Caught between two governments: Whistleblower says Colorado’s DEI system collides with a federal ban
By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice
When managers in the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) logged into their Nov. 6 virtual meeting, the agenda read like a standard operational update. But on the list sat two items that created angst: the statewide EDI/Colorado for All report due in December and the launch of a 2026 Inclusive Leadership cohort.
Those initiatives, part of Colorado’s expanding equity and inclusion system, set the stage for a clash with a different set of requirements now coming from D.C.
The moment in the meeting
Rich Guggenheim, the program manager who oversees plant certification inspections for Colorado’s nursery and seed industries, signs off on several USDA pest survey grants. When Inclusive Leadership came up, he ...

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