offers MSD Community Benefits Agreement
The Metropolitan Sewer District’s $1.6 billion construction and maintenance project will create more than 25,500 jobs over the next four years.
~ Page 6 ~
Michelle Tucker speaks up for diversity at Bank of America
Michelle Tucker,a manager at Bank of America,is not quiet about being a leader.
~ Page 17 ~
Overall,820,000 worker hours have gone into the new $670 million Mississippi River Bridge project’s various segments,and 23 percent have gone to minority workers and 4.9 percent to female workers.
Darryl Chatman’s amazing journey from Jennings to Armstrong Teasdale
Banking on change to benefit the community
Cynthia Jordan,vice president and community affairs manager at Regions Bank and part of the risk management division,says Regions is the most diverse financial institution she has ever been part of.
~ Page 41 ~ CYNTHIA JORDAN
Maximizing human resources in public schools
Jason Que Purnell,Ph.D., returns as psychologist at Wash.U.Brown School
~ Page 27 ~
New $670M Mississippi River Bridge comes with federal workforce mandates
By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American
“There is a whole lot more than just the trade workers that benefit from this project.”
When the new Mississippi River Bridge opens in 2014, it shouldn’t need any significant renovation for another 100 years, designers say. Originally, people thought that the $670 million project – a cable-stayed bridge that will move Interstate 70 off the Poplar Street Bridge – was the chance of a century to get construction workers back to work. In 2010, the St. Louis Regional
– Gregory Horn,MODoT
Chamber and Growth Association said the construction would generate 1,500 jobs a year through 2014, according to a St. Louis PostDispatch report. In 2008, then Governor Matt Blunt said, “It will create thousands of jobs initially; tens of thousands more will benefit from the
By Sandra Jordan Of The St.Louis American
Nearly a dozen medical students from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee are spending the summer conducting medical research at Washington University in St. Louis.
Koong-Nah Chung, Ph.D., associate dean and director of the Office Medical Student Research and Roz Robinson, program coordinator in the office at Washington University School of Medicine received a $30,000 WUSTLdiversity and inclusion grant that is being used to pay each student a stipend for their work and provide campus housing while participatingin the Washington University School of Medicine Summer Research Program.
“It’s two to two-and-a-half months of full-time research,” Chung said.
“His interest in learning led Mr.Chatman to complete an undergraduate research project that became the foundation for a project that my lab supported for over 10 years.”
– Dr.Jim Spain
When Khampee Kells faced deportation to her native Thailand after the sudden death of her American husband, Armstrong Teasdale’s Darryl Chatman was there to ease her mind and give her legal counsel. As a member of the firm’s litigation team providing free legal help to Kells, Chatman conducted key research and assisted with court briefs. The case became part of a national effort aimed at ending what was known as the “Widow Penalty.” This was a controversial government policy that had forced the deportation of immigrant widows and widowers for over 70 years. In September 2009, a Missouri federal judge ruled in Kells’favor, striking down the law. In the months that followed, Congress voted to abolish the law and the U.S. government said it would give up its fight to maintain the penalty. KSDK interviewed
Holmes: ‘African Americans will be able to compete effectively for these jobs’
By Chris King
Of The St.Louis American
When Express Scripts Inc. completed its $29.1 billion acquisition of Medco Health Solutions Inc. on April 2, Express Scripts became both the largest national employer in the St. Louis region and the largest pharmacy benefits manager nationwide – by far –with more than $100 billion in annual revenue.
Last year, Medco (the largest pharmacy benefits manager, or PBM) had $70 billion in revenue and Express Scripts (the third-largest PBM) had $46 billion in revenue.
The Federal Trade voted 3 to 1 in favor of the deal, which has raised anti-trust concerns.
Express Scripts is headquarted at North Park in North County, adjacent to the campus of the University of Missouri –St. Louis . The location alone raises hopes for a positive economic impact on the black community.
“In the African-American community, we have to ask the advantage question – where am I in this?” said Mike Jones. “St. Louis is going to be bigger and stronger in one of the most prominent industries in the country. The question is, how do we take that and begin to figure out what our participation can or should be?”
U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay represents Missouri’s majorityblack 1st Congressional District, where Express Scripts is located.
“We hope the hierarchy of the company will reflect the makeup of this community and that their corporate giving also will reflect the needs of the entire St. Louis community,” Clay said. “I look forward to growing that partnership with Express Scripts.”
Express Scripts’Research and New Solutions Group at its headquarters at North Park in North County,adjacent to the campus of the University of Missouri – St.Louis.
According to an Express Scripts spokesperson, minorities comprise 37 percent of the company’s total workforce. African Americans make up 26.3 percent of its workforce in St. Louis. More than 10 percent of managers (those who have direct reports) and executives (director level and above) are minorities.
“We consider varied points of view to be a positive force that stimulates creative thinking and fosters an environment built on mutual respect,” George Paz, CEO of Express
According to Express Scripts, minorities comprise 37 percent of the company’s total workforce. African Americans make up 26.3 percent of its workforce in St.Louis.
Scripts, said in a statement to The American. “Being actively committed both to building a diversified workforce and to working with diversely owned businesses makes us a stronger, more competitive company.”
The company is becoming
more diverse through its merger with Medco, said Susan Stith, who is senior director, Human Resources and responsible for diversity and inclusion initiatives. “We are still in the early days, but we have already benefited from the cultural, geographic and profes-
sional diversity of our new colleagues,” Stith said.
Stith said the company has an active Corporate Diversity Council with five sub-committees including supplier diversity.
Jones pointed out that it is easier to grow minority inclusion when a company is growing, which has not been the typical case in St. Louis, for the most part, for decades.
“It’s easier to have conversation – where am I in all of this? – when you are on the winning side,” Jones said.
“That’s been our problem in the last 50 years: we’ve been losing businesses, not acquiring them.”
Michael Holmes, a former senior Express Scripts executive, said there is room for African Americans in the company’s pending growth.
“African Americans will be able to compete effectively for these jobs,” Holmes said. “Like with any large employer, you’ve got to be good to work there or you’re not going to make it. But if you are good, you can have a great career there.”
Express Scripts has a very large pharmacy on-site, so Holmes foresees more positions for pharmacy technicians and “sundry jobs that you expect in corporate America.” He anticipates a positive economic spillover effect to North County.
“They chose specifically to be on that campus, and they will help to revitalize that area,” Holmes said. “We will see new restaurants and other support organizations.”
This win for North County and the St. Louis region could face a challenge in the courts. An alliance of drugstores and community pharmacists filed a federal lawsuit to block the deal, saying it would create a giant pharmacy benefits manager with too much leverage and market share. The plaintiffs have sought to prohibit the merger until the litigation has been resolved, but many community pharmacists concede that they are not likely to succeed in blocking the deal in the courts.
The deal creates a pharmacy benefits manager able to handle the prescriptions of about 135 million people, more than one-third of all Americans.
American staff
The St. Louis Regional Business Council’s Mentor Network Program now has a successful and growing presence abroad.
In the program, every student is matched with a CEO/mentor based upon the student’s background, interests and Curriculum Vitae.
Participating RBC mentors commit to having personal coaching meetings with their student mentee, which often results in an internship and subsequent employment. The goal is to expose capable students to senior executives who potentially transform a budding professional interest into a career.
“We believe that the RBC’s Mentor Network offers an exceptional and mutually beneficial process for linking talented students with today’s corporate leaders,” said Kathy Osborn, Executive Director of the Regional Business Council.
The RBC Mentor Network is part of the RBC’s Higher Education Collaboration, a partnership with business and engineering schools at 14 of the St. Louis region’s foremost colleges and universities to create and retain an effective workforce. Every year, the schools recommend six highperforming students to participate in the Mentor Network Program. These students are individually paired with a CEO or top Executive of an RBC company to receive practical, “real world” knowledge as well as prospects for employment upon graduation.
Thanks to the efforts of Martin Kardos, Managing Director for Central and Eastern Europe of St. Louisbased CSI Leasing, Inc., the
program’s fifth-year reception was recently hosted by Theodore Sedgwick, the U.S. Ambassador in the Slovak Republic.
Kardos had forged a productive partnership with Natalia Poliakova from AmCham Slovakia to found the Mentor Network Program in Slovakia, based on the RBC’s model in St. Louis.
“We are absolutely delighted that the St. Louis program is being replicated abroad,” Osborn said.
On May 19, 2012, there were 112 guests who attended the reception, including 54 students, 37 CEOs, six university representatives, and
representatives from the US Embassy, Amcham, and CSI Leasing.
“The RBC’s Mentor Network program taught me valuable business lessons and helped me make personal connections that put me on track to achieve my current position with CSI Leasing,” states Mr. Kardos, who was a 2003 RBC mentee while attending University of Missouri-St. Louis.
“The RBC’s Mentor Network program taught me valuable business lessons and helped me make personal connections.”
– Martin Kardos
“The program had such an impact on my life that I launched it here to make sure aspiring professionals in my home country can benefit too.”
Kardos adds that this year, the Mentor Network Program has expanded to Kosice, the second largest city in Slovakia, where the US Steel company has a large presence, and also to support the US Embassy effort to develop the Eastern part of
Slovakia. Ambassador Sedgwick remarks, “Leaders often attribute their success to their mentors, whether it was professors or managers who inspired them. The Embassy of the United States is pleased to support every year the Mentor Network Program, founded by entrepreneur Martin Kardos. I, personally, am very happy to serve as a mentor for talented students in this program and spend my time with them.” Kardos and Poliakova are currently in conversation with the Director of the Azeri American Chamber of Commerce about initiating a Mentor Network Program in
Baku and other large cities in Azerbaijan. Founded in 2000, the RBC is a consortium of presidents and CEOs from 100 of the region’s largest companies. The RBC is dedicated to enhancing the growth and quality of life in the St. Louis region. The RBC collectively represents 1.1 million total employees and $200 billion in 2010 revenues companywide; and 120,000 total employees in the St. Louis region with $60 billion in 2010 revenues in the St. Louis region. RBC member companies employ 10 percent of the regional workforce. For more information, visit www.stlrbc.org.
By Bridjes O’Neil
St.Louis American
For The
The Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center was once a drugstore that Mark Sarich, executive director of Orchestrating Diversity, inherited from his grandfather, whom he jokingly referred to as an “industrious old German.” Now, a piano greets you at the front door, and black instrument cases line a top shelf. It’s the temporary home of 40-plus Urban Youth Orchestra students enrolled in the Orchestrating Diversity program.
Sarich had great news for a group of 26 parents and students who attended a parents meeting on June 9 at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Sarich announced that Orchestrating Diversity would begin its first ever Junior Urban Orchestra summer camp on June 19.
The free summer camp runs until August 9 and is divided into two classes: Beginning Movement and Music Lessons for children ages 4-6 and Beginning Violin Lessons for children ages 7-9. Classes are held at the Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church located at 3200 Washington Ave.
The Orchestrating Diversity program is in its fourth year. The nonprofit organization is a branch of El Sistema USA, which has similar programs in cities throughout the country, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey and New York. It is based on the Venezuelan El Sistema method founded by Dr. Jose Aberu in 1975 as a means to combat poverty by teaching children from mostly
Mark Sarich,director of Orchestrating Diversity,teaches
Khalid Maghee piano phrasing in preparation for Khalid's performance of the Schumann Piano Concerto.McGhee performed the concerto with the Urban Youth Orchestra in August 2011.He will perform the Beethoven "Emperor" Concerto on August 5.
poor socio-economic backgrounds how to play classical music in an orchestra.
“Achild who plays an instrument is no longer poor because he has the spiritual wealth of playing music,” Sarich said, quoting Aberu. Aberu’s philosophy eloquently describes why Sarich decided to make the Orchestrating Diversity program free and base it in St. Louis City. Sarich noted that St. Louis has three main issues: racism, classism and poverty.
“A child who plays an instrument is no longer poor because he has the spiritual wealth of playing music,”Mark Sarich said, quoting Dr. Jose Aberu.
“St. Louis, whose history is still being written, needs a program like this,” Sarich said of Orchestrating Diversity. He hopes
that the program will teach children how to look past their ethnic, racial and socio-economic differences.
Ultimately, the goal is for these children to inspire social change by educating their parents and communities.
Some inner-city schools have suffered the loss of music programs due to the economy. Orchestrating Diversity hopes to service those children who can’t afford the more expensive music programs in St. Louis County.
Many students enrolled in the program come from rough backgrounds with Orchestrating Diversity being the positive catalyst to keep
these children on the right path. Sarich said about two-thirds of parents are actively involved in the program. Jasmine Cain, an Orchestrating Diversity parent, has two children in the program –Nalo Sims, 14, and Maura Cain, 7. It’s Nalo’s second year in the program and Maura’s first, and neither child had prior musical training. Initially, Nalo played the violin but switched to the cello and Maura will learn violin.
Cain volunteered to give each child free hairstyles through her charity, JC’s Healing Hands, in preparation for a recent Urban Youth Orchestra concert.
Khalid McGhee, 17, joined the Urban Youth Orchestra for youth ages 12-18 in the ninth grade. He was among the first students to join the program after a successful assessment audition. Khalid had a slight advantage over some students because he had prior musical training. He has played piano since he was in the seventh grade and learned the violin through the Orchestrating Diversity program.
He recently graduated from University City High School and admitted he was accustomed to being academically ahead of his class. However, the Orchestrating Diversity program presented plenty of challenges.
Khalid said, “It was exciting to actually prove to myself and others around me that I could actually keep up with the theory, history and advance to become more proficient in my instrument.”
Contact Mark Sarich at 314773-6769 or by email mcdavi94@gmail.com to receive an application to enroll your child in the Junior Urban Orchestra.
James Webb, president of St. Louis Minority Business Council, states “MBEs are an important part of the total economic development picture.”
Washington University chancellor Mark S. Wrighton says “ours will only be the best climate for social, emotional and intellectual growth and achievement if we are all committed to diversity and inclusiveness.”
Hugh Grant, president and CEO of Monsanto states “diversity must be ingrained into the very fabric of our company.”
Donald M. Suggs, St.Louis American president, publisher and executive editor
For St. Louis to continue to attract and retain qualified minority job candidates and minorityowned businesses, more must be done to push for meaningful diversity and inclusion. In this competitive global age, St. Louis must do more to become a stalwart supporter of diversity at all levels in the eyes of minorities, for the benefit of the entire region. Abusiness leader, Enterprise Rent-A-Car chairman and CEO Andy Taylor says, “It’s very important that the community itself be the kind of place that is appealing to talented people of all backgrounds.”
The St. Louis American is proud to make this seventh annual special section, “Diversity, A Business Imperative,” available for the St. Louis community. This section is
designed to emphasize commitment and highlight “progress” in varied areas of diversity in our region. While we realize the region has a long way to go to reach more substantive levels of diversity and inclusion, we feel it is important to share positive information about individuals, businesses, and other organizations who do, in fact, accept and act on the belief that diversity is a vital imperative.
We strongly urge your organization to partner with effective professional organizations such as the St. Louis Minority Business Council and the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative, as we do. Their expert, experienced staffs are making important strides. They represent excellent local resources to better educate members of your organization on the ongoing importance of inclusion and diversity.
At the St. Louis American, not only are we a strong advocate for businesses and organizations to include diversity and inclusion in their business practices, the American also practices what we preach. We embrace diversity at every level of our organization, including employees, freelancers, columnists, drivers, managers, including senior management as well as outside vendors.
By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American
The Metropolitan Sewer District’s $1.6 billion construction and maintenance project –the first phase in the district’s $4.7-billion system overhaul –will create more than 25,500 jobs over the next four years, according to an MSD-commissioned impact study.
But will those jobs go to lowincome families who will see their sewer bills double in the next four years because of the project?
In the June 5 election, St. Louis County and City residents voted 85 percent in favor of the $945 million bond issue, which will allow MSD to fix the system’s environmental hazards and raise sewer bills gradually.
“It is essential that the economic opportunities be quantified andwe measure how effective MSD is in delivering thebenefits to the disenfranchised.”
At a recent MSD Board of Trustees meeting, the St. Louis City NAACPproposed a plan to ensure job training, education and employment for unemployed, low-income minorities and women.
–Adolphus Pruitt, NAACP
“It is essential that the economicopportunitiesbe quantifiedandwe measure how effective MSD is in delivering thebenefitsto the disenfranchised,” said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis city NAACP.
With the bond issue’s approval, residents will see their wastewater bills increase monthly from $28 to $43 by July 1, 2015.
The higher rates will adversely affect lowerincome families, unless MSD offsets the costs through subsidies, said Don Phares, professor emeritus of economics and public policy at University of Missouri–St. Louis. Construction jobs tend to pay about 1.4 times more than the average medium-low paying job, he said. Creating employment opportunities among lowincome families would be another way to indirectly take the pressure off the cost increase, he said.
See MSD, page 13
MSD crews are doing repairs in north St.Louis city.Residents will be seeing MSD trucks and crews more frequently in the neighborhoods,as work gets underway as part of the $4.7 billion settlement with the EPA.
project long term.”
So far, the 1,500-foot main span of the bridge – the largest portion of the project – has employed workers for 354,000 hours. That number seems impressive, but on average only about 100 trade workers, largely Missouri and Illinois residents, are working on a daily basis on the main span.
Overall, 820,000 worker hours have gone into the project’s various segments, and 23 percent have gone to minority workers and 4.9 percent to female workers.
It’s interesting to look at these numbers when talking about the impact that the bridge project has had on creating jobs for the construction industry – particularly within the African-American community.
Because the project received federal funds, the Missouri and Illinois departments of transportation had to meet the federal requirements of 14.7 percent minority workforce participation and 6.9 percent female worker participation. The project has exceeded the minority goal on the main span with almost 25 percent of worker hours going to minorities. Even more, the project has exceeded these goals per craft.
But the percentages and worker hours can be deceptive in terms of job creation.
In April, 23 percent of workers on the main span were minorities, and some trade groups were much higher. For example, 100 percent of the electrical workers on the main span were minorities. But there was actually only one electrical worker. Among cement finishers, 50 percent were minorities. But there were only two.
(See table.)
Gregory Horn, project manager for the bridge, said he tracks worker hours from the payroll, not actual workers, because the workers are con-
Source:Missouri Department of Transportation, June 15 report
stantly coming in and out.
“They get iron workers out there, and then they leave and the carpenters come out, and then iron workers come back,” Horn said. “That is why we track the hours.”
However, Horn said that the original projections of 1,500 workers per year should be accurate, though they may not be working every day.
Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis City NAACP, said the bridge project has been a lesson for him in economic development – just because it costs a lot, it doesn’t mean more jobs.
“The economic multiplier to put dollars in the hands and pockets of African Americans was insignificant when you look at those numbers,” Pruitt said. “That denotes that relying on construction jobs to bring economic vitality to the AfricanAmerican community does not make sense. We have to go way beyond construction jobs. We have to rely on professional service providers and vendors. If we get stuck on strictly construction jobs, we aren’t going to get there.”
Since 2010, the Missouri Department of Transportation has received $1.69 million in federal funds to create training opportunities for women and minorities, who continue to be underrepresented in the highway construction industry.
Horn said these Federal Highway Administration funds went to On-the-Job Training (OJT)/Supportive Services training centers throughout Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia. Since 2010, these centers have graduated 369 trainees and have created 180 apprenticeships.
On the bridge project, MoDOTemployed 11 On-TheJob trainees. About half of them went through the On-theJob Training prior to 2010, for projects such as the Interstate64 project.
In essence, of the 369 individuals that graduated from the program since 2010, about six trainees were employed on the biggest transportation construction project that the state has seen since 2010 – despite the fact that MoDOThas received $1.69 million from the highway administration for training centers and apprenticeships.
On the bridge, the On-TheJob trainees were only intended to be used if the contractor
is failing to attain the project’s minority participation workforce goals. If the contractor is meeting or exceeding that minority participation goal in each craft, then MoDOTdid not require the contractors to hire OJTs.
Though the number of trainees was low, Horn said that most portions of the bridge have exceeded the goal for minority workers, but not women, in each craft.
Just for comparison, MoDOTemployed 93 OnThe-Job trainees on the $524million Interstate 64 project, which was completed in 2009. There were over 400 workers on that project. Many of the trainees came from the pre-apprentice training centers that MoDOTprovided grants to, and they worked anywhere from a few days to a couple years, Horn said.
“Remember, though, the OJTgoal for I-64 was set in 2006 when construction was booming,” Horn said.“The construction industry tanked in 2008. Our goal now is to keep those previous OJTs employed and not necessarily replace the new minority journeymen with new OJTs.”
Of these I-64 trainees,
MoDOThired four of them for the bridge project, and they have since graduated to journeymen status, which means an important pay raise for these workers.
Pruitt agrees with Horn that MoDOTshould focus on retaining its OJTs. One of the NAACP’s biggest points of contention during the I-64 project was that many trainees didn’t attain journeyman status.
“If you started training them in heavy construction work, then it is important that they continue that training on other MoDOTprojects,” Pruitt said.
Jobs off site
Horn said the trade workers on the main span and the 38 other bridge segments are “just the tip of the iceberg.”
He said these numbers don’t include the suppliers such as: people working at the concrete plants to deliver the concrete; people who are producing the steel girders and anchor boxes; people working at the quarries producing the rock for the concrete; truckers hauling materials to the project; people building the rein-
by
forcing steel; people who produce the lights and message boards; and all the engineers working on the project.
