profiles in diversity journal | sep / oct 2005

Volume 7, Number 5 September / October 2005

$8.95 U.S.

Also Featuring ... When Bad Things Happen to Good Companies • Quad Rugby • Catalyst

Profiles in Diversity Journal September/October 2005 1

PUBLISHERJames R. Rector

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ISSN 1537-2102

From the editor of Profiles in Diversity Journalpointofview

Managing Editor

Susan Larson

Not Just CheerleadersFrom the stands, it appears to be quite a commonplace event: well-trained

athletes and teams eager to score are watching their competitors closely;

coaches are calling in plays from the sidelines. The owners and media in the

suites are tracking the stats, critiquing performance, pointing out leaders, and

monitoring the standings on the scoreboards. Vendors are competing to see

whose voice is loudest as they offer their wares and try to attract the big

customers.

There is a little (polite) tension in the crowds as contrasting colors and

standards are waved aloft in support. It’s a level playing field, a win-win day

—advantage all.

Have you guessed yet that the name of the game is enterprise/organization

diversity?

If you’re on the field, in a front-row seat, or up in the boxes, you’ll want to

pay attention to this issue of PDJ which profiles six women leading their teams

in diversity and inclusion within various major sports organizations:

• Major League Baseball – Wendy Lewis

• NASCAR – Tish Sheets

• National Football League – Belinda Lerner

• U.S. Olympic Committee – Mary Watkins

• U.S. Tennis Association – Karlyn Lothery

• World TeamTennis – Ilana Kloss

This album of Front-Runner profiles reveals the unique circumstances,

challenges and opportunities within sports institutions—and shows how talented

women are shaping these organizations that are so much in the public eye.

Competition takes on multiple layers of meaning when we look at these

distinctive business entities and venues—not to mention the special emotional

factors that sometimes apply when regional or inter-national favorites vie for

prizes. But these ladies share many of the same rules for fair play.

Let the games / races /matches begin….

2 Profiles in Diversity Journal September/October 2005

O N T H E C O V E R

Front-Runner Women in Sports Leadership

Profiles of women leading the diversity and inclusion efforts of major sports organizations:

M A J O R L E A G U E B A S E B A L L – Wendy Lewis

N A S C A R – Tish Sheets

N AT I O N A L F O O T B A L L L E A G U E – Belinda Lerner

U . S . O LY M P I C C O M M I T T E E – Mary Watkins

U . S . T E N N I S A S S O C I AT I O N – Karlyn Lothery

W O R L D T E A M T E N N I S – Ilana Kloss

This ground-breaking album of Front-Runner profiles brings out from behind the cameras the unique circumstances, challenges and opportunities within the world of sports—and shows how talented women are shaping these organizations that are so much in the public eye.

Volume 7 • Number 5September / October 2005

9

101622283440

Table of Contents September/October 2005


Diversity Who, What, Where & When

When Bad Things Happen to GoodCompanies Davis Wright Tremaine’s Weldon Latham uses arecent high-profile case to illustrate the importanceof “genuine corporate diversity and demonstrableachievement of inclusion” for thwarting discrimination litigation.

Quad RugbyThe story of Brian Burger gives us insight into theathletes who participate in a rigorous sport thatdoesn’t make daily newscasts—wheelchair rugby.New York Life’s efforts at inclusion and accommodationhave helped this sales development manager fromNYL’s Cincinnati office be part of Team USA at the 2005 World Wheelchair & Amputee Games in Brazil.

50

46

54

departments

6

Table of Contents September/October 2005

Finding a Mentor—by CatalystInfluential mentoring relationships are critical for careers, yet pressures and limited numbers of leadership models sometimes hinder women fromestablishing a meaningful partnership. Catalyst expandsthe framework for what constitutes mentoring andexplains how self assessment, open-mindedness and commitment can optimize the opportunities.

What does it take to be namedFORTUNE® magazine’s MostAdmired Healthcare Company six years running?

People like you.

At WellPoint, we celebrate the diversityof our workforce. We are the leadinghealth benefits company in the nationserving the needs of 28 million members.A FORTUNE 50® company, we arestrengthened by the commitment anddedication of our associates. If you’relooking to join a company where you will see your ideas in action - where what you do helps others live better,consider a career with us.

Visit our website to search opportunitiesthroughout the United States at:

www.wellpoint.com/careers

Opportunities may be available in the

following areas:

• Actuarial

• Administrative/Clerical

• Advertising/Marketing

• Claims/Membership/Customer Service

• Compliance

• Corporate Communications

• Finance & Accounting

• Human Resources

• Information Technology

• Legal

• Management

• Nursing/Case Management

• Pharmacy

• Provider Network Development

• Sales

• Training

• Underwriting

SM

Ingrid Robinson Now Managing Halliburton’sSupplier Diversity

IngridRobinsonjoinsHalliburtonwith a 12-year historyin minorityand women’sbusinessdevelop-ment with corporate,government,and non-profit organ-

izations. Halliburton, founded in1919, is one of the world’s largestproviders of products and servicesto the petroleum and energy industries.Robinson will be developing andexecuting initiatives to enhanceHalliburton’s Supplier DiversityProgram. “It is our vision to be recognized as the global leader insupplier diversity and developmentamong oilfield services companies,”says Robinson. Robinson previouslymanaged supplier diversity forPennzoil-Quaker State, and wasassistant director of the HoustonMinority Business Council and otherbusiness advocacy organizations.Robinson holds a B.S. degree fromthe University of Houston.

Vickie Piner Named VP at Lear Corp.Vickie Piner has been promoted tovice president-Supplier Diversityand Development in Lear’s GlobalPurchasing Division. Lear is one ofthe world’s largest automotive interior systems suppliers withannual net sales of $17 billion(2004) and more than 110,000employees in 34 countries.

Piner willnow behelping Learmeet its tar-gets for pur-chases fromcertifiedminorityvendors.Since joiningLear as anengineeringmanager in1994, shehas served

as VP of Global Six SigmaDeployment, VP of Lear’s SeatingOperations in France, and VP ofQuality for the Interiors, Electricaland Ford Customer Division. Pinerhas a bachelor’s degree (industrialengineering) from General MotorsEngineering and ManagementInstitute and a master’s degree(manufacturing management) fromCentral Michigan University. Shesucceeds Charles White (retired).

Brenda Harrison Named VP at Texas Instruments

BrendaHarrison hasbeen promotedto vice presi-dent andworldwidedirector ofEnvironmental,Safety andHealth Servicesat TexasInstrumentsInc. TI pro-vides innova-tive digital andanalog tech-

nologies for signal processing, withmanufacturing, design or sales oper-ations in more than 25 countries. Since 1999, as Environmental, Safetyand Health (ESH) Manager, she has

helped TI receive national recogni-tion for worker health and safety aswell as environmental stewardship.Harrison will continue to overseeTI’s ESH activities for worldwideoperations. In addition to beingactive in numerous technology, man-ufacturing, environmental and engi-neering professional organizations,she participates in a number of civicactivities in local educational, environmental and child advocacyprograms. Ms. Harrison received herbachelor’s degree (chemistry) fromSouth Dakota School of Mines andTechnology.


Gender Expression/Identity (GE/I)

In the last 10 years, the number ofmajor corporations with genderexpression and/or gender identity(GE/I) provisions in their EEO policieshas gone from 0 to more than 100, andnearly half of these were adoptedwithin the last year *. Whereas GE/Iused to be considered an issue onlyfor protecting workers who weretransgendering during their employ-ment period, the policies are nowconsidered applicable for a broaderrange of situations—includingwomen who don’t want to wear highheels or make-up and men who takepaternity leave or are targeted byworkplace bullies.

Look for more information on theseissues in upcoming articles in PDJ; inthe meantime, see these resources: * A list of companies with

GE/I policies at nnwww.gpac.org/workplace/majorcorps.nnhtml

• Craig B. Clayton, Sr., Spartacus Analytics/Center for Human Capital Analytics [email protected]

PDJ

f y i


In diversity as well as sports circles, Wendy is practically a legend in her own right. She officially came to the game of baseball in 1987, managing human resources for the Chicago Cubs. She has pennants from organizations including the Black Women in SportsFoundation, the National Association of Black Journalists, Minorities in Business,Rainbow/PUSH, The Network Journal, and Urban Financial Services Coalition, among others. Here she reveals some factors that drive her plays home.

ORGANIZATION Profile

Please describe your company’s global presence. Baseball considers itself a worldwide entertainmentvenue. Besides the presence that we have had historically here in the United States, we are quite thesport also in Asian countries and have significant pres-ence in Latin America. Consequently, a great proportionof our player population is also from Latin America andthe Hispanic countries. Folks may be surprised to knowthat we have developed a range of grassroots efforts inAustralia as well as in London, and we actually haveoffices in Japan and the Dominican Republic.

In terms of that world-wide reach, one of the mostexciting things we are working on is hosting MajorLeague Baseball’s first World Classic in March 2006.About 16 countries will be participating in this playoffseries. It will be similar to the Olympics or World Cup, tobe held every three or four years, so I think it will really

Wendy LewisMajor League BaseballI Live for This

COMPANY Major League Baseball

HEADQUARTERS New York, NY

WEBSITE www.mlb.com

BUSINESS Sports/Entertainment

Wendy Lewis VP / Major League Baseball


synchronize our being a world-widepresence in sports.

How does your office orchestrate globally diversestaffing? From the same perspective, we have agroup called Major League BaseballInternational, headed up by ourSenior Vice President, Paul Archey,with staff presence here and individu-als working on our business in differ-ent countries. With projects such asthe World Classic, some staff will justspend more time where they alreadyare concentrated; in other areas wewill actually add to staff locally. Wethink there will be exciting opportuni-

ties for some of our employees tocross over into the international side.And there’s also going to be a greatopportunity to expand our existinginternship program to give somestraight-out-of-school folks an oppor-tunity to work on the event for us—that should be pretty historical.

The diversity standpoint is alreadya part of our employment infrastruc-ture, whether it’s in dealing with theClassic or just the conventional waywe do business. We have what I thinkis an ideal situation. In the design ofmy job, I manage three distinct areas:Office Operations, Staffing andRecruitment, and Supplier Diversity.We try to make sure, particularly onthe recruitment side and supplierdiversity side, that it touches all phasesof our business.

As for Office Operations, we have

influence on choosing minority-owned and women-owned companiesthat help to run our facility here inNew York, our office in Milwaukee,WI, and our new office in Arizona.

In regard to the recruitment function, we realize with each hiringopportunity—whether full time, professional-level positions or ourinternships or part-time spots—thatwe can create some synergy arounddiversity. We also have the responsi-bility of being somewhat of a portal tothe 30 clubs as they hire, by helpingthem as needed or for managing theflow of employees leaving theCommissioner’s office to work at oneof the clubs.

What is the range of employeepositions covered under MLB’sdiversity policies? This is the way we’re structured: thereis Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig,then Robert DuPuy, President & COO.Reporting to Bob are five executivevice presidents, one being RobManfred, EVP of Labor and HR, towhom I report. Two of our other EVPsare African Americans—JonathanMarier, our Chief Financial Officer,and Jimmie Lee Solomon, EVP ofBaseball Operations. So we’re gettingthere, even at the very top of thehouse. On the other end of the spec-trum, we also make sure that ourinternship program at the centraloffice, which is about 40 studentsevery year, is really participated in bywomen and other minorities. As our

program has proven to be a great talent pool for employment, we’llincrease our recruitment efforts. MLB’sInternship Program has unintentionallybeen a well-kept secret. I’m seeingfewer students of color and womenapply, so we want do a better job ofcommunicating that this opportunitydoes exist.

What about the vendor side? Our supplier diversity initiative, theDiverse Business Partners Program,has probably given us the most ‘buzz’.Managing the potential pool of minority-owned and women-owned businessesthat work here at the Commissioner’sOffice, as well as establishing a portalof suppliers for our 30 clubs, has beena tremendous effort for us and a won-derful opportunity and benefit to ourbusiness. We take a very strategicapproach to marketing to businesseswho want to participate and becomesuppliers to Major League Baseball.

For instance, in regards to theBaseball Classic, we met with PaulArchey and Shawn Lawson-Cummings, our Vice President ofInternational Licensing and Sponsor-ship, to discuss procurement opportu-nities for the event. One of the majorcommodities we opened for bid wasthe advertising agency. We awardedthe contract to a ‘majority’ agency;however, I am confident that theminority agency presented throughour DBP Program really did have anopportunity to compete.

