Laurice Walker was hired as Tucson's first chief equity officer.
The 28-year-old is now the youngest person in the U.S. who holds that position, KGUN 9 Tucson reported.
"There's going to be more narratives coming out for the city of Tucson, great narratives, and I want to be a part of that," Walker told KGUN 9 Tucson.
She previously worked for the city of Minneapolis, having spent six years in their diversity, equity and inclusion department, KGUN 9 Tucson reported.
"Around workforce, how they spend money, how do we use community engagement or public participation, and looking at our policies with an equitable lens," Walker said, describing her responsibilities in Minneapolis.
Throughout her youth in a Minneapolis suburb, Walker noticed that her race factored significantly into her interactions with others, KGUN 9 Tucson reported. This set her on her career path, which started out as representing minority groups at the local YMCA.
"Growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood as the only black girl on my tennis team, my gymnastics team, I always know there was something different and more complex," Walker said.
Walker is currently consulting with city leaders to make plans for the upcoming year, KGUN 9 Tucson reported. She will work alongside a team of three other people: an equity data analyst, an engagement manager and an executive assistant, KGUN 9 Tucson reported.
"I think this position is about putting an equity lens into all that we do," Tucson Mayor Regina Romero told KGUN 9 Tucson. "There's much that we can work on. For far too long we have seen areas of our city that haven't received an equitable amount of funding."