“There is a whole lot more than just the trade workers that benefit from this project,” Horn said. “The local restaurants benefit that are patronized by the workers. Local gas stations benefit where the fuel is bought. We even had over 100 archeologists working on the project that are not included in the trade workers hours. The MRB project has a major effect on the local economy.” To this, MOKAN executive director Yaphett El-Amin said that they have closely been watching MoDOT’s use of minority-owned and womenowned business enterprises (M/WBEs) as suppliers and subcontractors. MOKAN, a 30-year-old advocacy organization for MWBEs, has been a constant voice at the table to ensure minority business owners benefit from the project’s impact on the local economy.
“Part of our continual concern is compliance and monitoring,” El-Amin said. “There needs to be more focus placed on eliminating front parties and punishing large contractors who create front companies.”
By Kathy Osborn Regional Business Council
The Regional Business Council (RBC) is a consortium of CEOs of large businesses in the St. Louis region who collaborate around high-impact business, civic and philanthropic initiatives for the betterment of the region. Since our inception in 2000, the RBC has been committed to increasing the diversity of our regional talent pool and ensuring the business community is an inclusive place. To that end, the RBC is focused on recruiting and developing globally diverse talent within the St. Louis marketplace and we partner with a variety of local organizations to achieve this goal including InSight St. Louis, Minority Supplier Diversity Council, The St. Louis American, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative and Civic Progress. We established the Young Professionals Network (YPN) in 2008 to attract, retain, develop, and engage young, ethnically diverse professionals in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The YPN helps young professionals develop leadership abilities, build social and business networks, and give
back to the community.
We at the Regional Business Council recently surveyed our 1,200 Young Professionals Network members to better understand who our members are and how they perceive the St. Louis region. We know how talented and driven our members are, so there weren’t many surprises in the survey data for us. Even so, we suspect that many peo-
We suspect that many people in the St.Louis area don’t know how amazing our pool of talent is and we feel that it is our duty to get the word out about them.
ple in the St. Louis area don’t know how amazing our pool of talent is and we feel that it is our duty to get the word out about them. This is the reason we produced the survey and publish the results.
Here are a few highlights of the survey results that we feel tell the story of our YPN members.
YPN members are incredibly well educated. An overwhelming majority (94%) has a bachelor’s degree or higher education. And 39 percent have gone on to pursue a graduate degree and 10 percent have completed post-graduate studies. We don’t know of
many other professional networking groups that can boast these kinds of numbers.
St.Louis is home
Amajority of our members (51%) reported that they plan to live in St. Louis for at least the next 5 years. They love the city and think it is a great place to live. Top reasons cited for wanting to stay in St. Louis included job opportunities, leadership opportunities within their companies, affordability, and the family-friendly community.
YPN membership
So why do so many welleducated professionals who are passionate about St. Louis join the RBC’s YPN? The number one reason cited in the survey was the opportunity to meet other young professionals. Our members genuinely want to meet new people and foster deep relationships. They want to make new business connections and also see the YPN as an opportunity to meet company executives and community leaders. We are really proud of our members and are always looking for quality young professionals to join our ranks. Do you believe that you would be a good fit? You can sign up for membership on our website at www.stlrbc.org. While you’re there, view the full survey report to learn more about the amazing young professionals who make up our network. Kathy Osborn is Executive Director of the Regional Business Council.
By Rebecca S.Rivas
Of The St.Louis American
The North Sarah redevelopment project – east of the Central West End – is a good example of McCormack Baron Salazar’s commitment to diversity, said Ron Roberts, vice president of new business development and project management.
An anticipated, 37 percent of the construction contracts on the project will go to minority-owned businesses and an additional 10 percent will support women-owned businesses, he said.
As project manager, Roberts worked closely with the contractor R.G. Brinkmann Company to ensure this level of inclusion and to break the large construction contract into smaller bites so that smaller businesses and subcontractors would be able to compete.
meaningful minority participation on contracts and in local workforce inclusion, Roberts said.
“Our company prides itself on working with agencies such as the St. Louis Housing Authority, TAALKE, MOKAN, MCI, Better Family Life and others who have established themselves as integral parts of the inclusion equation,” he said.
McCormack Baron Salazar’s projects at Arlington Grove and North Sarah both exceeded the City of St. Louis’ minority participation and local workforce goals.
“Our company prides itself on working with agencies that have established themselves as integral parts of the inclusion equation.”
“Through work like this, people in our neighborhoods have an opportunity to benefit not only from the new, highquality affordable housing, but also economically through the jobs we create and the investments we make,” said Roberts, who has been with the company for eight years.
St. Louis, like other cities, has room to grow in creating
“Our commitment to inclusion does not stop at our developments, either; we have a diverse leadership staff that includes African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and other nationalities,” he said.
“Inclusion begins at home, and McCormack Baron Salazar and its affiliates are committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all people.”
As a project manager at the firm, Roberts must be a team player, both internally and externally when working with consultants and subcontractors on real estate development projects. He feels his strong faith and family background have laid a solid foundation for this role.
“Throughout my life, I believe, I have developed an ability and capacity to translate adverse situations, storms if you will, into opportunities for successful, more positive outcomes,” he said.
“My relationship with God is most important to me. My parents provided me with very good examples and demonstrated to me courage and a good work ethic.”
Roberts grew up in St. Louis and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Morehouse College in 1995.
Today Roberts has several role models, including David
Price, a former executive with Monsanto and BF Goodrich. Price, who is now a chemical consultant and mentor for small businesses, showed Roberts how to be a L.E.A.D.E.R (Life Expectations And Demand Exceptional Results).
“David Price demonstrates every day the qualities of a leader,” Roberts said. “He is confident, deliberate, decisive, compassionate, credible, reliable, a critical thinker, and courageous.”
Henry Goodgame, director of Alumni Affairs –Morehouse College, taught
In McCormack Baron Salazar’s North Sarah redevelopment project,37 percent of the construction contracts will go to minority-owned businesses and an additional 10 percent will support womenowned businesses,according to Ron Roberts,vice president of new business development and project management.
Baron Salazar is committed to maintaining a diverse workforce.
“For the past several years, Ron has shown incredible leadership in expanding diversity goals for individual projects beyond federal and local requirements, creating meaningful employment opportunities for people from all walks of life,” Bennett said. Roberts believes that St. Louis is poised to be a model city in meaningful inclusion in the future.
“There are a number of ongoing disparity studies and reports that point to the need for creating training, employment and contractual opportunities for minorities,” Roberts said.
“We have also seen a renewed commitment from corporate leaders, elected officials and other interested parties who are focused on leveling the playing field.”
However, during his tenure at the firm, Roberts said he has seen far too many minority companies face continued challenges to building capacity: from lack of access to financial capital to the lack of viable commitments from public and private sector institutions.
him that “it is not how fast you run, but how well you run.”
This is a lesson he would continue learning at McCormack Baron Salazar.
Roberts said he is fortunate to have proximity and access to the firm’s principals, namely Vince Bennett, chief operating officer.
“It is very rare that an individual can have a reporting relationship with someone who also serves as a mentor and a role model,” Roberts said. “His influential statement to me is, ‘It is a marathon, not a sprint.’” Bennett said McCormack
McCormack Baron Salazar has committed to increasing its minority and women business enterprise (MWBE) goals on its projects. It has also created expedited financial payment programs to ensure MWBEs receive payments in a timelier manner.
“This is one solution to addressing the working capital challenges that many MWBEs and Section 3 businesses face,” Roberts said. “With stronger commitments from public and private sector stakeholders, together we can ensure that the diversity train is on the right track.”
By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American
Shelby Scales, executive director of the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC), immediately broke several records when she stepped into her leadership role last August.
“A sound DBE program is critical to our membership and the industry’s well being if we are to grow and mature in our efforts.”
– Shelby Scales, Airport Minority Advisory Council
In the council’s 30 years, she is the first AfricanAmerican female executive director –and one of the youngest – in the organization’s history. She is also the first executive director to emerge from an airport’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program Office. She was previously a small business program officer at the RaleighDurham (RDU) International Airport.
The AMAC’s mission is to create success for minorities and women in the airport industry, and Scales intends to continue expanding its paradigm.
At 44, Scales brings a wealth of industry experience, management skills, leadership acumen and enthusiasm for increasing participation by minorities and women in the aviation industry.
“The number of young, energetic and tech-savvy AMAC members is growing,” Scales said. “I fully expect to tap into their skills and experiences to further develop our value proposition and membership.”
After assuming her role in August 2011, she immediately focused coordinating special events, including outreach events and national conferences. And one of her main passions is mentoring future minority professionals through the AMAC Educational Scholarship Program (AMACESP).
An industry veteran and an AMAC member since 2003, Scales chaired the Professional
Development and Aviation Committee since 2006. She significantly expanded the Educational Scholarship Program by doubling the number of annual scholarships from four to eight and raising more than $25,000 in five years. With regard to AMAC’s influence on federal legisla-
tion, Scales maintains a strong national voice.
“The single most important issue is to provide continuous testimonies to Congress about the business practices and continued discrimination within our industry. Asound DBE program is critical to our membership and the industry’s well being if we are to grow and mature in our efforts,” she explained. According to AMAC Board Chair Don O’Bannon, “Shelby has shown tremendous leadership in all of the positions she has held, both with AMAC and also in her community.” And AMAC is exactly
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Chatman in December 2009 to explain the developments.
Although today Chatman is a polished litigator who adeptly manages a large docket of cases involving numerous legal issues, he’s traveled a circuitous route to reach this place in his life. Born and raised in Jennings, in north St. Louis County, Chatman, 37, is the first person in his family to earn a law degree. He was raised in a single parent household with his mother and a younger brother. Chatman’s grandfather grew up in the downtown housing projects, but education was one of his highest priorities. So he held several jobs so that he could send his eight children to Lutheran High School North.
In that same tradition, Chatman also attended Lutheran High School North. Although he was good in science, Chatman was mostly interested in sports, at which he also excelled. He went on to play college football at the University of MissouriColumbia, but by the time he was 20, Chatman had both shoulders reconstructed.
“I realized my body was not going to hold up, that there was a day this would end.” Chatman said. “I knew I had to figure out something serious that I would do with the rest of my life.”
It was during his undergraduate years that he took a class from Dr. Jim Spain, a professor of Animal Science and now Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies. Although Spain was a big
football fan, he urged Chatman to think about the future and got him interested in animal science and agricultural studies.
“Agreat teacher can lead you to get involved in something you never knew you’d be interested in,” Chatman said.
“It took a Dr. Spain to make me focus on academics.” Spain, who remains in contact with Chatman, described him as an exceptional student who also demonstrated leadership skills.
“As an undergraduate stu-
“A great teacher can lead you to get involved in something you never knew you’d be interested in.It took a Dr.Spain to make me focus on academics.”
– Darryl Chatman
dent in Animal Science, he distinguished himself through his genuine interest in learning new concepts related to animal nutrition,” Spain said. “His interest in learning led Mr. Chatman to complete an undergraduate research project that became the foundation for a project that my lab supported for over 10 years.”
Chatman went on to get a B.S. in animal science. But he didn’t stop there. Instead he went on to earn three masters degrees – one in agriculture economics, another in animal science and a third in public administration.
While earning the latter, Chatman took several law classes that made him decide
to get his J.D. at Mizzou, where he was the Notes and Comment Editor for the Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review. He was elected to the Order of Barrister, received the Roscoe Anderson Award for Excellence in Advocacy, and was a two-time National Client Counseling Regional Champion.
He joined Armstrong Teasdale in September 2008 and has proven to be a talented litigator with a focus on ERISA, employment, intellectual property, and other business issues. Also experienced in sports law, Chatman advises academic athletic departments on NCAAcompliance issues and provides guidance to universities on social media issues. For example, he recently presented a program at Mizzou’s 2012 Celebration of Teaching entitled “Social Media and the Law: Social Media’s Impact on Universities.”
Chatman, who is married and has an 8-month-old son, was selected to participate in the 2010-2011 Leadership Academy of The Missouri Bar and he also serves on the executive committee of the St. Louis Workforce Investment Board.
As he looks back at the Kells case and other successes while at Armstrong Teasdale, Chatman credits the role that Spain and law firm mentors have played in his life, guiding his intellectual interests and teaching him the importance of long-term thinking and goal setting.
“I never thought I could reach this point in my life,” he said. “But here I am.”
The $945 million bond goes towards the first phase of the district’s mandated $4.7billion overhaul. In June 2007, the State of Missouri and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a lawsuit against MSD – in part because untreated sewage was flowing into the Mississippi River. In August 2011, the EPAannounced a settlement agreement that calls for MSD to spend $4.7 billion over the next 23 years to eradicate over 350 sewer overflows.
The $945 million in construction alone will generate more than 17,000 jobs and boost the local economy by nearly $2.2 billion over the next four years, according to the MSD-commissioned study completed by Jack Strauss, chair of economics and director at the Simon Center for Regional Economics at Saint Louis University in April 2012.
For the past several months, the NAACP has worked with MSD to come up with a way to ensure that residents will not be paying higher rates without seeing the benefits of upcoming job opportunities. At the June 14 MSD board meeting, the NAACPpresented a proposed Community Benefits Agreement with 10 principal terms.
“It incorporates living wage law requirements, first-source hiring and a strong MBE/WBE business support program that addresses the most significant impediment for M/WBEs’growth – bonding and access to capital,” Pruitt said.
The NAACPpartially modeled the agreement after the program that Los Angeles International Airport created in 2006 during its large-scale expansion. The agreement’s guiding points came out of MSD’s ongoing stakeholders meetings, which the district has held for a year.
With the downturn in the economy, many apprenticeship programs in the construction industry decreased their in enrollment – making it nearly impossible for young African Americans and minorities to obtain employment in these fields. The proposed agreement includes a provision for MSD to fund pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs. On top of that, MSD must also require general contractors, suppliers and other project vendors to commit by contract to hire people from the
apprenticeship programs and from the “target community” (local, unemployed, low income, minorities and women).
The agreement would also allow MSD to use union and non-union workers on the project and to implement long-term contracting goals for minority- and women-owned businesses.
These points received opposition from the labor representatives at the June 14 meeting.
Jeff Aboussie, executive secretarytreasure at St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council, said it’s more cost efficient to allow the unions to regulate their own training programs rather than creating additional programs.
“The unions have the ability to ramp up or ramp down their training programs as needed, at no cost to taxpayers,” Aboussie said.
Months before, Aboussie and other trade representatives argued that there were not enough trained African Americans to increase the minority participation goals in the district’s contracts and workforce.
“They said it would be dangerous to increase minority participation because they didn’t have enough trained black folks,” Pruitt said. “Now all of the sudden, they can ramp up apprentices as necessary and trained black folks exist. When problems arise, we pop up just like that.”
The proposed agreement would also obligate MSD to establish an internship program at MSD facilities for public school students. The internship would be similar to a STEM program (science, technology, engineering and math) and give hiring preference to participants. An MSD-funded scholarship program would also be a part of this program.
MSD’s EPAreviews would be open to community groups through the agreement.
And most powerfully, the agreement would have the judicial teeth of enforcement through injunction or otherwise.
From suppliers to architects, every entity involved inthis project will have a contractual relationship with MSDwith private enforcement rights, Pruitt said.
“The Community Benefits Agreement we propose isenforceable through injunctive relief, thus giving the communitythe ability to ensure that benefits are actually delivered,” Pruitt said. “In exchange,we are prepared to agree to support the project through the approval process, to refrain from lobbying against it, and release legal claims regarding the project. Each party can enforce the other side’s promises.”
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“They are getting a stipend at the exact same rate as a graduate student – all the summer students. They are getting like $4,500 for two months, and they get free room.”
The grant allowed Chung and Robinson to expand the number of participants from five in the inaugural year to 11 in this second year of the program. Additional funding for the project comes from various WUSTLand NIH training grants.
The visiting students were able to choose their own research topics, and they work alongside one of more than 2,000 WUSM physicians and scientists.
“It could be very basic science all the way to clinical research,” Chung explained.
“It could be bench research with test tubes all the way to clinical trials and the final stages of drug development for example, and then there is the whole gamut.”
That breadth of topics could include projects in engineering, anthropology, psychology, chemistry, physics – anything relevant to health care, health policy, public health, international health, she added.
Second year medical students Solita Jones of Tampa, Florida and Kristen Crittle from Jackson, Mississippi both selected obstetrics and gynecology as their research interest.
Jones is researching health literacy in the emergency department and patient compliance with discharge instructions with Dr. Richard T. Griffey.
“That study intrigued me because, I feel it was something that you could use in any
field of medicine, which is most important – and that is communication,” Jones said.
The Health Literacy Project allows researchers to form correlations between health literacy and patients’ability to adhere to discharge instructions in the emergency department.
“You’d be very surprised a lot of people don’t even understand what their diagnosis is,” Jones said. “It also involves medication instructions, the actual treatment they are actually going through in the emergency department as well as any return instructions – reasons to return into the emergency department.”
In a broader view, Jones said health literacy impacts health care costs in general.
“People who have limited health literacy use the emergency department more frequently, so it causes an increasing cost,” she said. “I think this will help our current situation so that’s what helped me decide to do this.”
It was the personal visit to Meharry by Chung and Robinson that intrigued Crittle come to Wash. U. Crittle is conducting clinical research on contraceptive health with Dr. Jeffrey Peipert.
“The Choice Project is a cohort study involving 9,250 women who are given free contraception and they are in the study from two to three years,” Crittle said. “We just monitor what type of contraceptive did they choose, why did they choose it.”
Not following standards
Within the study, Crittle is conducting a sub-study of women who report having pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) while in the Choice Project.
“I’m looking at PID, how doctors treat it and how they diagnose it in comparison to the CDC guidelines,” Crittle
explained. “And in research and quality of care studies like the one I am doing, only about 30 percent of physicians actually follow the CDC guidelines.”
She said the “gold standard” should be about 80 percent.
“I am going through charts and constantly looking at what doctors write, and it’s surprising to see that most of the time they either do not know the CDC standard, or they just choose not to follow it because they believe the way they are treating is more appropriate than the CDC – even though
CDC standard is based on research-based medicine.”
Crittle describes Peipert as “a great physician but an even greater mentor,” who is encouraging her to consider OBGYN as her career choice.
“I see how he is devoted to helping women and making strides in research that will one day, hopefully be the practice that we do, rather than the practice that we are taught in medical school,” Crittle added.
Not following the standard could lead to medical advances, but Crittle said in the case of PID, if it is not treated properly, women can
become sterile.
“Women are walking around thinking they are being treated and they haven’t and they could be treated very easy with a shot and some antibiotics,” said Crittle.
Both schools find benefit from the summer program.
“We want the Meharry students to get a great introduction to research here,” Chung said. “But we also, of course, have our own interests, and that is to increase and enhance diversity on campus.”
“After coming here, it has broadened my experiences and really made me think about
making Wash. U a place to do residency and practice, just because of the experience I am gaining from this program,” Jones said.
It sparked in Crittle hunger for more advanced training.
“It has certainly given me a foundation and I am more willing to go out and see what else is out there,” Crittle said.
“I want to experience more, and hopefully I can do that through conferences and just visiting other schools and staff. If I can see more places like this, then I think I’ll be more intrigued to be here or another great research place.”
All glammed up for the JDRF Garden of Hope Dream Gala are Shirley and William Robertson and Annette Irving.
Raises over $1.1 M for
Aprofusion of room-size orange, yellow, turquoise and fuchsia blooms, bumble bees and butterflies welcomed 600 guests as they entered the JDRF Garden of Hope Dream Gala recently at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in downtown St. Louis.
“This year’s Gala was a beautiful event and I feel truly blessed by the generosity of everyone in making over our $1 million goal – and then
some,” said Gala Chair, Susan S. Block. Guests included Arash and Dana Amini; St. Louis Blues table had B. J. and Janet Crombeen, Alex Pietrangelo, Carlo Colaiacovo, Alexander Steen and Mike Caruso: Mike and Bettina Esser; Rich and Marie Unnerstall; Loraine and Gary Budke; Jim and Melissa Fox; John, Connie and Lizzie Kurowski; Brad and Angela Kurowski Daubach; Ginger
and John Eichhorn; and KMOV’s Russell Kinsaul, master of ceremonies.
Special recognition was given to Award Recipients:
ï Anheuser-Busch/Living and Giving Award – accepted by David A. Peacock
ï Diabetes Champion/2011
Walk Chairman – Chuck Berry
ï Diabetes Champion/2011 Walk Chairman – Jim Theiss
“Special thanks to our amazing families, corporate
By Reena Hajat Carroll For The St.Louis American
As the Executive Director of the Diversity Awareness Partnership, I was elated to see over 450 seats at the Edward Jones Auditorium filled on May 1st, 2012 for the Annual Diversity Summit. This year’s presenter was nationally recognized diversity expert, Luke Visconti of DiversityInc. Representatives from major St. Louis companies and organizations such as Laclede Gas, Save-A-Lot, Edward Jones, Wells Fargo Advisors, Ameren, Washington University, Webster University were in attendance, as well as 75 additional attending sponsors and individuals attendees.
Mr. Visconti’s messages about diversity and inclusion resonated with the audience because he was real. He explained that, “women have attained more college degrees than men since the late 1980s” and that “it’s fair to say that white men are over-represented in running companies.” His point prompts us to ask why our leadership teams continue to be so homogenous. As a region, it is critical that we hear these messages and reflect on how changing our leadership, recruitment, and retention strategies are paramount to the region’s growth.
supporters, committee members, board and grandparents who planted the seeds for a cure at our Garden of Hope Dream Gala,” said M. Marie Davis, Executive Director JDRF Metro Saint Louis/Greater Missouri Chapter.
