Kentucky Chamber Foundation’s Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Turns One, Expands Staff to Grow Projects – The Bottom Line

In its first yr, the Kentucky Chamber Basis’s Heart for Variety, Fairness, and Inclusion (DE&I) has led strong efforts to construct an inclusive and equitable Commonwealth.

In November 2021, the Basis employed Joe Frazier as the manager director of the Heart for DE&I to spearhead the Chamber’s efforts to interact and educate enterprise leaders, rework workplaces throughout Kentucky, and create significant, long-term change.

The Heart for DE&I started by establishing a process pressure of greater than 25 enterprise, training, and civic leaders that convene commonly with the aim of launching and advancing initiatives that may lead the enterprise neighborhood to create a stronger future for all Kentuckians.

“I’m so pleased with the numerous accomplishments the Heart for DE&I has had in its first yr. The success we now have already seen on this program is such a robust testomony to the crucial want for this work in Kentucky,” stated Kentucky Chamber Basis’s Heart for DE&I Interim Chair Kim Sweazy, Group Relations and Exterior Affairs Analyst at Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America.

A serious aim of the Heart for DE&I has been to supply methods for companies to diversify their provide chains and, on the identical time, promote minority-owned companies throughout the Commonwealth. This led the Heart for DE&I to launch the Kentucky Minority-Owned Enterprise Database—the first-ever centralized itemizing of all licensed minority-owned companies throughout the Commonwealth— in partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cupboard, Kentucky Finance and Administration Cupboard, and Louisville Metro Authorities.

This on-line database additionally consists of assets to assist companies perceive the significance of certification, resolve which certification works greatest for them, and discover ways to start the method.

To have interaction the broad enterprise neighborhood within the DE&I dialog, the Chamber hosted its inaugural Variety, Fairness, and Inclusion Summit in October with virtually 500 attendees from quite a lot of industries to debate the financial influence of variety, diversifying provide chains, public coverage options, reworking firm tradition, and way more.

Just lately, the Heart for DE&I expanded its workers to proceed advancing the group’s initiatives. Along with Frazier, the Basis has employed Nathan Chook and Darleen Horton as senior program managers for the Heart for DE&I.

Chook beforehand taught Spanish at Saint Xavier Excessive College, the place he additionally performed a key function in committees and initiatives associated to DE&I. Moreover, he served as an unbiased marketing consultant for Variety & Inclusion Strategists.

Horton beforehand served in a number of roles at Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, most lately because the group’s reentry companies supervisor. She additionally based a program to empower youth leaders in Louisville.

“Since becoming a member of the Chamber household, we’ve actually hit the bottom operating,” stated Joe Frazier, govt director of the Kentucky Chamber Basis’s Heart for DE&I. “We’ve had some large wins and I’m excited to proceed this work and present what else we now have in retailer for the Commonwealth.”

Study extra in regards to the Kentucky Chamber Basis’s Heart for Variety, Fairness, and Inclusion at kychamber.com/DEICenter.