- [Announcer] Support for this program is provided by the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation, the Schillhahn-Huskey Foundation, and viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - On today's show, we'll learn about two impactful nonprofits empowering leadership among women and youth.

We are stronger together, Chattanooga, so stay tuned to learn more.

(upbeat music) Welcome to "Chattanooga: Stronger Together."

I'm Barbara Marter.

In 1996, starting with informal gatherings, the Women's Institute was born determined to develop a new generation of women leaders.

Over the years, the name changed, but the mission remained the same: to increase the leadership capabilities and influence of women in our community.

Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute CEO Kim Shumpert joins us today, and we are pleased to have her.

Kim, thank you for being here.

- Thank you for having me.

- Oh, you're more than welcome.

I have been looking over your website and I love it.

There is so much information there.

So, tell us, what is Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute, or CWLI, as most people know it as.

- That's right.

Here locally, CWLI, which is a mouthful, we understand is how're known, and we are an organization of about 600 members in a network of about 3000 total, really working together to see women elevated into decision-making spaces.

That's the end goal.

We, you know, our mission is to, like you said, increase the leadership capabilities and influence of women.

We do that in three different ways.

We work through education, collaboration, and elevation, like I said, and in the education space, we host more than 40 trainings in a year.

That's a combination of luncheons and events.

We'll have a symposium later this year.

That's a new annual event where we'll talk about economic and policy and social issues related to women.

We'll talk about activating diverse talent, and we're gonna talk to some of our local government officials about how to do that.

And then the collaboration space is, you know, sort of built in across everything that we do, and it's really, that's kind of the secret sauce.

We love to see women of all ages and stages of life learning from one another who probably wouldn't meet each other except for the platform that we've built.

And so you and I, for example, you know, it's really fun that we get to collaborate with one another and come together in this space called CWLI.

It just brings a reason for us all to be together.

And then through that process, we support one another.

We also work with businesses.

We do employee resource groups inside businesses, all for the effort of elevating more women into decision-making spaces.

So, it's been real interesting over the pandemic to watch that happen and really try to bring that out a little bit more, 'cause, you know, obviously, we believe that if we have more women in those decision-making spaces, it can, you know, pandemic-proof us a little bit, maybe.

- It really can.

One of the things, too, are you seeing more women after the pandemic now trying to get back into the workforce?

And then what tools are you giving them or helping them to understand what tools they have to be able to sell themselves?

- Yeah.

You know, that's such a great point.

Confidence is the biggest key, and I would, I'll have to say, you know, through the pandemic, women have lost a little bit of that confidence.

It's been rocked a little, and we know that about one in three women are actually considering leaving the workforce, which is up from one in four women about a year ago.

We've heard of the Great Resignation.

So, some of the work that we do is to accelerate on-ramping women back into the workforce.

They were really disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

And so, yes, we see a lot of women who are wanting to come back into the workforce and just need skills.

A lot of them are going back into something that they didn't do before, and so we are in that space to help them understand, okay, here are your skills, here's how to talk about your skills, and here's how to make sure that you leverage this moment to maybe improve your economic mobility a little bit.

- And one of the ways that they understand the skills that they have is taking those home skills- - [Kim] That's right.

- And turning those into business skills, and we women don't think about that because we don't promote ourselves.

- Right.

- We promote everybody else, so how do you teach them this is the decision making that you did at home, and how do we educate our men about that, too?

- Right, so it is one part working with individual women, and then the other part is working in the business culture, right?

So, we want to like, look and see, you know, when we're at home, we're using the same kinds of leadership skills that businesses need.

We're inventorying, we're analyzing, we're evaluating, we're bringing decisions.

You know, I use the example that in my home, if I've got, if my family is out of peanut butter, well, I have to go through everything and figure out which peanut butter does everybody want, and then I bring them two choices.

Well, I've gone through the entire decision-making process, but they believe that they've made 100% or at least 50% of the decision-making themselves, when in fact I've brought them two qualified choices.

That's the same stuff that we do in businesses, so it's about reframing how we think about leadership and how we use what we do in the domestic setting to convert it into the business setting.

- Convert it into the business language that the men understand.

- That's right.

- And then they're also educating the men, too.

I love the fact that, you know, you talked about you have quarterly luncheons where you bring the women together, which is a great networking time.

You know, you may have a speaker or subject you're talking about, but I've been to those before, and I mean, it's just like a bunch of bees.

They are so excited to get together and to talk and to share.

And then talk a little bit about, you have workshops every month and there's a different topic.

So, kind of name off some of those workshops.

- So, this year, we always follow a theme, and this year, to your point about women coming back into the workforce, our theme is around rebuilding.