One DBP supplier we talk toalmost every day is the minority-owned company providing us with allof our office supplies. And I’m veryexcited about another company thatwe’re working with because, to me,it’s a landmark: we now have a minority-owned company licensed to actuallyprovide Major League Baseball equip-ment. Those are just examples that—whether we are doing somethingmajor or something minor—we’reevaluating talent and determining suppliers with a diversity considera-tion of how we do things. We includea broad range of vendors: ad agencies;

“We realize with each hiring opportunity—whether

full time, professional-level positions or our intern

or part-time spots—that we can create some

synergy around diversity.” WENDY LEWIS


Special Feature Sports Organizations

computer companies for hardwareand applications; food service andcatering and audiovisual companies,to name a few. We work with minoritybusinesses primarily on behalf of theCommissioner’s Office, but also at theclubs, where there are a variety ofopportunities including stadium andfacility contracts in everything fromconstruction to janitorial. Our DiverseBusiness Partners Program helps tosupport our business, whether it’s theWorld Series, the All Star Game, orspring training. MWBE’s (minority- and women-owned business enter-prises) are regularly participating withus twelve months of the year, sevendays a week, twenty-four hours a dayat different levels within our business.

Has tapping diversity yieldedany business synergies?

The answer to that is, yes. What I loveabout the new marketplace is thatyour global and institutional knowl-edge about people can cause you togain or lose marketshare as well asmake some informed or unwise deci-sions. I’ve been in baseball 18 years,and it has really been interesting tosee that, over time, more women andminorities are in sports. Some of thedecisions that sports are choosing tomake are because voices of diversityare pretty loud or have become morestrategically placed in the industry.Regardless of different issues we aredealing with, I think CommissionerSelig and Major League Baseball aredoing a pretty good job at proactivelyreengineering our game and keepingit exciting.

One of our other developments isthat J. L. Solomon has successfullydeveloped our ‘baseball academy’.

He knows that we are battling withgetting youth to look at us as theirsport of choice—they have so manywonderful options now. We know thatas a part of our marketing and enrich-ment of our sport we’re really going tohave to be more proficient at givingyoung people an opportunity to see usnot only as a sport but also as a business.

The first academy is in Compton[CA]; we’ve already broken ground,and they should be open later thisyear. That was very purposeful,because we’re looking to make surewe’re engaging a youthful market aswell as keeping adults interested, andwe’ve also had to look at what is really the diminishing return of minority athletes, particularly AfricanAmericans. It satisfies a number ofthings. MLB wanted to start the bestway—an academy, on a college campus; a facility that will have a

Wendy Lewis is no longer in a cubicle in the accounting department atWrigley Field; she now juggles many tasks at state-of-the-art officesfor MLB in New York City.

Lewis works closely with MLB Senior Administrator Dawn Regina.


W e n d y L e w i sC O M P A N Y : Major League Baseball (MLB)

T I T L E : Vice President of Strategic Planning for Recruitment and Diversity. Too long, Iknow, but when we first did the titling, inputting “strategic planning” was important forsaying as an institution that we weren’t going to just pigeon-hole recruitment or a diversity program as an afterthought.

T I M E I N C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N : 18 years

E D U C A T I O N : BS (psychology): University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh; MBA: J.L. Kellogg Graduate School ofManagement, Northwestern University.

F I R S T J O B : My first official out-of-college job was as personnel coordinator—that’s how long ago that was—witha social service agency. The Lutheran Child and Family Services was the best job for me to begin a human resourcescareer, because it had an adoption component to it, and also a teen treatment center for behavior problems. There was alsoa refugee resettlement center where I think I got my diversity ‘bug’ working with Vietnamese people and people from Haitiand social workers and officials to literally bring folks into our community. The job was so universal—I was providing essen-tially all the human resources function, from payroll to benefits to employee assistance for them and their families, and itgot me hooked on the business of people. From there I went to the Chicago Tribune, where I think I settled into HRbecause it just was a good fit. Now I’ve sort of matured into this diversity work.

P H I L O S O P H Y : Karlyn Lothery asked that question for a panel that she asked me to sit on: “Name two important things that you want people to know.” One that I will share is a quote from Albert Einstein—“Not everything thatcounts can be measured; and not everything that can be measured counts.” I like that because people who do this for a living—we can get so caught up in the numbers game, whether it’s workforce diversity or supplier diversity or measure-ment of return on investment. We do so much quantitative assessment, that if you are not very careful, everything’s aboutthe numbers and you forget the rationale and the significance of the relationships. The other one is a little longer:“Individuals who have chosen”—or I like to say ‘have been called’—”to lead diversity within their respective organizationswill be required to work very hard.” The work load is very heavy. I also say, you must have institutional intelligence, and awillingness to take professional risks. This has been the best job I’ve ever had, and it’s been the most difficult job I’ve everhad, and that’s why I love it so much.

W H A T I ' M R E A D I N G : I take a Bible study course, and that keeps me centered on the need for humanity. Italso keeps my perspective and has really helped me with managing my own temperament—because sometimes in theseroles you can get angry. The Bible’s also been my best source for strategic planning because folks like Moses were lead-ers; in the Bible you learn that unimaginable things happened and great things were achieved by regular people who had apassion and a call and believed in God's power to change things.

F A M I L Y : The other piece that keeps it all together for me is my family. All three of my daughters live with me, aswell as their daughters, so my house is an amazing place. The cool thing about that diversity is they keep me so centered.My granddaughter doesn’t care what I do, where I’ve been, whom I know—my name is Grammy. If in the middle of thenight she wants me to read her a story, that keeps my perspective wholesome, and that’s where I get my energy and mydrive and my dedication.

I N T E R E S T S : This work takes a lot of energy, and it can get very high or very low, so it’s really important to stayphysically fit. Actually I love working out, and listening to music when I do. And I love sports, especially baseball. Sportslets me be crazy competitive without hurting myself. The other thing I like to do that soothes my soul is arranging flowers,which makes me feel like I’m someplace else.

C H I L D H O O D H E R O : I’ve had two heroes: one I’ve known very well, and that’s my Mom; the second one Iwas just taught about—Mary McLeod Bethune. My mother was just….an awesome woman: from the South, one of thefirst college-educated people in her family, a teacher with an incredible ability to create and innovate. I got a lot of visionaryfaith and groundedness from my Mom. And then Mary McLeod Bethune, the founder of Bethune Community College, wasthe hero that my Mother taught me to emulate. Mom used to call me ‘Miss Bethune’ but I didn’t like it because I thought,"I don’t do that." She was such a really courageous woman who accomplished an awful lot at a time when women and par-ticularly minorities, African Americans, couldn’t. So she was breaking barriers way back in the day, and I always found a lotto really admire in her and appreciate that my Mother wanted me to grow up to be like her.

D E S K - D R A W E R M U N C H I E S : I got addicted to popcorn when I was with the Chicago Cubs. And now Ilove dark chocolate….I tell people “if you’re worried about your diet, eat dark chocolate; you’ll never get fat.”

Wendy Lewis VP / Major League Baseball



number of baseball fields where students will not only be educated toplay the game, but where we’ll alsodo career counseling and training.That concept came from people talk-ing and listening and adjusting theirthinking, and it’s going to turn out tobe a wonderful situation for us.

How does your company gaugeworkforce diversity? Our Diversity Workforce Report is avery systematic evaluation of theworkforce of MLB from all 30 clubs—as well as the Commissioner’s Office.The report gives not only headcountsat each franchise, but benchmarks andmetrics; the clubs get historical details,plus each club gets a customizedreport with feedback, strategy forimprovement or acknowledgement ofbest practice. This has been very helpfulfor us to monitor how well we’redoing (or not doing).

And how are you gauging supplier diversity? One of the outcomes of our DiverseBusiness Partners Program is ourUtilization Report. It tends to be whatthe clubs call a “heavy duty docu-ment;” we look at how we spend theirmoney and break that down over a lotof commodities and supply groups.This report (developed by the consultingfirm of RGMA and GenLight Por EL),has been the baseline for our performance in supplier diversity.

PROFESSIONAL Profile

What was your career path? To me it’s been most interesting. I gotin because I was with ChicagoTribune, one of the business units ofTribune Company, which also ownedthe Chicago Cubs. I’d gone fromhuman resources to a sales career atChicago Tribune. I think TribuneCompany considered my backgrounduseful for an interesting strategy to“sell” the Chicago Cubs on their needfor the human resource function.Please note that at that time the HR

function was not a formalizedoperating department withinbaseball. I realize how blessed Iam; this has been a wonderfulopportunity for me to utilize thebest of my skills and get into asegment of business in Americathat few have the opportunityto do. I know this is very differ-ent and is very exciting.

How is your own team representative? I have a really diverse team: myhead of recruitment is Hispanic;my top person on the supplierdiversity side is AfricanAmerican; and my head ofOffice Operations is a woman.Over time, the gender and ethnic representations havechanged, but the balance ofdiversity in my department hasalways been really evident, andreally helpful. Part of my orien-tation speech is, “You may becoming into Office Operations,or into Recruitment, or intoSupplier Diversity, but we are abig part of the diversity leader-ship of this organization. Wetalk candidly about issues. Imay need to discuss, ‘is therean issue here because this personis Vietnamese and that person isJapanese?’ Or ask, ‘in this mis-understanding, this gentlemanis Mexican and the other gen-tleman is Puerto Rican—what’syour take on that?’ Or ask ‘if thisperson is actually from Ghana,and this person is from Detroit,must I address that?’” My grouphelps me not only evaluate veryintelligently, but they keep mevery sensitized, because even indiversity circles, people canbecome indifferent or stereo-typing. I think we need to keepvery mindful about people’sneeds, their backgrounds, andhow important those aspects are.

As America’s favorite

pastime, Major League

Baseball has set the stage

for events that have shaped

our history and none have

proven to be more

important than the day

Jackie Robinson walked

onto the field in 1947.

Today, we continue to

level the playing field

through our Diverse

Business Partners Program.

The Program provides

business opportunities

for minority- and female-

owned businesses and

is the working model for

supplier diversity in

professional sports.

-ALLAN H. (BUD) SELIG,

COMMISSIONER OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

PDJ


Tish Sheets describes her job as “making room for everybody” in this fast-growingsports industry, and describes the role NASCAR plays, as sanctioning entity, in setting the pace on and off the tracks.


How does NASCAR viewdiversity? NASCAR is aggressively promotingdiversity at all levels of the sport bytaking steps to better educate newfans about NASCAR; providingmeaningful opportunities; andfacilitating greater participationamong the industry and diversecommunities. As Brian France,Chairman and CEO, declares in ourmission statement, “NASCAR iscommitted to making our sport—on and off the race track—lookmore like America. No other issueis more important for NASCAR tosucceed and to grow.”

Please describe NASCAR’sglobal presence.• We are #1 in brand loyalty:

75 million fans (1/3 of U.S. adults)

Tish SheetsNASCARSetting the Pace

COMPANY NASCAR

HEADQUARTERS Daytona Beach, FL

WEBSITE www.NASCAR.com

BUSINESS Sanctioning body for stock car racing


• 1500 races, over 100 tracks, across 38 states

• Over 13 million fans attended NASCAR events in 2004; 17 of the top-20-attended sporting events are NASCAR events in the U.S.

• #2-rated sport on television; televised weekly in 23 languages in more than 150 countries

• Over $2 billion in licensed sales in 2004

• NASCAR sponsors received $5.4 billion in total on-screen exposure value in 2004

• NASCAR.com sports site on the internet has over 3.5 million unique users per month.

What are the workforce n u m b e r s ?As sanctioning body for the sport,NASCAR as a company is very small.Because the motorsport, the stock-carracing industry, is very large, oftenmany people make the assumptionthat we are the entire industry, whereaswe are the sanctioning body for thesport. We cannot mandate policy orprocedure: everyone—our teams, ourtracks—is independent from us. I don’t have an exact number, but onan average, NASCAR itself has approx-imately 700 employees; about half areofficials who regulate every race everyweekend. Within the industry, it’shard to say. One team, for example,Hendrick Motorsports, has probablyover 400 people working in racing juston the team side; another team inanother series may have 25 to 50 people. Plus there are sponsors,

agencies associated, etc. My best guessis there are thousands, but we have nohard numbers.

Does NASCAR have any uniqueworkforce or marketingchallenges? We view these as opportunities.NASCAR has on-track diversity initia-tives to support efforts to diversify thecompetitors operating behind thewheel and in the pits; off-track initia-tives to highlight the professionalopportunities available in the NASCARindustry; and consumer marketing ini-tiatives to raise awareness about thesport in all communities.

In racing, it is our job as the sanc-tioning body to develop and to shareinformation to help the teams withcost containment and to do businessbetter—we even have one of the fore-most research and development centersin the world in Concord, NC, trying tofind better ways to do things. That’sour responsibility and what we do ona daily basis. Now we’re doing thesame thing in the area of diversity aswell. What we do, of course, is set theexample, we stress the importance ofdiversity, and then many times wealso build the templates to share theinformation with the industry for better business practices.

