Category Archives: Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion

Women GroundBreakers & STEM: Lulu Copeland

When Deborah asked me to be part of the Women GroundBreakers Storytelling panel, Serving our Diverse Communities, I knew I had to say yes. She had said yes many times when I reached out. This is my turn. So, here’s my story… (Deborah coached us on telling our story, starting with something easy to share and for others to absorb, consider something that might shock people…then try to blend into something somewhere between the two.)

Continue reading Women GroundBreakers & STEM: Lulu Copeland

Women GroundBreakers Storytelling: Serving Diverse Communities

On March 7, 2024 we celebrated Women’s History Month with a panel of Women Groundbreakers whose work locally and globally serving diverse communities will Inspire & Instruct. Facilitated by Deborah Levine and sponsored by the American Diversity Report and G100 Women Leaders, the panel shared their expertise and experience. CLICK to hear their WUTC interviews.

**CLICK for PANEL RECORDING**

Deborah levineDeborah Levine is Founder/Editor-in-Chief of the American Diversity Report,  award-winning author of 18 books, TN Chair of G100 Women Leaders, opinion writer with The Chattanooga Times Free Press, and a Forbes Magazine top Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazer. She is the Founder of Women GroundBreakers Storytelling and the Women’s Council on Diversity. 

LuLu CopelandLuLu Copeland is a Consultant at Regional Economic & Workforce Development, Director of Economic & Workforce Development Administration at Chattanooga State Community College and Executive Director at TN-China Network. Lulu is the TN state lead for Million Women Mentors (international movement promoting STEM careers for women). 

Gail DawsonGail Dawson is an Associate Prof. of Management and Director of Diversity & Inclusion at the Rollins College of Business /U. of TN/ Chattanooga. She holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration (U. of S. Florida) and teaches graduate and undergraduate classes including human resource management, diversity, and organizational behavior.

Vanessa JacksonVanessa Jackson is a Program Specialist with the City of Chattanooga’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and was one of Chattanooga’s first Neighborhood Relations Specialists, amplifying the voices and mitigating the barriers of diverse communities. She holds a BA in Political Science and Cultural Studies (U. of TN/Knoxville) and a MA in Public Administration (U. of TN/Chattanooga).

Teletha Teletha McJunkin has roots in social work where she first learned how to listen deeply and communicate with diverse stakeholders. For the past 8 years, she has been leading and coordinating international, multicultural, multi-lingual teams as they navigate change and develop strategies in the areas of human and environmental rights.

CLICK to hear their WUTC radio  interviews.

 

Note: Event Planner Cathrine Bays: Certified as a government meeting planner by the Society of Government Meeting Professionals, she served as Chattanooga’s chapter president, fundraiser, and educational program leader for 15 years. She recently worked as an Event Strategist for Maritz Global Events and Conference Director for the National Harm Reduction Coalition.

G100

American Diversity Report

2024 Theme: Women’s History Month – Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Celebrating Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

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Whereas, March is National Women’s History Month, and the National Women’s History Alliance has designated the theme for Women’s History Month 2024 as “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion”; and

Whereas, this theme recognizes the invaluable contributions of women who have dedicated themselves to advocating for equity, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of society; and

Whereas, women from diverse backgrounds have long been at the forefront of efforts to address systemic inequities and promote a more inclusive and just society; and

Whereas, the courageous advocacy of women for practical goals such as equity, diversity, and inclusion serves as a beacon of inspiration for all individuals and communities; and

Whereas, in 2024, we honor the women who have tirelessly worked to dismantle barriers, challenge prejudices, and create opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their background and attacks against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusions programs and training in our institutions; 

Now, therefore be it resolved, that the American Diversity Report does hereby proclaim March 2024 as Women’s History Month in Tennessee and 

Be it further resolved that, We encourage our communities and organizations to celebrate the achievements of women who have championed equity, diversity, and inclusion, and reaffirm our commitment to advancing these principles in our society. Let us honor the women who have dedicated themselves to advocating for equity, diversity, and inclusion, and let us continue to work together to build a more just, equitable, and inclusive world.