JDRF is the global leader in funding the research to treat, cure and ultimately preventing diabetes.
Furthermore, taking advantage of DiversityInc’s Regional Diversity Survey for businesses and corporations in the St. Louis area would allow us to have a more accurate pulse on our growth areas. Without concrete data, we are continuing to play a guessing game on how well our region is doing compared to other cities. We certainly cannot fix a problem or find a solution, if we don’t know what the problem is. To participate in the survey, companies are invited to get in touch with the Diversity Awareness Partnership for more information. Bringing more than 450 people together to raise awareness about the importance of diversity is only the beginning. We are committed to making sure that St. Louis continues to show our commitment to diversity and more importantly turn that care/concern into action. A few key action steps that can be taken almost immediately for any institution are 1) Schedule Diversity Training 2) Review your Diversity Statement/ Non-discrimination Policy 3) Support and Attend Diversity Programs and Events in the Area and 4) Start Exploring Affinity Groups and Mentor Programs. These action steps will not just impact a company’s bottom line but will be reflected throughout our region’s schools, households and city at large.
By Valerie E.Patton Guest Columnist
Why is it important to embrace and engage diversity, inclusion and leadership as a business imperative for the St. Louis region? It is a new day and conversation which touches everyone. It is about the differing thoughts, experiences and ideas which lead to greatness and significance!! It is about the St. Louis region having the ability to attract, retain and grow its workforce, talent and businesses! Currently, population growth in the United States is fastest among minorities as a
It is an imperative for companies to respond with a work force that can reach a changing customer base and with people who understand the changes that are taking place.
whole, and according to the Census Bureau’s estimation for 2012, 50.4percent of American children under the age of one belonged to minority groups. Hispanic and Latino Americans accounted for almost half (1.4 million) of the national population growth of 2.9 million between July 1, 2005, and July 1, 2006. Immigrants and their U.S.born descendants are expected to provide most of the U.S. population gains in the decades ahead.
Diversity is a competitive advantage for companies to survive and thrive in today’s business environment. The introduction of different voices, with different perspectives,
backgrounds, priorities and orientations, helps companies have greater creativity and innovation, make better decisions and improves problem solving, and identifies opportunities and success in new markets.
An example of this is PepsiCo, which developed ethnic advisory boards to have input into new product creation. The African-American advisory board played an integral role in the launch of the Mountain Dew Red product whose target market was the young African American community. By seeking the input of this group, the launch of the product was one of the most successful in the company’s history.
As the demographics of the
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where Scales wants to be, she said.
She decided years ago to explore a career in trade association management, and she enrolled in the Women’s Executive Education Leadership (WEELS) leadership program sponsored by the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), an institution renowned for its work with Fortune 500 C-level executives.
CCLassessed Scales’leadership strengths, assigned a mentor, assembled a team of top corporate executives to support her, provided ongoing
E.Patton
St. Louis region and the United States change and the global economic forces have a greater impact on the business environment, it is an imperative for companies to respond with a work force that can reach a changing customer base and with people who understand the changes that are taking place. We need to drive an understanding of the importance of education and awareness. We should be compelled to learn more about the experiences of others so to expand our own understanding of the issues. i.e. a competitive workforce, business start up and growth. Education is the backbone of creating environments which are diverse and inclusive. Knowledge is power!
training, and guided her completion of a 12-month professional development plan. She interviewed association presidents, asking how they climbed their career ladders, and the necessary skill sets and leadership training that helped them land their top-level management jobs.
“The experience with CCL helped me decide that I wanted to move out of the space of being a DBE Liaison Officer and into an opportunity to impact policy and program administration on the national level,” she said. “Having been so intimately involved with AMAC, I was interested in any position that might become available.”
As Small Business Program Officer at RDU, she excelled in business development, fundraising, government con-
Everyone should be afforded the opportunity to continuous educational opportunities. The knowledge gained today will be what builds tomorrow and creates sustainability. We must invest in our educational systems because it is fundamental for our region and the businesses within them to succeed!
The St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative’s Fellows Program is an example of a regional initiative which is contributing to growing a thriving region. The Fellows Program is a leadership curriculum for mid- to seniorlevel multicultural talent. The vision is to create a more inclusive, welcoming and successful environment for multicultural talent at all levels of regional business. The Fellows Program is going into its seventh year with the following results:
64 percent of Fellows have received promotions and/or
tracting, and supplier diversity.
In a true entrepreneurial spirit, Scales inaugurated outreach through mega-churches; developed the Small Emerging Business Assistant Loan Program for concessionaires, which guarantees $1.5 million in bank loans for concessions development projects; and implemented RDU’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program.
Partially as a result of these programs, the percentage of minority- and women-owned businesses participating in the airport’s 2009 Terminal 2 construction project reached a record 16 percent HUB participation.
Scales has already contributed in myriad ways to the organization, including serving one term as the AMAC Southeast Regional Director.
significant increases in responsibilities since program completion.
86 percent of the Fellows Alumni continue to reside in the St. Louis Region. 26 percent of Fellows have been appointed to boards and/or commissions since program completion.
As a region, we are charged to:
ï Build accountability for diversity, inclusion and leadership where we live and work.
ï Recruit, retain and develop talented people.
ï Become aware, educated and mobilized on the issues.
ï Become a change agent.
ï Create the environment you want to see to create sustainability change.
Yes … diversity, inclusion and leadership are the competitive advantage!
Valerie E. Patton is Executive Director of St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative.
Over the years, she has contributed as speaker, panel presenter, and moderator on a broad range of topics, everything from “Marketing and Outreach,” “Doing Business in Airports,” and “How to Increase DBE Participation” to “Certification Training and “Contract Monitoring and Compliance.”
Scales received the 2011 Chairman’s Award for leadership and dedication.
“I am excited to help develop the next generation of minority and women professionals, to work with congressional leaders as new regulations are developed, to refine the many valued programs offered by AMAC, and to develop new programs to meet the emerging needs of the DBE community,” Scales said.
By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American
Being a leader in the community is a good way to promote diversity. And Michelle Tucker, a manager at Bank of America, is not quiet about being a leader.
“I try to not only show up; I try to speak up,” said Tucker, who serves as a corporate social responsibility market manager on the global marketing and corporate affairs team. “I feel that it is important to share diverse experiences and opinions during decision-making processes, especially when final decisions and actions impact diverse groups.” Tucker has worked for Bank of America for more than 15 years within various roles. Her current responsibilities include community outreach, brand building, and providing oversight to the bank’s multimillion dollar foundation, local grant and sponsorship budgets across Missouri.
“It is a missed opportunity when we do not express our thoughts and perspectives whenever we can,” she said. Tucker is also a founding market chair for the company’s local Black Professional Group (BPG), whose mission is to maximize the contributions and enhance the professional development of AfricanAmerican employees at Bank of America. She has also served as a member of the bank’s national Consumer Real Estate Diversity Action
Council.
“In addition to being the right thing to do, encouraging a diverse, inclusive workplace gives us the business advantage of understanding and meeting the needs of our diverse customers, clients and shareholders,” said Pat Mercurio, Missouristate president, Bank of America.
“Michelle’s commitment as a dedicated, involved leader not only for us but also in our community, demonstrates our diversity through her fresh ideas and perspectives.”
Growing up in East St. Louis, her parents taught her to be a compassionate person who always leads by example, she said.
“I was also inspired by teachers who encouraged me to be a continuous learner with the ability to balance facts with intuition in order to solve problems,” Tucker said. “The early adoption of these philosophies led me to pursue a career path that enables me to focus on helping people through creative, collaborative, and innovative solutions.”
She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a master’s degree in business from Webster University. Yet she has continued to be a lifelong student in her professional life. She is a graduate of the 2009-
“It is important to share diverse experiences and opinions during decisionmaking processes, especially when final decisions and actions impact diverse groups.”
– Michelle Tucker, Bank of America
2010 Leadership St. Louis program and a 2007 graduate of the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative Fellows Program.
Today, her role models are ordinary people who do extraordinary things, she said.
“I am especially impressed by successful entrepreneurs who take calculated risks and transform their concepts into lucrative businesses,” she said.
compassionate leaders who positively enhance the lives of others through selfless actions.
“Leaders like these serve as my role models because they are constant reminders that outstanding leadership and making a difference is truly accessible,” she said.
“I am especially impressed by successful entrepreneurs who take calculated risks and transform their concepts into lucrative businesses.”
– Michelle Tucker, Bank of America
She is equally impressed by renowned industry leaders within corporations that establish outstanding personal brands and use their expertise to move the company to a more competitive front. Most importantly, she admires
“This influences my future goals because it compels me to set my personal goals even higher and work even harder while encouraging others to do the same.”
Acompassionate leader herself, Tucker is a recipient of the 2011 YWCA Leader of Distinction Award and a four-time recipient of the Bank of America Spirit Medallion Award. She is also a
board director for both the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and FOCUS St. Louis. In addition to these leadership roles, Tucker makes sure that the most needy community members are receiving help, as a vice chair of the United Way of Greater St. Louis’ Community Initiative Allocations Panel. She is an active member of the United Way’s (UW) Community Investment Committee, UW African American Leadership Giving Cabinet, and Women’s Leadership Giving Initiative.
A business advantage
Diversity and inclusion are central to Bank of America’s core values, she said.
“Encouraging a diverse, inclusive workplace gives us the business advantage of understanding and meeting the needs of our diverse customers, clients and communities,” she said.
Efforts to promote diversity include recruiting and retaining diverse talent, maintaining relationships with diverse suppliers, offering products and services to meet the diverse needs of our customers, and philanthropy supporting underserved communities.
Bank of America’s employee networks are a vital part of the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts, she said. The employee networks are formal, bank-supported groups made
up of employees who share a dimension of diversity along with their allies. The groups meet periodically to network, mentor and encourage each other’s development, leadership and success.
“By giving voice to diverse constituencies within the company and to customers like themselves, the groups assist Bank of America with maintaining a fair and inclusive workplace,” she said. “They also can enhance the bank’s efforts to bring exceptional, targeted products and services to our customers, clients and shareholders.”
Tucker remains involved in the employee networks from a market advisory perspective by providing community impact opportunities, leadership exposure and guidance to BPG, LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development) for Women, and the company’s Military Support Group. More than ever, companies and communities across the nation are leveraging the power of its people and diversity to help boost innovation as a catalyst for economic growth, she said.
“As St. Louis continues to diversify, we have an excellent opportunity to incorporate additional diverse voices and perspectives into leadership conversations, community planning sessions, and key roles to continue improving our ability to compete regionally, nationally, and globally,” Tucker said.
DiversityInc.
Is there a business case for promoting women executives to serve on corporate boards?
Data revealed in a new report by the Committee for Economic Development (CED) argues that giving women a seat at the table and providing adequate talent development not only can deliver measurable business gains but is the key differentiator in future global success.
Apanel of experts in New York recently discussed the implications of “Fulfilling the Promise: How More Women on Corporate Boards Would Make America and American Companies More Competitive,” as well as recommendations for improving the talent development and promotion of women to senior management roles.
Ernst & Young’s Beth Brooke, global vice chair of Public Policy, moderated the panel, and Chairman and CEO Jim Turley, who has been a visible advocate for cultural diversity, gave the opening keynote. Ernst & Young is No. 6 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50.
Why Talent Development forWomen?
The report provides evidence that U.S. businesses need to make talent development for women a top business priority to retain global competitive advantage. This will be necessary to attract, retain and develop the best female talent, a group that is increasing in economic influence, according to its findings.
The biggest implications for developing female talent are global demographic and economic shifts.
The Committee for Economic Development report provides evidence that U.S.businesses need to make talent development for women a top business priority to retain global competitive advantage.
“Executives are 70 to 75 percent white men but, if you look forward, demographic shifts in gender and ethnicity show that employees and customers will not be,” explained Turley. “Boards need to be more actively engaged with who they represent.”
“Women can be quantified as an emerging market. They are the No. 3 economic power in the world today, behind only India and China,” added Brooke. “Women are an untapped engine for American competitiveness.”
women directors perform better: ACatalyst study of 2004–2008 data shows that companies with the highest average of women directors (top quartile) outperformed companies lacking representation at senior levels (bottom quartile) by 26 percent in return on invested capital.
panies by 2015; the European Union’s justice commissioner has noted that legislation on the issue could be passed since self-regulation has not brought enough progress. Quotas of 40 percent are being considered in Norway, Spain, France, Italy, Iceland and Belgium, cites the report.
The other panelists were: Joanna Barsh, Director at McKinsey & Company;Nels Olsen, vice chairman and coleader, board, and CEO for Korn/Ferry International; and Gail Becker, chair for Canada, Latin America and U.S. Western Region at Edelman.
Women are highly talented: 36.8 percent of master’s degrees now are earned by women. In 2010, more women earned bachelor’s degrees than men (20.1 million compared with 18.7 million, respectively), according to census data.
Businesses with more
America is falling behind: Currently, 15.6 percent of U.K. board members are women. The percentage of U.S. women on corporate boards ranges 12.1 to 12.3 percent, with Fortune 100 companies averaging about 11 percent women and Fortune 500 companies averaging 15 to 16 percent.
European countries will continue to promote women: The United Kingdom announced in March a strict diversity goal to obtain a minimum of 25 percent women board members for FTSE com-
Talent Development: The Solution?
Referencing The Atlantic’s provocative “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” cover story, the panelists discussed how male-oriented corporate cultures can be a roadblock to developing women executives. The main challenge, cites the panel and the article, is in managing time between a high-performance career and equally important family responsibilities.
As for the solution to removing gaps in gender among corporate leadership,
the panel says there are a few factors that need to come together:
Accountable leadership with CEO commitment. The pipeline of female talent is there “but it really comes down to leadership. Everyone has to be on the same page and communicate that focus on diversity down through the recruiting process,” said Olsen. Watch this diversity web seminar on CEO commitment for best practices in communicating top management commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Champions forchange. “We need a series of CEOs to come forward and say they’ll become U.S. companies of change,” said Barsch. That focus and business case then needs to be communicated by the CEO and his management team to shareholders and
investors to drive the change.
Changing representation at the top. “Until you get more women onto boards and on management teams, the discussion doesn’t change enough,” added Turley. “Corporate culture needs to change so that merit is not about face time but what executives produce.” This will allow a more inclusive environment and give women the ability to take advantage of flexible work schedules, workfrom-home options and other work/life benefits.
Improve sponsorship initiatives: “Women traditionally are not as good at sponsorship. It’s something we need to make a cognizant effort of,” said Becker, noting that women tend to share credit with their team, which makes it more difficult to identify top performers. Companies should look to assign women sponsors as well as mentors.
Women helping women: All the panelists agreed that women also need to take more actionable roles in promoting their own careers and raising their sights. “About 36 percent of men said in a [McKinsey & Company] survey that they aspire to get to the top, compared with only 18 percent of women,” said Barsch. Women executives need to share their stories and how they manage work and life responsibilities to prove to others that it can be done, added Becker. This is in addition to continuous networking and publicizing to managers how high up the ladder you’re aspiring to go.
Reprinted with permission from DiversityInc.
Voss: ‘This is all about making our business better’
By Luke Visconti DiversityInc CEO
Diversity and inclusion take a front seat at Ameren, one of DiversityInc’s Top 5 Regional Utilitiesin 2012. The philosophy that an organization’s greatest asset is its people is one value that President, CEO and Chairman Tom Voss touts strongly—and for good reason. Employee ideas have been a primary driver of innovation and market success.
Voss visibly and proactively has sought to build an inclusive environment where workers are encouraged to share their ideas openly. His efforts at holding executives accountable for diversity and inclusion results have sparked a cultural transformation that’s contributing to increased revenue and an improving stock price.
best serve ourcountries and communities at large.” Why do you feel that way?
Tom Voss: Our most valuable asset is our people. We’re trying to do as every company is—the best job you can with the resources you have. You can’t afford to be dismissing people’s ideas. We found out as we invest in our diversity efforts that it’s been helping our company get better. We had a long way to go. We had areas in our company that had absolutely no diversity. We had people who weren’t hearing or seeing people who were different than them.
Ameren’s President, CEO and Chairman Tom Voss visibly and proactively has sought to build an inclusive environment where workers are encouraged to share their ideas openly.
Voss shares with DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti his viewpoints on the importance of employee input, the need for accountable and proactive leadership to generate buy-in for diversity and inclusion, and why successful succession planning should go beyond if “someone gets hit by a bus.”
Luke Visconti: Ameren’s website states: “We believe that the full utilization of all human-resources potential is critical to achieving the highest human potential and to
Eight years ago, I recognized this and said this is important for our future success. We had to make that investment.
Visconti: Can you think of a day that you had an epiphany that led you to think more inclusively about people?
Voss: Back when those Clarence Thomas hearings were going on, the idea struck me that there could be people in the workforce feeling mistreated. I didn’t want that to happen to my department at that time.
Ameren President,CEO and Chairman Tom Voss with winners of the Thomas R.Voss Diversity Excellence Award.Second row:Donna Bullock,supervisor of business administration and customer service;Michelle Gaffney,associate general counsel; and Sharon Harvey Davis,diversity director.Back row:Duane Harley,director of engineering;Joseph DeGreeff,project manager;Pamelia Jones,customer service analyst.
involved with the local St. Louis economic-developmental agency with this perspective of diversity. Could you tell us a little bit about that?
Voss: About a year ago, I came on as the chairman of the Regional Chamber & Growth Association. Right after I came on, the executive director announced that he was going to retire.
This year’s been about looking for someone suitable to replace him, a national search. The search committee made sure that we had a first set of candidates to choose from.
The first set of candidates wasn’t diverse. It was just all white males. They interviewed, got down to five and said, “We like this group, but we want to see some non-traditional candidates—some female and minority candidates.”
We regrouped and got about a group of 10, and then they interviewed back down again. It’s been a process that’s ensured we get a diverse candidate pool.
Proactive Innovation
Visconti: Ameren’s mission is a secure energy future. How do you see diversity and inclusion fitting in with that?
Art & Economics
Visconti: You have in your
I made sure that the people working for me feel like they’re treated fairly, that they can progress and openly express their feelings. There was another event when I was in high school. I was going out to a restaurant after a prom. Some of our friends were African American. They couldn’t go in those restaurants. I thought that was just unbelievably unfair. I couldn’t conceive that there would be an issue like that.
bio one long paragraph on the different not-for-profits that you have been leaderof. One that stood out was Dance St. Louis.
Voss: I have two daughters. They competitively danced. People came and said, “We’re looking for a board member for this group called Dance St. Louis.” This was 15 years ago,
long before I was a CEO. It always has something, some nationality thing—either Spanish or Brazilian or something—tied to it besides the traditional things that you would normally see. It’s been truly a community thing, something for everybody.
Visconti: You have been
Voss: “Secure” has a lot of different ways you can look at it. We think our job is not to just react to things but be proactive—like getting ahead of electric cars and getting ahead of energy conservation. To figure out those things that require an innovative workforce, you need a diverse workforce that is operating at a
See AMEREN, page 21
Continued from page 20 very high level. Diversity plays such a key role in that. We really can’t afford to have people holding back good ideas or for good ideas to be dismissed.
Visconti: Can you give me some examples of where you’ve seen that in action within the company?
Voss: At amerensolar.com, you’ll see a very sophisticated analysis of various solar technologies. I didn’t come up with that idea. That was our people who figured out how to make that very attractive, easy to learn.
We just signed a contract with the local supplier, Peabody, with ultra-low sulfur coal that did not require us to install very sophisticated environmental controls for at least five years. It saves our customers 30 percent rate increases in the future.
Visconti: What do you see coming up in the future?
Voss: We have been a very traditional organization and done things the way they’ve always been done. With the challenging environment— rules, deregulation and everything that’s going on in the market now—we just can’t be our father’s utility company anymore. We have to be better. We went through this exercise with our senior managers, asking how much time they were being proactive/reactive. They were spending about 80 percent of their time being reactive. I said, “Where do you think that should be?” They said “80 percent should be proactive.” We have to consciously set aside time to be thinking about how to make this business better.
New Culture of Accountability
Visconti: You have a very robust diversity-management
structure. You have a diversity council, resource groups, mentoring. Do you see that as being integral to this general movement of being more proactive, innovative?
Voss: We didn’t push our employees into doing things they didn’t want to do. We gave general diversity training and gradually introduced forums. They were pushing their management: “Get on board with this.” I was surprised at how well our employees embraced this concept of diversity through the organization. We just had to feed it. Every year incrementally we keep making it a little better—keep ratcheting it up. Our managers have done a good job of putting accounta-
bility in performance appraisals and putting in pools of applicants and hiring standards. I think we’re really getting it.
Visconti: We were talking about accountability for achieving representative results with yourrecruiting. I pointed to the vice president of human resources and said, “You can’t expect him to solve everything. You have to be responsible.” The heads of yourdivisions nodded togetheras if it had been rehearsed. How did you build that understanding?
Voss: Just a few years ago, we didn’t have enough minorities in our entry-level jobs and we were blaming our HR department. We said, “Why
don’t we take accountability and get it fixed?” What you’re seeing now is an organization that’s been really transformed from a cultural initiative. That’s really what’s held us back from being a truly great company. We’re fixing that now.
In 2006, we had a bunch of storms that came through: We had a deregulation in Illinois and near-bankruptcy issues there; we had the governor and attorney general fighting for one thing or another.
We were sitting back saying that none of this was our fault. We were in that situation until our culture was at rock bottom and we really didn’t know how to get out of it.
We got on to this idea to bring in this training to look at
our culture of accountability, and it changed the way we do business. It fundamentally changed our company.
