Champions of Diversity Award FY'10 - 1st Quarter Award Recipients

Campus Services
Me-Linh Davila, Sr. HR Support Specialist & Anita Hasnain-Cruise, Finance Director
Me-Linh and Anita have coordinated a number of successful Federal Heritage Month Celebration events at the Altamonte Springs, FL office. Most recently, and with the help of a team, they planned and executed a successful Hispanic Heritage Month celebration this past Fall. Beyond the authentic lunch, festive decorations and music, a highlight was that Maria Martinez, V.P. of Human Resources at Rollins College and Sodexo client, served as the keynote speaker. In 2008, Me-Linh and Anita coordinated a similar event for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month that also served to promote awareness for this culture. Both events were well attended, and participants were enlightened and look forward to future events that enable their learning about different cultures. 

Corporate Offices
Laura Antal, Sr. Instructional Designer, Sodexo University
As lead for SOAR's (Sodexo Organization for disAbilities Resources Network Group) Training Committee, Laura has made a significant contribution to helping the organization foster a more inclusive culture for people with disabilities. Laura was instrumental in developing a number of training modules to include the Disability Awareness Online Training and SOAR's Ambassador Training. The online, interactive training helps managers determine best practices as they work through several realistic case studies. The training has been integrated as a component of Sodexo's qualitative diversity scorecard tracking. Laura's development of Ambassador Training enables key Network Group members to present on the topic of disabilities to both internal as well as external audiences, and is a prerequisite for individuals who wish to establish SOAR regional chapters. To celebrate National Disability Awareness Month this past October, Laura coordinated a well attended telephonic discussion series through LifeWorks on topics such as “Parenting a Child with Special Needs”, as well as a session on “reasonable accommodations” at Headquarters. Laura's efforts have directly contributed to Sodexo's recognition with the prestigious “Disability Matters Award” sponsored by Work/Life Magazine and Spring Board Consulting.

Corporate Services Solutions
Jeanette Colter, Senior Human Resources Manager, Leisure, Chicago, Illinois
As a four year member of the Spirit of Mentoring Implementation “I -Team”, Jeanette has played a key role in helping to grow Sodexo's mentoring culture. Jeanette serves as the I-Team Communications Champion and seeks solutions to effectively cascade information about this initiative throughout the organization. Jeanette takes IMPACT's “high touch” philosophy to heart as she personally encourages managers to leverage the rich developmental opportunity this program offers to both Mentees and Mentors. As Jeanette interviews Mentee applicants, she creates a nurturing atmosphere where candidates become comfortable sharing their goals and aspirations, and during the two day match process advocates for the “best fit” match for participants. Jeanette has a deep seated commitment to ensuring that positive results continue to be reaped for Mentees, Mentors and for Sodexo.

Education Facilities
Chris Thomas, District Manager, Menifee, CA
Chris continues to seek ways to engage his employees and his clients, and recognizes the importance of getting to know each person as a unique individual. This has lead to Chris' high levels of engagement around several key Diversity & Inclusion initiatives. As an active member of the Flexibility Implementation Team “FIT” whose charter is to roll out Flexibility Works!, Sodexo's Flexibility Initiative, Chris advocates for “business based” flexibility that is mutually advantageous for Sodexo and our employees. Chris serves as a Mentor in the IMPACT program and assigns Mentors to his new managers to assist them in their on-boarding process. Client retention remains a focus as he carefully listens to and anticipates potential challenges his clients might face. He then seeks innovative solutions to address their concerns. One recent example - Chris and his team suggested to a client that they might consider using herding goats to clear a hillside. in addition to substantially reducing costs - kudos are due for this “green” solution!

Government Services
Julie Andrews, Senior Administrative Assistant, USMC WC VPO Other Admin UN, Oceanside, CA
For two consecutive years, Julie has successfully led the Sodexo - WiNG entry in the Susan G. Komen 5K Walk for the Cure in Temecula, CA. In her role as Team Captain, Julie set up a website to raise funds and recruit members. In the spirit of “team”, Julie ensured that each walker received their blue “Sodexo - Making a Difference One Step at a Time” t-shirt that they wore with pride. We congratulate Julie and her team for raising over $3,500.00 for this worthy cause.

School Services
Eloise Sopko, General Manager, Plainfield School District, Plainfield, IL
Nine years ago, Eloise Sopka opened the Plainfield School District, currently the largest Schools account in IL with student enrollment at 30,000. During her tenure at Plainfield, Eloise established and consistently maintains strong client relations and their positive perception of Sodexo. Very recently Eloise volunteered to collaborate with Plainfield's newly launched “Equity Action Committee" that is soon to benchmark with Sodexo around our Diversity & Inclusion journey. What's more, Eloise arranged for Sodexo's Midwest Regional Cross-Market Diversity Council Meeting to be held at the Plainfield School District. Clearly Eloise is leveraging Diversity & Inclusion as a means to further partner with and demonstrate Sodexo's strong added value to Plainfield as their provider of choice.

Senior Services
TJ Alibrio, District Manager, Simsbury, CT
TJ continues to demonstrate his commitment to Diversity in the areas of employee and community relations. He remains active in several network groups and for the past few years has participated in the Spirit of Mentoring - IMPACT program. In addition, TJ is committed to fostering a more flexible culture at Sodexo as evidenced by his participation in the Flexibility Implementation Team. His commitment to the Flexibility Works! initiative is grounded in his belief that it positions Sodexo well to attract the best talent in the industry, and enhance employee relations and retention. Transcending to community relations, TJ's efforts to organize STOP Hunger walks for two years in a row has resulted in close to $20,000 being raised for the Sodexo Foundation.

View our previous Champions of Diversity award recipients: 
1st Quarter 2010 | 2nd Quarter 2010 | 3rd Quarter 2010
1st Quarter 2009 | 2nd Quarter 2009 | 3rd Quarter 2009 | 4th Quarter 2009
1st Quarter 2008 | 2nd Quarter 2008 | 3rd Quarter 2008 | 4th Quarter 2008