Who drives NASCAR’s effortstoward diversity?NASCAR began in 1948, founded bythe France family, and now we are inthe third generation. Brian France, ourcurrent chairman and CEO, owns andheads NASCAR, and diversity is one ofhis most important and completelysignificant strategies. I really think thatat the end of the day Brian will beknown as the man who changedNASCAR and brought greater diversityto the entire industry. As he says, “wewant our sport to look more likeAmerica,” so he’s launched a majordiversity initiative promoting both on-track and off-track programs guidedby the Executive Steering Committeefor Diversity, co-chaired by Earvin“Magic” Johnson.

Tish Sheets Director of Diversity / NASCAR

The NASCAR Diversity Internship Program will

provide meaningful opportunities for qualified

candidates to work with NASCAR’s sanctioning

body, NASCAR sponsors and licensees, NASCAR

teams and tracks, and other motorsports-related

companies. The program will employ college/

university students in a ten-week summer

program designed to introduce them to the world

of NASCAR and the exciting career opportunities

available throughout the motorsports industry.

The program is designed to support deserving

students with an interest in the motorsports

industry who are of Alaskan Native, American

Indian, Asian/Pacific Island, African American,

Hispanic, or of other racial minority descent.

WWW.NASCAR.COM

What are the workforce numbers?


Can you describe your diversity strategy? The entire strategy works as a whole,because all of the components arevery important, we realize. But we dohave different categories. Our on-trackinitiatives focus on “putting driversbehind the wheel and crew membersbehind the wall,” as we say. The DriveFor Diversity Program really is the

flagship program of the on-track initiatives, and that program’s goal isto recruit, to develop a feeder systemfor ethnically diverse and genderdiverse drivers and crew members; italso develops officials and bringsgreater awareness of the opportunitiesin the sport. I think the motorsportsmedia has used the phrase “NASCAR’sdrive for diversity” as an all-encom-


Wendy Lewis from Major LeagueBaseball (left), Tish Sheets (middle) and Karlyn Lothery from the United States Tennis Associationshare a professional friendship in their common roles for theirrespective organizations.


Ti s h S h e e t sC O M P A N Y : NASCAR

T I T L E : Director of Diversity and Special Projects

T I M E I N C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N : 1.5 (8 years at NASCAR)

E D U C A T I O N : Attended Purdue University

F I R S T J O B : Successful lemonade stand

P H I L O S O P H Y : Work hard ~ Be nice

W H A T I ' M R E A D I N G : Smashing Barriers by Dr. Richard Lapchick

F A M I L Y : Married 21 years; 2 children, ages 14 & 11

I N T E R E S T S : Family, friends & participating in all sports

M O T T O : “Never, never, never give up.”

H O W D I D Y O U C O M E T O B E W I T H N A S C A R ?

In 1977, I started with NASCAR in our Licensing and Consumer Marketing group in North Carolina, assisting with the 50th

Anniversary Program. In 2001, I was promoted and transferred to Daytona Beach, our corporate headquarters, heading up

special projects such as the All American Soap Box Derby and Toyota’s entrée into NASCAR. In 2004, our Chairman

personally appointed me as NASCAR’s Director of Diversity and Special Projects.

H O W D I V E R S E I S Y O U R T E A M ?

I have a wonderful team of direct reports that I’m excited to work with. Our senior account executive, Terrence Jenkins,

manages all of our off-track initiatives; Jill Picaut is an account executive focusing on our on-track initiatives, including the

Drive for Diversity Program; Lindsay Bowen, the newest account executive, is focusing on our Hispanic awareness

programs. Our efforts are supported by our Executive Steering Committee, co-chaired by Earvin “Magic” Johnson; our

industry-based Diversity Council; and the support of our teams, tracks and sponsors. I also receive a tremendous amount of

support from other executives in the sports field—such as Wendy Lewis of Major League Baseball, and Karlyn Lothery from

United States Tennis Association.

A R E T H E R E C E R T A I N B E S T P R A C T I C E S F O R T H E S P O R T S I N D U S T R Y ?

I have always had the mindset that I don’t see issues, I see opportunities. We have an opportunity to do things better; we

have an opportunity to bring greater diversity and to grow our sports. And it’s about people. Our fans are the most wonder-

ful fans anyone could have, and very loyal, and there is always room for more—there is room for everyone. People bond

together with sports, so letting everyone know that they are welcome is, I think, truly the key.

W H O W E R E / A R E Y O U R M E N T O R S ?

I must say that Carlton Yearwood of Waste Management has been extremely supportive, and our chief operating officer,

George Pyne, has been an executive mentor to me since I started here eight years ago.

Tish Sheets Director of Diversity / NASCAR



passing description of our entire strategy, but in all reality, it is just onecomponent as it relates to drivers andpit crew members.

The off-track initiatives include ourExecutive Steering Committee forDiversity co-chaired by Earvin “Magic”Johnson and NASCAR’s COO GeorgePyne, and also a Diversity Councilcomprised of members of the industry.They serve as a catalyst to provideopportunities and expose a diversegroup of people to the industry; asresources for those interested in theevolution and expansion of our sport;as a cross-industry and cross-disciplinary forum to encourage dialogue on the issue of diversitywithin motor-sports and sports in general; and they help spotlight successand best practices in this crucial area.

And then we have our ConsumerMarketing and Awareness Program.We know all of those components willhave to work together to really bench-mark and bring greater diversity to theentire industry.

How does Drive for Diversityoperate? Drive for Diversity is owned by aminority-owned agency in NorthCarolina, Access Marketing andCommunications. They technically runthe program which NASCAR itself supports and endorses. The agencyhas an entire strategy—using themedia, the internet, radio, print, andso forth—to reach across the countryto the short tracks or the smaller tracks, sharing this information. They also have a website calledDrivefordiversity.com.

What happens is, an open resumecall goes out, so potential drivers andpotential crew members from acrossthe country can apply to come intothe program. Their resumes arereviewed by the agency and through a

board. Then, as in football, we havewhat’s called a ‘combine’ where all theparticipants come together and com-pete. The team owners will be there towatch them compete and make theirchoices of whom they would like astheir driver or pit crew member.NASCAR itself does not make thesecalls—the teams do.

Will you describe your off-trackinitiatives?Our off-track efforts include theUrban Youth Racing School, aDiversity Internship program, aSupplier Diversity and MinorityVendor program, the College Tour presented with Coca-Cola Company, aTechnical Institute partnership, andscholarships. The Urban Youth RacingSchool reaches out to boys and girls 8to 18 from the inner city of Phila-delphia. This program started off byfocusing on just getting kids off thestreets and showing them that thereare different things out there thatmaybe they weren’t aware of, usingNASCAR as the vehicle—no punintended. Kids are brought in on theweekends for the 10-week program.For five weeks in the classroom theylearn all about how cars work, drivingtechniques, and the business andopportunities in motorsports; tutorsare also brought in to help the kidswith their schoolwork. The last fiveweeks, students are on the track in go-karts, and that’s the magnet that drawsthem.

What they’re finding is, these kidsare now staying in school, their atten-dance is sky-high, they’ve done better.They’ve also had quite a few whoweren’t even going to finish highschool, who literally have their wholefocus and vision completely changed.One youth ended up a scholarshipwinner and is attending the NASCARTechnical Institute, to go into the

automotive technical industry. Somekids ended up at Stanford.

This program was founded and isdirected by Anthony Martin there inPhiladelphia. We saw so much meritand value to it, we came on boardwith him. And not only do we supportthe program, our sponsors and ourindustry support it. Sears Craftsman isa huge supporter of this program;NASCAR.com; GM; GMAC; to namejust a few. A lot of different companiessee the value in what this school isdoing and the lives that are beingchanged in the process, and that’swhere we see the true significance. It’snot developing millions of fans for us;that’s not the focus of this.

What about supplier diversity?I’m really proud of the supplier program. We had a company-widepolicy that went into effect this year,and we’ve seen increases with all purchases; and we are doing businessbetter. There are more opportunitiesthrough this new policy, becausewhen you go for three quotes, onequote must be from a minority- orfemale-owned business. We also workhand in hand with the Florida MinoritySupplier Development Council andthe National Minority SupplierDevelopment Council who have beentremendous resources in helping usarchitect this program. And then,we’ve built this template: we figuredeverything out, and shared this infor-mation with the industry. Just recently,Fitz-Bradshaw Racing, itself, was certified as a minority vendor by theCarolinas Minority Supplier DevelopmentCouncil; this is the first team in theindustry to have ever received thiscertification. So we can say, “Hey, thisis working. We’re finally making significant strides here.” PDJ


Belinda LernerNational Football LeagueLofty Goals

Despite its rough-and-tumble image, the NFL’s ‘playbook’ for diversity actually maintainsan “aspirational definition of diversity,” and Belinda Lerner is its leading coach.


What is your definition of diversity?Our Diversity Mission Statement reads, “To cultivate anorganization and community representing a wide variety ofindividuals at all levels, all of whom respect, honor andcelebrate the broad range of human differences among us,while also embracing the commonalities we share, and toprovide each individual with the opportunity to achievehis or her full potential as organizational goals arepursued.”

Please describe your global presence: •New York: 400 employees

•New Jersey: 295 employees

•Los Angeles: 66 employees

•International NFL Europe League Teams: 95 employees,

including:

•London: 18 employees

•Canada: 6 employees

•Japan: 6 employees

•Mexico: 7 employees

COMPANY National Football League


WEBSITE www.nfl.com

BUSINESS In a word, football.


Does the NFL have any particularchallenges regarding its work-force, suppliers, or market?According to all metrics, we are themost successful sports organization bya wide margin. Nonetheless, we rec-ognize that we must constantly exam-ine our business if we are to remainon top. Accordingly, we are alwaysstriving to improve by implementingprograms and policies that will attract,retain and develop new fans as well astalented employees. We are workinghard to grow our game as a globalsport.

What leadership commitment /resources are allocated fordiversity? The NFL Diversity Council’s strategicplan, drafted in its first year, 2002, covers the full spectrum:

1 ) D I V E R S I T Y C O U N C I L : Threeyears ago, the NFL established itsDiversity Council to address the

issues of diversity with its three NFLfacilities (NY, NJ, and CA). TheCouncil is comprised of diversemembers representing a cross section of departments, levels anddemographics. Since its inception,the Council has met regularly once amonth for two hours. The Councilserves as a sounding board foremployee diversity issues and as aliaison to the executive staff. It hasimplemented the following newprograms focused on diversity:

a) Internship Program: The Councilhad the existing program completelyrevamped so that it now serves as a

learning opportunity for smart,diverse students and a forum toevaluate talent. Overseen by the HRDepartment, the structured summerprogram enables talented college,law, and master’s level students an opportunity to work for approxi-mately eight weeks for a specificNFL department while also providing various educational andsocial programs that give the interns

a broad overview of the NFL’s busi-ness operations.

b) Mentoring Program: To addressthe Council’s objective of retaining,supporting and advancing NFLemployees, it created a mentoringprogram overseen by the HRDepartment. The program waslaunched in the NY office andmatches junior professionals withsenior executives for one year.Participation is through a robustselection and matching process.Mentors and protégés are trained,and quarterly events are held to pro-vide further educational and net-working opportunities. This year thementoring program was launched atour NJ facility.

c) Special Teams: In its inaugural year,the Diversity Council developed aprogram in which diverse, talentedemployees from a variety of NFL-NYdepartments are selected to workcollaboratively on a multi-culturalbusiness project. Each Special Teamhas a dedicated budget as well as a‘coach’ and a departmental repre-sentative assigned to them. Our firstinitiative will be aligned withHispanic Heritage Month and willdevelop an initiative for the NFLMarketing Department.

d) Recognition Programs: To recog-nize talented, diverse employeeswho don’t have an opportunity toget top-level exposure to the NFLbusiness, the Diversity Councildeveloped recognition programsthat enable our talented employeesto attend the NFL’s annual League

Belinda Lerner Senior Director / National Football League

“It sends an enormously powerful message to our

employees if they can see people like themselves

as key decision makers in the organization.”

BELINDA LERNER

continued page 27



Goals of the NFL

Aspirational Definition of Diversity (the ideal state to which the NFL strives): “…representing, respecting and celebrating a wide range of human differences, personal experiences and cultural backgrounds for the benefit of the individuals and the company as a whole … intended to bebroad and inclusive of all individual differences … in the Diversity Mosaic:race, gender, ethnicity, age, ability, disability, sexual orientation, religiousbeliefs, socio-economic status, parental status, marital status, family structure, physical appearance, geographic location, organizational level/functionality, educational background, language/accent, work experience,learning style, personal style … the range of characteristics that definehuman diversity and the various differences that must be respected.”

