All posts by Editor-in-Chief

Deborah Levine founded the American Diversity Report in 2006. She is a Forbes Magazine top "Trailblazer" and award-winning author of 20 books. Her published articles span decades including: American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, The Bermudian Magazine, The Harvard Divinity School Bulletin.
Being Diverse, Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Jack Myers Podcast: MediaVillage

Jack MyersJack Myers, founder of MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity.org, is the nation’s best-known practitioner of media ecology. Renowned for his entrepreneurial leadership in media industry innovation focused on growth, Myers has been recognized with the Excellence in Education Award and he’s also earned a George Foster Peabody Award for Documentary Filmmaking.

Gen-ZMediaVillage’s mission is to advance advertising supported media industry growth through investments in diversity and education, highlighted by the industry’s first-ever Advancing Diversity Week that took place September 2021, culminating with the 4th annual Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Induction Experience and inaugural Gen-Z Town Hall Meeting.

Jack is the author of four books on generational shifts, including Hooked Up, the earliest research on Gen-Z influence, and The Future of Men, which is also a TED Talk that’s generated almost 200,000 views. Jack’s early consulting work contributed to strategic innovation for more than 200 media, advertising, and marketing clients. He began his career with ABC Radio, CBS Television and Metromedia Outdoor. He graduated from the Newhouse School at Syracuse U. and has a Master Degree in Media Ecology from NYU. 

CLICK to hear podcast

Black-Jewish Dialogue, Commerce, Inclusion, Levine articles

DIVERSITY TOWN HALL: LINKING BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY

Diversity Town HallDiversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) of the futureUTC

 

October 2021:  American Diversity Report presented its 2nd annual Diversity Town Hall in partnership with the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Speaking virtually, the panel of business leaders explored the relationship of business and community in creating the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) of the future.

MODERATOR

Dr. GAIL DAWSON
Associate Professor of Management
Director of Diversity and Inclusion
Gary W. Rollins College of Business/UTC

PANELISTS

ERIC FULLER
President and Chief Executive Officer – U.S. Xpress

DEBORAH LEVINE
Founder/Editor/Consultant – American Diversity Report

DAVID ORTIZ
Corporate Diversity Officer, former board member – La Paz

LORNE STEEDLEY
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusive Growth – Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce

CLICK FOR VIDEO OF DIVERSITY TOWN HAll

CLICK  for transcripts
Presentation #1 by Deborah Levine

 

NOTE: The Town Hall is also the October Black-Jewish Dialogue in partnership with: American Diversity Report,  Chattanooga News Chronicle, Mizpah Congregation, Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (C.U.R.B. )

Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Keilon Ratliff Podcast: 2nd Chances

Keilon As head of automotive and oil, gas and energy staffing at Kelly Professional & Industrial, Vice President Keilon Ratliff spearheads Kelly’s efforts to provide job seekers with non-violent criminal records a path to employment. Under his leadership Kelly collaborated with an automotive manufacturer to hire second chance workers who had previously been disqualified from consideration. The Kelly33 initiative enabled the client to increase its talent pool, address critical staffing needs and improve retention rates.

Ratliff actively supports Kelly’s Equity@Work initiative that was launched in 2020 to remove barriers that make it hard for people to attain enriching work. Rarely challenged, these obstacles – such as outdated degree requirements, biases against candidates with criminal histories and discrimination of neurodiverse talent – leave capable talent excluded. Ratliff holds a key advisory role and develops strategies to engage clients and partners in Kelly’s efforts to build a more equitable workforce. He also serves on the company’s Inclusion Council.

Ratliff discusses:

  • How to knock down unjust barriers to work that hold millions back.
  • How ex offenders are a hidden workforce that can help companies address labor shortages.
  • How everyone deserves second chances and the dignity of work.

CLICK for podcast link

DL Opinion columns, Editor-in-Chief

Armageddon gets personal – by Deborah Levine

 Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

These days, everyone I talk to sounds anxious, scared and miserable. My first reaction is sympathy and empathy, the way my mother taught me. My second reaction is relief, since misery loves company.  And when I feeling a bit guilty for that, I say to myself, “How can we not be?” Every time, I turn on the news, there’s another calamity. It feels like our world is  imploding and none of us will escape unscathed.

First there’s a sense of world disintegration with the mess in Afghanistan. Seeing thousands of folks trying to cram into the airport to leave – scary. Watching people clinging to planes to get out – horrifying. Hearing the fears of women for the future – words escape me.

Continue reading Armageddon gets personal – by Deborah Levine →

About Deborah Levine

Chattanooga Award Program Honors Deborah Levine

Deborah Levine Receives 2021 Chattanooga Award for Management Consulting

CHATTANOOGA August 22, 2021 — Deborah Levine has been selected for the 2021 Chattanooga Award in the Management Consulting Services category by the Chattanooga Award Program.

awardEach year, the Chattanooga Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Chattanooga area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2021 Chattanooga Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Chattanooga Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Chattanooga Award Program

The Chattanooga Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Chattanooga area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Chattanooga Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

CLICK for Deborah Levine’s
DEI Design/Consulting Services

Levine articles, Race & Ethnicity

Hispanic Heritage Month: Nurses, Education & Scholarships

1 Comment

Hispanic Heritage Month

This is a the time to educate about the US community:

On average, this community is 6 years younger than the median and 6 out of 10 Are millennials or younger. They are currently 40% of the labor force growth and 8 out of 10 new businesses are Latino-owned. They are 54% of projected population growth (2017-2027) and 74% of new US workers are Hispanic. They are a vital part of the US making up 18% of active enlisted military and 19 million are essential workers.

