About the American Diversity Report
Climate change has become a new reality and a worldwide phenomenon with significant variation in weather patterns occurring over periods ranging from decades to millions of years.
Nigerians ask what is climate change for them; can Nigeria be affected; what impact will it have it on Nigeria? Can we mitigate the negative impact and ensure that climate change/global warming does not have disastrous consequence on Nigeria?
Continue reading Climate Change in Nigeria – by Olumide Idowu
There are two basic motivations of the entrepreneur. The first is Money, the bottom line. Some say that business people have no soul, that we’re in it only for the money. But the second motivation for entrepreneurs is self-fulfillment, a spiritual sense of purpose. Maybe this spirituality is linked to your faith tradition, but the spiritual element translates across the boundaries of specific religions and cultures. We entrepreneurs make our home where spirituality and business overlap, and it’s about time that we make our address public.
Continue reading Spirituality and Entrepreneurship – by Deborah Levine
The Policy Advocacy Project Partnership on Climate Change (PAPPCC), a network of Civil Society Organization and Professionals concerned about the threat of Climate Change to Lagos, recently organized a 2-Day Sensitization workshop for Media Professionals with two cardinal objectives: a.) Demystifying the concept of Climate Change and b.) Advocating for a robust policy framework addressing Climate Change in the State.
Continue reading Climate Change and the Media – by Olumide Idowu
A black-and-white photograph curled at the edges pressed between the pages of Anna Karenina falls into my hands as I fumble about the bookshelf. Anna Karenina. It appears I was using the photograph as a bookmark and apparently gave up after page 662. Do not judge me, dear Reader – I was only fifteen at the time. No doubt, I found the drama of my own life infinitely more interesting.
This article in our Women in Technology series features women in accounting professions. A discussion group was pulled together with the assistance of ADR advisor, Larry Stone, who is then Director of Professional Development for Decosimo Accountants and Business Advisors, commonly known simply as “Decosimo”. Larry has deep roots in the Chattanooga area and serves on the Professional Development Committee of the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA). The group of women that he assembled represent diverse professional and generational perspectives. They shared their insights on STEM education, careers, and work-life challenges …
The three panelists were “women of color”; a Mexico-born Latina, a U.S. –born African-American and one reared in Africa, all highly regarded electrical engineers. In skin color, they ranged from “very light” (the Latina) to “light/medium brown” (one black woman) to “very, very dark” (the other black woman), the former two with shoulder length flowing black hair.
The audience consisted of thirty managers and I was the facilitator.
A diverse group of leaders recently came together in Chattanooga to discuss the United States’ International Affairs Budget. The speakers were an unusual combination of representatives of the U.S. military, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. They mingled with us attendees from corporate, government, education, and nonprofit organizations. Given the tumultuous events around the globe, we were more than curious to hear what they had to say.
Continue reading Global Leadership Tennessee Style – by Deborah Levine
A discussion among women engineers recently took place at the office of the Interim Dean at the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences/ University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Part 1 focused on career challenges; Part 2 of the dialogue highlights issues of STEM education. Convened by Lulu Copeland, the diverse discussion group included participants from the Chattanooga and North Georgia area.
Continue reading Women in Engineering Part 2: Education — by Deborah Levine
There is nothing dignified about death. I am not sure why I went, that first time, to the place of implosion. I guess I had some idea of standing there amidst the debris, my hat in my hands, saying a silent prayer for those who had left us. In its stead, a quarter mile away from the actual site, a rank odor announced itself like a foreboding. As I got closer, the mélange of rotting potatoes, overheated engines reeking oil, charred eggplants the color of ash settled like a second skin making me heave. I grabbed a tissue, forcing down the bitter taste of vomit in my mouth and went back home.
Continue reading World Trade 9/11 Memorial Site – by Poonam Chawla
Have you ever stopped to explore what drives your life? What about your family history has prepared you for the work you feel most passionate about? In Inspire Your Inner Global Leader, Deborah Levine shares what it is about her Jewish American heritage that has made her the natural advocate, director and trainer of diversity that she is today. Her many stories are catalysts to illustrate and educate, but ultimately to inspire the reader to fulfill his or her potential as a diversity pro. By sharing her own story, Levine hopes the reader will come away with a new appreciation for storytelling as a tool for self-discovery and the enlightenment of others alike.
Continue reading Tales from the Archives of a Diversity Pro – by Joseph Moore