Tag Archive for: advocacy

Melanie Priddy: Chief Talent Officer, Katten

,
Melanie Priddy

Photo provided by Gittings Photography

“At the end of day, relationships are the key to everything, regardless of what industry you’re in, or what your profession is,” says Melanie Priddy.

Katten’s Chief Talent Officer speaks about the value of connections, the need to merge professional development with diversity and the importance of self-advocacy.

Becoming a Business Professional in Law

“I wish I could tell you this was the plan all along, but sometimes the careers we find are ones we fall into,” says Priddy, about being a people-oriented business professional within the legal industry.

Upon graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law, she started her legal career as a practicing lawyer at an Am Law 50 firm.

After a few years as a transactional attorney, Priddy gravitated toward recruiting attorneys for law firms and counseling law students on their career options. She went to work for a staffing firm and then a university and found that she loved advising others on making choices to navigate their career in line with their ambitions.

Priddy joined Katten in 2008 as an attorney recruiting and development manager in the firm’s Los Angeles office, where she managed professional development programs for associates for a few years. She worked at a couple other law firms before she returned to Katten in 2018 as Chief Talent Officer based in the Washington, DC office where she oversees administrative areas including human resources, attorney recruitment, professional development, and diversity and inclusion with an eye on hiring, career growth opportunities, diversity and inclusion efforts, and retention of both attorneys and business professionals.

Diversity and Development Are Inseparable

“To me, diversity and professional development are closely tied,” says Priddy.

At a previous firm, she led recruiting strategies and managed training programs. She took the initiative to expand her role by launching a diverse lawyer mentoring program. She became the Development & Diversity Manager and implemented programs to advance diversity and inclusion within the firm. At a subsequent firm, Priddy was able to incorporate her work in professional development programming with her interest in making workplaces more diverse and inclusive.

“I honestly pressed for it, rather than sitting back and waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder,” says Priddy. “I had to say, ‘I think I would be really good at this combination of roles, and let me explain how and why they should be combined for me to be successful, and what I could do.’ That set the stage for me to be in the role I have now at Katten.”

She’s committed to offering diversity and development support at every level, and integrating it into the decision-making process at law firms.

“My approach has been that diversity is part of every discussion—when you are talking about recruitment, about development, about choices people are making with regards to business or client development or opportunities around training,” states Priddy.

From the top down in law firm hierarchy, diversity should be top of mind.

“One of the things we always talk about is that everyone is responsible for improving diversity in the legal field,” she says. “The diversity professional brings the opportunities and the resources to others in the law firm or legal industry, but everyone is responsible for ensuring a diverse workforce. When you look at it that way, then you’re really going to make progress.”

Priddy emphasizes Katten’s successful participation in the Mansfield Rule, which sets benchmarks for women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ attorneys, and attorneys with disabilities to account for at least 30 percent of the candidate pool considered for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions. This initiative, coupled with the firm’s newly launched Kattalyst Sponsorship program aimed at retaining and advancing diverse associates and income partners, works toward the goal of increasing representation of historically underrepresented attorneys in law firm leadership.

Invest in Relationships and Self-Advocacy

Priddy stresses how important it is to nurture relationships and curate a support network for career guidance.

“When I started in my career, as many people do, I thought if you just keep your head down and work hard, everything will be okay. You’ll advance and be rewarded,” she reflects. “What I’ve come to realize over time is the importance of developing relationships—obviously with the people you’re working with and for, but also outside of your immediate circle and within the industry itself.”

She advises others to network within various organizations that align with their interests at all stages of their careers. For example, she has been involved with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), previously serving on the board of directors and most recently as chair of the nominating committee, which solicits nominations for elected positions, slates members for officer and director positions and administers the election process.

She also stresses the importance of advocating for yourself to achieve your goals.

“As women, often there’s a tendency to downplay your success, your role or leadership skills, whether with a boss or with a group,” she says. “But someone else can’t speak up for you on your behalf, if you don’t do it for yourself first.”