FROM NFL DIVERSITY STRATEGIC PLAN - FEBRUARY 10, 2003

Tactics from the NFL Playbook:“... 3. Train, Educate and Learn – Vigorously pursue programs that trainand educate employees about the benefits and requirements of diversity;infuse the organization with systems that foster continuous learning ondiversity and apply these learnings to bring about ongoing diversityadvancement and active shifting of values, attitudes and behaviors …”

[EDITOR’S EMPHASIS]

NFL—One WorldIn 2004, the league kicked off a promotion in communities nationwide…the NFL, Scholastic, four International Fulbright Students (including anIraqi and South African), and Boston-area children announced the launchof One World: Connecting Communities, Cultures, and Classrooms, aunique education program designed to encourage cross-cultural under-standing for students in fourth through sixth grades.

Created by Scholastic with consultation from Facing History andOurselves, One World is an interactive, multi-tiered program designed foreducators and parents to use with their children to encourage dialogueabout respecting each other, valuing diversity and ethnic differences, andtaking positive actions to build stronger, more inclusive communities.


H O W D I D Y O U C O M E T O B E W O R K I N G A T T H E N F L ?I was hired by the NFL in 1993 as a Labor Relations Counsel working for the NFL Management Council. In thatposition I represented NFL clubs in arbitrations and provided them with advice on labor and employment law matters. While in that role, I negotiated the NFL-NFL Referees Association collective bargaining agreement; wasappointed as a co-compliance officer for the NFL’s ethics policy; and was the primary in-house employment lawattorney, handling harassment and discrimination investigations. In 2002 I made a lateral move to the HumanResources Department and became the senior director of employee relations. Last year my role was expanded sothat I now also head development and oversee the learning and development function.

W H O W E R E / A R E Y O U R M E N T O R S ? I’ve never had a formal mentor, but have been fortunate to be surrounded by people who have been extremely supportive and have been willing to be role models as well as provide me with career advice and counseling.

W H A T A R E Y O U R R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S A N D S T R A T E G I E S F O RA D V A N C I N G D I V E R S I T Y A N D I N C L U S I O N I N Y O U R O R G A N I Z A T I O N ?As the senior director of HR and the co-chair of the Diversity Council, I have many opportunities to oversee, createand develop programs that advance diversity. We continue to use the Council as a sounding board and as a sourcefor creating new programs. We continue to hone our hiring processes, including outreach, to ensure we access talented diverse candidates. We continue to examine our programs and our progress to make sure we are advancingin the areas of diversity education, awareness, retention and development.

H A V E Y O U A N Y “ M O T T O S ” T O R A L L Y Y O U R T E A M R E G A R D I N G D & I ?As part of our league-wide diversity training with the National Coalition Building Institute, we created a special logoof a football with multi-color laces. All participants received a logo pin and received a picture frame with the logo onit. Also, the Diversity Council has just created a special diversity masthead for all its communications: a picture ofan NFL team coming together in celebration. The masthead will be the ‘logo’ of our diversity initiatives. Also, ourphilosophy as stated in the Diversity Council’s strategic plan is “Diversity is everyone’s issue.”

H O W A R E M A N A G E R S M E A S U R E D I N T E R M S O F P E R F O R M A N C E ?We operate under a pay-for-performance system under which employees are informally evaluated mid-term (‘Half-Time Review’) and then formally at the end of our fiscal year. Diversity is one of the five League values (along withIntegrity, Performance and Teamwork, Tradition and Innovation, and Learning). The year-end appraisal has includeda section in which managers need to assess their employees’ commitment to diversity as part of their annualreview, so such conduct would positively influence compensation.

A R E T H E R E P A R T I C U L A R A R E A S / E M P L O Y E E S E C T O R S Y O U F E E L S T I L L N E E D I M P R O V E M E N T ? We have made tremendous strides since my arrival in HR three years ago. If I were to select an area for moreimprovement, I think I would like to see a larger representation of women and minorities at senior-level positions. I think it sends an enormously powerful message to our employees if they can see people like themselves as keydecision makers in the organization.

Belinda Lerner Senior Director / National Football League

B e l i n d a L e r n e rC O M P A N Y : National Football League (NFL)

T I T L E : Senior Director, Employee Relations, Learning & Development

T I M E I N C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N : 3 years

E D U C A T I O N : BA: Barnard College; JD: Hofstra University Law

F I R S T J O B : Research assistant for the Garth Group, a political consulting firm

F A M I L Y : Jim Gorra, husband of 13 years; two children: Benjamin, 9 and Caroline, 8

I N T E R E S T S : Exercise – running and general ‘gym rat’


meetings and NFL Business Summitmeeting.

e) Multicultural Calendar celebrations:The Diversity Council developed aMulticultural Calendar that recog-nizes various cultural monthlyevents. Celebrations—includingspeaking engagements and fund-raiser/awareness campaigns—havebeen aligned with Black HistoryMonth, Hispanic Heritage Month,Pan Asian Month, MilitaryAwareness Month, Gay Pride Monthand others.

2 ) H I R I N G : Processes have beenrevised so that they are now auto-mated (accessible on-line throughNFL.com) and can cast a wide net tocapture diverse applicants. In addi-tion, all hiring is processed throughHR, and interview panels are estab-lished to ensure a well-roundedinterview process.

3 ) I N F R A S T R U C T U R E : Three yearsago the NFL implemented an HRISSystem so that it can now trackinformation on all its employees andchart its progress.

How does your organizationdeal with/train for cross-culturalcompetencies for its leadership? The HR Department recently devel-oped a management training program,referred to as NFL Boot Camp. Withinthe Boot Camp structure we havedeveloped and executed 2- to 3-hourmanagement training modules onemployment law basics (overview ofemployment laws with an emphasison discrimination and harassment);power hiring (improving and expanding

our interviewing skills to ensure abroad outreach that will produce themost talented applicants and a fine-tuned selection process that factors indiversity); and performance feedback(instructional as well as videotapefeedback on how to effectively com-municate with employees to developbetter leaders).

We have also just completedDiversity Training, in which a trainedNFL employee co-led a 4-hour diversityworkshop with an experienced train-er. The focus of the workshop was toimprove employees’ understanding oftheir own histories and those of theircolleagues, and then provide themwith skill-building exercises so thatthey have the resources to identifyand constructively address/communi-cate controversial issues relating todiversity.

How are decisions about diversity made?For the three years it has been opera-tional, our Diversity Council developsproposals that are presented to ourExecutive Staff for approval. A vastmajority of those proposals are thenimplemented through HumanResources. I have been co-chair sincethe beginning, and my current co-chair is Seth Rabinowitz (previously,it was Guy Troupe and DerrickCrawford). The NFL’s COO, RogerGoodell, is the executive sponsor andregularly attends the meetings. TheNFL’s senior vice president of HR,Nancy Gill, is the HR advisor. Thereare approximately 12 members fromvarious levels and segments of theorganization.

How does your company gaugeinclusion of employees? Our HRIS System enables us to trackour employee composition and tochart our progress. We have no specific numbers/goals, but ouremployee base is favorable whencompared to other companies knownfor their diversity practices. We areconstantly refining our processes toensure that we are broadening ouroutreach and accessing top talent.

How are employee opinionssolicited? The Diversity Council and the HRDepartment are charged with obtainingopinions. To facilitate this we createda Dialogue on Diversity web page aspart of the NFL’s intranet site. Thisenables employees to submit diversity-related questions to the DiversityCouncil. It is accessible to all of ouroffices. In addition, our DiversityCouncil members regularly speak withand advise us on employee ‘buzz’regarding diversity issues.


PDJ

Mission of the NFL

“To present the NFL

and its teams at a

level that attracts the

broadest audience

and makes NFL

football the best

sports entertainment

in the world.”

Fifteen international guests participated in the 2005 Olympic Public Relations workshop at theColorado Springs U.S. Olympics complex. Funding for these attendees was provided by the

International Olympic Committee and the Pan American Sports Organization.


Mary WatkinsU.S. Olympic CommitteeGoing for GoldFew sports venues have the longevity,dramatic history, and world visibility of the Olympics. Mary Watkins tells howthe United States Olympic Committeesees diversity and inclusion as the naturalextension of basic Olympic ideals and theOlympic movement.



Please give your definition of diversity.We define diversity as individuality. We respectand value the USOC’s diversity and consider itone of our strengths. We are committed to main-taining a diverse workforce wherein employeesare hired, retained, compensated, disciplined andpromoted based on their contribution to theUSOC, and all are treated with dignity andrespect. The USOC is committed to providing anequal opportunity work environment, not only tobe in full compliance with the law but also to beconsistent with Olympic ideals. Our employeesprovide us with a wide complement of talentsthat contribute greatly to our success. We makereasonable accommodations to the known physi-cal and mental limitations of otherwise qualifiedindividuals with disabilities.

COMPANY United States OlympicCommittee (USOC)

HEADQUARTERS Colorado Springs, CO

WEBSITE www.usolympicteam.com; www.usparalympic.org

BUSINESS The USOC, comprised of 77member organizations, is the coordinatingbody for Olympic-related athletic activity inthe United States.


Your organization obviouslyhas a global presence; howdoes your specific group fitinto the international arena of sports? The USOC currently employs approx-imately 374 individuals within theUnited States. The majority of ouremployees are located at our head-quarters and Olympic Training Centerin Colorado Springs, CO. We have astaff of one located in Washington,DC, and one employee at an OlympicEducation Center at Marquette, MI. Wealso have Olympic Training Centers atChula Vista, CA, and Lake Placid, NY

(host to two Olympic Winter Games).The USOC is a member of the

International Olympic Committee(IOC) and the Pan American SportsOrganization (PASO). We currentlyhave three individuals serving as votingmembers of the IOC who also serve asUSOC Board members. In addition,the USOC maintains an InternationalAffairs division that works to developand improve our standing in the inter-national sport community by buildingrelationships with the IOC, PASO,international sports federations,national Olympic committees, theAssociation of National OlympicCommittees and the General

Association of International SportsFederations.

Can you give examples of howthese affiliated groups worktogether worldwide? The USOC is continually working withhost cities for the Olympic Games,Paralympic Games, Olympic WinterGames and Paralympic Winter Games.Currently these sites are Turin, Italy;Beijing, China; and London, England.In addition, the USOC is working withthe sites for upcoming Pan AmericanGames (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007)and the recently completed World

University Games (Izmir,Turkey).

The USOC parti-cipated with the IOC,the Olympic Council of Asia, the U.S. Department of State,and the United NationsDevelopment Programto formulate plans todevelop sport programsin Iraq. The USOCplayed a leading role in bringing athletes,coaches and officialsfrom the Iraqi NationalArchery Team to New

York City to compete in the 42ndWorld Archery Championships. At varioustimes, Iraqi athletes from archery andother sports have trained at anOlympic Training Center to prepare forthe 2004 Olympic Games in Athens,Greece.

How does the USOC keep up with diversity developmentthroughout the organization? We seek a diverse workforce by max-imizing the exposure of our job open-ings to diverse populations, and wemaintain our workforce by providinga performance-based pay structure.Compliance with EEO requirements

supports the creation of a diverseworkforce, while a belief in the valueof diversity maintains and nourishes it.The USOC works with member organ-izations to encourage their commit-ment to diversity in the selection oftheir staffs, coaches and athletes. Werequire an annual accounting of theirefforts to promote diversity withintheir organizations.

Does the USOC have anyunique opportunities for imple-menting diversity programs? Olympic and Paralympic athletes andcoaches provide a naturally diversepopulation. Though Paralympic sporthas been a part of the USOC programssince 1988, the more recent expansionand visibility provided the USOC withan opportunity to impact the diversityof our athlete base and our workforce.

The USOC is currently workingwith U.S. military groups on a program designed to expose servicemen and women with permanentinjuries to Paralympic sports. The program will educate and providehands-on experience in a variety ofsports such as goalball (a sport forblind athletes) and adapted sportssuch as wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball. The purpose of theU.S. Paralympic Military Academy isto provide these individuals with sportas a rehabilitation tool and to helpimprove the quality of their lives. Wealso maintain a similar ParalympicAcademy for non-military people. The academies develop an extensiveathlete base for future Paralympiccompetitions such as the ParalympicGames in Beijing, China in 2008.

