“Women in the Workplace” was the topic that drew the largest crowd since the inception of the Middle Tennessee Diversity Forum over a year ago with more than 200 in attendance. The quarterly breakfast forum is sponsored by a local company for each event. This session, Bridgestone America’s Holding brought with it a handful of powerful speakers.

Mark Emkes, Bridgestone’s CEO, welcomed the crowd at Sheraton Music City on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 citing its corporate responsibility to diversity. In his message, he shared his fond memory of his conversation with Rockstar Alice Cooper using this story to remind the audience of the old adage, “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Christine Karbowiak, vice president of public affairs, shared Bridgestone’s company profile.

And, Patti Brown-James, vice president of human resources, outlined the many programs that Bridgestone offers its employees to provide growth opportunities as it believes in investing and hiring from within.

The main event of the morning included a powerful punch from keynote speaker, Deb Hornell, regional director for Women Unlimited, an organization for mentoring, education and networking.
Hornell presented the difference in high potential and high performance women and discussed what makes retention of female leaders tough, as well as, what works in retaining these leaders.

After the presentations, the conversation relaxed as a group of professionals sat on cozy couches set high on a stage that adorned the TV show, The View,” to casually address topics concerning women. From the revolutionary concept of the “glass ceiling” and where we are today with unmatched salaries to work/life balance and what to wear in the workplace, an engaged audience was entertained and informed by the following panel:

Moderator for the panel was Allison Hatcher, anchor with WKRN News 2 (pictured on right).

Panelist include (from left) Frederique Le Greves, Nissan North America, Peggy Corkerham, Franklin Pontiac Buick GMC, Steve Horrell, The Horrell Company, Ming Wang, MD, Wang Vision Institute, and Lisa Perez, Deloitte and Touche
 

HCA receives the coveted Trailblazer Award

The Middle Tennessee Diversity Forum announced its 2008 Trailblazer Awards on January 24, 2008. HCA is the recipient of MTDF’s Business Leadership Award, and HCA vice president of diversity and inclusion Kim Sharp is the recipient of its Distinguished Achievement Award.

Left Picture: Board member Waverly Crenshaw and HCA’s John Steele
Right picture: HCA’s John Steele, NCAC’s Jacky Akbari and HCA’s Kim Sharpe

The awards were created to recognize outstanding achievements in the area of workforce diversity. They were presented at MTDF’s annual Executive Dinner at Merchants Restaurant. The event is sponsored by SunTrust and will be hosted by SunTrust president and CEO Rob McNeilly.

“HCA continues to set the standard for leadership in workforce diversity in Middle Tennessee and across the country,” said Jacky Akbari, founding chairperson of the Middle Tennessee Diversity Forum. “HCA’s results demonstrate that focusing on diversity strengthens a business and benefits the entire community.”

HCA has numerous programs that foster diversity and inclusion among its employees and suppliers. Through some of these efforts the company increased business with women- and minority-owned enterprises by 58% over the last few years. In addition, the company’s Chief Operating Officer Development program identifies trains and places qualified minority leaders in HCA hospitals. Last year, HCA was selected among the “50 Best Places to work for minorities” by readers of Equal Opportunity Magazine.

A 13-year veteran of healthcare human resources, Sharp has served as HCA’s vice president of diversity and inclusion since 2006. She also works closely with organizations such as the National Association of Health Services Executives, the Institute for Diversity in Health Management and the National Association of Latino Health Executives to improve diversity in the healthcare industry. In addition, she served on the BENCHMARK initiative for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce to ensure diversity and inclusion strategies are embedded in all Chamber operations. Sharp is co-chair of the MTDF’s Advisory Council.

“Kim is a pioneer and visionary in the area of workforce diversity,” said Akbari. “In addition to her work at HCA, she has led a number of projects and community initiatives through board involvement and project leadership.”

About MTDF
The Middle Tennessee Diversity Forum (MTDF) is a public-private collaborative effort devoted to building and benchmarking workforce diversity initiatives. The forum is a membership organization of senior workforce leaders that directly impact workforce diversity in the Middle Tennessee area. The membership represents many facets of the workforce community across industries and occupations, including manufacturing, healthcare, publishing, finance/banking and others. Partner organizations include HCA, Bridgestone Firestone, SunTrust, Vanderbilt University, Dell computer, Gaylord Opryland, Loew’s Vanderbilt Plaza, Nashville Career Advancement Center, Coca-Cola consolidated bottling and the Nashville Chamber of Commerce.