Our region and the world has changed. Not only is there a global pandemic that is looming over us, but our nation continues to struggle with diversity, equity and inclusion. We, as business leaders, need to be a part of that conversation and take the time to listen, learn and empower each other to be the change our society needs.

The Charleston Metro Chamber believes that people, place and prosperity are the threads that bind us to one another. Last October, our Executive Committee discussed the reality that our region’s workforce is changing. We concluded that we need to focus on developing, retaining and attracting talent in ways that ensure every tri-county resident can access opportunities for economic mobility.

The goal of a regionally diverse, inclusive workforce and increased economic prosperity for our citizens led our Executive Committee to propose a new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) initiative that our Chamber will implement with our business members over the next 18 months. The importance of these efforts have been amplified following the regional and national unrest associated with our country’s need to dramatically address racial inequalities and social justice violations. We at the Chamber value each person and are prepared to listen, learn and take action to assure their equal and fair treatment and future opportunities.

In the months ahead, a series of business leader diversity dialogues will be held to discuss factors encouraging access to economic prosperity, target strategies to realize the benefits of a diverse workforce, create inclusive workplace settings and move the Charleston region forward in specifically addressing racial inequity.

The Chamber is excited to announce we have added Kenya Dunn to our staff as a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Executive Fellow to co-lead our new DE&I initiative in conjunction with Adrian Cain, our Senior Vice President of Leadership and Programs. Kenya brings a 15-year set of finely tuned qualifications to this important staff leader role. She spent four years of her career as executive sponsor for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at a fortune 100 company coaching c-suite executives, creating a DE&I strategy for a workforce of nearly 30,000 employees, implementing community engagement initiatives, leading diversity dialogue forums and unconscious bias training. Her drive and expertise will be leveraged into every offering of our new DE&I initiative.

Please join me for Diversity Dialogues so that we can help lead our community forward in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.