NALC – Network & Affinity Leadership Congress (MidWest) 2009

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NALC Midwest
November 4, 2009
Office Max Conference Center
Chicago, IL

NALC Midwest was a regional event designed to give Chicago area businesses an opportunity to recognize the importance of Network and Affinity Groups in their companies and to learn how to maximize the impact and value of these groups as a business value for marketing, attracting and retaining top talent, and accelerating diversity and inclusion initiatives. Alignment Strategies presented their Affinity Maturity model and held interactive sessions on the three different levels in which ERGs evolve. An expert panel shared Best Practice approaches for utilizing Executive Sponsors to provide value propositions for both the Affinity Group and the organization.

If you would like to host a NALC regional in your area, please contact:
Janet Wigfield, VP & Executive Director, Conferences & Events
Janet.wigfield@workingmother.com
212.219.7468

Agenda

8:00-9:00 Breakfast/Registration

9:00-9:20 Welcome

Carol Evans, CEO, Diversity Best Practices
Carolynn Brooks, CDO, OfficeMax
Sam Duncan, CEO, OfficeMax

9:20-9:45 Keynote: The Business Imperative of Affinity/ERG Groups

Yvette C. Burton, Ph.D., Global Business Development Executive IBM Corporation

9:45-10:45 Expert Panel: The Viability Factor for Affinity Groups/ERGs

The Expert Panel represents companies with Affinity Groups/ERGs that are in different stages of Affinity Maturity. Panelists will focus on the realities of long-term viability and sustainability of Affinity Groups.

They will also share “Best Practice “approaches for their AG/ERGs; the successes and challenges of their groups; and how to effectively utilize Executive Sponsors to provide winning value propositions for both the Affinity Group and the organization.

Moderator:
Vanessa J. Weaver, Ph.D., CEO, Alignment Strategies, Inc.

Panelists:
Marjorie Paddock, Vice President, Director of Diversity and
Workplace Equity, Harris Bank
Tracey Burton, Director of Diversity, Target
Reuben Slone, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain, OfficeMax
Jeffery Smith, Global Diversity Practice Leader, Procter & Gamble

10:45-11:00 Break

11:00-12:30 ROUND I: WORKSHOPS

A: Impacting Diversity Awareness in the Organization
How can your Affinity Group provide a sanity check for its members? How can group activities translate into a value proposition? The answers to these and other pressing questions are in this workshop—Affinity Maturity Level I.

Affinity Maturity Level I focuses on insuring inclusion for its members; and, on increasing diversity awareness in the organization. Find out about Best Practices for accomplishing this from a Level I Affinity Group Panel. You will connect the dots from the results of the National Benchmarking Study of 110 Affinity Groups/ERGs with the current realities of your group. In addition, you will be provided a menu of “Best Practice Solutions” that you can utilize back in your workplace with your members. This session is a “gift that keeps on giving”. You will initiate work on an “Action Plan” that enhances the effectiveness of your Affinity Group. You can take it back to the workplace and share it with your colleagues. This is one session that you can’t afford to miss. It is informative, fun, and most of all, foundational.

Moderator:
Doug Harris, Managing Director, The Kaleidoscope Group

Panelists:
Rita Taylor-Nash, Vice President, Corporate Diversity, Health Care Service Corporation/Blue Cross Blue Shield
Samuel Medina, Senior Manager for Internal Services, CDW
Julia Akman, Co-Lead of the Council of Pan Asian Americans (COPPA) and Retail Category Manager, OfficeMax

B: Influencing through Training, Networking and Exposure
This strategy and skill-building session is designed to support those Affinity Groups at Level II. In addition to continuing “inclusion” and “diversity awareness” activities, Affinity Maturity Level II is focused on supporting the development and career aspirations of its members through training, networking and exposure to leaders in the organization. Participants will have the opportunity to hear what’s working and current challenges, with a “Best Practices Expert Panel.” This “up close and personal” session is highly interactive and designed to maximize your members’ and groups’ value-add back in the workplace. It is also a “gift that keeps on giving”. You will create an “Action Plan” that will help your Level II Affinity Group to “Be All That It Can Be.”

Moderator:
Brenda Bryant, Senior Consultant and Lead Business Partner, Alignment Strategies, Inc.

Panelists:
Melissa Johnson, Program Manager, Diversity and Inclusion, Best Buy
Crystal Andrews, Organizational Culture Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
William Edmonds, Internal Relations Lead, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Nationwide

C: Making a Difference to Business Performance
How can your Affinity Group increase its impact on the bottom-line of your organization? How do you figure out what’s next when you have already achieved so much? How do you forge stronger partnerships between your members and Executives that create phenomenal win-wins? What is your strategy for making this happen?
This workshop is designed specifically to answer these questions and to support those Affinity Groups at Level III, create a winning action plan. With the use of data from the National Affinity Group Benchmarking Study, participants will hear and discuss the opportunities and challenges of Level III groups. A “Best Practices Expert Panel” will discuss success strategies and effective branding. You will create a menu of “Best Practices Solutions” to utilize with your Level III Affinity Group(s).

Moderator:
Linda Strange, Senior Consultant and Lead Business Partner, Alignment Strategies, Inc.

Panelists:
Jesse Spungin, ERG Leader for Young Professionals, ConAgra
Diana Westhoff, Site Training Manager, Chase Card Services
Patricia Lin, Senior Project Manager, Diversity and Inclusion, Procter & Gamble

Program designed by Alignment Strategies, Inc.
A limited number of consulting/coaching time slots are available to discuss your Affinity Maturity Survey results with a member of Alignment Strategies’ team. Please sign up at the registration table in the lobby.

12:30-1:30 Networking Luncheon

1:45-3:45 Same Type Affinity/ERG Discussions: Create Your Own Solutions Toolkit

This session is highly interactive, fast paced, with a steep learning curve. It is an opportunity for “same type Affinity/ERGS to network with each other; to identify what’s working; and to discuss common challenges. The focus of the session is to build a “Best Practice Solutions Toolkit” that you can use with your expanded Affinity Group back in the workplace. Your Group will also examine “Best Practice Leadership Skills/Techniques” that work effectively with your type of Affinity Group/ERG.

3:45-4:00 Closing Remarks

Carol Evans, CEO, Diversity Best Practices

Registration

Speakers

Sponsors

Hotel & Travel

Chicago, IL