Bring Your Whole Self

“A lot of times as women of color, we bring just a part of ourselves to work and we leave a broader sense of who we are back at home,” she says.

Priddy feels that this year’s remote work environment is helping to break down some barriers with her colleagues.

“Our personal and professional lives are so blended because we’re at home, and you hear my dog barking and you see my kids going through the background—and I’m getting my job done,” says Priddy. “I would say in some respects, because of tearing down these walls, I’m more connected to people now than I was in person.”

She adds, “I see how important it is to bring some vulnerability into the workplace so people feel like they can connect and share and get to know you.”

Supporting Personal and Professional Integration

Priddy has been instrumental in Katten’s efforts to destigmatize mental health issues and to draw attention to substance use disorders within the legal profession by joining the American Bar Association’s well-being pledge and launching a firm-wide wellness program, Katten Well-Being 360: Live Well, Work Well, Be Well to support attorneys and employees with information, training, and helpful resources.

She’s proud of being a mother of two sons, ages 10 and 13, modeling for them a world where they grow up with a mother who has a seat at the table where high-level decisions are made.

Under Priddy’s leadership, Katten created a Parents Affinity Group as a resource and support network for working parents at the firm to connect and discuss approaches to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. She also worked with firm leaders to get the  parental leave policy expanded to a 12-week, gender-neutral paid leave, with an extension of 8 more weeks for a total of up to 20 weeks for birth mothers and those who have exceptional circumstances, such as adoptive and surrogate parents.

In this virtual environment, her team is also tasked with seamlessly bringing on new attorneys and employees without daily in-person interactions with co-workers and supervisors. “How do you onboard and integrate new people, or create relationships when you’re never in the same room physically together?” Priddy said. Her answer: offer productive programs that build relationships.

For example, she helped roll out a more elaborate mentoring program involving mentoring circles to foster a sense of connection at the firm, as well as a coaching program covering career development topics, goal setting and development of an action plan for summer associates and first-year associates who joined Katten during the pandemic.

These creative solutions appear to be cultivating connections—whether virtual water cooler moments or shared creative nights from home. With less travel, she finds her colleagues are more available than ever to get on the phone.

Outside of work, she’s enjoying more time at home with her family, cycling on her Peloton bike, and perfecting her green thumb, checking on her tomatoes in the garden. A proponent of integration where it serves better results, Priddy is embracing the experience of blending her home and professional life.

By Aimee Hansen

/by

Caring for Children With Learning Challenges as a Working Parent

,

Erin Garcia

In this Q&A, Erin Garcia, a Vice President in Controllers in Dallas, shares how she supports and advocates for her two sons while working at Goldman Sachs.

What are some of the obstacles you have encountered managing both your sons’ learning challenges?

Erin: One of the greatest challenges was explaining to each of my two sons, Cason and Cohen, how their learning and mental health challenges differentiate them from their classmates.

After his dyslexia diagnosis in second grade, Cason began losing self-confidence in reading. I explained to him that his brain is unique and that there is a special way to teach him, and we were making sure he got the specific help that he needed. Since he is a big sports fan, it helped to point out some successful athletes also happen to be dyslexic.

Cohen, on the other hand, didn’t want special attention. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of his having ADHD, nor did he want to be pulled out of class like his older brother.

Listening to their concerns helped me address their needs, advocate for them successfully, and get them both the help they needed.

What have you learned about yourself through these experiences, including most recently during the pandemic?

Erin: Before receiving their diagnoses, my children and I had a number of arguments because I thought they were being lazy with school and didn’t want to try hard enough. Once we received their diagnoses, I felt badly for having been so hard on them. I learned to be more patient.

In the early stages of the pandemic, we just tried to survive! Toward the end of the school year, there wasn’t a lot of structure so it was a “work on your own pace” sort of schedule. We fit in school whenever we wanted, which was helpful for me as I was balancing my own responsibilities in the Fund Accounting department. Once the current school year began, there was more of an adjustment.  The boys have a firm schedule to follow and have to be present in live and virtual meetings with their teachers for most of the day.