The diversity stuff started a few years before that. There were a few of us who were proponents for this. When we started working on our culture, there were a few of us who saw how this fit in and that if we embraced this, it would make us even better. The two just meshed together and got us in a good spot.
Once we accomplished it, we saw all these other things. Safety and diversity were so important that we embraced them, and we could do something about those. We measure how we interact with our customers and have gotten dramatic improve-
ment in those scores, both in the phone center and one-onone contact in the field. We’ve been trying to tie this all together, not only improving the company’s bottom line but the way we serve our community.
There was hesitation and there were things like “Is this political correctness?” When they saw it starting to take off, we started seeing that the community was noticing what we were doing nationally and thought, “This is working. If I don’t get on board, I’m going to be left behind.” They started embracing it more and more. When we opened our employee-resource groups, all of our senior leaders took responsibility of being a sponsor for one of those groups, seeing that this is going to help us be better.
Visconti: Sharon Harvey Davis is yourchief diversity officer. Why did you put a strong woman like herin that position?
Voss: Sharon now works for me directly and she doesn’t make it easy at times. She pushes the organization sometimes into uncomfortable areas for a very conservative company. That’s what we need. That’s one of the contributors to making us successful in this area.
We’re looking for those leaders who are pushing us to say good enough isn’t going to do it. We’ve got to get to excellence in our operations, excellence in our culture.
We’re just getting started. We got a long way to go. The ultimate is that maybe we won’t need a diversity manager someday, that it’s just so much into our culture that it’s our way of doing business.
Visconti: Do you see it being integral to yourability to innovate?
Voss: Absolutely. You want people to feel free to express themselves, that it’s safe to throw out ideas. We’ve pretty
See VOSS, page 22
Continued from page 21
much hit a culture where you’ve got to be 100 percent sure this is going to work before you said anything about it. That just stifles creativity, innovation and growth.
Visconti: You grew up in that culture and you evolved it. What inspired you to do that?
Voss: I just didn’t see it working long term. The world changed. It’s gotten so much more about communications. You could not operate the way we were. We had to turn around a fundamental culture, and that takes a while. If you looked at our past performance, some of it leveled off and could have started going into decline if we hadn’t turned it around.
Getting Ahead With Succession Planning
Visconti: When you see the future of yourdiversity and inclusion efforts applied to the footprint of yourgenerational community customers, is there something that you intend to help lead the region?
Voss: I’d like to see us put some more emphasis on talent development—getting higher graduation rates out of high schools and colleges. That’ll bring in employment because people know we have a highly educated workforce that’s ready to go. The whole idea of supplier diversity, innovative minorityowned businesses and nurturing them along, helping them out—I think that only makes the whole area prosper more. I lived here. I want to make this a better place for everyone. Diversity efforts are going to be key.
Visconti: You have an interesting succession: You
have who’s going to be the next CEO.
Voss: If you look at our company history, I don’t think we’ve done succession planning very well. We’ve done “If somebody gets hit by a bus, who’s going to fill that spot?”
That’s not what you want to do. What you want is leadership development, a plan where you look at the leaders of your company, figure out who key people are and start investing in them through special or rotational assignments. We didn’t do that before. Each group kind of had its own leaders who kind of kept them to themselves.
Now we’re sharing them. We’re sitting down every year and looking at all of our talent and saying, “We can put them anywhere in this company.
Let’s start doing it.” We just did an organizational change where we put one of our leaders of corporate planning into a field-operations job. The idea is that it’ll help further his development. He’ll bring great strategic planning to that organization. When we have an opportunity, we’re going to look for our best talent and then help them develop.
Visconti: You’re factoring diversity into succession planning. How are you assessing that?
Voss: When you get down to this pool of candidates that you think are your high fliers, one thing you want to make sure of is that it’s a diverse group. And if it isn’t, then we’ve got to do something more dramatic to make sure it is.
Part of our values now is diversity. It is so well embraced by our employees. If someone was in that position who hadn’t embraced the work we’re doing, or isn’t belonging to one of these ERG groups, or isn’t sponsoring one of them, or isn’t doing anything in the community in this area, I think that would take him off the list. For more on succession planning strategies, read “Increasing Diversity in Talent Development.”
Creating Experiences, Making Changes
Visconti: Can you give an example of lives that have been changed because of these experiences?
Voss: As our leadership
team has gotten involved in these ERG groups, I can tell you a number of them have come to me and told me they see things a lot differently. Last year, my wife and I hosted a gala for Doorways, which helps people with AIDS. At the gala, there’s a large number of same-sex couples. Our company’s culture hasn’t been used to dealing with that. I encouraged a bunch of my vice presidents to come—strong encouragement. When they came, they enjoyed it. In fact, they told me it was a very warm experience.
I thoroughly admit that the upper management has not been overly diverse, although we do now have a woman president who runs one of our segments. I do believe that those people truly believe in the concepts of diversity and know that we have to continue to work on those areas.
I think Sharon did a great job of laying it incrementally, nudging us a little further each day and each year. We had people at one point in time taking a personal commitment at one of our leadership meetings to the concept of diversity as we did to safety. She’s been very straightfor-
ward—never went overboard, though. She pushed at a pace that people could accept and just incrementally kept doing things. In the beginning, awards, celebrations and nonthreatening things, and then she gradually moved into performance appraisals, training and setting goals and measures for us in promotions and hiring.
Visconti: How did you manage this so that the pushback from middle management didn’t overwhelm the effort?
Voss: We trained all employees from the bottom and actually got them engaged, then kept them engaged through our forums. They were pushing their management too. The very visible support that I had always given to it helped people as well. They kept the thing under control so people couldn’t push back very hard because they knew that that was unacceptable to the way I was moving this organization. They knew if they did not want to be a part of it, I often told people, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person; it just that you don’t belong here.
Visconti: You do have some areas and some generating plants that are not very homogenous-looking. How did it work there?
Voss: We have rural linemen who are out in areas where all you do is hunt and fish and put up wire. There is this diversity of thought even among a group of same people. Little towns, they have some of the biggest prejudices. They might not be black and white but they might be this side and that side of town. You have to get those people saying, “It doesn’t matter. When we come to work, we’re going to do the best we can do.” There are always prejudices. If you break them down, you’ll be a higher-performing group. It all comes down to performance. It’s not just the right thing to do—it’s also good business. It’s really about making the company better.
Visconti: Going back to the website, the words are essential. To describe diversity and inclusion on the homepage sends a very clear message.
Voss: We feel that way. I thoroughly believe that. Our performance has improved the last couple years. We’ve performed financially better; operationally, we’re performing extremely well. It’s starting to show on the stock market. I think it’s on its way up, and I’m committed to it. It isn’t just about doing it for diversity’s sake. This is all about making our business better. I think employees feel better with this effort going on. I think they’re proud of the company. Many times, people have come up and told me that they are glad the company has this kind of attitude about diversity that is accepting people’s differences. You can’t do a lot about things that happen off the job, but we can make this a better atmosphere here.
American
Last semester 75 eighth graders from McKinley Classical Junior Academy got a firsthand look at some of the latest technology in electric vehicles (EV).
“We hope to inspire them so they see that the courses they take today could be just the beginning of an exciting career in math or the sciences.”
– Mark Nealon, manager of Ameren Missouri’s Electric Vehicle program
Members of Ameren Missouri’s electric vehicle team partnered with Physical Science teacher, Rona RobinsonHill, to provide students the opportunity to see Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) concepts in action.
“Math and Science plays a role in our lives daily, and this was a great opportunity for my students to really understand how their lessons transition beyond the classroom and into their personal lives and professional aspirations,” said Robinson-Hill, a Physical Science teacher at McKinley
Classical Junior Academy.
As part of its Electric Vehicle program, Ameren Missouri is committed to sharing research-based information on this technology with organizations throughout Missouri.
As part of a nationwide research project, the company is testing the plug-in hybrid electric Chevy Volt, which the students toured to better understand how electric vehicles actually work, the environmen-
tal benefits of EVtechnology compared to conventional vehicles, and the costs.
However, Mark Nealon, manager of Ameren Missouri’s Electric Vehicle program, says this event isn’t just about the
cars. “These students are the engineers, teachers and scientists who will lead us in the future, and by sharing with them this innovative technology we hope to inspire them so
Last
they see that the courses they take today could be just the beginning of an exciting career in math or the sciences. Ameren Missouri is committed to education,” Nealon said.
By Sandra Jordan
Of The St.Louis American
“We are wasting human resources.”
That’s a concern of psychologist and St. Louis native
Jason Que Purnell, Ph.D., associate professor in the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University St. Louis.
“We” in this case is the St. Louis region, although it could be applied across the U.S. The resources are young people, whose ideas and dreams vanish long before they come to fruition; dismissed and invisible to others who could help them shape a greater tomorrow.
who are wondering what is a psychologist in public health in the School of Social Work doing worrying about education?
Because it all ties together,” Purnell said.
“Nobody is supporting those dreams and aspirations, but if we care about the future of the region, we can’t continue to waste resources.”
– Jason Que Purnell
Purnell is involved in an initiative coordinated locally by the Nine Network, called American Graduate. The nationwide effort launched last fall in St. Louis and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to address the high school dropout crisis in America.
“I’m sure there are people
Through the initiative, Purnell spoke with a group of students he described as “bright or brilliant” who talked about why they were in danger of dropping out of high school.
“They said things like, ‘You look at me like you don’t think I have any potential,’” Purnell. “‘You see these braids in my hair, you see that I’m a black male coming down the street – you think I’m going to harm you or you think I don’t have anything to contribute.’”
Purnell remembered one female student who was keenly interested in Japanese music.
“She wants to study Japanese and go over and live in Japan. Nobody’s looking at that girl and thinking, ‘Those are her dreams and aspirations.’” he said. “And to hear these students describing it,
nobody is supporting those dreams and aspirations, but if we care about the future of the region, we can’t continue to waste resources.
“It’s not just a moral imperative, it’s an economic imperative; it has to do with the health and well-being of the entire region.”
Dean Edward Lawlor, the
William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor at George Warren Brown School of Social Work and director of the Institute for Public Health at Washington University, said Purnell’s leadership is extraordinarily effective, coming from a deep set of values and a deep commitment to the St. Louis community.
“He has such a moral center to him, and it shows in the passion he brings to all aspects of his work,” Lawlor said. “He is also such a nice, decent, and humane person. It is a privilege to work with him and we are so fortunate that he chose to come back to St. Louis and join the Brown School faculty.”
‘Wrong level of sensitivity’
After graduating from Saint Louis University High School, Purnell studied government and philosophy at Harvard University, earned his Master’s in Public Health from University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and a doctorate from Ohio State University. He initially wanted to be a counselor for adolescents, and by changing sponsors during graduate training, Purnell became interested in cancer research, spirituality, income dynamics and health outcomes and health disparities.
“I think the breakdowns that we have across cross-cultural lines are not because we pay too little attention to our differences,” Purnell said. “We pay attention in the wrong ways in the wrong times and with the wrong level of sensitivity in listening to people.”
Purnell says cultural competency has the danger of devolving into a superficial and too simplistic notion that because an individual is of a particular race, gender, persuasion or cultural group that someone knows something about them; or the notion that a person can read a book or have a set of experiences to make them “competent” to interact with the individual.
“You are never going to be truly competent in some culture that’s not your own,” he said. “It’s hard enough to be competent in your own culture.”
By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American
When Otis Scott was a college student of business, he had a conversation with his professional mentor that changed the direction of his life.
“I wanted to be a corporate lawyer and eventually become a judge,” said Scott, now regional senior human resources manager for Walmart.
Scott’s mentor, a corporate lawyer (now deceased), asked him why he wanted to take that career path.
“I told him that I wanted to stand up for people and make an impact on people’s lives,” Scott said. “He funneled me into the HR world. I asked him, ‘Isn’t all they do is hire and fire?’He said, ‘No it’s so much more than that.’”
ty seriously.
“We are one of the companies that walk the walk, not just talk it,” he said. “In my role, I do anything I can to help leverage diversity and to keep it in the forefront of our minds – because I understand that it’s a thread in our culture. You can look inside our stores, our companies and the choices of where we have stores, and you can see that we understand the power of diversity.”
“In my role, I do anything I can to help leverage diversity and to keep it in the forefront of our minds.”
– Otis Scott, Walmart
“I feel I am doing what God wanted me to do. I get to see my payday everyday with the way I help someone.”
As a HR manager, Scott thinks daily about workforce planning, talent growth, succession planning and community involvement, he said.
“Diversity and inclusion are a huge part of the Walmart’s culture,” Scott said. “One of the things that I love about Walmart is that we really pride ourselves on making sure that we are part of the community, not just a store in the community.” Scott said Walmart takes its responsibility in the communi-
Scott grew up with his mother, Doris Waldron, in Cleveland, Ohio. His father died before he was born.
“I had a grandfather who stepped up and became Dad instantly,” Scott said.
“That’s what has instilled success in me. It was never about success having to do about material things. Success, as my grandfather would put it, is what makes your heart feel good.”
His grandfather, Rev. Richard Johnson, has been a minister all of Scott’s life. He has three children, Brianna, Otis and Deshaune Scott.
“I am a young AfricanAmerican professional that is very cognizant of understanding the shoulders of which I stand on,” he said. “I understand the impact of the role that I’m in – not just professionally but personally as well. I get up everyday to live up to those expectations.”
Scott has been in St. Louis for three years. He said that the region is filled with diversity and with people who want
to learn more about other cultures.
“There are so many things that make us diverse,” he said.
“You have a lot of people who
are growing themselves in knowledge of what makes us different. We are still learning. We are in the stage of really exploring ourselves and grow-
ing ourselves, from my perspective.”
For Walmart, he said that being inclusive is just as important as being diverse.
“It’s not just diversity, it’s diversity and inclusion,” he said. “One doesn’t go without the other. They go hand in hand in our company.”
By Sandra Jordan
Of The St.Louis American
Transferring neurology patients to Barnes-Jewish Hospital has become a smoother task for outside hospitals, thanks in part to the leadership of Operations Manager Adrienne Ford, of the Neuroscience Center at the hospital.
Functioning as the business manager for the department, she works to streamline processes for better patient experiences; something she says is a hospital-wide initiative incorporating the Lean method used by Toyota and other manufacturers, in a health care setting.
“We had an outside consulting company come in and help us try to bring some of the principles, philosophies and to help be more efficient in the hospital setting,” Ford said.
Neuroscience includes an administrative call center, neurodiagnostic and telemedicine services, as well as a sleep lab. Ford said the Neuroscience Department is also streamlining the experience for patients, who have a team of people assigned to their care.
“We’ve been using that philosophy to help us improve patient care by reducing length of stay with unnecessary patient days, where things that were not of value to the patient were extending their stay,” Ford said.
For stroke patients, the goal is get the patients to the right BJC hospital for treatment, based on the severity of the condition.
“Alot of times we have
stroke patients in different areas that they end up getting transferred to us but sometimes it is beneficial to that patient to get treatment at their local facility,” Ford said. “We’ve worked with them on different stroke protocols and then we put a telemedicine robot that can actually be controlled by the doctors here at our hospital and be moved around through the hospital, and they have the camera and can view the patient and the patient can see them. And so they can actually do a basic assessment of the patient to see how severe their stroke state is
and then they can advise the doctor at that hospital about next steps.”
Related to that is the time it used to take for hospitals to transfer neuroscience patients to BJH.
“Originally when an outside hospital would call in, they would have to talk to multiple people – a phone call would be 20-30 minutes, and they’re just trying to get someone transferred in,” she said.
Ford led a team that analyzed the process for a quicker solution.
“We saw it was very inefficient, and eventually – the out-
Adrienne Ford is Operations Manager of the Neuroscience Center at BarnesJewish Hospital. She also is a co-founder and treasurer for the St.Louis chapter of the National Association of Healthcare Service Executives.
By Michael McMillan For The American
Diversity has always been good business. Companies have found diversity to be a best practice strategy for growth. Companies show increased productivity, have better problem solving capabilities and show value-added programs for their changing demographics. The key, however, is adopting a state of mind for inclusion throughout the company.
modus of operation. Leaders having a vision for their organizations that creates inclusiveness without sacrificing any one segment have greater success. As a result, recruitment reflecting demographics served, training strategies, advancement opportunities, even salary levels have to be taken into consideration with a diversity/ inclusion state of mind
side hospital – they are not just calling us, they are calling other facilities, so whoever accepts the patient faster is going to get the patient. And we weren’t fast at all.” Ford said. “We eliminated how much time the outside hospitals would call.”
She said outside hospitals now make one call.
“They talk to one physician that’s conferenced-in and then we moved a lot of those phone calls to the background and so we are handling those calls in between ourselves and not
See FORD, page 33
Diversity issues have changed over time in companies and how government defines it. In the early 60’s, we began hearing the word diversity, particularly in corporate and government offices. It became the transitional word for affirmative action and equal employment opportunities. It grew to exceed racial references to that of environmental issues, physical disabilities, gender and niche industry-driven professions. As this process of diversity inclusion broadened its scope, minority fulfillment of minority inclusion seemed to decrease.
In my office, we have exceeded the MBE/WBE goal in contracts with vendors every year.
For many small and familyowned businesses the issues become having more access to banking loans and credit lines; affordable supplies; retention of staff; and countless other challenges to overcome. Yet, these businesses have a state of mind to survive against the odds. More and more service providers and banks are expanding their outreach. Each year the Office of the License Collector and Collector of Revenue host a Licensing & Business Resource Fair to ensure that support. Unless we change our minds about diversity, the debate will continue for years to come and our growth will be the lesser for
Only when a state of mind for diversity is shared on all levels will it become the
See McMILLAN, page 33
Continued from page 30
driver for the video monitor while another used another instrument to move place the bones.
“That’s the arm,” one girl said.
“Four minutes,” a timekeeper chimed in.
“That one is too close to the other part,” another student said.
“I had a first year medical student who put that whole skeleton together in under three minutes,” Smith said.
Simultaneously, another student used items that would seem more befitting for a tool box or a hardware store.
Amber Crittle, an incoming freshman at Hazelwood West High School, practiced eyehand coordination on a separate monitoring station by using a tool to pick up washers and place them on wooden pegs.
“It teaches you how to move stuff without actually looking at it – kind of moving your hands without seeing what you’re doing,” Crittle explained.
“One of the most difficult skills you have left with laparoscopy is suturing inside the body while looking at a two-dimensional screen,” Smith told the students.
Matt Parasch of John F. Kennedy High School was selected to demonstrate surgical precision using a type of stapling wand called an ENDO-GIA, short for endoscopic gastrointestinal anastomosis device. The laparoscopic linear stapler has a twopronged clamp on one end that was loaded with a cartridge of staples.
Smith told the students, “When he fires this device, it’s going to lay down six rows of titanium staples.”
Expensive titanium staples. Smith said each cartridge costs $200.
After repeated attempts, Pastard’s surgery assistant couldn’t quite get a grip, literally. She was using a separate instrument to grab hold of the digit targeted for removal.
It was Professor Smith to the rescue using another tool.
“Clamp now! Perfect,” Smith said, as Pastard took hold and triggered the stapler.
“Now pop that button,” Smith said. “There’s the appendix right there.”
Students applauded as they inspected three perfect rows of staples on either side of the cut – except the cut didn’t quite go all the way through to the end of the finger.
“See how hard this is to do?” Smith asked. The students concurred.
“Now imagine taking somebody’s gall bladder out,” Smith said.
The summer scholars also learned the basics of how to suture by stitching together synthetic skin that mimics the feel and quality of real human skin.
Classroom instruction included human anatomy, ACT preparation, American Red Cross CPR and interviewing techniques. Students also learned what is expected from medical students and were introduced to specialty fields in medicine.
Students also watched the film, “Something the Lord Has Made,” to give them an historical perspective on health disparities, said Colette McLemore, diversity manager for the School of Medicine.
“I mention the price only because everything in surgery is expensive,” Smith reminded the potential surgeons-in-training.
glove shouldn’t leak on the opposite side,” Smith said.
Parasch’s mission was to excise one appendage from a water-filled Latex glove tied at the wrist. The pseudo medical condition requiring surgery was poly-appendicitis.
“If we do this correctly, when the appendage comes off, we shouldn’t lose any water on that side and the
“If I were the surgeon doing this case, I would go with the smallest one – make it easy,” the teacher hinted.
“It’s only awkward because you’re finding that your sense of depth is off – you are doing a three-dimensional procedure in a two-dimensional plane.”
After some finagling to get in place and open the clamp
over the finger, the moment of truth arrived followed by the crunch of the staples.
“Did you hear it?” the professor asked. “Now pop the button.”
They heard it, all right.
The student almost got it, but the water in the bowl told the story. It still made for a teaching moment.
“You see these titanium staples? They will stay in the
body forever,” Smith said.
The staple clamping device is one of the instruments used to remove kidneys, for example.
“It cuts between the third and the fourth row – kaboom, fire and it takes the kidney out,” Smith said.
Next Willow Pastard, a student at Metro High School in St. Louis, gave it a try. She looked serious and determined.
Every year, the SLU Office of Multicultural Affairs notifies area high schools for student participation in the program, which is open to any student in the St. Louis area. Attendance is expected at all sessions and transportation to and from the program is the responsibility of the student. For more information, contact McLemore at 314-977-8730 or visit www.slu.edu.
By Charles K.Poole
For The St.Louis American
I’ve a lot of diverse feelings about diversity.