You know, we're asking women, what are you rebuilding after the pandemic?

And so our thematic approach to our leadership studies, our workshops, is Eight Steps to Your Leadership Rebuild, and we're gonna kick that off with Reset, and so we're gonna follow topics around resetting your life, reprioritizing.

We're gonna be talking about being present in your current life and what that looks like, 'cause you've had a lot of things happen to you that have been outside of your control and outside of your ability to make decisions around.

So, now we want to kind of rebuild that and reevaluate that.

We are living in a new world.

Flexibility is different.

The work field is very different than it was six months ago, and so there are gonna be other topics along those lines, and most of those are all on our website.

And so the entire year's curriculum is already posted there.

- I know, I love that website.

It's very informative.

- We used the pandemic to rebuild that.

(laughs) - A lot of people did, which is very smart.

You know, use that lag time if you're not trying to be in the survival mode.

You've got a new thing called the Legacy Center.

- Yes.

- What is that?

- Thank you for bringing that up.

This is, we are so excited about this offering.

This is our new development, professional and business development hub that was built literally by women for women, and so we want a space where women can grow deep in their relationships with one another, but also grow their businesses, so it's gonna be an entrepreneurship hub.

We will have a co-working space where you have anything from day spots where you can drop in and work for a day, all the way up to dedicated offices and dedicated work stations, but it's a real institute, so our administrative offices are there.

We've got a conferencing center.

We've got a full catering kitchen.

You can host business development events, et cetera.

But we wanted an offering that is catered to the needs of women, which are very different, especially in this environment right now.

And so that's what it's for.

- I noticed that when I took a tour, there's that large conference room with all of the media and everything.

And how are you gonna utilize that?

- So, we've got a number of leadership tracks in addition to our workshops.

So, our goal is to have, you know, we've got curriculum that is as wide as it is deep, and so you can come in, there's an entry level.

If you wanna take a lunch workshop, you can do that, but you can also have an intensive leadership track, which can be anywhere from four to 16 sessions in a year, depending on the topic.

And so we use that conference room for that.

We worked with, it's inside the chamber of commerce.

We partner with them, and we worked to design the space to where it can be a full 48-person conference room or boardroom or we can divide it into two workshops.

So, we can actually have two classes going at the same time, and it can be different leadership tracks.

So, we're on a goal to build out at least about of five leadership tracks, which are really intensives around women's issues.

- Wow.

I heard, like, a little bird told me that you're working with the youth, too.

- [Kim] We are.

- Okay.

- Yes, so great segue.

One of our leadership tracks that's called GameChangeHer, and what we do is we take a cohort of women, we can take up to about 20 women.

Right now, we've got about 12.

The pandemic has kind of set us back a little bit, but those, they go through a rigorous selection process, and what they do is over the course of a school year, they do eight leadership workshops, all-day intensives, and then turn around two weeks later, and they mentor to girls at Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, which is our partner for that particular program.

So, these women commit to 16 sessions over an academic year.

So, really two days a month that they are really committed to this program.

So far we have graduated 45 mentors from this program.

- Wow.

- And about 96 mentees from this program, so we want to teach women to lead, but that program serves as a laboratory for activating those skills in real time, so it's really important that we are a teaching institute, right?

That we're not just theoretical, that we are application, and so we've really come a long way from just networking, which is, you know, the roots of our past, to really being a forward-facing institute.

- So, do you have any other affinities or any other resources that you're working with?

- For that program?

- Well, I think you have a men's affinity group, don't you?

- Yes, ma'am, yes.

So, thank you for bringing that.

So, yes, we have a number of affinity groups that are membership-led.

So, our members lead them and they out what the topic is.

They have a life cycle of whatever the members of those groups want it to be, and we do have a new one called CW Allies, which is our men's group, and as you'd expect, they're probably a little more informal than some of the others, but they get together every now and then and they talk about how do they support the work that we're doing, what do we need from them, how can they provide speakers to us, for example, how can they be a resource for mentoring and for being an ally for women out in the business community?

- In the last 30 seconds or so, what is it that you would like to share with our viewers about CWLI?

- You know, I just want people to understand that we are here to have an impact in the community.

We, in my opinion, we are missing out on all of this talent if we don't cultivate it.

There's so many great leaders out there, and it's all about, like you said, reframing the conversation.

Let's reshape the conversation about what women have to offer and let's take advantage of it, and let's elevate more women into decision-making spaces.

- Kim, thank you so much for coming in today and educating me and our viewers about CWLI and what it has to offer, not only to our women, but to our young ladies in our community.

So, up next, we'll be joined by Brigette Thurman, President of Junior Achievement.

Stay tuned.

(upbeat music) We want to know how you serve your community.