Do you have any examples of how tapping diversity hasyielded significant synergies? The USOC provides a work environ-ment that welcomes and embraces thestrengths of our differences and sup-

Mary Watkins Managing Director / U.S. Olympic Committee

Compliance with EEO require-ments supports the creation of a diverse workforce, while abelief in the value of diversitymaintains and nourishes it.Olympic and Paralympic athletesand coaches provide a naturallydiverse population.


ports involvement. We recentlyprovided Paralympic athleteswith our Elite Athlete HealthInsurance Plan, and they canparticipate in our Olympic JobOpportunities Program, whichemploys athletes in positions thatallow them time away from thejob for training and competition.For example, Home Depot, anOlympic sponsor, hires many ofour Olympic and Paralympic athletes through this program.

How does your organiza-tion promote diversitythroughout its ranks? The USOC regularly trainsemployees at every level onrespect for diversity, anti-harass-ment, and workplace respect forall employees. We advertise ourposition openings to the widestpopulations possible.

The USOC also sponsorsF.L.A.M.E. (Finding LeadersAmong Minorities Everywhere), aunique program which annuallyinvites youth minority studentleaders from locations aroundthe country to participate in acomprehensive four-day leader-ship program focused on educat-ing and exposing youth to theOlympic movement and itsideals. The program is held at the


Passing the Torch …

The U.S. Olympic Committee Business:The USOC, comprised of 77 member organizations, is thecoordinating body for Olympic-related athletic activity in theUnited States. The vision of the USOC has been to assist infinding opportunities for every American to participate insport, regardless of gender, race, age, geography or physicalability. The USOC is unique in that it receives no continuousfederal government subsidy, but rather is funded by contributions from private citizens and corporate support.The USOC also operates a direct marketing program ofUSOC-licensed apparel and items through distribution ofcatalogs, flyers, magazine advertising and an online storeon the USOC’s web site.

The Olympic Torch:Symbolizes spirit, knowledge and life.

The Five Interlocking Rings:The Olympic symbol represents the union of the five original major continents (Africa, America, Asia, Australiaand Europe) which competed in the Olympic Games andthe meeting of the athletes from all over the world whocompete at the Games.

The Olympic Creed:“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most importantthing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

The 2004 U.S. Paralympic Teamelected 2000 judo gold medalistKevin Szott as the flag bearer to leadthe USA delegation into the OpeningCeremony in Athens, Greece. Szott,who became visually impaired at theage of ten, holds 31 national sportstitles and is only the second athleteever to medal in four different sportsat the Paralympic Games.LO

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M a r y L . W a t k i n sC O M P A N Y : United States

Olympic Committee (USOC)

T I T L E : Managing Director,

Human Resources

T I M E I N C U R R E N TP O S I T I O N :Since February 2005

H O W D I D Y O U G E T T O Y O U RP R E S E N T P O S I T I O N ? I joined the USOC in July 1985 as a human resources

administrator, subsequently serving as the division’s

associate director and director of Human Resources

Administration. I was promoted to managing director,

Human Resources in February 2005. In my current position,

my responsibilities encompass all of the USOC’s human

relations management, including staffing and recruitment,

wage and salary administration, benefits and welfare plans,

performance management and employee relations.

W H A T A R E T H E S T R A T E G I E S Y O U E M P L O Y T O M O V E D I V E R S I T Y F O R W A R D ? The USOC promotes diversity with focus on management

commitment, statistical analysis, accountability, training,

communication and employee development.

H A V E Y O U A N Y ‘ M O T T O S ’ T O R A L L YY O U R T E A M R E G A R D I N G D & I ?The USOC Mission is to support U.S. Olympic and

Paralympic athletes in achieving sustained competitive

excellence and to preserve the Olympic ideals, and thereby

inspire all Americans.

H O W I S I N C L U S I O N M O D E L E D I N Y O U R O W N T E A M , A N D H O WA R E Y O U M E A S U R E D ? The Human Resources Division boasts a diverse team of

staff members. Managers are rated on a variety of

competencies including staff leadership, strategic thinking

and management.

Mary Watkins Managing Director / U.S. Olympic Committee

U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.Olympic medalists and other world-class athleteslead presentations and discussions on leadershipand share lessons on the Olympic ideals of vision,discipline, commitment, persistence and focus.

How does your company gauge inclusionof employees and fairness?From the start, we work to ensure a diverseapplicant pool and make hiring decisions basedsolely on applicant qualifications. An essentialelement of our diversity initiative is evaluatingresults and measuring progress. Monthly reportsanalyzing our employment ratios are used toanalyze and compare EEO statistics to those ofour community. Current program trackingincludes EEO reporting and exit questionnairetracking as well as hiring, promotion, turnoverand compensation statistics.

We maintain an Electronic Suggestion Box aswell as a confidential Employee Call Line. TheUSOC also maintains a confidential telephoneline where anyone (employees, volunteers, athletes or any concerned individuals) can reportperceived ethical violations.

Please describe your method for orienting new hires into your culture. The goal of the USOC’s Employee OrientationProgram is to efficiently accomplish necessarynew-hire administrative tasks and provide newemployees with an understanding of theOlympic movement, our mission, vision and values, culture and the employee’s role withinthe organization. Components of the programinclude an Olympic film, a welcome and discus-sion of our mission by the CEO or designatedrepresentative, a review of the USOC structureand organization chart, and a tour of the Olympic

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Complex. ‘Olympics 101’ is a session held with new employeeswherein top USOC staff providean overview of their areas so newemployees get a clear sense of theorganization. The USOC followsup the orientation process withsurveys with new employees,supervisors, and HR staff to provide us with an assessment ofthe effectiveness of the orientationprogram.

Can you name specific waysyour company supportsupward developmenttoward managementpositions?We ensure a variety of trainingand educational opportunitieswhich are available to all employees. The USOC providestuition assistance for employeesworking toward bachelor andmaster degrees. Positions areopened internally, and we solicitemployee applications for thosepositions. The USOC maintains a nationally-recognized intern program open to students from allaccredited colleges and universi-ties within the United States. Theprogram provides a large pool ofapplicants to the USOC and ourmember organizations, both at theentry level and for middle andupper management positions.

Far left: USOC 2004 Coaches of the Year (left to right)Mike Hulett, (Paralympic / Sitting Volleyball), DwayneMiller (Developmental / Track and Field), Mike Candrea(National / Women’s Softball), and Barry Hunter(Volunteer / Boxing).

Left: 2002 Olympic speedskating gold and silver medalist Derek Parra (near right) joined 2003 F.L.A.M.E.participants (left to right) Luis Castillo, Evonne Royston,and Saheed Ibraheem on the ice at the Colorado SpringsWorld Arena. The trio of young leaders was nominated to the F.L.A.M.E. program by John Hancock, a U.S.Olympic Team Partner.

We’ve come a long way…

Women Inclusion:A couple thousand years ago, women were barred fromwatching or competing in the Olympic Games and couldeven be put to death if they were caught there. Today, notonly are women allowed to watch and compete, they areencouraged to do so.

Age Inclusion:The only age limit for Olympic competitors are minimumage requirements prescribed for health and safety reasonsin the competition rules of certain International Federations.Take note, dear Readers: there are no general restrictionsfor an “upper” age limit.

Abilities Inclusion:The Paralympic Games (not the Special Olympics) are heldfor elite athletes with physical or visual impairments, representing the four international federations of the blind,paraplegics and quadriplegics, people with cerebral palsy,and amputees and others (including dwarfs). The firstParalympic Games were held in Rome, Italy, in 1960, andhave been held in the same city or country hosting theOlympics since then.

Focus on Respect: Newspaper in Education, NIE, is an international programbegun in 1955 to improve reading, spelling and writingabilities using newspapers in schools. NIE and the USOCpartnered on several educational projects over the yearsincluding Focus on Respect. The students’ materials for thisprogram develop issues such as self-respect, teamwork,integrity, discipline, tolerance, fairness, courage, andrespect for others through stories about Olympic athleteswho exemplify those ideals: Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph,Pablo Morales, Picabo Street and many others.

PDJ

KIM

MEL

PH

OTO

GRAPH

Y



Please give your definition of diversity. For the USTA, diversity refers to differences of culture, ethnicity, race, gender, beliefs, socioeco-nomic status, sexual orientation, family status,physical ability, appearance, and ideas.

What is the USTA’s global presence? We have 265 national-office employees, plus 17sections which include more than 200 additionalstaff members. As a not-for-profit association, theUSTA also relies on the hard work and efforts ofour more than 2200 national and sectional volun-teers. The USTA is solely focused on growing tennis in America. We look to make all areas of thesport, and the business of the USTA, totally inclu-sive by taking note of the country’s ever-changingdemographics and keeping all avenues openwhen recruiting for available positions.

COMPANY The United States TennisAssociation (USTA)

HEADQUARTERS White Plains, NY

WEBSITE www.usta.com

BUSINESS National governing body forthe sport of tennis whose mission is to promote and develop the growth of tennis.

Karlyn LotheryU.S. Tennis AssociationMatch Points

Karlyn has been lobbing them over the net since she was four; here she talksabout changing the image of tennis to mirror the demographics of the country.


Does the USTA have any

particular diversity challenges?

The USTA is working to break theimage of tennis as a ‘country club’sport and to demonstrate that it is anactivity that can be played at a publicschool, park or club. In fact, 70% oftennis is played on public courts. Ourgoal is to make tennis accessible to allages, genders, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds.

The USTA continues to activelyrecruit from a diverse pool of candi-

dates for staff positions and volun-teers. Our challenge is getting jobseekers, and more importantly, careerseekers, to recognize the USTA as anattractive employer that owns andoperates the single largest annualsporting event in the world, whilepromoting the growth of tennis incommunities. Opportunities are every-where—candidates just need to visitwww.usta.com to open the door.Diversity is the key to growing theparticipant base and industry.

How does USTA take actiontoward diversity?With a fairly new diversity initiative,our goals and intentions are known

throughout the organization’s staff and volunteer base. We continue toencourage and offer training to helpfacilitate the process of outreach andinclusion. Additionally, the USTA lead-ership is making a significant effortand commitment to diversity and pro-moting total inclusion in the sport.

First, the USTA currently has threepeople responsible for driving theUSTA Diversity Plan, with an intent to expand to five. Additionally, asrecruiters are hired and jobs are posted,

we’re reaching to new outlets—forexample, the National Black MBAs,iHispano, the Posse Foundation, etc.We have committed to casting thewidest net to achieve results.

How does the USTA selectmanagers open to diversity?Do USTA leaders get evaluated/compensated according toefforts toward diversity? The USTA continues to seek the bestcandidates for every position; we arequite clear in our communication thatdiversity is a key strategic priority inour discussions with prospective candidates.

Our Board of Directors, USTACommittee Chairs, staff, and volun-teers have all attended a series ofextensive diversity training sessionsand seminars—to date: more than 30trainings reaching more than 500 people. We don’t comment on mattersregarding compensation.

How are decisions about diversity made? As an organization that is made up ofvolunteers and staff, we have a uniquepartnership in this area. The positionof Chief Diversity Officer has the primary responsibility for leading thisinitiative—to make recommendationsand suggestions, and generate newways to tap into the community’sresources. Volunteer counterparts arethe chairpersons of the MulticulturalParticipation Committee (MPC) andthe Hispanic Participation Task Force(HPTF), respectively. The MPC andHPTF are volunteers who are passionateabout tennis, have strong ties in themulticultural community, and are ableto provide advice, contacts, and strategyto enhance the execution of the plan.The Executive Director, President andChairman of the Board of Directors, aswell as the rest of the Board, make the final decision on all policy andbudgetary ideas and concepts.

What is the vision for the USTAin five years? The goal is for the USTA to grow participation with the sport—playing,watching, attending—whereby thetennis demographics mirror the population of the country. Addition-ally, the USTA looks at success as havingits internal staff, volunteer base, and leadership mirror the nationaldemographics.

Karlyn Lothery Chief Diversity Officer / United States Tennis Association

“The USTA is working to bring diversity to all

aspects of the business: from grassroots

recreational players, to job candidates and

vendors, to the ever important community and

professional tennis players.” KARLYN LOTHERY

Does the USTA have any particular diversity challenges?


How does your organizationgauge inclusion of employees? Prior to the creation of the Office ofDiversity in 2004, the USTA conductedawareness and attitude studies tomeasure the greatest areas of opportunityfor growth. We will continue to con-duct this study bi-annually to measurehow well the initiative is progressing.Since we are in our first full year ofthe initiative, the next survey will be atthe end of 2006, measuring internaland external attitudes, awareness,results, greatest successes, and contin-ued areas of opportunity.

How is success in diversitymeasured? The goal is for the staff and volunteerbase to reflect society. You can alsotrack progress through industry sur-veys looking at all aspects of tennisparticipation: one in three tennis play-ers is either African American orHispanic; one in four new players isHispanic.