On the one hand, I believe the world is a better place when we embrace our differences. On the other, I’ve seen how diversity has become, for many, an idea that’s easier support than practice. When anyone rushes to prove just how diverse they are, I question their motives. I wonder if they believe that diversity is entirely about differentness, in all its various forms. I challenge
But some people still concern themselves only with appearances, and that makes defining diversity difficult for them.
them to provide evidence that they really understand that diversity is not just black and white. But it’s not gray, either. There are certain expectations we should all have about diversity, from the way we approach defining it to the reasons we support it. Diversity, after all, isn’t just about the obvious things that make us different; it’s about the how different thoughts, beliefs, approaches and expectations can be appreciated for their collective, positive impact upon the world. My personal definition of
Continued from page 31
diversity is this: “Diversity isn’t about what can potentially be lost, but what can be potentially gained, from being entirely open to others different from oneself.”
Far too often, however, diversity is relegated to what looks diverse on the outside; as a practice it never quite passes the Litmus Test for unconditional inclusiveness—meaning efforts result in fully realized actions that walk the talk. That’s why, for example, an organization assembling a group of obviously diverse people for an ad campaign is not diversity, but
the same company assembling a group of people who may look different, but are valued because they also think and do different more likely is. When diversity is a real practice it always looks right, but it feels right, too. But some people still concern themselves only with appearances, and that makes defining diversity difficult for them. Unfortunately, too many people are influenced by what they see versus what they know. And, on the whole, we rely on too many stereotypes when it comes to definitions of
diversity. We’re much too quick to label actions as diverse, but reluctant to learn what the practice really involves. Therefore, there’s a tendency to generally believe we know about people, what they think and what they’ll do because, well, they’re a woman, for example. Or Hispanic/Latino. Or gay or lesbian. Or carrying around the Bible when they haven’t read a single verse: It looks right, but is it, really? Is it any wonder, then, that when similar thinking about diversity takes hold, we accomplish nothing but confuse everything?
Of course not. Yet by accepting the appearance of diversity in lieu of embracing real diversity, we’re collective-
ly ignoring how the content of an individual’s character, breadth of their intellect and unique creative ability can move our nation—and our world—forward. It doesn’t have to be this way, however. We can still change things. We have opportunities every day to stop speaking at the concept of diversity and begin speaking directly to it. And the first step toward embracing real diversity requires us to thoughtfully avoid our historical tendency to perpetuate sameness—in both thought and practice—everywhere. We have a lot of work ahead of us—all of us—but there are great rewards ahead if we stop seeing diversity as just something to say we do instead of something really believe in.
Continued from page 1 having the outside hospitals talk to five different people,” Ford said.
“We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from outside hospitals that it’s a lot easier to transfer patients into our facility, a lot less headache and a lot more customer-friendly.”
The Dallas native first came to St. Louis in 2002 to attend Washington University, where
it. Lawmakers can do their part by setting standards. Individuals can do their part by ensuring that they are competitively prepared, then persist and persevere in following opportunities. However, it takes a combination of all of the above working in harmony. For example in my office, we have exceeded the MBE/WBE goal in contracts with vendors every year. We also created a pipeline for advancement through scholarships; training and mentoring interns; and in some cases ultimately hiring them. This same opportunity is given to full time staff with tuition reimbursements and mentoring for job advancement. It appears that the problem is not accepting that diversity is needed as much as overcoming the resistance to change. At the end of the day, we all have a stake in an investment for diversity. To do so, it takes being adaptable; respectful of broader view points; and prepared for the resistance to change that only our persistence to be successful can overcome. Michael McMillan is License Collector for the City of St. Louis.
she received a bachelor’s in psychology, women and gender studies.
“Originally when I was in college I was in pre-med and I’ve always been really interested in the sciences and the medical field,” Ford said.
Her mother is a nurse which sparked her interest in health care.
“As I was getting involved in premed, it wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be but I knew wanted to be involved in healthcare,” Ford said. “I started taking courses in contemporary women’s health and in healthcare economics. I realized that there is a whole other side to healthcare – the business side.”
She worked in New York as an administrative intern for a few months in 2008 at Blythedale Children’s Hospital, focusing on research and analysis of legislative issues pertaining to special needs children.
Ford earned a master’s of
public health in health management and policy at the University of Michigan in 2009 and returned to St. Louis because of what it and BJH had to offer.
“I applied to different programs and I decided to come to Barnes-Jewish Hospital because I was aware of their prestige,” Ford said.
She went to work at BJH in July 2009 on a David A. Gee BJH Administrative Fellowship, where she received executive leadership training, participated in the Joint Commission survey process and visited Capitol Hill with BJC government affairs officials. Rotations through key clinical and ancillary areas gave Ford a better understanding of hospital operations.
Ford also serves as a project coordinator for the BJC Stroke Integrated Practice Unit, which is looking into a standardized stroke care across their hospitals.
“We are also trying to look at half of our patients are transferred to facilities – most neuroscience patients don’t go home – they usually end up going to another facility,” Ford explained.
Stroke awareness
Stroke awareness and the prevalence of strokes in the community is a concern for neuroscience.
“Everyone is aware of a heart attack – you know, if you feel pain in your chest or your arm , people immediately think, okay – heart attack, let me get to an ED and let me call an ambulance,” she said.
“But when you have a stroke, there’s not just one symptom that says it’s a stroke. Alot of times, you feel tired or lethargic or you just think, ‘Just let me go to sleep or let me sleep it off,’which is exactly what you shouldn’t
be doing.” Abigger push around stroke awareness could help save lives.
“And it’s like little things you don’t think are a big deal. And a lot of times when people think it’s a stroke, they want to drive themselves in,” Ford said. “Don’t do that. If you really think it’s a stroke, you need to call an ambulance.”
Ford is a co-founder and treasurer for the St. Louis chapter of the National Association of Healthcare Service Executives. She is a member of the Young Professional Network Leadership 100 of the Regional Business Council; the United Way Charmaine Chapman Society and serves as a volunteer on the United Way Allocations Panel for Metro East Disabilities Services. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and attends Church on the Rock West County campus.
By Allison Spence
The road to a legal career isn’t always smooth. Sixtyeight students from Cardinal Ritter College Prep learned that lesson quite literally earlier this year when their bus broke down on the freeway en route to a unique legal education program called Street Law.
After a brief delay, the bus pulled up at the Fenton headquarters of UniGroup, Inc. The students tumbled out and then embarked on a day-long conference intended to spur in them an early interest in the law. The jam-packed day proved that the lessons they learned there — and the connections they made with St. Louis corporate attorneys — were worth a few bumps in the road.
Thompson Coburn sponsored the conference, which was part of a months-long educational law program that connects corporate attorneys with diverse high school students.
The firm also hosted a January training session at the Thompson Coburn Conference Center for 20 program volunteers, who are members of the St. Louis chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Volunteers at the one-day conference included Jan Alonzo, senior vice president and general counsel at UniGroup and chair of the St. Louis ACC’s Street Law Program; Heather Paraino, senior staff attorney at
Photo by Dave Gilbert
Sixty-eight students from Cardinal Ritter College Prep took part in a unique legal education program called Street Law where they were able to learn from,and connect with, local St.Louis corporate attorneys.
UniGroup; Tamee Reese, general attorney at AT&T Advertising Solutions; Mary Karr, senior vice president and general counsel of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Nancy Tayborn, senior employment attorney at Wells Fargo; Vanessa McKenzie, assistant general counsel at Emerson Electric; and John Lavey, corporate counsel at Energizer, among others. Those local Association of Corporate Counsel members
“These students are smart, well-behaved and heading for college and leadership roles in their communities.”
– Lee Arbetman,national executive director of the Street Law program
led Cardinal Ritter students in several legal exercises. They tackled a hypothetical contract dispute between Beyoncé and the Scott Trade Center, and
searched the U.S. Patent Office database while brainstorming trademarks for a new cellular device.
Students also lunched with
St. Louis judges and lawyers, including St. Louis Circuit Judge Jimmie Edwards, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce and Jeffrey Lewis, corporate counsel at AT&T Services.
Lee Arbetman, the national executive director of the Street Law program, attended the conference at UniGroup.
“This program featured a perfect storm of three factors: Outstanding chapter leadership in Jan Alonzo, motivated and
well prepared volunteers from the St. Louis ACC chapter, and the perfect school partner in Cardinal Ritter,” Arbetman said. “These students are smart, well-behaved and heading for college and leadership roles in their communities.”
He noted that at the conclusion of the program, Alonzo took a poll of the assembled students. “How many of you are now seriously considering careers in the law?” she asked. Nearly half of the students shot their hands up, Arbetman said, “which came as quite a surprise to the teachers who were with them on the trip.” The program marked the first time the St. Louis chapter of the ACC has partnered with Street Law. It’s also unique among similar programs across the country because of the number of students involved. Thompson Coburn partner Roman Wuller, the chair of the firm’s Business Litigation group, coordinated Thompson Coburn’s sponsorship of the event.
“We’re proud to support the ACC’s effort to connect St. Louis corporate counsel with the energetic, motivated students at Cardinal Ritter,” Wuller said. “We hope the program at UniGroup expanded the students’ understanding of the type of work lawyers do, and fueled their interest in possibly joining the legal profession.”
Continued from page 25 fighters remained dismal.
For those who were lucky enough to be hired, racism ensured that they would be the recipients of heinous treatment. They lived under the tremendous burdens of constant, virulent, racist assaults. They were assaulted verbally by their superiors who hurled racist epithets.
They were corralled into inferior accommodations at the engine houses and they were forced to join the union—the union that then used their dues to hire attorneys to fight against the hiring and promotion of Black firefighters.
In the 1960s, with the civil rights movement in full swing, Black firefighters in St. Louis made the historic and fearless decision to leave the union.
Wendell H. Goins has said “giving the local union our dues money was just like giving somebody the money to buy bats and bullets to bust us upside the head with!”
Goins was one of several men who helped to organize the establishment of F.I.R.E.the Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality, in 1967. By the early 1970s, little had changed for Black firefighters. From the time the first Black firefighter was hired more than 50 years earlier, there had never been more than four Black Captains on the Fire Department. This was not by coincidence, but by design. ABlack private was only promoted to Captain if one of the existing four Black Captains retired, was fired or died.
Still, in the 1970s, those four Captains positions were treasured, considering the fact that no Black firefighter held a rank higher than that. Of the 1,000 or so members of the fire department at that time, about 110—11 percent – were Black. Of the 180 Captains, four were Black. This at a time when the population of the city was about 40 percent Black.
F.I.R.E. had had enough and filed a civil lawsuit against the city alleging racial discrimination in, among other things, the hiring and promotion practices of the fire department. As a result, the city entered into a consent decree with F.I.R.E. and the U.S. Department of Justice, agreeing to hire one Black firefighter for every White firefighter hired, in an effort to remedy the disparity in Black representation in the fire department. And in 1976, the court agreed with F.I.R.E, finding that the entry-level hiring test had a disparate impact upon Black applicants and had not been shown to be related to job performance. F.I.R.E. became the first Black firefighter organization in the country to win a discrimination lawsuit against a city.
F.I.R.E.’s victory was a major turning point for diversity in the St. Louis Fire Department, as the next 20 years brought a drastic change in the hiring and retention of Black firefighters. By the 1990s, a time when the city’s population was nearly 50 percent Black, the fire department
came closer than ever to reflecting demographics of the citizens it served. The number of Black firefighters went from 11 percent to 40 percent, Black Captains increased from 2 percent to 32 percent.
There was upward mobility as well as Black firefighters were promoted to ranks they’d never achieved. Ten of the fire department’s 20 Battalion Chiefs were Black and three of the four Deputy Chiefs were Black. For the first time ever, the fire department began to resemble the makeup of the city of St. Louis. And in 1999, Sherman George became the first Black Fire Chief in our city’s history.
And yet, today, much of that progress has been virtually eliminated.
While diversity is a business imperative for area CEOs, there is a litany of evidence that is far from a priority for the city of St. Louis when it comes to the fire department. Consider the facts.
In 2007, Sherman George was demoted after refusing to make promotions that were based on a testing process that he had insisted from the begin-
The Christian Hospital Auxiliary recently awarded four $1,000 scholarships to family members of a Christian Hospital Auxilian or employee.
The auxiliary recently awarded: ïMeghan Korte, center, daughter of Lisa Korte, Food & Nutrition Services.Meghan will be attending the University of Missouri at Columbia, pursuing a nursing degree.She graduated this year from Marquette Catholic High School in Alton, Ill. Donald James, left, son of Katrina Allen, Security.Donald attends Missouri State University for psychology with a career goal of clinical psychiatrist.He graduated in 2011 from Riverview Gardens High School.
• Benton Berigan, right, son of Bret Berigan, Communications & Marketing.Benton will be attending the University of Missouri at Columbia, majoring in neurobiology as a pre-med student.He graduated with honors from Meramec Community College this spring, and is a 2010 graduate of Parkway West High School.
• Ashlee Schneider, not pictured, daughter of Kurt Schneider, Radiology.Ashlee will be attending Murray State University in Murray, Ky., and plans to become a nurse anesthesist. For more information, contact Sheryl McClary at 314-653-5193 or sam7533@bjc.org.
ning was flawed. The most highly qualified candidate to replace him, Deputy Chief Charles Coyle, was passed over for the job in favor of a lower ranking, white candidate. Chief Coyle filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination and jurors agreed with him 11 to 1 and ordered the city to pay $350,000.
The racial makeup of the fire department has also taken drastic steps backwards. Today only about one in four Captains are Black. Though 50 percent of Battalion Chiefs were Black in the 1990s, today only 15 percent are Black. And of the five Deputy Chiefs, only Chief Coyle is Black. It has become common practice for the graduating classes of new firefighters to include only a handful of blacks. All this in a time where the population of the City of St. Louis is 48 percent Black.
Last year, in the pages of this newspaper, the chancellor of Washington University was quoted as saying, “Ours will only be the best climate for social, emotional and intellectual growth and achievement if we are all committed to diver-
sity and inclusiveness.”
In an era where business leaders and academics preach consistently about the importance of diversity, it’s crystal clear that something is wrong in the St. Louis Fire Department. Our country is more racially diverse today than ever in its history. The business world, academia and yes, public safety should reflect that. The St. Louis Fire Department should be a microcosm of the community it serves.
This is not to say that unqualified Black applicants should be hired or promoted. But it is to say that it is, at best, extremely difficult to believe that the city of St. Louis is doing everything it can to attract qualified Black candidates and to retain qualified Black firefighters.
F.I.R.E. is working with other fire service executives and community leaders to empower the black community with the additional tools that will help more of us to take control of our lives.Out of the 50 largest urban cities, St. Louis, in 2010, ranked third in unemployment amongst
African-Americans at 16.9 percent.That’s why we are partnering to start the African American Fire Service Institute to help provide more black applicants with the tools necessary to be job ready for employment opportunities on the St. Louis Fire Department. F.I.R.E. is the oldest public safety civil rights organization in the state.We believe we have pushed the Fire Department to some historic breakthroughs and we remain dedicated to assuring fairness and equal treatment in the hiring practices of the Fire Department.But this is not a battle we can fight without the support of our community and without your voices being in unison with ours.
We challenge the City, the Department of Personnel, as well as the elected officials to join F.I.R.E. in its efforts to empower the black community with the skills and abilities to be hired, retained once they are hired, and the ability to move up through promotion. Diversity matters. It’s time for our city’s leaders to take a look at the St. Louis Fire Department and prove that.
By Bridjes O’Neil
For The St.Louis American
Jehu Chesson has traveled more than 5,000 miles to work for MasterCard Worldwide in O’Fallon, Mo.
Chesson is originally from Monrovia, Liberia, located on Africa’s west coast. Because MasterCard does business in more than 210 countries and territories, it’s not surprising that Chesson would be highly sought after by an international company.
“As a company, we believe diversity sits at the root of innovation. Diversity of culture, experience and thought all drive innovative thinking,” said Ajay Banga, president and CEO of MasterCard Worldwide.
“That’s why we encourage employees to express their diverse opinions and ideas. We want them to feel empowered and to recognize that their contributions make a difference.”
Chesson has worked at MasterCard for 16 years. He is a Program Manager in the Business Continuity Group, which falls under the Law and Franchise Integrity Organization. Chesson is responsible for Emergency Management Planning for MasterCard offices globally. It’s a position he’s held for five years.
“My role is to make sure we’re ready to handle any challenges that may come our way so that the business is prepared, ready to respond and able to continue to operate,” he said.
“We try to focus our planning and efforts around what’s called our Diversity Pillars.We look at Brand and Reputation, Business Impact and Talent Management.”
– Jesu Chesson
“Compared to the east or west coast, I think they’re ahead of us now,” he said. “But, I think St. Louis is making some positive changes that will help us move forward. For example, I think we’re getting more immigration, people moving here from other countries.” Chesson is Chair and Chapter Lead of “Lifting
See CHESSON, page 38
Continued from page 27
Diversity for what?
“Diversity has to serve some purpose other than itself and we can make those cases; we can tell those stories that diverse work teams come up with more creative outputs,” Purnell said. “Now they have more conflict as you bring different people together, but thinking together is going to create more innovation than thinking apart.”
At the Brown School of Social Work, Purnell has been tackling the challenges of disparities and diversity in all aspects of his work – research, teaching, and community service.
“He is tenacious and absolutely committed to improving the quality of life and health in our St. Louis community,” Lawlor added. “He has been developing creative approaches to addressing disparities using economic and public health approaches together.
Where Purnell’s passion in research is heading these days is getting conversations underway about health disparities that include education and economic status.
“If we can improve the financial status of households, can we also have an impact on some of the risk factors for risky health behaviors that we are seeing in those households?” Purnell is researching. He is looking at smoking and diet in particular.
“We’re not going to solve health disparities if we don’t solve socio-economic disparities.”
Health and wealth
Purnell recently published a study that indicates use of the nationwide 2-1-1 social service information referral system may be an important partner in
reducing health disparities among lower income users of the service.
“Socioeconomic status is one of the most consistent predictors of poor health outcomes there is,” Purnell said.
“People with lower levels of education – the disparities are actually widening, based on education in terms of life
expectancy and premature mortality.”
Not only does the region need to change the conversation. Purnell said those conversations have to be made in languages that people understand.
“We can’t keep making the moral case to people whose primary concern is the economic case,” he explained.
Psychologist and St.Louis native Jason Que Purnell, Ph.D.,is associate professor in the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University St.Louis.
uate from high school.
“We are talking about tens and hundreds of millions of dollars over their lifetime that the region is missing out on because people aren’t graduating from high school. Say nothing of the fact that they need to be going to college. You do that math – the homes that aren’t bought; the goods and services that aren’t purchased; the jobs that aren’t created; and the costs of a social safety net and an increasingly large prison system,” Purnell said.
“You’ve got to lay out the case in those terms so people can see what are we losing economically as a region, and that impacts Chesterfield as much as it impacts the City of St. Louis – when the economic output of this region is being dragged down because we are not investing in all of our children and their outcomes.”
That’s a different story than expecting others to be compassionate because children who have less resources than their children have are not graduating, Purnell added.
District are working together to improve health outcomes while addressing education, economic development, housing and other concerns.
“They are proposing a set of strategies that they have developed with intensive community input,” Purnell said. “And they are working with partners to move that agenda forward. They are doing impressive work at Beyond Housing.”
He is equally hopeful about diversity at the Brown School of Social Work. Purnell served on Dean Eddie Lawlor’s diversity task force.
“I was very pleased with his response to our recommendations and I think we are moving full steam ahead,” Purnell said. “I’m hopeful that we will get some significant work done around diversity at Brown School.” That means more diverse faculty, staff and students.
“That’s not to prejudge that anyone doesn’t have compassion and a sense of what’s just and right, but we’ve got to be much more sophisticated about laying out the case for investments in all of our children.”
Purnell spoke of data that indicates how much is lost in regional economic output when young people don’t grad-
“It’s much more complex than any one actor or organization or institution acting alone is going to be able to affect,” Purnell said. “‘Collective impact’– that makes a lot of sense to me and the whole notion behind that being that all the different sectors … government, education, business –have to come together around the same table – come up with a common set of goals, informed by input and then start singing from the same hymnal and tracking their progress using a common set of metrics.” And have some sort of backbone organization or institution for technical support, he added.
Beyond Housing’s 24:1 project is what Purnell described as an outstanding example of the synergy that’s already taking place in the St. Louis area. The 24 municipalities of the Normandy School
“We have begun implementing a broad range of recommendations from our task force – touching almost all aspects of the School’s work,” Lawlor said.
At the University level, the Chancellor, the Provost, and the Vice Provost have been implementing a universitywide initiative to advance diversity, Lawlor added.
“Their support includes direct help with our faculty and staff recruitment,” Lawlor said. “In our successful round of faculty recruitment this year, Provost Ed Macias and Vice Provost Adrienne Davis were tremendously helpful – including working directly with our faculty candidates.”
“We have three new faculty members of color that will be joining us the next academic year,” Purnell said. “We are making progress and I am hopeful about that.”
American staff
Delegates to the 40th International Convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (AFSCME), elected Lee A. Saunders to be president and Laura Reyes to be secretarytreasurer of the union representing 1.6 million public service workers.
Saunders becomes AFSCME’s first African American President, while Reyes becomes the first woman Secretary-Treasurer.
Lee A. Saunders received 683,628 votes to 582,358 for Danny Donohue. In the race for secretary-treasurer, the union’s second highest ranking officer, Laura Reyes received 661,413 votes to 603,624 for Alice Goff. The election was administered by the American Arbitration Association.
