Champions of Diversity Award FY'10 - 2nd Quarter Award Recipients

Campus Services
Carletta Kilgore, Supervisor I, Louisville University, Louisville, Kentucky
Carletta strives to help others to discover their potential so they too can be successful. Her story is an inspirational one in that she was facing some challenges in her own life which she successfully overcame. When she needed some support, Carletta reached out to the Professional Women's Network who referred her to “Dress for Success”. Dress for Success Worldwide is an international non-profit organization located in 85 cities across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands and New Zealand which is dedicated to improving the lives of women. The professional clothing, employment retention programs and ongoing support provided to the clients symbolize their faith in every woman's ability to be self-sufficient and successful in her career. The Louisville Dress for Success Affiliate is a non-profit which has provided support to 1,500 women since 2001. Since Dress for Success had such a positive impact on her life, Carletta felt the need to give back to this organization. She organized a “Suit and Salad” luncheon which became the largest fundraising event of the year. In addition, she organized and lead a team of eight women who coordinated a prom for a senior citizens home that was attended by 50 people. As a result of her hard work and leadership, Carletta received an Achievement Award and a $500 savings bond from Dress for Success Worldwide. Carletta is proud that she has expanded her reach in the community and today she is a Mentor for other Dress for Success clients.

Corporate Offices
Scott Brooks, Sr. Director, Finance Compliance, Williamsville, NY
Scott Brooks has gone above and beyond to advance diversity and inclusion in his employee relations, clients and customer service and community efforts. Scott remains actively involved in Sodexo's inclusion initiatives including Network Groups, Mentoring and Flexibility, and encourages his team members to do the same. He serves as the Regional Chair for his local Sodexo Organization for DisAbilities Resources (SOAR) Network Group chapter, is the National SOAR Coordinator, and a member of the Buffalo Day of Diversity Planning Committee. Scott is a member of the Flexibility Implementation Team, and a vast 70% of his employees are participating in a Flexible Work Arrangement, which would not be possible without the collaboration of Scott and his two direct report managers who helped him to establish standardized guidelines for the employees. As the Facilities Manager for the four Buffalo Service Center buildings, he has increased the number of handicapped parking spaces and has moved them closer to entrances and access ramps. Scott has ensured a safe working environment, ensuring that crosswalks were created to make drivers aware of pedestrians with disabilities, and he moved the fire alarm strobe light to accommodate an employee who has a hearing impairment. Scott partners with organizations such as the Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center and People Inc to provide various disabilities awareness trainings, and most recently, Sheridan Surgical has agreed to provide disability equipment that will be utilized for an experiential lab that will serve to raise awareness for SOAR Network Group members.

Education Facilities
Mairo Akpose, Director, Human Resources, Grand Prairie, Texas
Mairo is committed to ensuring that Diversity & Inclusion is embedded deeper in our organization, as well as in her community. She joined the Facilities Team in October of 2008 and made it her priority to focus her attention on getting to know employees. Through her efforts, she was able to proactively identify and address the needs of her team members. Mairo is strongly committed to developing our internal talent, and has remained actively involved in the African American Leadership Forum (AALF) whose mission is “to Inspire and develop leaders”. Mairo was recently appointed National Program Chair for AALF. As founder of the AALF Texas/Oklahoma Chapter she organized annual golf tournament that raised scholarship funds awarded at the AALF Annual Meeting for the last two years. Mairo is also Co-Chair of the Central Region Cross Market Diversity Council and is a certified Diversity Learning Lab facilitator. Through the National Urban League's Black Executive Exchange Program (BEEP) and as a Mentor in Sodexo's Future Leaders Program, Mairo has a platform to share her experiences with future leaders and students at Historically Black Colleges & Universities in hopes of inspiring them to achieve their goals. Mairo's greatest satisfaction is having the opportunity to give back and she aspires to continue making a difference, one person at a time.

Government Services
Marc Lubetkin, Director, Communications, Simsbury, CT
Marc leverages his communications expertise to advance Diversity & Inclusion initiatives at Sodexo. He has served on the Flexibility Implementation Team since it launched last January. Marc was instrumental in creating collateral that was showcased initially at this past year's Management Conference and for subsequent events, highlighting both formal Flexible Work Arrangements and informal flexibility options. Marc is a champion for Sodexo's Flexibility Works! initiative, recognizing it as a strong element of our Employee Value Proposition. From firsthand experience, he understands how enhancing work/life balance enables Sodexo managers to be more focused and committed to positive business results. As Director of Communications, Marc remains focused on ensuring that communications are inclusive. He produces and translates newsletters in both English and Spanish, and has ensured that conference materials are translated into Braille for people who have visual impairments. Additionally, Marc collaborates with team members to produce communications for the Government and Military Holiday celebrations so that Talent Acquisition, Sodexo's recruitment department, can use these communications for promotional information.

School Services
Sarah Smith, Program Specialist, Springfield, Massachusetts
Sarah saw a need in her community and identified a way to help. With the number of homeless students in the Massachusetts Springfield Public Schools rising, she started a program called Project Share, and enlisted the help of Sodexo employees and clients. The district created a profile for student in need, which included first name, gender, size, birthday, and any additional pertinent information. Based on the information provided, Sodexo employees and clients sponsor a child or donate funds to purchase school uniforms, school supplies, a birthday gift or anything they feel would help to support a student. These donations have resulted in 48 students receiving three complete uniforms and backpacks filled with school supplies. Additional contributions were distributed this past December at a program entitled “Brighter Holiday” for the students and their parents. Sarah works closely with the counselors to identify individual student needs. Sarah, through the anonymity of Project Share, meets those needs and has proven to be a tremendous financial support to the students and their families.

Senior Services
Lesha Colin, Area General Manager, Winchester Gardens, Maplewood, NJ
Lesha is an active Employee Network Groups leader and has been heavily involved in fundraising for a number of community organizations. She helped WiNG raise over $14,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and specifically $1800 for the Cooking for the Cure event on breast cancer awareness. In late September, Lesha assisted with Cross-Network group meetings in Northern New Jersey where over $9,000 was raised. She is an active member of Sodexo Organization for Latinos (SOL) and serves as Membership Chair for Sodexo Organization for disAbilities Resources' (SOAR). She encourages new members to join SOAR, personally welcomes them and sends them greeting packets. Lesha has been recognized through the Healthcare CARES program for her demonstrated commitment to the “Patient and Resident Experience”. She remains focused on helping all employees to become successful in their roles. To site one example, with Lesha's support, one of her employees who has a disability is now training others in his area. Lesha organized Haitian relief efforts to collect donations in response to the earthquake that directly impacted a number of her team members. She orchestrated a team program where employees made flags, ethnic food and created a slideshow that contained images of Haiti before and after the quake. Employees came together to discuss the loved ones they lost and educated the community at the same time. Lesha gives that personal touch that lets her employees know that Sodexo is there for them in their time of need.

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