Are employees more involvedand moving upward, and inwhat ways? Absolutely. The diversity initiative is a corporate priority—one that is supported and embraced at everylevel. We make every effort to activelysolicit dialogue and face-to-face discussion.

Many of our managers believe inprofessional development as a meansto enhance an employee’s skills sothey may achieve the next level ofsuccess. In fact the USTA has a fullStaff Development Workshop everyyear wherein all 500+ employees inthe national and sectional offices gettogether to learn new tools, tech-niques and tactics to help them bemore successful in their duties. Fromleadership and presenting to how to generate a buzz around

diversity, skills training happensthrough a series of workshops andteam-building sessions.

Have you encountered thosewho perceive inclusion programs for underrepresentedgroups as being exclusionaryfor others? This thought only exists for those whodo not understand the USTA’s policyfor inclusion. Simply put, we’re moving tennis from a singles court toa doubles court, making more spacefor more people. When people under-

stand that inclusion truly means‘everybody in’, the concept is morereadily accepted.

How do you educate/promotediversity and inclusion for vendors, customers, or thegeneral public? We have completely revamped ourpurchasing strategy to solicit bids froma wide variety of businesses. TheUSTA has also started participating inmore vendor fairs to increase aware-ness about opportunities to work withthe national and sectional offices.


Karlyn Lothery’s ‘MENTORING’ Memo

Diversity training is more than a feel-good move.

While the social case for diversity and inclusion is valid,

the business case is far more convincing. Training

should briefly address the basics of recognizing the

differences that exist between individuals and focus

more applicability to one’s job. It’s time for diversity

trainings to focus more on the ‘how’. How can you tap

into a new multicultural community? How can you

begin cultivating new relationships that are strong and

long lasting? How can you sell the concept of tennis

to a group that hasn’t considered it before? How can a

manager effectively lead his or her staff in promoting

and practicing inclusion? Answer those, and you’ll

achieve greater buy-in, progress, and success.


K a r l y n L o t h e r y

C O M P A N Y : United States Tennis Association (USTA)

T I T L E : Chief Diversity Officer

T I M E I N C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N : 1.5 years

E D U C A T I O N : Bachelor’s degree (marketing): Georgetown University

F I R S T J O B : In high school: shoe salesperson at Kinney Shoes; 1st job after college: television news reporter,

WCSC-TV, Charleston, SC

P H I L O S O P H Y : Pay it forward. Someone helped you along the way; return the favor by helping someone else.

And, if you see good work, compliment the employee to their supervisor. Employers can’t be everywhere, so make sure

you share the good news.

W H A T I ' M R E A D I N G : One Shot, by Lee Child (mystery thriller)

F A M I L Y : Father and brother in Atlanta, GA; mother in Berwyn, PA

I N T E R E S T S : Tennis, of course; basketball (college and pro); murder mysteries, real and fictional: television, books

or films; anything that helps kids get a better education. I currently work with high school students trying to get into college;

we work on essays that appeal to admissions officers, course selection, interviewing techniques, and how to

survive the first year away from home.

C H I L D H O O D H E R O : My parents: together they taught me the all-too-important lesson that nothing is ever

handed to you. Work hard, study hard, set a strategy and success will come. It never happens overnight, but it will come.

“ B E S T ” P I C T U R E : Crash, the 2005 film that explores every avenue of intolerance, acceptance, first

impressions, stereotypes, life’s burdens and blessings. It tests the viewers’ limits, and challenges their core feelings,

every second of the film.

M Y M U S I C : Classical, if I’m deep in thought; R&B for all other background.

F A V O R I T E G A M E : Too easy—would I say anything but tennis? (I’ve been playing since I was four years old.)

D E S K - D R A W E R M U N C H I E S : Twix and Nestle Crunch w/caramel

F A V O R I T E C H A R I T Y : National Multiple Sclerosis Society: they’re working on a cure for a disease that

impacted my grandmother’s life for more than 40 years.

Karlyn Lothery Chief Diversity Officer / United States Tennis Association



PDJ


Where does your personalbelief in inclusion come from? If you’ve ever moved to a new town,without knowing a single personthere, you know what’s it’s like to bethe odd person out, or worse, the per-son living in the proverbial fish bowl,where everyone looks at you withoutmuttering a word. I moved a lot as akid, and at one point thought I’dnever get out of the fishbowl. We alldo at some point, but it was alwayseasier when someone else was willingto meet me halfway. While it’s naturalfor most people to drift toward thosewho are like us in some way, it’simportant to note that being inclusiveis more than opening the door—youhave to remember to invite people in.

How did you get to your present position? I started out as a television newsreporter in Charleston, SC, and latermoved on to become an anchor forthe Five O’clock News in Augusta, GA.Then I transitioned to a career as aconsultant in Washington, DC, where Iworked with not-for-profit, corporate,government, and medical organiza-tions in the areas of diversity, crisismanagement, media relations, andcommunication skills for leadership.When Zina Garrison (Olympic goldmedalist and 2004 Olympic tenniscoach) told me the USTA was creatingthis position, I jumped at the opportu-nity because it utilizes all of my skills.The Chief Diversity Officer’s positiongoes beyond HR and supplier diversity;it reaches into public relations as wellas player, market, and business devel-opment. I’m working with theExecutive Director and President toeffect significant and positive changethroughout the organization; this isone team of which I’m proud to be amember.

Who were/are your mentors? My father, Eugene Lothery, is the bestbusinessman I know. He ran televi-sion and radio stations for nearly 20years after more than 10 years inmedia sales. Dad had some pretty sim-ple rules of operation when it came tobusiness:

• Never be afraid of hard work;always strive to exceed expectations.

• Work twice as hard as the other guy(or girl) and you’ll make it to the top.

• Don’t look for a big payoff withoutbeing willing to work for it andprove yourself first.

• No matter how successful you are,never be afraid to pitch in, roll yoursleeves up, and do some work.

• Be a consensus builder; you’ll get tothe goal much quicker.

• No one is entitled to anything; youhave to earn every piece of successyou desire.

• Be nice. The people you see on theway up the ladder could be thesame that you see on the way down.

• Do something nice for someone,and don’t tell anyone. That provesyou meant to do it for the right reasons.

• Assume the best in someone untilthey show you something different.

What reading do you recom-mend for aspiring leaders? Career Warfare by DavidD’Alessandro; Generating Buy-In byMark Walton; Leading Change by JohnKotter; Nice Girls Don’t Get the CornerOffice by Lois Frankel; Winning byJack Welch; and My Losing Season byPat Conroy.

How would you describe yourstyle of leadership? It’s an educational partnership. A trueteam has a leader who encourages theteam to learn as much as they can, test

their own creativity, and stretch theirlimits. A leader should be willing toprovide the resources to help the teamimprove their skills and offer input ina comfortable, safe environment. Onlywith free-flowing ideas from everyonecan we pick out the best ideas andmap out the best plans for success.

What are your specific responsibilities or strategiesfor advancing diversity andinclusion? As defined in the USTA Diversity Plan:to strengthen the internal and externalimage, strengthen leadership commit-ment to diversity, establish fiscal clarity,institutionalize strategic partnerships,and develop and provide diversitytraining to the USTA family. To makeeach of these areas happen takes a great degree of communication (ofexpectations, goals, challenges, solu-tions, best practices, etc.).

How do you and your teammodel diversity and inclusion ?Modeling diversity is at the core ofwhat we do. There is a formal goal-setting and review process each yearfor all employees, and diversity isincluded in those goals.

What accomplishment bringsyou pride, and what would youimprove for diversity at USTA? My proudest moment was gettingeach of the 43 Committee Chair-persons (volunteers) to give me threehours of their time to actively partici-pate in a diversity training, set a diver-sity goal for each of their committees,and commit to three things they canpersonally do to encourage diversity intheir year on the committee. TheDiversity Plan launched in 2004 is atthe beginning stages; we have a lot ofwork to do.


Ilana KlossWorld TeamTennisAdvantage All

Kloss continues her championship career in

tennis, now overseeing the 12-team WTT

Pro League and the nationwide grassroots

Recreational League programs, with “all

people contributing equally.” By focusing on

national sponsorships, strategic planning,

media partnerships and expansion of the

Pro League during the past 15 years, Kloss

has been responsible for generating more

than $20 million in sponsorships for WTT.

COMPANY World TeamTennis


WEBSITE www.wtt.com

BUSINESS Professional co-ed sports league


Please give your definition of diversity. Diversity within the World Team-Tennis context is founded on the cre-ation of a level playing field for all,with no limitations based on gender,race, geography or economic factors.Diversity and equality go hand inhand, and one cannot exist withoutthe other. It is that belief on whichWorld TeamTennis was founded, andI believe that’s why we continue togrow 30 years later.

Please describe your company’sglobal presence. The international outreach of WTT isbased on international television coverage of our professional league.Currently, WTT matches are seen inmarkets throughout South Africa,Canada, the Middle East, Germany,and Australia. In addition, we arebroadcast on ESPN2 and several majorregional cable networks throughoutthe U.S.

Future plans include having WTT-affiliated leagues or events in Europe,Asia and South Africa. Additionally,our player roster represents the globalcommunity with players from all overthe world including Israel, Thailand,Switzerland, Paraguay, Romania,Bulgaria, Japan, Australia, SouthAfrica, Russia, Germany, Venezuela,and the United States.

How does WTT maintain gooddiversity in working relationships? We have a very diverse group of owners.The philosophy of WTT is to look for

diversity at all levels, beit coaches, owners,players, or officials. Welook to align ourselveswith partners at all levels that embrace thatphilosophy.

Are there particularchallenges oropportunities fordiversity at WTT? One of our biggest chal-lenges is to market ourbrand of tennis to awide range of con-stituents. We want todeliver a product that isserious enough to berespected by the tennispurist, but we also wantto expose as many con-verts to WTT as possi-ble. This is a team con-cept, and it is extremelyimportant to us that we push that messageand create a format that showcases men and women competingtogether on a level play-ing field. It is so veryimportant to us thatboys and girls see thatthere is a direct benefitto having men andwomen compete togeth-er in a team format.

On the partnersside, WTT sponsorstend to be loyal and

Ilana Kloss CEO/Commissioner / World TeamTennis

“We really need to have both sexes and all people contributing equally

to a world where anyone, regardless of gender, can win. That’s the idea

behind World TeamTennis.” - BILLIE JEAN KING, FOUNDER

Ilana remains active, playing tennis and jogging severaltimes a week. She plays in the Masters (over 35) eventsat Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She won theWimbledon over-35 doubles championship in July 2001and July 2003, and was the U.S. Open over-35 doublesand mixed doubles champion in Sept. 1999.

continued on page 44



World TeamTennis — All Inclusive

Pro LeagueWith a unique gender-equity team concept Billie Jean Kingand Larry King created in the early 1970s, the WTT ProLeague presented by Advanta enters its 30th season of playin 2005. The format features co-ed teams competing inmen’s and women’s doubles, men’s and women’s singles,and mixed doubles, as well as no-ad scoring, substitutionand coaching.

RecreationStarted in 1985, the WTT Recreational League programshave provided playing opportunities for more than 490,000tennis players of all ages and abilities across the UnitedStates. [Rec leagues] … run year-round at public parks, tennis clubs, schools, college campuses, military bases, corporations, camps, residential communities and tennisfacilities in more than 1,000 U.S. cities.

On CampusWorld TeamTennis has been selected as the format for theUSA Team Tennis On Campus program. World TeamTennis,along with the USTA, will be assisting the NationalIntramural Recreational Sports Association, the IntercollegiateTennis Association, and the various USTA Sections in bringingnon-varsity college tennis players together to experience thefun, fast-paced, co-ed action that is the WTT team format.

Corporate PlayPlayer benefits of corporate play include: opportunity to playwith coworkers and friends; competition with other local companies; co-ed team play; all ability levels are welcomed.

PartnersFor sponsors, all of the passion and excitement of WorldTeamTennis can be linked to a wide range of existing andnew marketing opportunities—from grassroots programs to national initiatives, product launches to corporate leadership, community efforts to consumer involvement.

– EXCERPTED FROM WTT.COM

Mission of WTT

World TeamTennis

is dedicated to

promoting the sport

of tennis as a sport

for everyone and

anyone by tapping

the fun, competitive,

social and entertain-

ing spirit that comes

from being part

of a team.


I l a n a K l o s sC O M P A N Y : World TeamTennis (WTT)

T I T L E : CEO/Commissioner

T I M E I N C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N : 4 years as CEO/Commissioner:started in 1985 as Player Liaison; took over as the WTT Vice President in 1987; succeeded Billie Jean King as WTT Executive Director in 1991; namedCEO/Commissioner in February 2001.