“Both Laura and I are committed to our members and cherish this union,” said AFSCME
President Elect Lee A. Saunders.
“We had a vigorous and ener-
Continued from page 36
Employees of African Descent”(LEAD), which is a self-governed employee Business Resource Group (BRG) at MasterCard.
The company website states that there are more than 1,400 employees involved in BRGs. They consist of the “Women’s Leadership Network”(WLN), “Empowering Asian Employees for Success and Thought Leadership”(EAST), “Lifting Employees of African Descent”(LEAD), “Employees
getic campaign, but now the union will pull together to win victories for working families and our members all across this great country.”
Pres. Gerald W. McEntee, who retired after 31 years as AFSCME president, said the delegates’decision to elect Lee
“We know that Wall Street and their allies are engaged in an all-out assault against our members and the services we provide.”
– AFSCME President Elect Lee A.Saunders
and Laura “strengthens our leadership and will enhance our ability to face the challenges that await us around the country.”
Saunders will be the fourth president of AFSCME since the union’s formation 75 years
of Latin Descent”(Latin Network),”Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender”(PRIDE) and “Young Professionals”(YoPros).
Chesson said LEAD has developed three committees based on Strategic Planning and Finance, Membership and Communications, Events and Education.
“We have some really strong committee members on our leadership team,” Chesson said. “We try to focus our planning and efforts around what’s called our Diversity Pillars. We look at Brand and Reputation, Business Impact
ago in Madison, Wis. Arnold Zander served as AFSCME’s first president from 1936, when the union was first chartered by the American Federation of Labor (AFL), until 1964. The union’s second president, Jerry Wurf, was elected at the 1964 AFSCME Convention. McEntee ascended to the union’s presidency following Wurf’s death in 1981.
“We know that Wall Street and their allies are engaged in an all-out assault against our members and the services we provide. They know that AFSCME stands in the way of their efforts to destroy the middle class,” Saunders said.
“We are united in our commitment to stand up for the men and women who care for America’s children, nurse the sick, plow our streets, collect the household trash and guard our prisons. Our members are a cross-section of America, not some elite group as our opponents try to claim. We are energized and ready for the battles ahead.”
and Talent Management.”
In regards to Brand and Reputation, Chesson said the goal is to establish MasterCard as a diversity leader. He said this can be achieved “by participating in community outreach activities in which the company does business and promoting education as a measure tool for economic self-sufficiency.”
Recently, LEAD adopted Confluence Academy as apart of its community outreach initiative. Students were immersed in a Junior Achievement curriculum in which they learned business economics, workforce readi-
ness and entrepreneurism.
LEAD also hopes to increase MasterCard’s Business Impact.
“We try to brainstorm and come up with innovative ideas to increase our global market share and to develop products and solutions that meet the needs of our diverse market segments,” Chesson said.
Finally, LEAD devotes considerable time and effort on Talent Management “to support the development of the diverse talent pipeline.”
Chesson credits his deceased grandparents, Henry and Rebecca Chesson, for his strong work ethic. They taught
him to “strive for success, do the right thing, work hard with less focus on pay because that will come later, build your relationships and show what you can do,” Chesson said. These words of wisdom have guided him throughout his life. He tries to pass on this advice to his children.
Chesson is a sports fanatic who loves to “spend a lot of time doing stuff with my family.” Sometimes he combines his two passions. He coaches his younger child’s basketball team.
This year MasterCard Worldwide was rated number 15 on The 2012 DiversityInc
Top 50 Companies for Diversity List. It’s an increase from last year’s number 31 rating. Chesson explains what he thinks the company did differently in terms of diversity within a year.
“Diversity efforts with these BRGs has had a lasting impact not only on the company but the community and organization as a whole,” Chesson said. In October, Chesson will represent MasterCard at a Diversity Leadership Conference in Baltimore, Md. He was personally asked by MasterCard Chief Diversity Officer Donna Johnson and admits he’s “very humbled.”
By Ishmael Sistrunk Of The St.Louis American
Unless you’re a hardcore basketball fan or a black history buff, there’s a good chance you’re not familiar with the name of Earl Lloyd. Though we often celebrate many firsts by African Americans in sports, Lloyd’s name has seemingly fallen by the wayside. Though his legacy is overshadowed by Jackie Robinson’s leap as the first black player in MLB a few years prior, Lloyd, the first black NBAplayer, helped the league pave the way to becoming a model of diversity.
After a successful four-year career at West Virginia State, which included an undefeated season (1947-’48) and two AllAmerican selections (1949, 1950), Lloyd was selected in the ninth round of the 1950 draft by the Washington Capitols. When he stepped on the court October 31, Lloyd made history. Though he was technically the first black player to compete in a NBAgame, unlike Robinson, Lloyd had two contemporaries of color. Chuck Cooper and Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton were both chosen in the same draft and shared the spotlight as integration made its way to the hardwood. Of course, college basketball had already been integrated, so the level of shock and hate was a far cry from what Robinson faced. Still, Lloyd and the others faced the same challenges as African Americans throughout the nation as they were subject to racism and often unable to eat or sleep in the same places as their white teammates.
Still, Lloyd handled himself with dignity and eloquence, in contrast to his rugged and physical game. Racism wasn’t the only issue Lloyd was forced to deal with. The 6’5” forward had to fight to simply to stay in the league. Amere seven games into his inaugural season, his original team folded and his historic beginning came to an abrupt end.
Rather than join another team, Lloyd chose to enlist in the Army until he found his way back to the league after being claimed by the Syracuse Nationals.
Chuck Cooper and Nat “Sweetwater”Clifton were both chosen in the same draft and shared the spotlight with Lloyd as integration made its way to the hardwood.
He had his best season in 1955, when he averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and helped his team to the NBAChampionship, becoming the first black player (along with teammate Jim Tucker) to achieve that feat. He spent six total seasons in Syracuse followed by two with
the Detroit Pistons. Though Lloyd was inducted into the NBAHall of Fame in 2003 as a contributor, his modest averages of 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game won’t earn him placement on the list of greatest basketball players in history. However, the impact left by him, Cooper and
Clifton is clearly visible today as the NBAis driven by diversity and international flavor. More than 70 percent of today’s NBAplayers are black.
While players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant have piggybacked on Lloyd’s path, each year the league sees an increasing amount of international players as well. Players such as Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Tony Parker (France), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Nene (Brazil), Luol Deng (South Sudan/Great Britian) have all
enjoyed great success and popularity in the league. In addition to diversifying the audience for season games, the popularity of Olympic basketball has skyrocketed as fans now have a reason to watch games not featuring the U.S. Fans tune in to watch their favorite players compete, regardless of the flag on their jersey. The NBAis now truly an international sport. Far too many people fail to recognize that Lloyd paved the way as a member of the league’s first foray into diversity.
Jordan, VPat Regions Bank
By Rebecca S.Rivas
Of the St.Louis American
Out of all the banks Cynthia Jordan has worked for (she’s now on her fourth bank), Clayton-based Regions Bank is the most diverse financial institution she has been part of, she said.
Jordan is vice president and community affairs manager at Regions, and is part of the risk management division. Her main duties included maintaining the federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) efforts in the region.
Jordan also collaborates with regional and local community development organizations and business partners that result in more CRAlending, investments, services and accounts to the bank.
Jordan: My mother, James P. Morgan (banker), and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. From them collectively, I have learned the importance of community service and philanthropy. Banking made sense due to its early association of wealth and influence; you must have wealth or influence to implement changes that benefit the community, especially for the least of us.
“You must have wealth or influence to implement changes that benefit the community, especially for the least of us.”
– Cynthia Jordan
She is a member of the Corporate Mortgage Diversity Advisory committee at the bank, which focuses on community outreach, diverse employee recruitment, and lending strategies to diverse communities.
She grew up in the Greater Ville and Southwest Garden neighborhoods and graduated from Southwest High, Fontbonne University and Saint Louis University’s Cook School of Business.
American: Who were your role models growing up, and how did they influence your careerpath?
I always wanted to be a banker from a little girl. J.P. Morgan was one of the early banking tycoons. I have learned quite a bit about banking and philanthropy reading about him. Since then I watch Ken Chenault, American Express chairman and CEO, and Ursula Burns, Xerox chairwoman and CEO…both quietly lead their fields and give back tremendously to their communities.
American: Who in your life would you say is a good leader and what qualities does that person/s possess?
Jordan: I would say my mother is a very good leader. She has touched so many lives. She is consistent with making a difference in a dark world. I think leaders have to be consistent in whatever they do. She is very humble, supportive and sees the good in every situation no matter what. I always tell my mom she is a master of words because she understands the power spoken
words possess. So I rarely hear her utters a negative or hopeless word. I strive to be like that too.
The late Charles H. Houston was also a very strategic, influential quiet leader,
who legally ended segregation behind the scenes. Leaders do not always have to be out front or seen all the time. Our influence and its range is what counts.
American: As a manager at Regions Bank, what are your strategies of leadership? Or how do you lead?
Jordan: My strategies of leadership are collaboration
and being an excellent team player. I’m a proponent of participative leadership and believe that people should be strategically engaged in the decision making process. I also like to surround myself with people as smart as or smarter than myself. Iron sharpens iron.
American: Through your leadership at Regions, how do you portray the importance of diversity?
Jordan: I believe in giving people the opportunity to grow into their potential. I think leadership requires action therefore leading by example is necessary to diversify your team. When and where I’ve had the opportunity, I have brought more minorities and women to the table.
American: Where do you think St. Louis is currently in terms of diversity/inclusion and where do you think it’s headed?
Jordan: Remember Missouri was a slave state, and consequently St. Louis struggles with overcoming its pass from time to time. I personally like to focus on the people that made it in spite of and believe that serves as inspiration for what St. Louis’future can be in this area. Looking at it from that perspective, you will see that St. Louis has made considerable progress in terms of diversity and inclusion.
American: What else would you like our readers to know about you?
Jordan: I am committed to the St. Louis region being successful and moving forward. My God-given talents, abilities and resources are used solely for that purpose.
By U.S.Sen. Claire McCaskill
For The St.Louis American
I rise today to speak about a new and successful program for at-risk youth in St. Louis, the Innovative Concept Academy and about it’s about my friend, Judge Jimmy Edwards. Before I talk about the school and the incredible work Judge Edwards has done in the St. Louis community, I would like to spend a minute talking about his childhood roots. Judge Edwards grew up on the north side of St. Louis in the shadows of the city’s Pruitt–Igoe Public Housing Complex. The residents of this housing project faced many challenges, including drug and gang activity, violence and sometimes acute poverty. But through discipline, hard work and determination, Judge Edwards rose above these circumstances. He earned both his bachelor’s and law degree from St. Louis University before being appointed to the state bench in 1992, and for four years he has served as the Chief Judge of the St. Louis Family Courts Juvenile Division. During his service on the bench, Judge Edwards became increasingly concerned by the number of young, repeat offenders coming into his courtroom time and time again, only to be sent back to the same troubled environment that negatively influenced their
behavior in the first place. From his own experience, he knew that offering these kids the opportunity for a proper education and for mentoring was absolutely critical to breaking the cycle.
From his own experience, Judge Edwards knew that offering these kids the opportunity for a proper education and for mentoring was absolutely critical to breaking the cycle.
In 2009, Judge Edwards, together with the St. Louis Public School district, the family court juvenile division and the nonprofit organization MERS Goodwill Industries, founded Innovative Concept Academy, a unique educational opportunity for juveniles who had already been expelled from the city’s public schools or who were on parole. These young people, who many would have given up on, found a formidable advocate in Judge Edwards and the Academy. From the beginning, Innovative Concept Academy has been devoted to helping at-risk youth achieve success through education, rehabilitation and mentorship. Its mission, to enrich the learning environment for some of our most troubled kids, has resulted in second chances for these young men and women to dramatically improve their lives. At the start, Judge Edwards planned on providing educational and mentoring to 30 kids who had been suspended or expelled due to Missouri Safe Schools Act. When he asked the St. Louis Public Schools for a building to use for the program for 30 students, they asked him if he wouldn’t mind taking on the responsibility of 200 more.
This was a challenge, and he accepted with his usual enthusiasm and can-do attitude. During the first year of his existence, the academy saw 246 students move through its doors. Today the academy teaches at-risk youth between ages 10-18 and has an enrollment of over 375. Some of these students are visiting our nation’s capital this week with Judge Edwards, his wife Stacy, his daughter Ashley and his son John, along with chaperones. Here with us today along with Judge Edwards and his family and chaperones are the students Angel Tharpe, Deyon Smith, Tyrell Williams, and Nadia Jones. These are young men and women who have turned their lives around with the help of Judge Edwards and the Academy, and who serve as an inspiration to others in the
community and frankly an inspiration to me. I am so proud of what they have been able to accomplish. The Innovative Concept Academy provides these students and many like them with so many important services. A quality education in a safe environment, one-on-one mentoring with school staff, counselors, deputy juvenile officers and police. An array of extracurricular and after-school activities, many of which are often new experiences for these students, including golf, chess, dance, classical music and creative writing. Uniforms, meals and so many other necessities are also provided, and with tough love and important lessons about discipline, respect, anger management, goal setting and followthrough.
All of this allows the stu-
dents to meet their full potential and St. Louis has seen positive results already. The academy has an attendance rate of over 90 percent. Let me repeat that. The academy has an amazing attendance rate of over 90 percent, and we are seeing significant improvement in these young people’s grades. And the students are responding positively. For example, at the end of the first semester at the academy, the suspensions of 40 of the students ended and the students were supposed to return to their home school. Almost every student asked if they could stay at the Academy, because they knew that the Academy is a special place where they can improve their lives.
The innovative program has also garnered national attention. Judge Edwards has appeared as a guest on a num-
ber of major network shows and most recently was honored by People Magazine as one of its 2011 Heroes of the Year. But for him, it’s not about the magazines; it’s not about the interviews. For him, it’s still about the kids.
I’m proud that Judge Edwards hails from my home state of Missouri and from my hometown of St. Louis. His compassion for those who society may have given up on his common sense and innovative approach to solving the problems facing some of our young men and women are inspirational. He is compelled by his duty to serve and lift up the next generation no matter what the circumstances. He said it best when he observed “if the community – and that includes Judges – does not take it upon itself to educate the children, then our community and what we stand for will be no more.” This notion that we can all succeed when we work together with a common cause and unified purpose is central to our American identity.
I ask my distinguished colleagues to join me in congratulating the Innovative Concept Academy and Judge Jimmy Edwards. The success of the academy and Judge Edwards’ dedication and service to the St. Louis community should be an inspiration for everyone serving in this chamber. If we could have a little bit of Judge Jimmy Edwards’attitude about working together, not worrying about taking the credit, and a can-do attitude, it is amazing what we could accomplish on behalf of the American people.
Edited from remarks made on the floor of the U.S. Senate on March 7.
By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American
“People think diversity is black and white,” said Myrtle E.B. Dorsey, Ph.D., chancellor of St. Louis Community College. “Diversity is cultural – it’s all ethnicities.”
Last month, Chancellor Dorsey spoke with a group of faculty and staff members that formed the District Diversity Council in 2001. The council is charged with promoting an atmosphere of appreciation for all people regardless of differences in race, gender, age, lifestyle, disability and class, according to the STLCC website.
“The council works to ensure the curriculum will be more inclusive; the campus activities will create a climate of mutual respect; and faculty, staff and students will reflect the diversity of our society,” the website states.
However, the council has not been operating recently. In her meeting with the council, Dorsey said they are excited about finding ways to get the
ball rolling again. One of the ways she talked about rekindling the council’s work is through a professional development program this fall.
“People need to be sensitive to different cultures,” she said.
“We assume that people understand.”
However, sometimes people will respond in an offensive manner, not intending to hurt someone, but simply because they didn’t know, Dorsey said. Inclusion and diversity will
“Diversity enriches the educational experience.It makes our graduates more competitive when they have that experience.”
– Chancellor Myrtle E.B.Dorsey
be part of a program led by the new director of professional development and quality, Lita M. Pener, a former senior manager of operations training for Express Scripts Inc. Pener joined the college on July 9. Dorsey said the college also is welcoming the staff members’experiences to enrich the curriculum and environment.
Several faculty members have taken sabbaticals to foreign countries and brought back new ideas to the college.
Dorsey has recently asked these faculty members to present at board of trustee meet-
ings, regarding their takeaways.
“How can we apply those lessons to our teaching methods and give our students a broader perspective of the world?” Dorsey said. “I think you will see us move more and more in that direction. It’s a good energy that’s happening here.”
The diversity lessons are important in creating an inclusive campus environment. And they also prepare students who travel abroad for what they might encounter, she said.
“When they go to these countries, they know what to experience from those people in those other countries about their feelings towards Americans,” she said, “We need to prepare them, so they are not shocked about a response they are not used to.”
The college will continue to expand and become a much more global society, she said. Dorsey has had preliminary discussions with Tony Thompson, founder and chairman of Kwame Building Group, to initiate a cultural exchange opportunity in Ghana. Study abroad programs are a great benefit for students to learn firsthand about different cultures.
“It enriches the educational experience,” she said. “It makes our graduates more competitive when they have that experience. The community is ready for it, and geared up for it, and quite supportive of it.”
The college has had a long
CEO Ellen Kullman accepts 2012 A.Leon Higginbotham Corporate Leadership Award
American staff
In June the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law bestowed upon DuPont and its Chair & Chief Executive Officer Ellen Kullman its 2012 A.Leon Higginbotham Corporate Leadership Award for exemplary corporate leadership in advancing diversity in the workplace and fostering economic opportunity.
DuPont is a market-driven science company with 70,000 employees working in more than 90 countries.
DuPont has a long history of support for diversity, especially in education. The company encourages participation in diversity networks to foster dialogue and support among employees.There have been more than 100 networks representing gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation, including a Black Employees Network and a Women’s Network.
legacy of outreach in local communities.
“Thirty-five years ago, we established a diverse supplier program which displayed our commitment to equal opportunity and helped to sustain economic development for local, diverse firms, many of these being many small firms,” Kullman said.
“In 2011, DuPont spent $568 million on supplies from U.S. minority and womenowned businesses.”
– DuPont Chair & CEO Ellen Kullman
“Treating people with respect has been a DuPont core value since our company’s founding 210 years ago,” said DuPont Chair & CEO Ellen Kullman.” Our legacy continues today as inclusion and diversity catalyze our worldclass science and innovation to help address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”
During her dinner remarks, Kullman highlighted DuPont’s
“In 2011, DuPont spent $568 million on supplies from U.S. minority and women-owned businesses.”She also noted the importance of educational and career opportunities in science and engineering and DuPont’s initiatives STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas. DuPont’s global diversity awards and recognitions include: Diversity Employers named DuPont on the top 100 list for 2012.
Corporate Responsibility Magazine recognized DuPont as the best Corporate Citizen in the Materials Sector in 2011.
Working Mother Magazine recognized DuPont as one of the Best Places To Work for the 23rd time.
DuPont was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the best places to work for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees.
For the fifth consecutive year, DuPont was selected as one of the Top 50 companies
for executive women by the National Association for Female Executives. The Higginbotham Corporate Leadership Award, named in honor of Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr., a pioneering civil rights advocate, author and federal appeals court judge, was established in 2000.
Past honorees include: McDonald’s Aetna Inc.; BellSouth Corporation; Citigroup Inc.; ColgatePalmolive Company; Fannie
Mae; General Electric Company; Microsoft Corporation; The New York Times Company; PepsiCo, Inc.; Qualcomm, Inc.; Time Warner, Inc. and United Parcel Service.
“We salute DuPont and Ellen Kullman for their outstanding commitment and proven leadership in developing and fostering diversity and inclusion in its workplace and within its customer and supplier network,” said Lawyers’ Committee Executive Director
Barbara Arnwine.
“Also, the DuPont legal department is renowned for excellence in leadership, initiatives and legal diversity.”
Kullman is the first female CEO to lead DuPont in its 210-year history and the first woman to receive the Higginbotham Award.
“Coincidentally,this year also represents the first time in the Lawyers’Committee’s history that two women currently serve as co-chairs of our board,” Arnwine said.
and
as emcee, encouraging attendees to support the critical work of the Lawyers’ Committee, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination.
For more information about the Lawyers Committee, visit www.lawyerscommittee.org.
Special to The American Sugako C. Anderson began her Anheuser-Busch career as an accountant at the St. Louis corporate headquarters from 2007-2009, handling excise taxes for several breweries and wholly-owned distributors.
In addition to her core responsibilities, for the past three years she has served as the chair of the brewer’s Asian Employee Resource Group (PAC.ASIA).
In her current position as Business Analyst she is responsible for supporting multiple brand teams with insights and analysis. She brings a passion to the position matched by her enthusiasm for PAC.ASIA.
“I strive to take the platform of Diversity and create an atmosphere of inclusion through shared interest and initiatives,” she said. PAC.ASIA has evolved into a tangible reference of support for the company, for the brand teams, employee engagement and overall cultural enlightenment.
The goal of PAC.ASIAis to take the platform of our similar heritage and connect it to a business purpose to impact the company internally and externally. Over the past three years, the group used cultural awareness events and the arts as a way to highlight common interests and celebrate various aspects of an expansive Asian heritage. These exhibits provide an opportunity for employees to be exposed to and ask questions about cultural aspects they may not otherwise experience.
“We now have our cultural celebrations annually and employees look forward to our Lion Dance or traditional South Asian dance performances,” Anderson added.
“We’ve created an environment that welcomes inquiry, increases employee engagement and drives our business’ success.”
