Category Archives: Advisors

Advisory Council

Levine articles, Race & Ethnicity, Religious Diversity, Social Issues, Southern Culture

Pastor Paul McDaniel and the Interfaith South — by Deborah Levine

October 10, 2018 Editor-in-Chief 2 Comments

When I arrived at Chattanooga’s Second Missionary Baptist Church, A true Southern gentleman, Pastor Paul McDaniel, met me personally met at the door. Born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Pastor McDaniel has been part of the Southern landscape and its African American community for most of his life. After attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, he received a Masters of Divinity degree from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School and a Masters of Arts degree from the University of Rochester in New York. A Chattanooga resident since 1966, Rev. McDaniel stepped down from his post at the Second Missionary Baptist Church after almost 50 years of service. A larger-than-life figure in the community, I share our conversation in his honor.

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DL Opinion columns

Who You Callin’ Old? – by Deborah Levine

September 18, 2018 Editor-in-Chief 1 Comment

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Birthdays that end in zero are milestones to be celebrated, or completely ignored, depending on your point of view. I choose to celebrate my milestone by writing about the beauty and value of older women. Too often, the presence of older women can be used to delegitimize a good cause. There were several editorials about Women’s Marches calling them irrelevant because so many of the women involved were old, limping, and decrepit.

Maybe I should be used to this dismissive language, I’ve heard it often enough. I’m reminded of the time I gave a presentation at a national interfaith workshop in Huntsville. Wrapping up, I asked for comments from an audience of woman chaplains and pastors. The first question had everyone nodding their heads, “How do you get people to listen to you? Once I turned sixty nobody cared what I thought or said.”

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Generational, Levine articles, Teams & Leaders

What Should an Aspiring Leader Know? — by Deborah Levine

September 1, 2018 Editor-in-Chief

Here’s what teenage leaders-in-training had to say when asked what a young leader should know. The words of wisdom come from high school and middle school students participating in the American Diversity Report Youth Global Leadership Class. Enjoy their timeless advice and then read what leadership experts said about preparing the upcoming generation of leaders.

Generational, Levine articles

Letter Home from WW II Soldier – Courtesy of Deborah Levine

May 8, 2018 Editor-in-Chief 1 Comment

On special occasions, Veterans & Memorial Day, I reread this letter from a young soldier, my father, Aaron Levine to his dear wife. On the verge of being deployed to Europe during World War II, he wrote this 1944 note. He writes my pregnant mother who came to NYC to see him off, but missed him. My father didn’t see his son until he was one year old. Aaron Levine passed away at age 84 and worked on community projects even on his death bed.   Literary, practical, loving, and compulsively methodical, here is his WW II good-bye letter …

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Levine articles, LGBTQ

Volkswagen and Women Who Rock – by Deborah Levine

May 6, 2018 Editor-in-Chief 1 Comment

Over the years, I’ve attended press conferences, graduations, receptions, and concerts at Volkswagen Chattanooga’s conference center, but I’ve never before seen it decorated entirely in pink. The event was the first ever Volkswagen Women Who Rock Awards Brunch. After having my picture taken in the photo booth wearing a pink Volkswagen hard hat, I meandered through the crowd waiting to hear from the keynote speaker, Julie Baumgardner, CEO and Founder of Chattanooga’s family oriented nonprofit, First Things First.

We watched profiles of the award nominees on the overhead screens as we listened to each of their favorite songs. It was a musical lesson in diversity. True to Volkswagen’s techie mindset, the playlist could be downloaded on Spotify. After much munching and brunching, we were brought to attention by Shireena Avery, the Volkswagen Diversity Sponsor to the featured Employee Resource Groups (ERG). The Women Who Rock program got underway with Megan Herndon, President of Volkswagen’s Women in Motion ERG.

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Advisors, Generational

Career Success Roadmap for Millennials & Gen Z – By David B. Grinberg

April 20, 2018 David B. Grinberg 1 Comment

Small children have big dreams. As a kid I wanted to be everything from a NASA astronaut to a Major League Baseball star. Yet as most people age and mature their dreams tend to evaporate and morph into something more practical and attainable. But impractical does not mean impossible. That is, if you’re ready and willing to work for it and go the extra miles. As a Gen Xer, I want to share some professional advice for young people who are pondering their dream jobs, preparing to start new jobs, or trying to climb the career ladder at a young age.

It’s no secret that building a strong work ethic helps lay the foundation for future success. But it’s also worth noting that early career success is usually earned incrementally, starting from the bottom up.

ADR