E D U C A T I O N : High school—turned professional during 12th grade and started touring on the women’s tennis pro tour for 11 years

F I R S T J O B : Player recruiting for WTT—Player Liaison for WTT in 1985

P H I L O S O P H Y : Treat others as you would like to be treated.

W H A T I ' M R E A D I N G : The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

F A M I L Y : Parents, younger sister

I N T E R E S T S : Jogging, travel, reading

C H I L D H O O D H E R O : Billie Jean King

M Y M U S I C : Elton John, Gladys Knight

F A V O R I T E G A M E S : Backgammon, pool

D E S K - D R A W E R M U N C H I E S : almonds, Starbucks

F A V O R I T E C H A R I T Y : Women’s Sports Foundation

P E R S O N ( S ) I ’ D L I K E T O G E T T O K N O W O V E R L U N C H : Holly Hunter, Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela

extremely supportive once they getinvolved in our unique brand of tennis.

Admittedly, at times we feel likewe need to work twice as hard as ourcompetitors from traditional sportsorganizations to sell sponsorships.However, once we get a sponsoronboard they tend to stay longer thanthe average sports sponsor and theyare more likely to activate unique marketing programs at WTT events thanthey might at other sporting events.

How does WTT gauge inclusion? WTT is not about quotas. WTT is allabout having people who believe inour product and are committed to ourmodel of equality. We employ theteam approach on the court in ourmatches, with our franchise owner-

ship, and in our office on a daily basis. Following each season, we have

formal and informal reviews from thestaff, players, sponsors, and our mar-keting partners. Everyone’s input isimportant, and we know we can con-tinue to grow if we continue to facechange head on and deal with thechallenges and opportunities presentedto us.

Are there ways WTT supportsupward development? Like many small businesses who havelow turnover rates, we are probablytop-heavy if you look at titles only.However, our small staff size allowsevery employee a chance to get his orher hands on virtually every project inthe organization. We do not put

people or things in a box and, as theold adage goes, it is critical we ‘playwell with others’.


What was your career path? I started as a professional athlete and

that was how my first job in playerrecruitment for WTT came about. Itpays to be in a business you under-stand and working for a product youlove. Transition was easier throughthe management ranks at WTT due tomy unique experience on the otherside of the court.

Ilana Kloss CEO/Commissioner / World TeamTennis



Who were/are your mentors,and what about their styleinfluenced you?

First, Billie Jean King—because of herhonesty, leadership, passion, commit-ment to equality and diversity at everylevel, her ability to build a great teamon and off the court, and her perse-verance to stick to the vision.

Also, Ed Woolard, formerChairman and CEO of DuPont,because of his wisdom and experi-ence dealing within the corporateworld which was different from mybackground as a professional athlete.He does it all with a great deal ofintegrity. Having access to someonelike him has provided me with invaluableinsight.

I’m mentoring today—through mywork at Women’s Sports Foundation(WSF) or WTT, whether it’s young athletes or employees, I try to giveback and guide them to a strong pro-fessional career. I also try to focus onmentoring internally to help peoplegrow within the company. Being onthe board of the WSF, I have therewarding opportunity to mentoryoung athletes so they understandhow important it is to give back whenthey are done competing.

How do you lead diversity andhow is that leadership measured?We lead by example. I’m measuredprimarily on P&L and growth of thebusiness.

Are there sectors you feel stillneed improvement? Absolutely—our co-founder (BillieJean King) believes that we can neverhave too much diversity. Everyonelearns from other cultures, so we con-tinue to strive to broaden ourselves. Itis certainly a challenge in a smallercompany, but it is definitely a priorityin our decision-making process. PDJ

top to bottom:

Billie Jean King, Chris Evert andIlana Kloss at the WTT 30th ReunionParty on September 8, 2005 at theUSTA National Tennis Center (duringthe U.S. Open).

Ilana at Wimbledon 2003 where she won the over-35 doubles championship with Kathy Rinaldi.

Ilana Kloss speaking at the WTT30th Reunion Party.


Having a mentor is a key tosuccess that many women intoday’s workforce—especially

women of color—simply do nothave. And it’s no surprise. With rela-tively few women in top leadershippositions at Fortune 500 companies,and the time pressures many workingwomen confront, finding a mentormay seem impracticable. Open-mindedness about potential mentorsis worthwhile. A good mentor can bea man, a woman, a person from abackground different from yourown, or even your boss. The mostimportant factor is that you and yourmentor can comfortably exchangefeedback and ideas. In any case,don’t wait around for mentors tocome to you; be proactive in findingthem yourself.

Define your goals.The first step in finding a mentor isfiguring out what kind of coachingand advice you need. Make a list,and put things in order of impor-tance. Do you need advice on howto move to the next level? How tomanage your support staff? How towrite a report, press release, or pres-entation? Do you need the scoop onpolitics at the organization or onwhat it takes to rise to the top? Doyou want insight on how to breakinto a new field?

Make a list of potentialmentors.Next, match your needs with peoplewho might be able to address them.You want someone who can assessyour performance—someone in theloop who believes in you and willhelp you get opportunities. Keep inmind that one person can rarely helpyou address all of your needs.Instead of searching for one perfectmentor, strive to become the menteeof several talented people. Thinkabout people at your organizationwho can address some of yourobjectives. Who has had the experi-ence you’re seeking and knows thepath required? Who has the skillsyou want to acquire? Who’s the bestmanager? Who’s the most effective atmeetings? Who has his/her ear to theground? Make a list of all of thesepeople. And of course, think aboutwho has the influence to be able tohelp you move ahead.

Look inside and outside yourcompany.Find out whether or not your com-pany has a formal mentoring pro-gram. One of the best places to finda mentor is in your own organiza-tion, but if you are unable to find amentor internally, look outside.Consider everyone in your network:relatives; friends of the family; for-

mer bosses, co-workers, or profes-sors; etc. Whom do you admire andrespect? Who has already been a rolemodel for you? Also check out yourindustry association or alumni group,or consider joining a mentoringorganization.

Do your research and makeyourself visible.Once you’ve compiled your list ofpossible mentors, make yourself vis-ible to your top candidates and dosome investigating. Find out whatyou can about each person’s careerpathway. Know where he/she hasworked and what he/she has accom-plished, so you know the right ques-tions to ask. Talk to people whohave worked with the person, anduse the company intranet/newslet-ters, the internet, or library resourcesto find out more. Volunteer forassignments or projects that potentialmentors work on so you can show-case your talents. Also, try to find outwhat that person does outside ofwork—for example, nonprofit work,boards, etc.—and join if you can. Dogood work there that he/she can see.

Make a connection.At an office or social event,approach your potential mentor. Ifthis opportunity doesn’t come along,arrange a meeting. At the right

Finding a MentorBy Catalyst

Influential mentoring relationships are critical in navigating anyone’scareer path. Catalyst expands the framework for what constitutesmentoring and explains how self assessment, open-mindedness andcommitment can optimize the opportunities.

Davis Wright Tremaine’s Corporate Diversity Counseling Group has

established a national reputation for high-level diversity assistance and

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Corporate Diversity Counseling Group

Weldon H. Latham, Chair


moment, even a cold call at the person’s office door can work inyour favor. Keep your eyes open forthat person’s comings and goings,and you might find an opening.

When face-to-face with the person, ask a question. Womenwho’ve had great mentors suggestasking for advice about somethingrelated to your career or your work,especially something that might belinked to his/her career. Most peopleare flattered to be asked for advice.Be sure to prepare the question(s)beforehand, and take notes so youcan refer to the responses later.

Start small. Base your approach to a potentialmentor on what you know abouthim/her and on the kind of relation-ship you have. Use your judgment. Ifyou’re working with the person, youmay know his/her schedule and howmuch time he/she has available. Atfirst, leave the word “mentor” out ofthe conversation. Don’t scare off apotential mentor by asking for toomuch. The person may turn youdown if your problem seems too big,so don’t lay all your needs on yourpotential mentor at first. Let the rela-tionship evolve. Be realistic aboutwhat someone can give you, andbuild your rapport over time.

You may want to end your firstmeeting by asking if the personwould be willing to meet with youagain to follow up on what you’vediscussed so far. Face-to-face contactcreates the closest relationships, butcompromise where necessary to getthe mentor you want. You mightwant to develop a phone or emailmentoring relationship or one thatincludes this aspect. Either way, letyour mentor know how you’d likethe relationship to work and what

frequency and type of contact youhope for. If the person turns youdown, don’t take it personally.He/she may just be too busy, andyou should continue to look forother mentors. Be sure to keep thatperson in your network, though—you never know when he/she willhave more time later or can helpsome other way.

Give back to your mentor. Follow through. When a mentor hasmade a suggestion or offered a solu-tion, get back to him/her in person(ideally) or in some appropriate wayto let them know how the issueturned out or the progress you’vemade—and thank them for theirhelp.

Remember that a mentor usuallyhas a goal in taking you on, andthere’s nothing wrong with that.When starting out, don’t give yourmentors the impression that you’reout only to benefit yourself. Let themknow of your respect and support,and show that you’re going to behelpful in return. Be loyal. Returnfavors. Be your mentors’ field agent,and share with them useful informa-tion you pick up in circles they maynot frequent. Don’t underestimatethe value that you can bring to eachrelationship.

Mentoring relationships areamong the keys to a successfulcareer. They become increasinglyimportant as one advances to seniorlevels in business. Catalyst researchconsistently demonstrates that hav-ing influential mentors and havingaccess to key networks are criticalfactors in advancement; conversely,lack of access to mentors and exclu-sion from informal networks are bar-riers to getting ahead. Addressingthese issues at the beginning of yourcareer path will only help you in thelong run. It takes practice to get themost out of your mentoring experi-ence(s), and the sooner you makethat commitment, the more successyou can expect.

With offices in New York, San Jose,and Toronto, Catalyst is the leadingresearch and advisory organizationworking with businesses and the professions to build inclusive environments and expand oppor-tunities for women at work. For more information about Catalyst’sresearch, services, and products, visitwww.catalystwomen.org. You mayalso sign up to receive Catalyst’sissue-specific newsletter, Perspective,and monthly email updates [email protected].

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Mentoring relationships ... become increasinglyimportant as one advances to senior levels in business. Catalyst research consistently demonstrates that having influential mentorsand having access to key networks are critical factors in advancement.

November 16-17, 2005 Marriott Wardman Park Hotel

Washington, DC

Diversity and Women Leadership Summit & Gala

• Fortune 500 CEO’s, CFO’s, COO’s and CIO’s• Chief Diversity Officers• Human Resources Executives and Organization Development Leaders• Marketing and Advertising Executives • Corporate and Organizational Board Members and Directors• Government Diversity Leaders

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• General sessions with dynamic panel discussions and powerful keynote speakers• Applied learning through sharing of “Best Practices”• Networking opportunities during the opening and gala receptions• Celebration of leadership at the Diversity Leadership Awards Gala!

The Leadership Summit Offers

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Particularly in the last ten years,more and more corporationshave substantially strength-

ened their diversity efforts and madeinclusive policies one of their corpo-rate priorities. Nevertheless, a signif-icant number of these companies,some with impressive diversityrecords, still get sued for discrimina-tion. The reasons are as varied as thenumber, size, and severity of suchlawsuits.

One reason is, even good com-panies (with the best of intentions),sometimes get it wrong. Or one per-son violates company policy andpractice and does or says somethingvery wrong. Or the company’s poli-cies and practices—while oftenexemplary—may fail to cover the sit-uations that give rise to the claim. Orthe claim is the result of a legitimatemisunderstanding. Or maybe, justmaybe, an unscrupulous plaintiff iscalculating that the company will settle quickly, rather than risk injuryto its sterling reputation for fairnessand integrity.

Whatever the cause, it is clearthat companies cannot expect thateven the most fundamentally sounddiversity policies and practices willguarantee protection from race andgender discrimination and harass-ment claims. In some ways, suchclaims are the inevitable result ofgreater diversity. As the CEO of oneFortune 500 company observed, “the

only companies with no diversityissues are those that have no diversity.”The suggestion is that—when com-panies change from all-white malebastions and exclusive monolithiccultures to purposefully inclusiveorganizations that encourage diversityof thought and expression—culturalclashes should be expected (i.e.,diversity issues).

Thus, not even strong and effec-tive corporate diversity programs areexempt from discrimination litiga-tion. Even companies with enviablepublic records for diversity some-times find themselves the target of discrimination allegations orcharges that run counter to their rep-utation as leaders in diversity andinclusion. Let’s face it. As long asthere are plaintiffs’ lawyers, classactions, and the prospect of multi-million-dollar attorney fee awards,discrimination lawsuits are not likelyto disappear.

