Blog

The Emerging Leaders May - July 2022 cohort spent the last few months forging new relationships, establishing business and community connections, learning how to network like a pro, and honing their leadership skills. The Raleigh Chamber is so proud of the dedication and commitment that has led each of these Emerging Leaders to great personal and professional growth success:

More than 1,100 local leaders and members of the community joined us for this annual conference presented by the Triangle DEI Alliance and the Raleigh Chamber to gain the tools to support DEI within their organizations and the entire community in pursuit of "A Better You, A Better Us!"

At the 2022 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusivity Conference, in partnership with Bank of America, we gained new tools and insights to strive for more inclusive work and community environments through cultural competence and awareness. The day began with an opening charge from Jamaal Livan of Bank of America before our Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity took the stage for the first interactive activity and panel discussion: Privileges for Sale.

​Participants had to identify which privileges they would purchase with a hypothetical budget in only ten minutes, and over 53% of the audience identified race as their most salient identity during the process. When asked to describe the activity using only one word, more than 50 people responded that it was “insightful,” while others believed it was “eye-opening”, “interesting”, “challenging”, and “enlightening.”

Attendees also engaged in impactful conversations during breakout sessions throughout the day including vital topics like:

• 5 Ways to Overcome DEI Fatigue
• Advocating for DEI in Your C-Suite (Panel)
• Creating Inclusive Spaces for the LGBTQ+ Experience
• Driving DEI with Data
• Hiring and Retaining Diverse Talent (Panel)
• Introduction to Culture and Cultural Competence
• Equitable Mentorship and Sponsorship
• Justice-Based Trust Building
• Racism and Its Effect on Mental Health
• Supporting People Impacted by the Criminal Justice System: Redefining Second Chance Hiring

​A key learning moment followed with a focus on local developments in economic mobility, health, education, and criminal justice from the A Better Wake: Dismantling Systemic Racism project. Those in attendance were also inspired by the Accessibility in the Workplace Panel, with memorable takeaways including, “Assume good intentions and save space for grace,” from moderator Calandra Jarell of Bank of America, and “I may not be able to see, but I can sure read a room,” from panelist Kamille Richardson of iSee Technologies.

​Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2022 Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Conference for “A Better You, A Better Us!” View the full agenda and list of speakers here. We are also extremely grateful for the dedication and support of our sponsors who made this event possible.

The Raleigh Chamber and the Triangle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Alliance are honored to announce that nominations are now open for the 2nd Annual Phil Freelon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Award. This honor was established in 2021 to celebrate the diversity, equity, and inclusivity of our region by honoring an individual in the business community who has demonstrated a commitment to championing change and positive impact in their workplace and in their community.

You can now submit your nomination for individuals on our website, and the deadline for submission is July 6 at 5 p.m.

The Phil Freelon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Award was created to honor the legacy of Phil Freelon, a renowned architect and designer, whose leadership and efforts in the community have advanced architecture and construction as a vehicle for social justice, diversity, and inclusion.

After founding his practice, The Freelon Group, in 1990 in Durham, Freelon went on to design several civic and cultural projects throughout the United States. Freelon was a pioneer and a fierce advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusivity as seen in many of his major projects, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC; the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia; the Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, North Carolina; and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Mississippi.

Freelon’s legacy, however, transcends the brick and mortar of the buildings he designed, and his impact will only strengthen over time as the positive impact DEI has on business and the greater community continues to grow.

​Honor your colleagues, employees, and/or other individuals in the community whose commitment to DEI is changing the landscape of our business community by submitting your nomination on our website today, and don’t forget to register for the 2022 Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Conference in partnership with Bank of America on July 26.

The Raleigh Chamber is thrilled to announce the 22 local professionals with exceptional leadership potential that were accepted into the May-July 2022 Emerging Leaders cohort. Throughout the program, participants will gain the skills and knowledge to propel their careers and receive personal leadership insight from local and statewide C-Level professionals.
 
