In the second of our Community Collaborative Series, our community leaders build on the discussion of Episode 1 with insights on how organizations can take action on diversity and inclusion initiatives in the current climate.

Both Community Collaborative co-hosts/producers, Black Chamber of Arizona CEO Robin Reed and Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO Monica Villalobos, kick off the episode with appreciation that companies are reaching out for help. They observe that some companies want to take action but are unsure of how to approach discussions. Villalobos and Reed stress the importance of involving many cultures in those discussions—the very mission and purpose of the Community Collaborative—while taking meaningful and positive actions in rolling out diversity and inclusion programs.

Reed states, "Repeat a positive. It’s very easy in a volatile climate to focus very much on the negative impact or the things you don’t like. However progress is made when you move toward the outcome you’re looking for. We really want to make sure...we’re identifying those positive things that are happening and then repeating them.”

Joining Reed and Villalobos are, in order of appearance, Tim Overton, Dickinson Wright PLLC attorney and appointed member of the Arizona Commission of African American Affairs; Susan Anable, vice president of Government and Public Affairs for Cox Communications; Michael Marcinko, vice chair of the Greater Phoenix Equality Chamber of Commerce; and Vic Reid, CEO of the Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce

To guide the discussion, the co-hosts prompt the contributors with two questions all companies should ask themselves:
• How do we indicate if progress is being made?
• How do we avoid having the same conversation year after year when an incident occurs in society?