Send us photos or videos of you or your family volunteering, and we may feature it on a future episode.

Email stronger@wtcitv.org or use the hashtag #StrongerWTCI on social media.

(upbeat music) Welcome back.

I'm here with Brigette Thurman, President of Junior Achievement of Chattanooga.

Nationally, the organization is dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and economic choices.

I'm pleased to have Brigette with me to learn more about Junior Achievement.

Brigette, thank you and welcome.

So glad to have you here with us.

One of the things I didn't realize that J.A.

was 102 years old.

It was founded in 1919, no 1819.

- 1919.

- No, 1919, okay, okay.

By Theodore Vail, President of the American Telephone & Telegraph, Horace Moses, President of the Strathmore Paper Company, and Senator Murray Kain of Massachusetts.

And weren't you telling me earlier that Senator Kain's fourth generation?

- I don't know if he's kin to him or not, but John G. Kain, IV was our first board chair in 1960.

- Wow.

And 1960 was when it started here in Chattanooga, right?

- Yes.

- Okay.

So, what is J.A., Junior Achievement, and what are you doing in the schools?

- We are economic education programs, provided kindergarten through the 12th grade for students taught by volunteers, and we are serving six areas here in Chattanooga, six counties.

We serve Hamilton, Catoosa, Walker, Marion, and Dade County.

- So, not just Hamilton County.

- As well as Grundy County.

- Oh, and Grun, okay, so not just Hamilton County.

When people think of J.A., they think of it locally, but you really are a big circle around the county and everything.

So, you do literacy, financial literacy work, and career readiness and entrepreneurships.

One of the things, I noticed that you have your program book with you and everything.

When you are having volunteers come in to teach, and I've done the financial literacy before.

I think it was at Lookout Valley years, years ago, and that is fun.

That is really an interesting time for the adults who have the time, whether they're professional, retired, or whatever, that can really come in and volunteer as a mentor and take these students, middle school and high school students, through these classes and everything.

But it was rewarding for me just to be able to be back in the classroom, but see how we could connect this information to them to see that light bulb go off.

That was what was most rewarding to me and everything.

So, talk to me a little bit about, so when someone goes through Junior Achievement and they become an alumni, how does Junior Achievement change their lives?

- Well, it teaches them about the importance of financial literacy.

Saving is obviously very important.

I don't think people really remember that rainy day funds need to really be reality and that things are going to break, things you're going to need to spend for things that you would not necessarily want to, but that you need to, so I feel like that that's a very valuable lesson as far as for financial literacy.

And then work readiness is really key, in which volunteers offer that opportunity by coming in and sharing about their jobs and what they do, how they do the job that they do in a variety of ways, because we have a lot of ways to be involved with us, so all the way from kindergarten through the 12th grade, there are programs, so, that are sequential.

- And so I know the middle school and the high school, kind of like what the curriculum looked like, but what is the curriculum for those elementary students and everything?

I mean, you can't take through financial literacy or anything like that, but you can take them through, like, the beginning stages.

What would that look like?

- Yes, ma'am.

In kindergarten, it's Ourselves, so they have a bank and they learn about saving money.

So, there's actually a little popup bank.

First grade is Families, so it learns about the different jobs in the families.

And I brought along the second grade curriculum, Our Community, which is so much fun.

And I feel like that it's appropriate for the times that we are are in right now, which voting is important and we'll be voting for our mayor So, as part of it, they're deciding do they want to put a recycle in their school, a art display, or a butterfly garden.

So, we have real ballots, and the children vote.

And then after they vote, we tally the ballots, and then they decide, and there's a chart, also, that they talk about before they vote, about the thumbs up, thumbs down, strengths and weaknesses, or, you know, strengths and opportunities.

And then they have ballots, or they have stickers, after the ballot they have stickers that they actually can wear that say, "I voted."

So, much like grownups have, if you're more than 18.

So, these are second graders, which is a lot of fun.

Third grade is Our City.

Fourth grade is Our Region.

Fifth grade is Our Nation.

So, it sequentially builds and it mirrors with the standards for learning in which our teachers love the opportunity to have the fun way of learning brought to the classroom.

So, it's not graded, and volunteers give their time.

So, each of the lessons range between 35 minutes, 40 minutes to 45 minutes for each time that you would do, you know, teach J.A.

in the classrooms.

- So, is it taught once a week, or is it taught once a month, or how is it in the classroom taught?

- Well, we offer that opportunity where we do some different opportunities for people to serve with us.

We have J.A.

in a Day where we do a whole school, every classroom, every student on one day, so that's where you go in and everyone gathers, and then the students accompany them to the classrooms, and they teach all five lessons, taking a break and also enjoying lunch while they're there.