We have to do what is best for our family, and every situation is different.

How do you ‘recharge’ your batteries to meet the competing demands of work-life-parenting, and what advice would you share with other caregivers?

Erin: I talk to my friends who are also mothers, and colleagues and mentors who have experienced similar situations. My oldest started middle school this year, which has been a big adjustment. We are all navigating unchartered territory these days, especially working parents. The more we share our stories with each other, the more we feel like we are not in this alone. We are all doing the best we can.

I also have to remind myself that I need a break sometimes, and that’s okay. Everyone should take things one day at a time. Some days are good, but then you will occasionally have that rough day where a progress report comes home reflecting a low grade in a class. Our kids need to know that they are accepted and loved by everyone around them, on good days and on tough days.

How have you managed conversations with colleagues at the firm about your experience as a caregiver?

Erin: For me, honesty is the best policy. A lot of my colleagues have younger children, so these days I try to regularly check in (and made a point to do so when everyone went exclusively remote for work) and continue to be an advocate for working parents.

What would you like people to know about what it’s like to care for loved ones with mental health or learning challenges?

Erin: I think the more we talk about it, the more we educate everyone around us. It was important to me to explain to my oldest son that there is nothing wrong with him. He is intelligent. Once he understood that, he gained the confidence he needed and started engaging more in school.

/by

Amber Ghauri: Vice President, Wealth Advisor, Wells Fargo Private Bank

,

Ghauri AmberAs one of the youngest advisors on her team with Wells Fargo Private Bank in Houston, Pakistan-native and single mom Amber Ghauri is not your typical VP Wealth Advisor. And she didn’t arrive to her position via your typical trajectory either.

Entering Finance on Her Terms

Born and raised in Pakistan, Ghauri moved to Houston, Texas in the middle of working toward her economics degree. Even though Amber experienced immense culture shock in a challenging international move, she completed her economics degree and then decided to stay at home for a few years to raise her first child.

While at home with her two and a half year old son, she began prepping to enter the University of Houston for her MBA in Finance. As part of the program she participated in the Cougar fund, student-led portfolio management hedge fund program.

“It’s a very sought after program and many Houston based energy and financial companies will hire you directly out of that program,” says Ghauri. “I was offered several positions, but didn’t accept any of those.”

Following graduation and expecting her second child, she stayed home for a few years, fully aware this would make her initial leap into a finance career more challenging. Adding to that challenge was the fact that she would not be coming directly out of her MBA, nor would she be licensed.

However, when Ghauri was ready in 2014, JP Morgan hired her for their investment department while supporting her to complete her CFP. She worked at JP Morgan with senior advisors for nearly five years, until she met the sponsor who would help her find her personal path to thriving.

Help in Finding Her Greater Alignment

While Ghauri was successful in her investment role at JP Morgan, she was ready for broader responsibility. It was during a single networking lunch with Amy Bracken at Wells Fargo that she received the kind of valuable external reflection that turns a key and changes everything.

“You’re not a behind the desk kind of person. You’re in the wrong role,” Bracken told her, according to Ghauri. “You’re a relationship kind of person, and that’s the role you should be taking on.”

Ghauri skeptically moved to Wells Fargo in a Wealth Advisor Associate role working for Bracken. Within three months, she was promoted to Wealth Advisor. Less than two years later, she was promoted to VP. Her combination of business acumen, investment knowledge and natural relatability propelled her to success.

As her sponsor and mentor, Bracken continues to be supportive of Ghauri whenever she is looking for career encouragement.

“Amy will impress you to no end, she is somebody that’s relatable, admires Ghauri of her mentor. “She gauges the goals of other women and enables them for success.”

Self-Advocacy, Learning and Honesty

Ghauri has thrived being a single parent, being an immigrant and being seen as young, relative to members of her team – and she’s proud of it. She shares some principles behind her success.

“I’ve always pushed for more. I was never shy in asking and putting it out there to leadership what I wanted,” she says. “If I got the opportunity or not, that’s beside the point.”