Continue reading Hispanic Heritage Month: Nurses, Education & Scholarships →

Transformation Podcasts

Carmelo the Science Fellow – Podcast

Carmelo Carmelo Piazza (Carmelo the Science Fellow) is the Founder of the Brooklyn Preschool of Science. He is a Brooklyn born educator who taught for the Department of Education for 17 years and is now the owner of three independent science based preschools.

The Brooklyn Preschool of Science is an inquiry-based interdisciplinary school that uses play to holistically connect subject areas. The school aims to excite young kids about learning and engage their innate curiosity about the world. The school features a living wall of plants, a 300-gallon fish tank, and a multitude of living creatures that reside in the classrooms.
Carmelo talks about the  value of teaching preschoolers math/science as early as 2-3 years old and discuss how science is the only true way to bridge the gap of inequality in education.

CLICK for Podcast Interview

Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Deepak Shukla Podcast: D&I in the PR Industry

DeepakDeepak Shukla is a British-Indian entrepreneur who founded the award-winning Pearl Lemon PR agency. He is a finalist for the International Diverse Role Model of the Year awarded by Diversity in Tech. This is in recognition of the groundbreaking work that he’s doing with his agency and international team to promote diversity and inclusion.

Deepak discusses:

  • How to develop an inclusive recruitment process that levels the playing field for people of different backgrounds.
  • How to manage employees in different parts of the world and a global clientele.
  • How to make diversity and inclusion a part of your company culture and not just a cute slogan on your website.

CLICK for Podcast Interview

Black-Jewish Dialogue, Transformation Podcasts

Ardena Garth Hicks Podcast – Equity in Education Podcast

ADR PODCAST
BLACK-JEWISH DIALOGUE

Hear the conversation about equity in education from these experts  based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This podcast is part of the ADR Black-Jewish Dialogues.

of education

Ardena Garth Hicks: Education Activist 

Ardena is a Hamilton County native and practicing attorney who is the 2020 Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. She is a member of the Hamilton County Partnership Network Board of Directors, appointed by TN Education Commissioner Candace McQueen. The Partnership’s charge is to “review the progress of the five schools in the Partnership Network- which have been deemed priority schools by the state…and make recommendations to the Hamilton County Board of Education and Network leadership to support students’ growth and development.”
She is President of Chattanooga Endeavors, Inc., a non-profit organization which advocates for the interests of citizens repatriating from incarceration. Ardena previously was Special Prosecutor for Child Abuse cases with the Hamilton County District Attorney’s office. She served as Hamilton County’s first elected District Public Defender from 1990 to 2014 (3 successive 8-year terms), having been appointed to the newly-created position by Gov. Ned McWherter in 1989. Ardena graduated as a Ooltewah HS valedictorian, earned her bachelor’s degree at Middle TN State U. and earned her Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the U. of Kansas.

of educationDr. Jill Keegan Levine: Education Administrator 

Jill is the Chief of Innovation and Choice for Tennessee’s Hamilton County Schools, a district of over 45,000 students. Prior to this role, she served as the Chief of the Opportunity Zone, a learning community focused on turnaround of the twelve highest needs schools in the district, as well as serving previously as the Chief Academic Officer of the school district.
After graduating from Wellesley College with a double major in Music and History, Jill began her career teaching 3rd grade and directing musical theater productions in the New Orleans Public Schools. She was the principal of Normal Park Museum Magnet, a Chattanooga Pre-K through 8th grade school, for 14 years. She led the transformation of two low performing schools into award winning, innovative, exciting and challenging places of learning. In 2012, Jill was recognized as the National Magnet Schools Principals of the Year. From 2013-2015, she served in the Obama administration as the first full time Principal Ambassador Fellow at the US Department of Education. In that capacity, she worked closely with Secretary Arne Duncan to increase the department’s focus on the importance of school leadership.

 CLICK for PODCAST LINK

Also hear: BLACK-JEWISH DIALOGUE PODCAST: POETS SPEAK

Dialogue Partners:
American Diversity Report,  Chattanooga News Chronicle, Mizpah Congregation, Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (C.U.R.B. )

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About Deborah Levine

Deborah Levine Receives 2021 Management Consulting Award

DEBORAH LEVINE
Editor-in-Chief Deborah J. Levine

Chattanooga Award Program Honors Deborah Levine:
Diversity Consultant and  Editor of the American Diversity Report 

CHATTANOOGA August 22, 2021 — Deborah Levine has been selected for the 2021 Chattanooga Award in the Management Consulting Services category by the Chattanooga Award Program.

Each year, the Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Chattanooga area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2021 Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Chattanooga Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Chattanooga Award Program

The annual awards program honors the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Chattanooga area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

CONTACT:  Chattanooga Award Program

Email: PublicRelations@2021-communitybest-notice.net

URL: http://www.2021-communitybest-notice.net

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CLICK for other awards given to Deborah Levine, diversity consultant and editor of the American Diversity Report:
2020 Books for Peace

 Women’s Federation for World Peace