And then they present the certificates of completion, and then we have a souvenir photo for them to take home or just, you know, showcase in their office.

And also for the teachers, so, it's a nice opportunity.

And then we have where you can teach once a week.

If you would like, you can teach five days straight.

We really leave it up to the teacher and the volunteer to work that out on the volunteering of teaching the J.A.

curriculum.

So, we're flexible.

- So, if I wanted to volunteer to do some of the teaching and everything, is there a training program that I need to go through first to be able to go into the classrooms and teach the program?

- We do.

We do orientation for you.

It's not necessarily training.

Training is more like a day or two days, three days, when you speak of the word training, but we do offer orientation.

But teaching Junior Achievement is super fun, and it's also written in the curriculum guide, the volunteer and the teacher guide, everything is written for you, so you don't necessarily have to have extensive training for it, because it, in the first part of the lesson, it even mentions, you know, greet the students and tell them your, you know, your name and where you work and what you do.

So, everything is in the guide for you so you have everything.

So, there's, you know, the presentation, the overview, the objectives.

So, there's key terms, there's teaching tips.

So, it's set up for you to be successful, and then we offer a tip sheet, as well, to help you with some things that different volunteers have shared with us that help them.

So, we try to make it fun for the teacher, the students, and the volunteers for serving the J.A.

- Let me ask you this.

Pre-COVID, how many students were you seeing during the program?

And then I know COVID had really, they've hurt a lot of nonprofits, especially the ones that are really in the classrooms and everything.

And are you, so, because of that, are you seeing this, I think you said Inspire Virtual is a new program that you're working with corporations and everything.

So, you can kind of talk about how many students you had before and then how you're looking at this new world that we're living in now.

- Yes, ma'am.

COVID definitely challenged many nonprofits in our community, and it was difficult because Junior Achievement wasn't allowed to come into the schools, volunteers were not allowed to come into the schools.

And so we did invite teachers to teach the curriculum with us, and which many of them did want to do that, so that was great, you know, for the benefit of the students, because you don't want them to miss out on the opportunity and we may still have some of that to happen now, just because the pandemic is, you know, the virus is still in our community, and we have to be mindful of that.

But with that, the middle school and high school students, we'll be inviting them to participate in J.A.

Inspire Virtual for the spring, and that's an opportunity for them to see a virtual career fair, and there are companies from the Tri-Cities.

We're partnering with the east side of Tennessee, from Tri-Cities, Kingsport area, Knoxville, Cleveland, and Chattanooga for the benefit of the students, inviting them to participate.

So, there's many companies showcased, and we'll be working with McKee and a few other companies here in Chattanooga.

I know a few logistics companies are interested and variety of insurance and things as well.

So, be a great way to showcase companies here in our community and allow kids to see the jobs available, what the expectations are and, you know, equip them for thinking about their next step.

Do they want to do a technical type, you know, a vocational type job?

Or do they want to go to college?

So, we're going to, it will be a variety of opportunities.

- Well, I know that when you talked about this, didn't you say they were gonna get, like, when you go to a job fair, you know, you get a bag and you go around, you pick up samples and things like that.

I think in this virtual, they're also going to have, like, a bag or something, and then they can go and pick up stuff and put 'em in their little suitcase or briefcase or something like that?

- Yes, ma'am, it's called a backpack.

- Oh, a backpack.

- So, yes.

- That's perfect.

And so they'll be able to pull some of the data from that into their personal little backpack to have for, you know, the end of the day.

So, we're hoping to be able to have some webinars, as well, with, you know, people actually speaking live to them.

So, not only virtually seeing it, but there's four lessons, four to five lessons before they actually participate in the day that the teachers will be teaching the students about the opportunity.

So, should be fun.

- Yeah, I know.

I'm looking forward to it, too.

- And then hopefully, we'll have some students from high school to teach as High School Heroes.

That's another really neat idea that we brought in a few years ago, and having high school volunteers, having high school students to be volunteers in our kindergarten and first grade classes is very rewarding for them, especially if they're planning to be future teachers, because they have a prepared lesson plan, so they don't have to prepare it.

So, it's prepared for them, so they get to see the real world of a classroom on the other side Instead of being the student, they're now the teacher.

- Now the teacher and everything.

Oh, I think that's great.

So, Brigette, thank you so much for being here today with us and showing us how you're empowering the next generation, 'cause they are our future leaders.

So, really, thank you so much.

And thank you for joining us today.

We hope that "Chattanooga: Stronger Together" provides a new perspective for viewers like you who are looking to make a difference in our community.

So, let us know what you think.

Email us at stronger@wtcitv.org, or use the hashtag #StrongerWTCI on social media.

I'm Barbara Marter, and we'll see you next time.

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