When it comes to self-advocacy, she recommends to let leadership know where your personal goals are, long term and short term.

“Talk to immediate leadership. Have the conversation you’re always hesitant to bring up,” she recommends using the opportunity of reviews. “Unless you speak for yourself, nobody else is going to.”

What energizes Ghauri in her current role is her ability to work with clients on their diverse needs through holistic wealth planning. She and her team help clients better understand their investment portfolios, create customize wealth preservation and transfer strategies, manage the asset and liabilities side of the balance sheet and provide other solutions including business valuations and M&A advisory services.

“Learn more than what you are expected to do, and more than what you’re doing in your current job capacity,” she recommends. “Broaden your knowledge base. Don’t be caught with a blank expression on your face when someone asks a question.”

Ghauri values honesty and efficiency and letting her clients know they are an important priority for her. “If you reach out to me, you’ll get a response from me quickly saying I acknowledge you”, says Amber stressing the importance of a responsive connection to others.

Coping with Disruption: Struggle To Growth

Speaking of honesty, Ghauri admits the onset of COVID-19 hit her really hard, but she has ultimately witnessed personal growth and an increased sense of her own leadership ability.

“I overcame many challenges moving to another country. I was not working until I was in my thirties. And now, the moment my career took off – I’m thinking, I’ve arrived,” she reflects. “And then COVID hit. I was feeling a deep depression.”

As a vibrant person who communicates with her entire presence, she felt the need to continue to explore ways to connect with clients in creative ways during the pandemic.

“I have a new approach and stronger bond with internal partners that has improved the way we serve clients,” she says.

When she felt concerns about the COVID having an impact on her performance, as a self-admitting strong Type A personality, she received valuable, nurturing advice from her leaders. During the stressful times of COVID, they have reminded her to put the emphasis on relationships.

“Focusing outside the relationships that sustain us can create a self-inflicted pressure which will only create more challenges” leaders advised her, according to Ghauri. They encouraged her to lean into her natural strengths of connecting and relating – even during the work from home period due to COVID.

Since Ghauri has focused her attentions away from the pressures of the job and more to the work which inspires her, she has felt herself thrive again, even though finding work/home boundaries are still a learning experience.

Ghauri has been indulging in her passion for cooking, and when she is able to, she will again enjoy avid world traveling with her two sons.

By Aimee Hansen

/by

Intrepid Women: Beverly Robinson, Client Service Consultant Abbot Downing

,

Beverly RobinsonBeverly Robinson, Client Service Consultant Abbot Downing is a woman both of influence and advocacy.

“I’ve learned to “code-switch” conversationally, in order to convey diverse philosophies and concepts. This tactic allows me to circumvent being profiled and misinterpreted as “angry or aggressive”, and in that way, my voice for diversity and inclusion, and ideas for advocacy are heard more clearly. As an African American woman in Corporate America, I’ve learned that I cannot afford to be thin-skinned when my ideas are usurped, re-mixed or claimed by others. There’s an art to being a woman of diversity, inclusion and advocacy.

My banking career is a means to my economic well-being. However, support of the disenfranchised and marginalized is where I have the greatest impact, and receive heartfelt, profound fulfillment.

As a survivor of childhood molestation, it’s imperative that I fight for those whose voices are often stifled by domestic violence, fear, stigma and even death. I spend priceless time at our local Family Services and Rape Crisis Centers, talking with mothers, hearing their stories of survival, and offering my time and resources. Organizing programs for the national “Domestic Abuse Awareness Month”, to assist the families in moving to the next level, empowers these families and creates hope for a brighter future. In addition, I spend time on college campuses, speaking for the National “Take Back the Night” campaign, and have met and formed friendships with students who have opened up and come forward with their own stories of abuse. Many of these students have graduated to become powerful advocates. Pushing my corporation to provide professional opportunities for students of color who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) is an ongoing passion, resulting in graduates achieving internships and careers and even becoming entrepreneurs. Several of my colleagues have volunteered to become guest lecturers at those HBCU’s, forming an alliance with the faculty and students, helping to power an enduring and ever growing partnership, focused on providing opportunities for a rising generation of talent and leaders.