Sisterhood for Women’s History Month – by Deborah Levine

Is Women’s History Month still relevant today? Is the need for sisterhood activism over as some say? We look back at the first group to advocate for women’s right to vote nationally and see that it was ultimately successful. The Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention was held long ago in1848. But the words of its organizer Elizabeth Cady Stanton still hold true and yet are still controversial, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.”

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Diversity and Speech Part 44: Generations of Gender Talk – by Carlos Cortés

Keeping up with the ongoing changes in diversity language has become a matter of lifelong learning.  For a near-nonagenarian  (I turn 90 on April 6), this means continuous learning as well as relentless unlearning.  That is, trying to unlearn old uses of language that decades of repetition have deeply wired into my brain.

Take gender.  Growing up in 1940’s Kansas City, Missouri, I learned that men were men and women were women.  I inhabited a world of man talk and woman talk, men’s jobs and women’s jobs, men’s clothes and women’s clothes.  It wasn’t much different in college during the 1950’s.   We were men and women, not cisgender or transgender men and women. 

Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 44: Generations of Gender Talk – by Carlos Cortés

Why not a “Sully” Sullenberger for President? – by Terry Howard

Some voters are burned out on outrage!” 

That’s the recent headline in a national publication. That outrage? The eyebrow raising rancor, silliness and general awfulness surrounding the upcoming presidential election.

And the truth is that if we strike out the first four letters in the word “outrage” what’s left are three letters many voters are particularly burned out on…. age…as in President Joe Biden’s age! Count yours truly among them. Shucks, if I had a dollar for every time Biden’s age is cited in the news, I could purchase a luxurious mansion in Miami, Malibu (or, eh, Mar-a-Lago). 

Continue reading Why not a “Sully” Sullenberger for President? – by Terry Howard

STEM Women Storytellers – by Deborah Levine

Women GroundBreakers Storytelling

The push to attract women to STEM education and careers is gaining steam, but the impact is questionable. Young women have ample cause to be discouraged given the decrease of the number of women professionals in many STEM fields. Bucking the trend, efforts to encourage women to embrace STEM have increased dramatically. Those efforts span the country, including in Tennessee where Chattanooga’s Women GroundBreakers Storytelling featuring women in STEM.

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How Rosie triumphed over us all – by Deborah Levine

I’d just driven into my parents’ driveway. I was time to pick up my toddler from the babysitting grandparents.  And there was my little 3-year-old Rosie, rocking back and forth on her rocking horse without a care in the world. The horse squeaked and groaned on its springs, far too annoying to be allowed in the house.

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“Mrs. Good Trouble”: Amelia Boynton Robinson – by Terry Howard

Some people are just made to cause, as the late Congressman John Lewis called it, “good trouble.” They’re contrarian by nature. It’s in their DNA. It ignites their fury. It explains their courage to put life and limb at risk for what they believe in.

Which brings us to African American History Month 2024 and to “Mrs. Good Trouble” herself, the late civil rights pioneer Amelia Boynton Robinson, inarguably the matriarch of the voting rights movement. Now if you subscribe to that familiar saying, “behind every great man is a woman,” then I’ll say, “behind every great movement is a woman.” Many of them in fact.

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Embracing Unique Thinking Styles – by Lee Webster

Navigating Machines and Race: Shaping Cognitive Diversity and Innovation

We are at the threshold of a new era where diversity, equity, and inclusion will leap beyond biology into an interaction with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics.  We are at a stage where robots mimic human motions, AI voices converse and learn, and technology pushes the boundaries of our understanding.  We are witnessing the breakthroughs of innovation advances: quantum computing redefines reality, genetic engineering rewrites the code of life, and self-driving cars reimagine mobility.  But it is the cognitive diversity introduced by AI and robotics that truly compels us to redefine our concept of “different.”  

Continue reading Embracing Unique Thinking Styles – by Lee Webster