COVID Stories of Perseverance and Caring

COVID Stories:
3 Women Share & Inspire

Many of you are changing your lives and work to care for others and yourselves in new ways. The ADR honors all of your efforts and shares these COVID stories to inspire and motivate. 

       1.) While you are “hunkering down” during the pandemic, you should remember why you are doing this. Obviously, the first reason is to protect yourself, but more important may be protecting someone you live with. That may mean that you are the one who goes to the grocery store and the pharmacy, wearing a mask and going during the low risk times of the day. You can still take walks, wearing a mask and keeping at least six feet from others. You can still ride a bike or jog, remembering to mask up whenever possible and avoiding crowded times of the day and places. I even swim at the YMCA, during the slow hours. I wear a mask and shower at home. As it gets colder, I no longer wrap a towel around a wet bathing suit; I remove my wet bathing suit and put on dedicated sweats.

I have not had a hair cut since last winter and I cut my husband’s hair. I have tried not to have workmen in the house for any reason although I did need a plumber last spring. I use Zoom a lot to connect with family, friends, and religious programs. I do use take out restaurants, but I try to use places where I can get curbside service and I can pay in advance. Basically, I am lucky; I have adequate space to live in and plenty of food, but like everyone else, I dream of a future that will be different.” CLICK for Hadassah Chattanooga
~ Judith Sachsman, President, Hadassah Chattanooga Chapter

       2.) Earlier this year, I held my annual online summit. The scheduled dates happened to fall right at the start of company shutdowns due to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. Companies were scrambling, and we had a built-in panel of experts to help them with the transition. Summit speakers started meeting every other week to discuss business issues and how we were helping clients. About a month later, George Floyd was killed, and our regular meetings turned out to be an important place for all of us to connect on current events.

After we ended those calls, one of the members, Michael Carter, called me up and said, “Susan, I really miss those meetings. I have an idea for starting them up again.” On that call, the Diversity Thought Leader Community (DTLC) was born. Michael and I spent a few months planning, and we officially started the group this month. DTLC is a space where DEI consultants, facilitators, and educators can meet to share ideas, seek advice, and collaborate on projects. We’re meeting every other week via Zoom, and we have an online site and community where members can connect and gather resources. While we’re just getting started, we’ve got a lot of great ideas for future programs within the community. We’re really excited to see how this grows and benefits everyone involved.” CLICK to find out more
       ~ Susan McCuistion, President, daiOne, LLC

       3.) A brain aneurysm survivor and daughter of two Belgian-West African immigrants, I carved out my path to secure a leadership position within the world’s third-largest integrated communications firm. Beyond client work, I serve as the North American Lead for BCW’s African American Employee Resource (AAER) group of 35 AA employees across 10 markets. As the AAER group lead, I work in conjunction with BCW’s C-Suite to create professional development experiences for employees. I also position the ERG to help produce new IP offerings for BCW clients to navigate racial injustice in their workplace and industries. The ERG is the gold standard in the agency, inspiring BCW colleagues across the global network to reach out for strategic direction in their markets.

Redefining culture within BCW and society-at-large, I executed a partnership with Wine to Water to host BCW’s first Filter Build program in New York. During the event, a Wine to Water expert provided an overview and step-by-step tutorial on how to build a filter. The program resulted in enough filters being built to provide clean water to 250 individuals and families until 2029.

I also led a collaboration with the Girl Scouts of Greater New York (GSGNY) to host a women’s empowerment workshop at BCW. Convening 10 BCW female leaders to participate in the workshop with 60 Girl Scouts, I encouraged a discussion of how to build courage, confidence and character in the workplace.” CLICK to see BCW Global
       ~ Sabrina N. Browne, Account Director, Corporate, BCW Global

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