Because of the confluence of all the above, I became an author, sharing my story and life experiences, presenting workshops and seminars, and traveling nationally doing book tours. My audience is diverse, broad and varied.

Growing up, my upbringing was a bit eclectic. My childhood was not unusual, but not necessarily normal. I began school in Ft. Riley, Kansas where my step-dad was stationed in the Army, in an integrated environment including students who were children of soldiers. Our neighborhood was fully integrated, and by all accounts, civility and unity ruled the day. Being a leader in class both scholastically and athletically, I made friends easily. I clearly remember my first bold act of advocacy on behalf of my classmate, my little blonde, blue-eyed friend named Donna, who, when called on by our teacher to give answers to pop quizzes, was paralyzed with fear, unable to raise her hand to answer the questions asked in rapid fire succession.

As all of our hands were upstretched in excitement, wanting to be picked to answer the questions, our teacher continued to purposely call on her, making my classmate cry uncontrollably, in embarrassment.

The discomfort I felt for her compelled me to yell out the answer each time our teacher berated her, which angered and frustrated the teacher. I spoke up and answered the questions out of turn, knowing I would get in trouble. Donna’s feelings mattered to me. I didn’t appreciate the mistreatment and bullying of my friend. Conversely, my teacher didn’t appreciate my interjections, with my yelling out the answers, so she hastily took me out of the classroom, and in the presence of another teacher as the “witness”, I received corporal punishment. The other teacher seemed irritated that the punishment did not fit the crime, but did not interfere, nor raise opposition. I remained defiant. After this episode,  the teacher tapered her verbal assaults directed at my classmate, all but ignoring her. I remained prepared to yell out answers on her behalf. I learned about getting into “good trouble” early on.

My step-dad’s military career was cut short due to his poor physical health. The normality of my childhood was disrupted because he was also unhealthy mentally. He was an incestuous pedophile. We left Ft. Riley, and moved back to my hometown, where I began a new school. A segregated school. The anomaly of transferring from an integrated school to a segregated school and neighborhood wasn’t earth shattering in my young eyes, as I felt comfortable in both settings. My new school was all-Black. All of the teachers, faculty and staff were Black, and the students were treated like family. The women wore dresses, pearls and heals, and all the men wore suits and ties every single day. The pride they carried washed over us as students. They believed strongly in instilling in us a solid education. They believed in excellence and wouldn’t allow any of us to settle for less. Integration and busing came to our school four years later. Our fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Tanner, who was beautiful and brilliant, prepared us for the integration process that was to happen the following year. She gave us “the talk”, and drilled in us that although the books, equipment and educational materials that we used for study were old and dated, compared to the ones of our white peers whose schools were on the more prominent side of town, we were just as smart and capable. I believed Mrs. Tanner, and her words regarding capability settled in my consciousness to this day. I graduated from college and obtained my MBA.

From corporate boardrooms to college campuses, and from church pulpits to women’s empowerment conferences, my sphere of influence has allowed me the esteemed opportunity to listen with compassion, create viable diversity programming, to serve as mentor and trusted advisor to executive management, share life experiences, and to empower and affirm those seeking answers to life’s challenges. I learn and grow with each interaction. Advocacy isn’t the path of least resistance, and often, fighting for others while girding oneself mentally and emotionally is typically the road less
traveled. At times, my resolve and tenacity has been shaken when I’ve seen clear paths and pipelines to inclusion, but met with non-cooperation, deflection, indifference and lack of enthusiasm. It’s always a challenge understanding those who are not willing to work hard on behalf of others, unless they receive accolades – self-aggrandizement. But I’ve learned that to push forward to accomplish goals, ideologies and dreams, sometimes obstacles have to be sidestepped, and rerouting and recalibrating is necessary in order to accomplish the objectives of unity and inclusion.