In the past, corporations would have to reach out to vendors to provide such services as translation and cultural interpretation. The PAC.ASIA members have a unique opportunity to support the company’s brands by providing timely and effective feedback in these areas to help with product launches overseas and other brand and global initiatives.
Anderson is currently working on a language-building initiative to increase local employees’ability to take advantage of global opportunities. The idea is to connect employees interested in learning another language with those who are already fluent. The program called, “Language, Lunch and Learn,” has had an explosive interest from individuals at various levels within our company.
“Professionals today are constantly challenged to balance work with their various personal goals,” Anderson said. “This initiative allows all who are interested to meet over lunch, with no pressure of a rigid schedule, or strict classroom environment.”
The goal is to create an atmosphere where employees learn at their own paces and build proper language structure and enunciation through casual conversation.
Furthermore, PAC.ASIA has recently connected with the St. Louis Language
Immersion School (SLLIS). SLLIS provides a completely immersive language program for children (K-4) in Spanish, French, Mandarin (Chinese), and hopefully in 2013, Japanese. Our collaboration with the school helps us to connect to our vision for community engagement. We are thoroughly supportive of SLLIS, since building a language community also flows into building a diverse and inclusive community. We are excited to see the school grow and will strive to see SLLIS grow into a K-12 program.
Our long-term goal is to mentor students as they seek to achieve higher education and realize the personal impact our ERG can have on the greater community.
“Having served as the PAC.ASIAchair since the ERG’s infancy has been rewarding and its success is due to the engagement of its members, the collaboration with other A-B ERGs and excellent executive support,” Anderson said.
Sugako C. Anderson, Business Analyst
Anheuser-Busch
Born: Quantico, VA
Upbringing: Okinawa, Japan & Augusta, GA
Education: High School: George P. Butler High, Augusta, GA
College(s) & Degree: University of Maryland –Eastern Division, Okinawa, Japan Webster University – Webster Grove, MO, Bachelors of Science, Accounting
Five schools in the Hazelwood School District earned ribbons at the 2012 Academy of Science – St. Louis Science Fair. Students from Brown Elementary, Hazelwood Central Middle, Hazelwood West High and Jury and Russell elementary schools received blue, red, green or white ribbons, denoting first, second, third or fourth place.
Russell fifth grader
Alexandra Cafolla earned a blue ribbon and special recognition from MEMC, an area semiconductor and solar power company, and the Academy of Science for her project, “Filtering Dirty Water.”
“My parents gave me a water filter kit for Christmas, so I got the idea from that,” she explained. She used motor oil and soil to tap water.
“Which Citrus Fruit Will Generate the Most Electricity?” They discovered an orange generated the most electricity, 4.5 volts. They tested a lemon, a lime and a grapefruit, too, earning a red ribbon.
“Even though we didn’t get first place, we still had a fun time and we learned a lot,” said Graves.
At Jury Elementary, fifth grade students Colby Rhine and Michael Tillman and fourth grade students Sean Grimmett, Daniel Ray and Christina Richards all earned ribbons. Rhine’s project is called “Batteries Up!” and involved testing different battery brands to see which one held a charge the longest. Rhine said Energizer®batteries lasted longer than the other brands he tested.
Grimmett’s experiment, “Got Greasy Chips?” tested potato chips to see which brand is the greasiest.
“I hypothesized sand would filter the water best and my research verified that.” She said active carbon filtered the second best and gravel filtered third best.
At Hazelwood Central Middle School, sixth grader Sydney Jones’experiment, “In Which Liquid Will a Crystal Grow Best?” earned her a blue ribbon. She put crystals in a variety of liquids – tap water, salt water and sugar water. Crystals grew best in tap water, she learned.
“It feels pretty good because of all the work I did,” she said. “I searched online and I wanted to use things we had at home,” she explained. “I looked up the information and that’s what I came up with.
Classmates Nyla Reed, Kayla Robinson and Autumn Graves worked together on
“I’m happy because I have never won first place before,” he said of his blue ribbon.
Tillman’s red ribbon project is “The Super Long-Lasting Gum.” He sampled three brands of chewing gum – Big Red, Doublemint and Winterfresh – to determine which brand lasted the longest. He reported it was Big Red. Ray’s experiment involved chewing gum, too. “What’s Sticking Up There?” tested three brands of chewing gum and how long pieces remained stuck to a flat surface. Ray used a piece of cardboard to test Trident®, Big Red and Bazooka gums. He said Trident stuck the longest, approximately 18 hours.
Grimmett’s experiment, “Got Greasy Chips?” tested potato chips to see which brand is the greasiest. Grimmett said baked Lay’s
longest. She reported that two AAAbatteries worked for 45 minutes, two AAbatteries kept the bulb lit for 1.5 hours and 2 C-type batteries powered the bulb for about 11 hours.
Tanner Whitworth hit a home run with his project, earning a blue ribbon for “Going Forward, Going Back, Going, Going, Gone.” He hit baseballs at Koch Park in Florissant with three different types of bats – wood, older aluminum and newer aluminum models to learn which type would hit a ball the farthest. He said he recorded a distance of 172 feet with one a newer metal bats. Madison Kennett’s project is “Traveling Sound.” “I wanted to prove cups and coils of wire would send vibrations,” she said. “We based it off of an experiment in a science fair book.” She received a red ribbon.
At Brown Elementary, fifth grader Stanley Williams earned a blue ribbon for “Can Cooked Beans Grow?” He said he
chips proved the greasiest.
“I feel good because it was my first time doing it and I got a blue ribbon,” he said.
Richards’project is “Checker Chip Towers,” for which she received a blue ribbon. She stacked chocolate chip cookies in towers on different surfaces – wood, bubble wrap and carpet – to see which was the most stable.
Jury classroom projects are “What’s Inside My Lunchbox?” - Gina Quick, first grade (red) ; “Finding Out About Fruit Snacks” – Dr. Bethany Pendino, kindergarten (blue); “Girls Rule, Boys Drool” – Sarah Wurst, fourth grade (blue); “The Big Brain Theory” – Dan Ryno, fourth grade (red); and “That’s My
Song” -Chaverly Morgan, fifth grade (blue). Russell Elementary also had fifth grade individual and classroom winners. All three kindergarten classes won blue ribbons for their projects“Whoops!” “Can We Save Humpty Dumpty?” and “Whew! What a Great Fall!”
“Let’s Get Crunchin’” is Holly Withington’s blue ribbon experiment to discover the amount of grease in potato chips. She tested regular Lay’s, Pringles, Ruffles and Krunchers. She said regular Lay’s is the greasiest, while Pringles is the least oily.
“It was really greasy, but it was really fun,” she said of her experiment.
Breleigh Mann’s project,
“Purple Power,” experimented with acids and bases. She took purple cabbages, pureed them and drained off the juice. She mixed cabbage portions with other substances - glass cleaner, an energy drink, lemons, antacids, baking soda and others – and recorded which ones turned the cabbage red (acidic) or blue (alkaline).
“It was really fun to do the entire project and to see the different colors they made,” she said. “It feels really cool to win a red ribbon with that many kids at the science far.”
“Burn, Light Bulb, Burn” is Miriam Neimand’s red ribbon project. She connected a flashlight bulb to three types of alkaline batteries to see which one powered the bulb the
By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American
“Lack of knowledge doesn’t always mean refusal of acceptance. Lack of knowledge could be seen as an opportunity to educate.”
Rachel Burse wants to see more minority- and womenowned grocery stores, like the market her father ran when she was growing up. As the minority business development manager at Save-ALot, Burse develops strategies to help grow prospective minority owners and operators.
– Rachel Burse, minority business development manager at Save-A-Lot
“Our commitment to diversity is reflective from the inside out,” Burse said, “from our associates who work daily to deliver our quality products to our customers, to the representation of our stores in more than 1,300 diverse communities across the country.” Burse, a native of St. Louis city, said she first understood the importance of business and Rachel Burse,who is from St.Louis city,is minority business development manager at Save-A-Lot.
community from her father, who owned a local fresh fish market with his brother. “This is where I learned
how to conduct business and the importance of understanding the concept of building and maintaining relationships,” said Burse, who graduated from
Brittney Keller helps College of Pharmacy mentor minority high schoolers
American staff
Last fall, at the start of her senior year in high school, Brittney Watkins applied to 13 colleges. She applied to colleges such as Princeton University, Yale, Harvard, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Duke University
“I want to be a lawyer, and then become a senator.”
– Brittney Watkins
and Georgetown University. In the end, she accepted a full scholarship to Princeton University, her top choice. She will major in politics and work toward certification in Latin American studies. “I want to be a lawyer, and then become a senator,” said Watkins. Watkins, who attends
Hazelwood West High School, is senior class vice president, a member of National Honor Society and Tri M, and is the Soprano II Choir section leader. She is involved in her church and the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA).
She was selected as one of 48 “outstanding” students in St. Louis City and
County to serve on the Missouri 1st District Congressional Youth Cabinet (CYC), led by U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay. The cabinet advises Clay and his staff on key national and local issues that impact young people.
“The scholarship means a lot. One of the reasons I applied is because of
their large endowment. They want to make sure students can attend, no matter their socioeconomic background,” she said. Her family is “very excited” about her scholarship. “It takes away worry about how to pay for my education because everything is covered,” she said.
Besides Princeton, Watkins received scholarship offers from Pennsylvania, Georgetown, Richmond
Anjali Fernandes, who will be a senior at Pattonville High School, was recently elected to state and national positions at Missouri Girls State - representing a first in the organization’s long history.
Missouri Girls State is an interactive citizen leadership program for young women. The program, held annually at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, is a simulated state, sponsored, organized and administered by the American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Missouri.
Fernandes was elected governor of Missouri
Girls State and as one of two Missouri senators who will attend Girls Nation in Washington, D.C. this summer, where she will meet President Barack Obama. This is the first time a student has won both the Missouri Girls State governorship and a seat at Girls Nation in the same year.
“The way the American Legion Auxiliary ladies explained it to me, they were having a ‘near constitutional crisis’because, in the 72-year history of Girls State, no one has ever been elected governor and also been selected for Girls Nation,” Fernandes said.
“At first, they were going to make me decide which position I wanted, but thankfully, I didn’t have to make that tough choice!”
“Thanks to Girls State, I’ve had firsthand involvement in the political process, I’ve developed the skills to be a good leader and citizen.”
– Anjali Fernandes
Fernandes said she underwent a tough and realistic process for election to state office, first within her party and then in the general election.
“We made a series of speeches to the girls and even had a press conference where we discussed real-world
issues,” she said. “There was a lot of hand-shaking, posterhanging and stump-speaking – very much like an actual campaign.”
As Missouri governor, Fernandes will serve a yearlong term. One her first events as governor will be speaking at the American Legion State Convention in Jefferson City. She will end her term presiding over the 2013 session of Missouri Girls State. For her duties as Girls Nation Senator, she’ll travel to Washington, D.C., take part in a series of mock Senate sessions and debate/pass legislation.
“I, along with my fellow Missouri senator, have already submitted our own resolution regarding 17-year-
olds voting in primary elections,” Fernandes said. She will also have the opportunity to run for national office, such as president or vice president of Girls Nation. Other plans for the Washington trip include visiting the Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, Walter Reed Medical Center and a series of war memorials. Already her involvement in Girls State has paid off.
“Thanks to Girls State, I’ve had first-hand involvement in the political process, I’ve developed the skills to be a good leader and citizen, and I’ve gained so much more confidence in myself,” Fernandes said.
University, Northwestern University and American University. She received more than a half-million in offers$554,547.
On May 19, she graduated with the class of 2012. “It’s been a long time coming,” Watkins said of her graduation. “My dream is coming to fruition. Another chapter of my life is beginning, but I can only celebrate for a little while because I have another scholarship interview.”
By Adolphus Pruitt
For The St.Louis American
At a time when banks have frozen investment and municipalities have frozen borrowing, the fight for freedom within labor has taken on a new sense of urgency due to the disparity in pension fund investment policies.
The retirement set-asides for unionized public employees and construction workers go into funds that their unions and their employers jointly control. In June 2011, AFLCIO President Richard Trumka announced that his organization’s funds would invest $10 billion over the next five years in infrastructure projects, creating jobs in the very trades African Americans have been locked out of. By October 2011 the federation’s construction-worker division had put $200 million of pension money into retrofitting buildings.
It has been reported that over the past 18 months, the building trades pensions have invested over $150 million in St. Louis projects such as Park Place and the Laurel downtown. I wonder what minority participation looked like on those projects?
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust Fund over the past 25 years has generated approximately 50,500 union jobs with $6.6 billion in pension fund investments. Areal estate fund backed by AFLCIO pension funds has just
acquired three northern Virginia data centers. I wonder how many African Americanowned companies have benefited from the NEBF, a multibillion dollar pension plan that provides retirement benefits to employees in the electrical industry, which invested $100 million in the data center venture?
Big public-employee pensions had about $220 billion invested in private equity in September of last year, roughly 11 percent of their assets, according to Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, which tracks the holdings of pensions, foundations and endowments. Large public pension plans are pouring more money into private-equity funds, an industry that is less diverse than any I know of and responsible for significant job losses.
The Service Employees International Union and the National Education Association both decided to commit a share of their retirement funds to projects that shored up the nation’s infrastructure. The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) assisted them setting up meetings between the union leaders and support-
ive state treasurers…I wonder if any African Americans were in the meeting?
The public sector unions who claim Wall Street are to blame for our economic challenges are actually collection agents for Wall Street, at the same time as they are a corrupting influence on Wall Street. Evidence of a raid on the pension funds has been growing since President Clinton promised during his 1992 campaign to create a $20 billion “Rebuild America Fund” for federal investment in infrastructure leveraged with private and public pension funds.
In May officials from state and local pension funds from around the country gather in New York to hear about alternative investments, including infrastructure and small companies in developing countries.
The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems hosted a panel on investing in infrastructure, and no one in the room asked the critical questions for African Americans: will the investments require diversity in expenditures on the various projects? Will the investments overseas include Sub-Saharan Africa?
Unions are among America’s major investors and some even invest in other countries; it would be interesting to know how much and where. Federal authorities in Kansas City have launched an
investigation into the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers’pension and benefit plans. The complaints included allegations that family members of some trustees received bonuses from companies that managed investments for the three funds, which total more than $9 billion.
The three employee benefit plans are the Boilermakers National Health and Welfare Fund; the BoilermakerBlacksmith National Pension
Trust; and the Boilermakers National Annuity Trust. All operate out of the same office and are administered by trustees, some appointed by the Boilermakers and some by employers who do business with the union.
It would be interesting to know how diverse the boards that control these pension funds are, and what is the diversity policies associated with investment decisions. When it comes to public
New York’s Penn South Cooperative is one of many projects financed by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust Fund, which over the past 25 years has generated approximately 50,500 union jobs with $6.6 billion in pension fund investments.
employee pension funds, it’s important to note that in 2011 nearly 20 percent of employed blacks worked for state, local or federal government, compared to 14.2 percent of whites and 10.4 percent of Hispanics. At the end of the day, it does not matter if it’s the AFLCIO, Teamsters or SEIU the question remains the same; what happened to the fight for freedom in labor?
Adolphus Pruitt is president of the St. Louis cit NAACP.
A volunteer for the Susan G.Komen St.Louis Race for the Cure hands out Tshirts to team members at the Gateway Classic Sports Foundation for the pre-race Pack N’Pick event when the 740 teams registered for the June 23 race picked up their team T-shirts.
Michelle Taylor goes from SLSO supporter to SLSO performer
American staff
As a choir director, Michelle Taylor of Hazelwood Central High School teaches and guides students. As a member of the 2012-2013 St. Louis Symphony Chorus at Powell Hall, Taylor will switch roles.
Taylor auditioned for the chorus in late May. She is now among 130 members of a chorus described as a “volunteer ensemble with a core of paid singers.” The group has 4-6 performances a year. The chorus was established in 1976.
Auditions are not held often, Taylor explained. She noted there is a 95 percent retention rate for the chorus.
she explained. She studied music education and vocal and instrumental music at Southeast Missouri State University. She sang in the University Choir and Cantus Choralis, and performed with the wind ensemble.
“I didn’t expect to make such a prestigious group,” she said. She got an email with an announcement for the auditions. In the past, she dismissed the idea. But this time, she decided to take a chance.
“I wanted to perform professionally again. I haven’t done it since college,” she said. “The audition was a good experience and a good opportunity.”
The audition included an aria and sight reading.
Taylor sang “Orpheus with his Lute” for the aria. As for the sight reading, she said it went “perfectly.” She now holds a spot in the soprano section.
“I’m a singer by trade. My main instruments are piano and flute, and I play percussion,”
“I’ve been a patron and audience member of the symphony, so it is such an honor to be a performer,” she said.
“The rehearsals and the music I’ll learn will help me be a better choir teacher,” she continued. “By being amongst professional musicians, I think you tend to learn a lot more.”
“Singing with professionals takes me to a place I can’t describe. It’s a natural high,” she said. At HCHS, Taylor also teaches an American history course focused on music and sponsors Young Ladies of Elegance.
“I am a product of this district, from kindergarten through 12th grade,” she said. “I’m teaching in the classroom from my youth.” She graduated from HCHS in 2001. She also taught at Barrington and Grannemann elementary schools. The St. Louis Symphony Chorus will have its first performance of the season in October. Taylor said there are several performances in October, November and December.
By Eugene Robinson Washington Post
Bill Raspberry wore his eminence well. In a city full of preening, self-centered journalistic royalty, he was a warm and generous prince who never deluded himself into thinking he knew all the answers. He is desperately missed.
William James Raspberry, who died Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 76, will be remembered by history as a brave and intrepid pioneer. In 1966, when he wrote his first column for The Washington Post there was really no model for him to imitate. Young black men did not speak their minds in the pages of the nation’s leading newspapers.
WILLIAM RASPBERRY
Unlike so many prominent people in Washington, he genuinely wanted to know what others thought.
Perhaps that curiosity was what kept him at the top of his game for so long. Raspberry wrote his opinion column over four decades, appearing via syndication in more than 200 newspapers. The word “Herculean” comes to mind. I once asked him how he worked. Did he have some kind of system? Choose his topics in advance?
Bill Raspberry was in the first wave of an invasion of outsiders –minorities and women – who transformed American journalism.
AfricanAmerican readers were first stunned, then thrilled, to see their lives and views reflected in what had been a white male bastion. Raspberry was in the first wave of an invasion of outsiders – minorities and women – who transformed American journalism.
Anyone looking at his resume would have expected a forbidding man – a Pulitzer Prize that crowned his many awards, a distinguished teaching position at Duke University, enough honorary doctorates to paper a wall. But Raspberry was unfailingly approachable and always did more listening than preaching.
Stockpile “evergreen” columns, unrelated to the day’s news, for mornings when inspiration missed its scheduled appointment?
Bill Raspberry and his wife Sandra
had the privilege of watching him interact with a class at Duke, where he taught for more than a decade (while continuing to write his column). He seemed to absorb the students’energy and idealism like a sponge. The one thing Raspberry never quite mastered was the art of being idle. “Retirement” meant nothing more than exchanging one all-absorbing mission for another: an ambitious project to make a difference in his hometown of Okolona, Miss., where many families were mired in multigenerational poverty and dysfunction.
He decided that early childhood education was where he could have the greatest impact, so he formed a nonprofit organization called Baby Steps to work with low-income families in preparing their young children for school. The program grew and evolved – supported by grants, donations and money from Raspberry’s own pocket – to become a potent and successful mechanism for change. Thanks to Raspberry, preschool boys and girls are receiving not just instruction but medical and dental care as well.
“White America saw it, too,” he wrote, “and I’m waiting for responsible white lead-
Not really, he replied. He just came into the office, thought for a while and got a sense of what was the right column for that day. Often, he told me, he wasn’t quite sure what he thought about the topic until he was well into the writing. I think those were the columns he enjoyed most, because they allowed him to look at his subject from all sides. He knew that holding an opinion did not automatically make all other opinions illegitimate. He could also let out a mighty roar, however, as he did when he wrote about the 1992 Los Angeles riots. It wasn’t just black America that saw the videotape of Rodney King’s beating by four police officers, Raspberry wrote, and it wasn’t just black America “that heard a Simi Valley jury tell us that what we saw with our own eyes didn’t actually happen.” Why weren’t white officials and authority figures speaking out?
ers to tell me that Wednesday’s incomprehensible verdict outrages them as much as it outrages us; that the glib rationalization of the Simi Valley jurors doesn’t reflect white America’s view and that this whole business is an aberration, an isolated miscarriage of justice. White America needs to put a
fence around this case, to quarantine it before it infects the whole of American justice.” Raspberry was a mentor to generations of young journalists, not just at the Post but also through the National Association of Black Journalists and other organizations. He was a great teacher. I
Bill Raspberry’s friends, colleagues and readers will all miss him terribly. But along with his family, it may be the children of Okolona who miss him most of all. What a tremendous legacy for an extraordinary – and extraordinarily good – man.
Eugene Robinson’s email address is eugenerobinson@ washpost.com.
By Sandra Jordan Of The St.Louis American
RxOutreach, a non-profit home delivery pharmacy, provides low-income patients with access to nearly 200 prescription medications. In just the first four months of the year, the pharmacy served more than 65,000 customers nationwide and is on track to provide $72.5 million in savings to its clients.
Founded by Michael Holmes, it became a spinoff charitable organization from Express Scripts in 2010. Its mission is to provide affordable medications for people in need by serving those in need through respect, integrity, caring, stewardship and protecting patient confidentiality.