Emerging Leaders connects promising professionals with the area’s most successful executives for a unique and interactive mentoring program. In addition to the guest speaker’s personal leadership journey, below is a list of topics that will be covered in the program:

• Advocating for yourself
• The importance of networking
• Conflict resolution
• The importance of Emotional Intelligence at the C-Suite level
• The importance of company culture/employee relationships
• Servant leadership

 
Guest speakers:

• Matt Chambers, Senior Director of Corporate Project Development, Clancy & Theys Construction Company
• Candice Webb, Senior Learning & Development Specialist, SAS Institute, Inc.
• Cheryl Scanlan, CEO, C3Advantage
• Gary Greene, President and CEO, Greene Resources

 
Session 1
Tuesday, May 17
 
Session 2
Tuesday, May 31
 
Session 3
Tuesday, June 14
 
Session 4
Tuesday, June 28 
 
Session 5
Tuesday, July 5
 
Happy Hour Closing Session
Tuesday, July 19

​March is Women’s History Month and today, March 8, is International Women’s Day! We proudly honor the work that’s been done to advance gender equality and the resolute leadership of the women who continue to advance our community and organization! 

Check our event page for additional content and speaker.
 
Happy International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month! We hope you will continue to celebrate and empower women with us this May at Women’s Leadership Conference: Connect-Challenge-Create!

Share on Social Media! #RaleighWLC22 #IWD2022 #InternationalWomensDay
 

The Raleigh Chamber and The Triangle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Alliance are proud partners in this movement to address systemic racism in our community. On Feb. 17, we hosted a Community Success Forum to provide more information about our community-wide initiative, “A Better Wake.”  

In partnership with RTI International, A Better Wake conducted a study to understand how to address systemic racism in the areas of economic mobility, education, criminal justice, and health. The event was attended by business professionals, young professionals, and busy adults who were eager to hear about the results of the blueprint story and the focus for addressing systemic racism going forward.
​
Sara Lawrence, economic development director at RTI International, gave us an overview of the blueprint and insight into why this initiative is so necessary for our community. A Better Wake built on efforts currently in the community to develop a thorough data assessment, the blueprint to reimagine systems, and a vital data dashboard. As Sara said, “Data dashboards can be powerful tools to spark conversations for policy change!”

After Sara discussed how we envision Wake County and the steps we all must take to get our community there, attendees heard from working groups members about their plans for the future and how they will work with the community to create real change.

​Our moderator for Community Success Forum was Danya Perry, director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Wake County Government.
 
The Education flash panel featured:

• Allison Goff Clark, deputy director of North Carolina programs at The Hunt Institute
• Ashley Gaddy, founder and head consultant at Ashley Gaddy Enterprises
• Cathy Moore, superintendent at Wake County Public School System

“If training, resources, implementation is going to roll out the administrators have to have the buy in, the rapport, the support, the belief that this something their teachers need, that all students need for an equitable environment.” - Ashley Gaddy
 
The Health flash panel featured:

• Dr. Bahby Banks, adjunct faculty at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
• Nanette Bowler, human services director at Wake County Health & Human Services
• Dr. Angelo Moore, assistant director of community outreach, engagement, and equity at Duke Cancer Institute

“Instead of services driving the needs, we as a community have to start looking at, listening to the people, and understanding their needs!” - Nanette Bowler
 
The Economic Mobility flash panel featured:

• Verna Best, social economic vitality program manager at Wake County Government
• Lorena McDowell, director of the department of housing affordability and community revitalization at Wake County Government
• Kevin J. Price, president and CEO of National Institute of Minority Economic Development
• Dr. Scott Ralls, president at Wake Technical Community College

“It’s time for us to think boldly, think beyond the traditional pathways,” – Kevin J. Price
 
The Criminal Justice flash panel featured:

• Daryl Atkinson, codirector and cofounder at Forward Justice
• Lorrin Freeman, Wake County 10th Prosecutorial District Attorney
• Donald Pinchback, chief court counselor at NC Department of Public Safety

“What can I do, as a human being, to give back and strengthen my community for its betterment?” - Donald Pinchback

​
In addition, attendees joined breakout sessions to discuss ways to support this important movement. We appreciate the community coming together for the A Better Wake blueprint accessed here. You can now watch the 2022 Community Success Forum recording and learn more about the focus, goals, and action items A Better Wake will use going forward into implementation:

• Sara Lawrence Presentation | 5:16
• Flash Panel #1: Education | 20:30
• Flash Panel #2: Health | 34:30
• Flash Panel #3: Economic Mobility | 50:22
• Flash Panel #4: Criminal Justice | 1:08:10
• Closing | 1:26:45​

This Black History Month, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of our Black-Owned business members. The Raleigh Chamber is committed to promoting diversity and equality in the workplace and supporting Black-owned businesses. Our Black-Owned business members are an integral part of our community and we're proud to promote their growth.

