12 Jul Diversity and Inclusion Committee Celebrates Multi-Cultural Education
At Fleet Response, we strive to not only meet the needs of our customers, but our employees as well. In order to maintain a strong family culture, we want to ensure that all our employees feel that their voice are being heard.
The Fleet Response Diversity & Inclusion Committee was created in January 2020 and is now in its third term. The committee aims to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the diverse voices of our employees. Created with the goal for all employees to create and nurture an environment where any person, from any background, can feel empowered and proud to succeed.
The third term committee consists of 11 members. The members include Roger Cervenka (Executive Sponsor), Angela Anderson (HR Sponsor), Thomas Morrison (Chair), Kylie Weaver (Co-Chair), Hector Moreno (Co-Chair), Kimberly Colegrove, Phillip Gasser, Denise Lowery, Scott Olson, Cari Queener and Raymond Rivera.
The committee meets monthly to discuss goals, outcomes, and objectives, as well as execute program initiatives.
“We want to focus on raising awareness for diverse and underserved communities, as well as educating our colleagues and potentially bringing in more members to expand the committee,” said Thomas Morrison, Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
In the last term, the committee hosted a Diversity Week, in which all employees could participate in daily activities, watch TED talks, and read articles related to diversity in the workplace. The committee also initiated the support of a local charity through a $5,000 donation to the Urban League of Greater Cleveland.
“The past two terms consisted of many open forum and discussion, which is very important in a corporate environment, but this year we are really looking to double down and create some impactful initiatives,” said Morrison.
This term, the committee plans on executing five initiatives. The first initiative was a Multi-Cultural Day held on June 22nd. To celebrate our diverse cultural backgrounds, all employees were invited to share food, tradition and insight from their culture.
The committee catered cuisines showcasing Mexican, French, Greek, Chinese, Italian, Iraqi and Ukrainian culture. Traditions and cultural fact sheets were provided along with the food to give employees the opportunity to enhance their cultural awareness and be reminded of the similarities and differences among cultures.
When asked why he decided to join the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Co-Chair, Hector Moreno said “I wanted to contribute to promoting diversity and inclusion throughout the company. I feel that this is truly important when creating a strong, successful working environment. I also wanted to encourage others at the California office to participate in upcoming terms.”
Kelly Medcalf, a committee member during the first two terms said, “The conversations that we had helped us see things from different perspectives and understand that we all matter. It also enabled us to learn that even though we are all different, we can come together and grow as one.”
Another committee member, Denise Lowry said, “During our first meeting, we listened to what drives other people on the team, see the passion as they described why they signed up, and then got to hear all the ways they want to help others, was really humbling and inspiring to me. Nothing wakes you up to what really matters like hearing someone else’s perspective on what the world needs.”
We are excited to see what the third term of the committee brings. We hope that the committee will continue to provide opportunities for all employees to share their voices in advocating for a stronger, healthier, more inclusive workplace. Stay tuned for more updates on the great things done by our D&I committee throughout the year.