About 200 people attended the 5th Annual Partnership Appreciation Event hosted by the
UPMC Center for Inclusion and Engagement to celebrate western Pennsylvanians who are helping to create a culture where every person is valued, appreciated and acknowledged.
Esther
Bush, president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, welcomed attendees to the event. She shared her pride in working with UPMC to promote dignity
and respect everywhere. In particular, she noted the progress and evolution of
the Dignity and Respect Campaign under the direction of Candi
Castleberry-Singleton, UPMC's chief inclusion and diversity officer, with the
support of Greg Peaslee, senior vice president of Human Resources, and other UPMC leaders.
The
awardees were nominated by their peers, council leaders and the UPMC Center for
Inclusion and Engagement because they exemplify finding common ground, treating
others the way they want to be treated, and their commitment to the advancement
of inclusion is of utmost importance to them.
Charlie
Batch, Pittsburgh Steeler and founder of the Best
of the Batch Foundation,
was the master of ceremonies. He and UPMC executives presented more than a dozen
awards to UPMC employees and community members in the areas of integrated
inclusion, workforce development, community, youth and supplier diversity. Batch and LaTasha Wilson-Batch, also accepted the Community
Partner of the Year award on behalf of the Best
of the Batch Foundation.
Additional Inclusion in the Community awardees were:
- Bidwell Training Center (Workforce Development
Champion)
- Trish Wood, director, Food and
Nutritional Services, South Fayette School District (Healthy Community, Healthy
You Champion)
- Bernadette Turner, president
and founder, African-American Leadership Association (Dignity & Respect
Champion)
- School 2 Career (Youth Champion)
- Lucy Spruill, director, Public
Policy and Community Relations, United Cerebral Palsy/Community Living and
Support Services
(Disabilities Council Champion)
- Professional Mechanical Sales
and Services Inc.
(Supplier Diversity Council Champion—Minority Business Enterprise)
- Life’s Work of Western PA Inc. (Supplier Diversity Council
Champion—Disadvantaged Business Enterprise)
Inclusion in the Workplace champions from UPMC were:
- Marla Pryor, administrative coordinator, Medical Management Department (Employee
Engagement Champion)
- John Krolicki, vice president,
Facilities and Support Services (Executive Partnership Champion)
- Brenadette Bryan, nurse educator, UPMC Mercy (Nursing Mentorship Champion)
- William (Bill)
Simmons, M.D., Department of Anesthesiology, Pitt School of Medicine (Physician
Inclusion Champion—UPMC/Pitt)
- Donald D. Wolff Jr., Center for Quality, Safety,and Innovation at UPMC (Integrated
Inclusion Champion—Team)
- Sharon Czyzewski, vice president, Human Resources, Insurance Services Division (Integrated
Inclusion Champion—Individual)
- UPMC Hamot (Business Unit of
the Year)
Batch closed the event by inviting everyone to take the pledge
to treat everyone with dignity and respect. Video highlights of the
celebration reflect just how important it is to everyone to have a culture of
inclusion within UPMC and the community and how much we really are all in this
together. The event also was featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette SEEN
column.
Labels: community, UPMC Center for Inclusion and Engagement