I’m enjoying my journey, paying keen and sincere attention to the needs of those requiring a voice. I relish being able to push, pull and convince others to work on behalf of those in need. All of our lives improve markedly when we serve l.o[0others. I shall continue to advocate for those within our company structure, and for those outside of our corporation. And, as I say often, “courage takes courage”.

Abbot Downing, a Wells Fargo business, and Wells Fargo Private Bank offer products and services through Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and its various affiliates and subsidiaries. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is a bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company

By Aimee Hansen

/by

Voice of Experience: Elyse Lesley, U.S. Consumer Partnerships and Franchise Development, Citi

Elyse LesleyAdvocacy matters, says Citi’s Elyse Lesley.

“When I started, I placed more of a premium on what I did than the people I worked for, but I have realized throughout my career that ultimately advocacy is the magic that will get you to the places you want to be,” she says. “Your advocates may tell you things you don’t want to hear, but those moments will help you get out of your comfort zone and take the chances that allow you to learn and grow. Those are the people you need in closed door forums, pounding the table for you before others even know who you are.”

A Career Path Built On Diverse Experiences

After graduate school Lesley went into consulting, which she found to be an unmatched experience; as she notes, there aren’t many jobs where you get to experience such a diversified slate of issues and companies and actually sit at leadership tables. “When I worked as a consultant, it was almost as though I was earning a second graduate degree. I learned how to deconstruct problems and talk confidently with professionals who were a decade or two older than I was,” she says.

While she believes it’s a top way to broaden your skillsets, she eventually decided to leave consulting and focus on a career in financial services. Lesley was looking for an opportunity that would allow her to do interesting consumer-facing work while also providing a platform to build out a long-term career.

Over the years she has worn many different hats and taken on varying responsibilities charting overall strategy; helping develop a retail business; offering insight into segment value propositions; building and deploying new product solutions; amplifying the company’s voice in the marketplace; and improving the end-to-end client experience.

“I have led a diverse set of functions over time while remaining close to the consumer, which has been fascinating and rewarding,” Lesley says. She has been with Citi for eight years in various roles and in October took on a new role leading partnerships and franchise strategies at Citi’s US Consumer Bank.

“I really appreciate that the role I have allows me to think about growth and the continued transformation of our industry,” she says.

As clients become more comfortable with opening an account and servicing it online, Lesley is currently spearheading efforts on how to scale the franchise through digital channels. She is also exploring ways for Citi to continue to build deeper relationships with its clients by leveraging data to provide personalized services and offerings that clients are looking for.

“Banking is an exciting industry especially as physical and digital continue to converge and how banks evolve to make a difference in clients’ lives and reward their loyalty. We are helping to create new product and distribution solutions that allow Citi to scale and encourage our clients to have a lifelong relationship with Citi,” she says.

An Attitude of Mentoring

When considering all of her various contributions over the years, the work Lesley is most proud of is seeing the individuals whom she has mentored subsequently achieve their professional goals. “I take intense pride in the people I have worked with over my career who are now in impressive roles. It feels good to have been part of a chapter in their career that got them to that point,” she says. “I am deeply invested in helping the people I hire and working with them to achieve their aspirations.”

Lesley sees that one of the biggest challenges in the financial services industry as a whole continues to be representation. “We need to have more women at senior levels of organizations in every industry to ultimately build the gender balance we need,” she says. “While we are making progress in financial services broadly, it is slower than I would ideally like to see.”

Lesley is a proud member of Citi Women, a community of female employees at all levels working to help one another through skill-building and advice sharing. Besides encouraging internal networking, it also includes elements of training and leadership development that allows women to hone their self-advocacy skills. “I believe the knowledge we are imparting here will translate into positive outcomes for years to come,” she says.

Lesley offers several pieces of advice for women, most importantly to know what’s really important in a day, week, month or year and stack their time accordingly. “You get credit for transformative wins, but the little tasks can crowd that out. Know what matters and make that your focus.”

With three daughters and a son between the ages of 11 and three—Lesley says her current hobby is her family. “I choose to do two things well: to make a difference at Citi and achieve my career aspirations and to raise some really good human beings. For now with four young children, that’s my version of balance.”

/by