The good news, however, is that

genuine corporate diversity anddemonstrable achievement of inclusion at all levels of a companycertainly can cushion the blow of adiscrimination lawsuit and helpavoid permanent damage to thecompany’s good name.

A good example of this principleat work is BellSouth’s recent knock-out punch in Hogan v. BellSouth, a

race discrimination case filed by aformer attorney in the company’slegal department. In record time (sixdays following oral argument), theU.S. Court of Appeals for the 11thCircuit rejected allegations by LisaHogan, an African-American attorney,that she was fired five years earlier,by BellSouth’s then-General Counsel,due to race discrimination.

BellSouth and its LegalDepartment have been known foradvocating workplace diversity par-ticularly through its 1999 “Statementof Principle,” wherein the chief legalofficers of nearly five hundred major

When Bad Things Happento Good Companies

By Weldon H. Latham

Latham uses a recent high-profile case to illustrate the importance of “genuine corporate diversity and demonstrable achievement of inclusion” for thwarting discrimination litigation.

Whatever the cause, it is clear thatcompanies cannot expect that even themost fundamentally sound diversitypolicies and practices will guaranteeprotection from race and gender discrimination and harassment claims.

CChhrryysslleerr,, JJeeeepp,, aanndd DDooddggee aarree rreeggiisstteerreedd ttrraaddeemmaarrkkss ooff DDaaiimmlleerrCChhrryysslleerr CCoorrppoorraattiioonn..

Diversity.It’s what drives us.

From the cadres of minority designers, engineers, and office staff to the men and women on the

factory floor and our network of minority owned dealers, we're dedicated to creating the best cars

and trucks possible. In fact, this dedication to work ethic, smarts, and quality is inherent in every

vehicle we produce. It's what makes us the proud American brands of DaimlerChrysler Corporation.


companies announced their com-mitment to corporate diversity andtheir expectation that the law firmsthat represent their companies pro-mote diversity among their attor-neys. BellSouth’s highly publicized reputation for corporate diversity,particularly in its Legal Department,undoubtedly gave the companymuch needed credibility in defendingagainst Hogan’s claims. Indeed, atoral argument one judge commentedon the fact that BellSouth had gonethe “extra mile” to resolve Hogan’sperformance issues prior to termi-nating her employment.

Of course, not every companyfacing discrimination litigation byformer or current employees will beable to emulate BellSouth’s reputa-tion for success in the Hogan case.Additionally, diversity talk, withoutaction, will not enhance any com-pany’s position in discrimination lit-igation or the raft of other seriousadverse consequences that accom-pany a credible lawsuit.

In the nearly ten years sincecoining the phrase and creating thefirst ‘corporate diversity counseling’practice which has served more thanthirty-five Fortune 200 companies, mygroup of attorneys has found thatthere are, at least, ten factors thatstrongly contribute to an effectivecompany-wide diversity effort.Following the establishment of acorporate diversity and inclusionpolicy and specific goals and objec-tives, those factors include:

1) Recognition of the need for improvement;

2) Demonstrable commitment and involvement by the CEO andexecutive management;

3) Sustained company-wide policy implementation and communication;

4) Comprehensive and effective

diversity and inclusion programs;

5) Making diversity an integral partof the business mission and marketing strategy;

6) Securing a credible level of diversity in senior management;

7) Designating a senior executive as the company-wide ‘diversity champion’;

8) Creating management accountability for diversity performance;

9) Providing sufficient/long-term diversity resources; and

10) Maintaining effective ‘early warning’ systems.

Achieving corporate diversityand inclusion demands commit-ment, hard work, and sustainedeffort. Companies that succeed willnot only better position themselvesto overcome claims of race and sexdiscrimination and preserve theircorporate brand, but will reap thefull range of concomitant businesscase benefits. Success, however, willrequire significant change from‘business as usual’.

Special thanks to Davis WrightTremaine partner Michael R.Hatcher and counsel Sundria R.Lake for their contributions to thisarticle.

Weldon Latham is a senior partner withthe international law firm of DavisWright Tremaine LLP; he chairs thefirm’s Corporate Diversity CounselingGroup, advises the CEOs of severalFortune 200 companies on diversitycrisis management of high-profilediversity disputes and develops diversityenhancement programs. Mr. Latham is also an adjunct professor atGeorgetown University Law Center,where he teaches corporate diversitycounseling. He chairs the DeloitteDiversity Advisory Board and is amember of its Women’s Initiative. DavisWright Tremaine has nearly 450 attorneys practicing in nine officesworldwide.

Contact Information :Davis Wright Tremaine LLP1500 K Street, N.W.Washington, DC 20005Telephone 202-508-6664 www.dwt.com

PDJ

Achieving corporate diversity and inclusion

demands commitment, hard work, and sustained

effort. Companies that succeed will not only

better position themselves to overcome claims

of race and sex discrimination and preserve

their corporate brand, but will reap the full

range of concomitant business case benefits.


Everyone’s heard of rugby, butmost people haven’t heardabout one of its toughest varia-

tions, called ‘quad rugby’. New YorkLife manager Brian Burger is playingthis rough sport at its highest level.

Burger has worked for New YorkLife Insurance Company since 1999. Inhis current role as a sales develop-ment manager at the general office inCincinnati, OH, he focuses on recruit-ing and training new agents. But BrianBurger has played quad rugby sincehe was a freshman in college. A snowskiing accident when he was 17 yearsold took away his ability to walk, butwhen Burger was first exposed to thewheelchair sport through an organiza-tional meeting, he became intriguedwith quad rugby. He decided to par-ticipate in weekly practices andlearned the game; then he learnedhow meaningful the game could be tohim if he worked hard at it.

As he attended United StatesQuad Rugby Association tournamentsthroughout the country, gaining moreknowledge about the game, he alsomet members of Team USA for QuadRugby. “I met some terrific people andidolized the fact that they were sodevoted to the game and demonstratedtrue sportsmanship,” Burger says. Thismotivated him to work even harder toeventually excel in this sport and to

find a team of players thatshared his pas-sion for it.

After nearlyfive years of par-ticipating in theQuad RugbyNational Champ-ionships, Burgerwas given theopportunity torepresent TeamUSA. He remem-bers the tryouts inBirmingham, AL,as one of the moststressful times inhis life because, “All eyes are on you.”There were 40 athletes at the begin-ning of the three-day tryouts, and bythe end of the first day that numberwas cut to 25. “They called out thenames in alphabetical order, and twoother athletes had a last name begin-ning with B-U,” he says. When hisname was finally called, “I didn’t evenhear the remaining players picked. Iknow what it must have felt like beingthe last kid picked on the kickballteam in grade school,” says Burger.

As a result, Burger got to partici-pate in the 2005 World Wheelchair &Amputee Games in Brazil (September16-25). “Being selected a member ofTeam USA is a great honor,” he states.

“I’ve come a long way and overcomemany obstacles since my accident.”

Over the recent months of training,Burger’s hectic schedule honed histime management skills as well. Thereis little downtime in his daily routine:a morning workout before a full dayof work at New York Life; spendingquality time with his wife and 18-month-old son; and attending trainingcamps on weekends. He credits his vitalsupport system, who have been by hisside through it all. “My wife, Nicole,has sacrificed so much to allow me topursue my dream of Team USA!” Hisparents “sacrificed a ton,” especiallyduring the first two years of his recoveryprocess; for someone who had always

Quad RugbyAdapted from original article written by Lauren Werfelman

The story of Brian Burger gives us insight into the athletes who participate in arigorous sport that doesn’t make daily newscasts—wheelchair rugby. Since 1999,New York Life has made it easier for Burger to pursue and earn a spot on QuadRugby’s Team USA at the 2005 World Wheelchair & Amputee Games in Brazil.

Brian BurgerClassification: 1.5 Jersey Number: 13Years Played: 11 YearsTeam: Kentucky TNTHometown: Cincinnati, OHOccupation: Sales trainer


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been independent, it was a difficulttransition having family members takecare of him. “I couldn’t have gottenthrough it all without them,” saysBurger.

Another part of Brian Burger’s sup-port system is his NYLIC family. “NewYork Life bends over backwards for me;they have always been extremely sup-portive and they encourage me to pur-sue my goal with quad rugby.” NewYork Life accommodates Burger both inand out of the office—making sure hisoffice is wheelchair-friendly and that hehas some flexibility in his schedule toget to quad rugby events.

Burger is very happy to be a part ofthe NYLIC team, too. “I’ve been blessedto work with fine people and fortunateto have support from throughout thecompany. I will work for New York Lifeuntil the day I die.”

Ironically, a recent documentaryfilm called Murderball focuses on theTeam USA Quad Rugby squad and itsshowdown with a bitter rival, TeamCanada, at the 2004 Paralympic Gamesin Athens. ‘Murderball’ was quadrugby’s original name, which Burgerexplains was not very politically correctand “not very marketable.” Despite thefilm’s gruesome name and violent promotional clips, Burger says that players rarely get hurt, although he jokingly admits he has seen blood quitea few times.

Games in Brazil (the USA Stripes team took the gold).Brian’s team, USA Stars, won the silver medal at the 2005 Paralympic

Brian sharing time with his son.


THE KIRAN C. PATEL CENTER FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONSAt the University of South Florida

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORWith a founding gift of $34.5 million, the Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions isbeing launched with the aim of expanding the frontiers of global knowledge by facilitatingresearch and education across national borders. The Center, part of the University of SouthFlorida, will accomplish its mission by bringing together international scholars, public policy experts, government officials, educators, and other leaders of society in an interdisci-plinary, energetic and creative environment.

The Center will provide a place where problems of global concern can be studied in a holistic manner. New knowledge created from this synergistic combination of practical andscholarly expertise will be disseminated through a variety of outlets, including books andother publications, lectures and conferences, national and international forums, and integra-tion into the educational curricula. Using Florida as one of many important research labora-tories, the Center will develop models and present research findings that have local, nation-al and global applications, guide future solutions and education in Florida and around theworld and contribute to improving the human condition.

The ideal candidate for the Executive Director position will have a strong track record ofimpassioned advocacy; a broad, multidisciplinary perspective and experience working inmulticultural environments—ideally a person of stature and substance with visibility in theworld community; an empowering manager with operational and organizational skills; andthe intellectual leadership and communication skills required for fundraising with a diverserange of donors, such as foundations, individual donors and governments.

Minimum qualifications include a college degree and significant community leadership (10 years) with broad and well-documented international experience. Post-graduate study desirable.

The Search Committee requests that all inquiries, nominations and applications be submittedwith a letter of introduction to: [email protected], attention: Mike Kirkman. Theposition will remain open until filled. The salary is negotiable and the position includes anexcellent benefits package. Under the Florida Sunshine Law, applications and search committee meetings are open to the public.

For additional information visit: www.usf.edu and http://www.cas.usf.edu/GlobalResearch/

USF is an EO/EA/AA Institution

Executive Career Opportunity

The 2006 Profiles in Diversity JournalInternational

Innovation in Diversity Awards

will honor ten organizations and institutions thathave developed innovative solutions offering

measurable outcomes in the area of workforce diversity and inclusion.

Entry deadline: April 21, 2006

Full information is available at www.diversityjournal.com

or call Jim Rector at 800-573-2867.

2005 winners

The Drive for Diversity andInclusion starts right here.

NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.©2004 Waste Management, Inc.

s a proud sponsor of NASCAR’s® “Drive for Diversity” initiative,Waste Management is racing toward the same goals as you are.

From Bill Lester behind the wheel of his Number 22 Waste ManagementToyota Tundra to our constant efforts to recruit and support a diverse workforce, we are truly committed to speeding past today’s conventions of diversity and inclusion.

Waste Management salutes the many other workplaces that are on the same track as we are. By working together, we already find ourselves on the road to a more diverse, inclusive tomorrow.

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A

BellSouth has a strong commitment

to the communities we serve.

We continually reaffirm that

commitment and reinforce our

connections to the community by

embracing diversity and inclusion—

both inside and outside the company.

Through its Office of Diversity,

BellSouth supports networking

groups that promote mentoring,

training, and enhanced opportunity

for all employees regardless of age,

race, gender, or sexual orientation.

These groups volunteer their time

and resources to sponsor a wide

range of activities and provide new

ways in which BellSouth connects to

the people we serve.

BellSouth is proud of these efforts.

Because, no matter how advanced

our technology, we know that the

strongest, most lasting connections

are made within the community,

face to face, person to person.

bellsouth.com©2005 BellSouth Corporation.

Connecting to thecommunity withtalent, strength and diversity.

profiles in diversity journal | sep / oct 2005

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