We know that when businesses work together, we can all achieve success. We hope you’ll take a moment to check out some of the businesses below, and we look forward to continuing to work with all of you in the future.
​

Featured Professional: Cheryl Parquet, Director of Community Engagement and Marketing Activation at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina

In her position at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC, Cheryl manages the development and implementation of all the organization’s charitable activities including community investments, employee volunteerism, sports sponsorships, activation, and marketing events that all help improve the health and wellness of those in our community. In addition to her work responsibilities, Cheryl serves on the Raleigh Chamber 2021/2022 Executive Committee as the vice-chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity and she was also honored at our last Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Conference as our inaugural Phil Freelon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity award winner. We appreciate all her efforts and passion for DEI and look forward to seeing her and the new Phil Freelon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity award winner when it is announced at our next Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Conference on July 26.

These amazing businesses and professionals are making an impact in our community, and we're excited to help them grow and succeed. If you're looking for a way to support minority-owned businesses, be sure to check out our Member Directory.  Your company’s purchasing can support Black-Owned businesses. Organizations can search for vendors using this searchable directory of historically underutilized businesses or Black Dollar NC’s Black Business list.

​Triangle Business Journal revealed the 28 powerful professionals who won its 2022 Women in Business Awards out of more than 200 nominees. Each of these exemplary women has established strong, positive reputations in business and community service with outstanding leadership and noteworthy accomplishments. 

We will have another opportunity to celebrate women in our community at the next Chamber Professional Women’s Luncheon to celebrate International Women’s Day.

We would love to have you join us on March 4 as we celebrate and learn from female advocates within our community who will share how they have helped change the climate of inequality in their communities. You will hear from courageous and determined women who are inspiring and engaging in their roles as committed advocates and leaders.
​
Register now to save your seat at our next Chamber Professional Women’s Luncheon!

In 1936 the world was trying to recover from the Great Depression. It was a chaotic time when businesses and consumers alike were filled with both daily struggles and optimistic hope for the future. The Raleigh Chamber was a pillar of the community and member businesses relied on the support and advocacy for economic success.

Now in 2022, the world is trying to recover from the effects of COVID-19 and, just like in 1936, businesses and consumers alike face difficult issues and hold on to hope for a better future. The Raleigh Chamber has a new logo but still aims to build a thriving regional economy, enhance the community’s quality of life, and strengthen member businesses.

One other thing 1936 and 2022 have in common – family working at the Raleigh Chamber.
​
I am excited to introduce myself, Mary Kubeny, the new marketing copywriter at Raleigh Chamber. In 1936, my great-grandmother, Martha Pugh Ray, wanted to make a difference in the community she loved and became a secretary for the Chamber. It is a privilege to honor her legacy as a Raleigh Chamber employee working to support our business community. I hope to meet you all soon!

On January 4, business leaders from around the Triangle region gathered for Launch 2022 presented by Wells Fargo. Prior to the event, Adrienne Cole, president and CEO of the Chamber shared the following comments about Launch 2022:
 
We have a fantastic group of speakers who will share an inside look at new trends and forecasts for 2022. Our expert speakers will cover the forces affecting our economy and what to expect in the Triangle Region and North Carolina as well as trends in commercial real estate, talent, economic development, entrepreneurship, and demographic shifts. Our Launch 2022 event gives us a strong starting point for the year ahead.
 
If you were unable to attend Launch 2022, we have included links to the presentations below. Due to technical difficulties, the livestream option provided by our media partner WRAL Channel 5 picked up the program partway through the presentations – you can watch it here.

See below for speaker presentations: 
​

• Ted Abernathy, Managing Partner, Economic Leadership, LLC View the presentation | Watch Ted's Live Presentation Here

• Cindy Eckert, Chief Executive Officer, The Pink Ceiling View the presentation

• Sarah House, Senior Economist and Director, Wells Fargo View the presentation | Watch Sarah's Live Presentation Here

• Brian Leary, Chief Operating Officer, Highwoods Properties, Inc. View the presentation
• Todd Olson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pendo View the presentation

• Secretary of Commerce Machelle Baker Sanders, North Carolina Department of Commerce. (Presentation not available.)

 
Join us for our next signature event, our annual Community Success Forum on Feb. 17. You will hear regional leaders and local professionals engage in collaborative discussions around strategy implementation to create true race equity. You can register on our website. Please note this is a virtual event.