The 14-member board is comprised of seven African Americans (including Donald M. Suggs, publisher of The American), two Hispanics and five Caucasians.
Holmes said many of the individuals taking advantage of its service are over age 50 and come from Texas, Florida, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan, although RxOutreach medications are available nationwide. He said that’s their biggest challenge – just letting others know about RxOutreach.
“There are 50 million people without insurance now, and while it’s great that we are saving 65,000 patients over $70 million, I think that the numbers should be much greater,” Holmes said.
“I think any board makes best decisions if it’s diverse and it brings different perspectives.”
“I wanted the best qualified people. I wanted people that could bring something to the party, people whose advice that I valued, people that understood how an effective not-for-profit would be run and people who understood our patient population,” said Michael Holmes, president of RxOutreach.
– Michael Holmes, president of RxOutreach
“When you put all of those together, I looked for the best people, but I think any board makes best decisions if it’s diverse and it brings different perspectives.”
“I think there’s a lot greater good that we can do. We just got to get the word out so that other people can understand that there is someone here to help them.”
RxOutreach medications are purchased directly from pharmaceutical manufacturers.
“We buy our drugs basically from the same places that Express Scripts and Walgreens and other pharmacies by their drugs from,” Holmes said.
When dealing with so many types of drugs, Holmes said sometimes they run into drug shortages and have to find other suppliers.
“It’s a constant moving process to make sure you are able obtain the medications at the right prices,” he said.
The “right prices,” of course, could include free –but that’s still a work in
progress.
“I would have hoped that it would have been easier to convince the pharmaceutical companies to donate more medication, and it’s just tough out there, and it’s tough for them and they are in a tough economy as well,” Holmes said.
“We probably haven’t gotten as many donations as we would have liked. In the best case, if I could, I would make everything free, but I haven’t thought out a way to do that
yet.”
Asingle individual can earn up to $33,500 a year and a family of four can earn up to $69,150 to qualify for reducedprice medications. There is no membership fee, and the program is open to any person of any age. Once enrolled, customers have access to over 500 medication strengths that treat ongoing health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and depression.
Holmes sees the company continuing to expand and add new medications.
“There are a few things that we really want to add that we are trying very hard to add soon. One is the asthma inhalers, and the second one is insulin. And the key is to be able to acquire these drugs at a low enough price to make it affordable for people,” Holmes said.
“I think I could probably grow 10 times my current size,
Darryl Munden, Chief
Operating Officer
and Roy Whitley, Manager of Pharmacy Operations,at RX Outreach.
Based in Maryland Heights, Missouri,the nonprofit organization provides millions of dollars of savings on more than 500 prescription medications for lower income customers nationwide.
and after that I would have to get a bigger pharmacy or a new pharmacy, but I am willing to take that challenge on if I get there.”
For more information, call 1-800-769-3880, email questions@rxoutreach.org. Acomplete list of medications offered, application forms and program details are available on the Rx Outreach website at http://www.rxoutreach.org.
By Bridjes O’Neil
For
The St.Louis American
Diversity is a key initiative at Wells Fargo Advisors.
“Diversity goes beyond hiring; it’s about making certain that our industry reflects the real world around us and not the world as it once was,” Danny Ludeman, president and CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, said.
“We are determined to foster an environment where that kind of thinking can flourish, where every individual can be successful by being themselves and feel valued for their perspectives and experiences, even when they are different.”
Ludeman has chaired the Wells Fargo Advisors’ Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council (DIAC) for 10 years. In his role, he ensures that the DIAC upholds policies, initiatives and programs regarding diversity and social inclusiveness.
“He’s extremely visible, active and impactful in the community,” Luther (Lu) Reames, Vice President with the Wells Fargo Law Department, said. “It’s made it easier
for me to go out into the community in my role and interact with people. The brand of Wells Fargo Advisors gets a very positive reaction from folks.”
Reames is an attorney who received a juris doctorate from the University of the District Columbia. He works as a Senior Complaint Analyst whose role is to analyze and resolve complaints. These complaints are pre-litigation claims and associated regulatory inquiries received by the Law Department from multiple investment-related business channels.
Reames is equally “visible” within the firm. For the past three years, he has chaired the St. Louis chapter of the Black and AfricanAmerican Team Member Network with Wells Fargo Advisors.
Team Member Networks provide opportunities for “professional growth and education, community outreach, recruiting and retention, and customer insight,” the company website states.
“I feel good about what we’re doing out in the community. It’s a community we live in and work in. We’re a part of that community, and when we’re able to do so under the Wells Fargo banner, it makes our team members feel good,” Reames
said.
Wells Fargo Advisors have seven Team Member Networks. They consist of the following groups: Asian, Latin, Native Peoples, PRIDE, Veterans, Black and AfricanAmerican and Women.
Team Member Networks are “a part of the overall commitment by the firm to diversity. It makes a difference,” Reames said.
Last November, Wells Fargo Advisors was given the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2011 Corporate Diversity Award at the Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon.
Wells Fargo & Co. was rated by BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine as one of the “top 40 best companies for diversity” in 2011.
Bob Mooney, managing director and chief compliance officer at Wells Fargo Advisors, is one of several
senior-level leaders involved with Team Member Networks in an advisory role.
“Team Member Networks in general provide great opportunities to get input, not just on issues that are facing the firm but as we try to improve our success in our diversity hiring,” Mooney said.
“Hopefully, it’s positioning us as a destination of choice for diversity candidates because they recognize that there’s a firm that cares enough to devote some pretty significant resources to this.”
Reames is a Charleston, South Carolina native who was working at JPTurner, LLC in Atlanta, Ga. when he was recruited and hired by Mooney in November 2001. After Reames was hired, he relocated to Richmond, Virginia to work for Wachovia Securities,
LLC. According to the Wells Fargo & Co. website, Wachovia Corporation acquired St. Louis-based A.G. Edwards in October 2007. The Wachovia Corporation decided to move its brokerage operations, Wachovia Securities LLC, from Richmond to St. Louis. It resulted in the largest corporate relocation of hundreds of employees and their families.
In 2008, the merger between A.G. Edwards and Wachovia Securities, LLC was completed.
from Richmond almost four years ago.
As a whole, Reames thinks that “St. Louis is a great place to be and live.”
“Hopefully, it’s positioning us as a destination of choice for diversity candidates because they recognize that there’s a firm that cares enough to devote some pretty significant resources to this.”
– Bob Mooney,Wells Fargo Advisors
During the financial crisis in 2008, however, Wachovia Corporation and Wachovia Securities, LLC was bought by Wells Fargo & Company.
From these buyouts and mergers, Wells Fargo Advisors would become its own entity.
To date, Wells Fargo Advisors is the third largest brokerage firm in the U.S. based outside New York with $1.2 trillion in client assets. Reames was among those who “made the move west”
Asked his initial opinion about diversity in St. Louis’corporate business world, he said, “It was a little bit discouraging.” But, he admits that circumstances have changed.
“I think the folks that came here from Richmond had a lot to do with that,” Reames said.
“We’ve moved the needle a bit. I feel like it’s a lot more embracing.”
Wells Fargo Advisors will continue in its efforts to increase diversity in the future as it prepares for a series of diversity recruitment events in September. Danny Ludeman said, “True diversity in action –diversity of thought, experience and people – can be a game changer.”
Boys & Girls Clubs, Charles Schwab Foundation sponsor Money Matters
American staff
What happens when you couple the hip-hop musical talent and creativity of today’s youth with one of the most important and often intimidating topics among teens today?
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and Charles Schwab Foundation did just that when they teamed up to create the Money Matters Music Mogul contest to strike a chord with teens about the power of financial education and knowledge. The contest leveraged hip-hop to build awareness of Money Matters: Make It Count, a personal finance education program available through the 1,700 Boys & Girls Clubs that serve teens. (To date, approximately 375,000 teens have successfully completed the program since it was launched in 2004.)
Syretha Shirley of Las Vegas, Nevada won the Money Matters Music Mogul contest top prize for her “Time is Money”song.
For the contest, Boys & Girls Club teens across the country were challenged to write original song lyrics about tackling personal money issues for the opportunity of a lifetime: to have award-winning hip-hop producer Kevin “Khao” Cates professionally produce the winning song as a music video.
The five finalists for the grand prize would each additionally receive a $500 college scholarship grant from Charles Schwab Foundation.
More than 142,000 votes were cast (more than votes cast in the Iowa Caucuses) for the top five finalists’songs. Syretha Shirley of Las Vegas, Nevada won the top prize for her “Time is Money” song. Here is Syretha’s video: http://www.bgca.org/newsevents/TheScoop/Pages/M4_MoneyMat ters_2012.aspx
As part of its community outreach and support of P-12 education,University of Phoenix St.Louis donated ten Dell computers to City Garden Montessori School located in the Shaw neighborhood.In March,the University donated ten Dell computers to Most Holy Trinity Catholic School and Academy,located in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Two more schools are slated for computer donations this fiscal year;Sigel Elementary and Walbridge Elementary, both in the St.Louis Public Schools.Pictured:Louis C.Cross, III – University of Phoenix St.Louis College of Education Advisory Board;Janis Wiley – University of Phoenix St.Louis Campus College Chair,College of Education;Ken Bradley,University of Phoenix St.Louis Campus Technologist;and children.
American staff
In 2012, Monsanto was recognized by DiversityInc as one of the publication’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity for the fifth straight year.
Ranked No. 44, Monsanto was the only St. Louis-based company on the list, and was chosen out of more than 580 companies that applied for the recognition.
Ranked No.44, Monsanto was the only St.Louisbased company on the list, and was chosen out of more than 580 companies that applied.
The company was chosen based on its commitment to building a diverse workforce, and employee support and empowerment.
The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity survey features a detailed, empirically driven ranking, based on diversity benchmarking data results in four key areas of diversity management: CEO Commitment to Diversity Management; Workforce Diversity & Human Capital; Corporate/Organizational Communications; Supplier Diversity.
Monsanto received exceptionally high marks by the publication for its commitment to diversity management and building an increasingly diverse and inclusive workplace. One way the company showcases its commitment to diversity is through its nine diversity network groups. These groups are designed to facilitate dialogue and build leadership opportunities for employees.
The list includes networks for African American; Asian; Hispanic; Women; Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, Bisexual; Families; Veterans; Young Professional; and Disabled, to encourage an exchange of ideas and opinions from employees to senior management.
The company also partners with 1890s universities to provide internship opportunities to students interested in pursuing professions in agriculture.
Monsanto also was also
ranked No. 9 in the Top 10 Companies for Recruitment and Retention by DiversityInc
The company has a deeprooted and consistent commitment to philanthropy, especially in the St. Louis area, and has initiated a host of programs aimed at external audiences, such as supplier diversity, scholarships, uni-
Gretchen Brandt, Stewardship Lead for Monsanto, with Keithen Stallings, Recruiter for Monsanto.
versity partnerships, and other key relationships with organizations.
These include donations to St. Louis University, UNCF, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Insight St. Louis, and Missouri Business Leadership Network. Monsanto has more than 20,000 employees globally, with more than 4,000 employees located in St. Louis alone. You can learn more about Monsanto’s recognition at http://diversityinc.com/2012diversityinc-top-50/monsanto/ , and more about working at Monsanto at www.monsanto.com/careers.
By Marc H.Morial National Urban League
“I make every woman who comes to my office sit in my chair and get her picture taken, and they do not leave my office without the commitment that they will either run for office themselves or support a woman who is running for office.”
Virginia State Senator, Yvonne B. Miller
deeply about people and she was a strong voice always ready to passionately advocate for the disadvantaged, the forgotten and the overlooked.”
On July 3, one day before the nation’s 136th anniversary and her own 78th birthday, Senator Yvonne B. Miller, the first AfricanAmerican woman elected to Virginia’s legislature, passed away.
Senator Miller never sought the national spotlight, but for 28 years, she brought change to Virginia as a passionate advocate for working class people and an outspoken champion of progressive causes.
Virginia Congressman, Bobby Scott called her “a stalwart champion of civil rights” who “paved the way for others to follow not just with her words but with her actions.”And Governor Bob McDonnell said, “Yvonne Miller cared
In 1984, Yvonne Miller became the first AfricanAmerican woman to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates. Four years later, she made history again as the first African American woman elected to the Virginia Senate.In 1996, Miller became the first woman to chair a Senate Committee.And her 28 years in the legislature made her the longest-serving woman in the Virginia Senate.
Raised in Norfolk public housing, Senator Miller worked her way through college and was a 1956 graduate of Norfolk State University.After earning a master’s degree from Columbia University she got her doctorate in education from the University of Pittsburgh.She began her career as a Norfolk public school teacher in the 1950s at a time when Virginia was leading southern resistance to Supreme Court ordered school integration.For many years, she served as an education professor and headed the Department of Early Childhood/Elementary
Education at Norfolk State. In a State not known for progressive activism, Senator Miller spent her entire political career fighting to improve the lives of minorities and the
poor.In addition to her support for education, she sponsored legislation to restore voting rights to nonviolent exfelons, opposed Virginia’s new voter identification bill, and
worked to secure health insurance for the uninsured.As the former chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Senator Miller fought against raising tolls and
commuting costs for students and low income citizens. But perhaps her greatest legacy is her commitment to bringing more African-American women into the political arena. According to the Rutgers Center for Women and Politics, of the 1,749 women state legislators across the country, only 240 are African American.
Thirteen African American women currently serve in the U.S. Congress and only one woman, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore is mayor of a major American city.
Speaking of the lack of women in the Virginia legislature, Senator Miller once said, “Women are 51 percent of our population, so we should be 51 percent of the General Assembly.” Recognizing the added burdens of family and work that discourage many women from seeking political office she added, “Any selfrespecting woman who can run a house or a job can run for the General Assembly.”
We agree.We hope more women and women of color will follow in the historic footsteps of Senator Yvonne B. Miller. Morial is President and CEO of the National Urban League.
and a Health Fair.
American staff
The American: What is Covidien? What does it do?
Bridgette Wesley: I work at Mallinckrodt, the pharmaceuticals business of Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products. Our headquarters are in Hazelwood. Mallinckrodt manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients, including bulk acetaminophen, opioid pain medications, nuclear and contrast media diagnostic agents. We are the largest U.S. supplier of opioid pain medications and among the top 10 generic pharmaceuticals manufacturers in the U.S., based on prescriptions.
The American: What is a Global Labeling Department? What does one do?
Bridgette Wesley: The Regulatory Affairs Global Labeling Department is responsible for the creation and maintenance of domestic and international product labeling within Mallinckrodt. We are a team of dedicated professionals working in the areas of pre-press graphic design, proofreading, project management, record management, and data information systems and technologies.The department works with about 4,000 pieces of labeling for the company’s products, making approximately 2500 revisions each year to stay current with new products, regulatory revisions, and new company logos on each piece of labeling.
The American: What is a Regulatory Affairs Labeling Specialist? What do you do?
Bridgette Wesley: A Regulatory Affairs (RA)
Labeling Specialist ensures preparation and availability of labeling artwork for printed packaging components for submission to FDAand for use in packaging products. As a RA Labeling Specialist, I work with Regulatory Affairs, Marketing, Legal, Graphic Designers and Proofreaders to coordinate the creation of labeling artwork that meets all medical, legal and regulatory requirements. I also communicate with our various manufacturing sites to ensure all new and revised labeling is incorporated into production.
The American: How did you come to have this position?
Bridgette Wesley: I joined Mallinckrodt in 2007 as a Documentation Coordinator in the Labeling Department, a position I found online through BlackPlanet.com. For me, that showed that this was a company that was committed to diversity and one that I wanted to be a part of. Over the years, I have been promoted up to a couple positions within the department to my current one as a RALabeling Specialist.
The American: What education is needed to do your job? What additional training?
Bridgette Wesley: Most positions in Regulatory Affairs require a minimum of a fouryear degree. Adegree in a scientific field is most helpful. However technical experience in the pharmaceuticals industry is also beneficial. My background however is a bit different.
I received my Bachelor of Science in Education from Missouri State University in French and Social Studies edu-
cation. I taught French for six years after graduating, first as a high-school teacher in Lebanon, MO, then as an elementary school teacher in St. Louis city. From there, I transitioned to another pharmaceuticals company in St. Louis for several years.
Once at Mallinckrodt, I continued my training in Regulatory Affairs by taking courses offered through professional organizations such as Pharmaceutical Education & Research Institute and Regulatory Affairs Professional Society. I completed a Regulatory Affairs Certificate: Pharmaceuticals in 2010 and I am currently preparing to take the Regulatory Affairs Certification exam.
Bridgette Wesley is a Regulatory Affairs Labeling Specialist in the Global Labeling Department at Mallinckrodt, the pharmaceuticals business of Covidien and a member of its Diversity Council.
The American: What do you do for or with the council?
Bridgette Wesley: The Diversity Council is currently working on restructuring and rebranding in order to be even more effective in its mission. I recently joined the Council to help with these efforts. I have always been passionate about diversity and inclusion. I find it exciting and energizing to be an agent for change and awareness in furthering the efforts of diversity and inclusion at Mallinckrodt. Currently I am on two sub-committees, one which is working on creating the new strategy plan and another which is working on creating the new structure for the Council. I’m looking forward to what we are going to accomplish in creating a workplace that is more inclusive.
The American: What role do you see diversity playing in your workplace?
The American: You recently joined the Diversity Council at the company. What is that? What does it do?
Bridgette Wesley: Our Diversity Councilstrives to improve the work experience for every employee at our Hazelwood campus.The Council currently consists of the leaders from the company’s eight employee resource groups. The Council and resource groups work together to sponsor activities and events which provide employees an opportunity to share ideas and experiences to make our work environment more inclusive. Past events have included special seminars such as “Financial Planning for NonTraditional Couples” and “Caring for Aging Parents”
Bridgette Wesley: Because Mallinckrodt is a global company, it is necessary for our workplace to reflect those with whom we do business. Diversity and inclusion are an important part of creating a workplace where all employees feel valued and respected. The collaboration of individuals with diverse backgrounds, talents, and perspectives is an asset to the company and helps to create an environment that fosters greater work satisfaction which helps the company remain competitive in the healthcare industry.
The American: You are active with Toastmasters. What do you do?
Bridgette Wesley: I joined
Toastmasters in 2008. As a new employee with the company, I found it to be a great way to network with colleagues from various departments throughout the company. Additionally, I needed help with my public speaking skills because, like most people I had a fear of public speaking. Toastmasters has helped me tremendously in overcoming my fear and being able to communicate more confidently. Another benefit of my involvement in Toastmasters has been the leadership training that it offers. I have been able to use the leadership skills that I have learned and practiced in Toastmasters’meetings in both my professional and personal life.
I currently serve as the Vice President Membership of our club at work. I’ve also previously served as the club President and Vice PresidentEducation. In each of those positions and as a member of the club, not only have I obtained valuable practice of my communication and leadership skills, but I have also helped my colleagues to improve their skills as well.
I’ve taken my involvement in Toastmasters beyond our company club and have served as an Area Governor. In this position, I was able to work with five additional Toastmasters clubs in the North St. Louis County area. I have also been involved in working with new clubs that are forming in the St. Louis area as well as competing in District speech contests. One thing that I enjoy most about Toastmasters is the diversity of the members. Members come from all walks of life, backgrounds, age-groups, etc.
By James Webb For The St.Louis American
By now, you’ve likely come across the saying “TEAM: Together Everyone
Achieves More.” It’s become a rallying cry for sports teams, motivational speakers and industry leaders. However, this saying is far more than a rallying cry. It can actually be a model for stabilizing and growing businesses right here in the St. Louis region. How? Through partnerships that bring local companies together to achieve more.
The move toward partnerships is nothing new. Partnerships have existed across the St. Louis region on some level for years. Large airlines like Delta partner with smaller regional airlines to serve markets that otherwise wouldn’t connect to Delta’s global network. Companies like Ameren partner with local suppliers to source goods and services, better serving customer needs. The list of local partnerships is long and continues to grow, allowing even small firms and minority businesses to thrive in this changing economy.
ty-owned businesses because they force leadership to think big. Partnerships could lead to larger, more profitable projects for a company. They could allow minority businesses to add full-time employees, increase purchases of products and services, and even expand their operations to a new building or new area.
James Webb
Forming true partnerships is all about the right fit and the right reason. It’s about bringing together the best “team” to assemble a pitch, win the project and complete the work. It’s also about having the insight to think ahead and see what’s coming, anticipate needs and execute strategy that will lead to renewed accomplishments.
We look for the right relationships between companies, facilitate introductions, provide ongoing support and find a path that gives companies the best opportunities for success.
The economics behind a partnership are simple; pair the right companies together on a strategic level and the new team will be better than one the companies could assemble individually. Yet the reasons behind partnerships go far beyond economics. Larger corporations actually need to partner with small companies. It not only makes good business sense, it helps foster and grow local companies and can fulfill a specific inclusion target or goal.
Partnerships specifically benefit minori-
Forming strategic partnerships is just one component of what the St. Louis Minority Supplier Development Council does here in the St. Louis area. We look for the right relationships between companies, facilitate introductions, provide ongoing support and find a path that gives companies the best opportunities for success. We’ve started many companies down that path as part of the Billion Dollar Impact, which develops partnerships that will help our region add thousands of jobs and increase corporate spending with minority businesses by $1 billion dollars over the next three years. I challenge St. Louis businesses, large and small, to seek out these partnerships, they are too beneficial to pass up. We stand ready to help turn your ideas into a reality. It really is true, together everyone achieves more. James Webb is the President and CEO of the St. Louis Minority Supplier Development Council (SLMSDC).
