Diversity A Business Imperative • A special publication of the St. Louis American newspaper • PAGE 1
JULY 25 – 31, 2013 W W W . S T L A M E R I C A N . C O M
INSIDE Banking on Diversity
Adewale Soluade represents inclusion for Commerce Bank
From teen mom to legal advocate
Katrina Farmer is the new vice president of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity for Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Soluade is Commerce Bank’s newest Diversity and Inclusion and Organizational Development representative.
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Attorney Dedra Brock of Brown & James – and East St. Louis
Super role model
By Rebecca S. Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Karen Hall leads Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District “It’s always been a priority to hire people of color, so our young people will have that role model in the district.”
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Diversity at Walmart
Inclusion is Otis Scott’s job as regional human resources director Scott oversees 30,000 hourly workers and 5,000 managers in more than 130 stores. He spends a lot more time working on strategy.
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Diversity Hall of Famer
On naming the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge In his own quiet but determined way, Stan Musial was also on the vanguard of fighting discrimination and changing America.
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Photo by Wiley Price
She means business with diversity Barnes-Jewish, Children’s hospitals select VP of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American
“This is a business of taking care of patients and providing them with the care they need.”
Before she left St. Louis and Barnes–Jewish Hospital, Brenda Battle – then director of the Center for Diversity and Cultural Competence at BJH – was fighting for inclusion to be represented at the table where decisions about the business of health care take place. That position of influence and
– Katrina Farmer, VP Diversity, Inclusion and Equity for BJH and Children’s hospitals
prominence for diversity was what attracted Katrina Farmer to the newly created position of vice president of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity for
BJH and St. Louis Children’s hospitals.
Growing up in East St. Louis, attorney Dedra Brock realized that too often people in her community didn’t have a voice – but attorneys did. So at age six, she made up her mind to become a lawyer. “I remember thinking that I needed to become an attorney so I could help my community – that was my position,” said Brock, an associate at Brown & James law firm. “I had great teachers, “You can and they supeither stay ported my where are dream.” and be However, depressed, or Brock’s dreams go where you had to wait she are going and when became a single deal with the teenage mother. challenges.” While other girls were going – Dedra Brock to parties or leaving for college after high school, she was learning the hard lessons of being a mom, she said. “It was a lot of hard work and sacrifice,” she said. “But you can either stay where are and be depressed, or go where you are going and deal with the challenges.” For many years she worked at Ameren in the meter department, the call center and with fleet services to support her two daughters. At 28, she finally saved up enough money to
See FARMER, page 14
See BROCK, page 15
STLCC ranks 36th in nation for black grads Community College recognized in Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine American staff
St. Louis Community College student celebrate at their 2012 graduation ceremony. St. Louis Community College conferred 474 associate degrees to AfricanAmerican students in 2011-12, accounting for 22 percent of the degrees conferred during that academic year.
St. Louis Community College ranks among the top 100 institutions in the number of associate degrees conferred to African-American students, according to information published in Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine. STLCC ranked 36th in the number of associate degrees conferred to African-American students in 201112. The University of Phoenix-Online (Ariz.) was ranked first. STLCC was the only Missouri community college to make the list. The rankings are based on the review of 2011-12 preliminary data submitted by institutions to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. According to the data, STLCC conSee STLCC, page 15 Photo by Wiley Price