule against them.

"Every day, I get to see people who come into my courtroom at the worst time in their lives," Patton said. "I want them to know that they can be heard and respected."

She graduated from Central State University and earned her law degree from Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. She went on to serve as a clerk for several state and bankruptcy court judges, which was a key factor in her elevation to the federal bench in 2020.

"There are places and spaces and doors that were opened by people because they saw something in me," Patton said.

Even then, Patton said she was acutely aware when she found herself in spaces as the only one in the room.

"My dad didn't play golf or work a white-collar job that could provide me with the contacts that other people had," she said.

As a federal judge, Patton now hires her own law clerks.

"I remember being that young attorney being hired to do that work," the judge said. "That line in your resume opens so many doors. Now I have the opportunity to give opportunity."

If serving as a judge in the federal judiciary wasn't Patton's childhood aspiration, once that career was in her sights, she knew that there were no limits.

"I knew I was a rock star. I knew I was a superstar and no one was going to outwork me."