SHPE - Conference 2008 - (Page 22)

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3,100 members and 25 chapters throughout the United States and Latin America. The Forum held its first leadership summit in Miami in 2000, and more than 100 members participated. In 2007, more than 700 Hispanic employees, dozens of GE business leaders and external speakers attended the annual national event. In addition, the Forum conducted 830 programs, including professional development workshops and leadership networking events. The Forum’s two executive sponsors – John Rice, Vice Chairman GE and President and CEO of GE Infrastructure, and Jay Ireland, President and CEO of GE Asset Management – work closely with Forum leaders to align its operating agenda to GE’s leadership development objectives. “This organization is energized by its membership involvement and GE leadership engagement,” said Margaret Lazo, Martha Poulter and Luis Manuel Ramírez, GE Hispanic Forum Co-Chairpersons. “We closely monitor the impact of the GE Hispanic Forum by analyzing leadership penetration trends, employee retention statistics, and a continuous review of the talent pipeline to ensure that we are delivering value to the membership.” Goldman, Sachs & Co.: The Importance of Diversity Goldman, Sachs & Co., which supports five affinity networks on a firmwide level and sub-networks aligned by division, has sponsored its Hispanic/Latino affinity groups for approximately nine years. The Hispanic/Latino divisional sub-networks consist of the Operations, Technology, Finance and Services Hispanic/Latin Network and the Human Capital Management Hispanic Network. Some of the networks’ signature events and programs include the Power Lunch Series, Café con Leche Series, Snapshot Speaker Series, Summer Buddy Program and Hispanic Heritage Month, along with community-sponsored recruiting and networking events with other affinity groups. The networks address multiple aspects of an employee’s professional life such as professional development, recruiting, community service and cultural identity. “The network really underscores one of our business principles: highlighting how important diversity is,” explained Robert Abreu, Vice President of the Global Leadership and Diversity Group. “For us to be successful, our men and women must reflect the diversity of the communities and cultures in which we operate,” 22 he added. “That means we must attract, retain and motivate people from many backgrounds and perspectives. Being diverse is not optional; it is what we must be.” ExxonMobil: Exceeding the GOAL Heritage Foundation’s Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards. It is a corporate sponsor in the Science and Engineering categories and has contributed more than $1 million in the last decade. The company also partners with student chapters and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers to recruit potential employees. “GOAL and ExxonMobil have a synergistic relationship,” said GOAL President Patricia Metcalf, ExxonMobil Development Company’s Construction Execution Supervisor. While ExxonMobil provides the funding and sponsorships, GOAL provides the Hispanic role models and award presenters. “Developing leaders within GOAL is critical, explained Metcalf. “It gives people an opportunity to step up and take a leadership position within GOAL and take that experience to their business lines.” Metcalf and Pérez, who both have 20-plus years with ExxonMobil, said that GOAL has helped open up dialogue about diversity and interest in other cultures. GOAL hosts a number of celebrations raising awareness of the Hispanic culture and events to develop employees’ leadership abilities. GOAL members have shown a lot of enthusiasm and generated good ideas supporting the affinity group’s mission. “In a relatively short period of time, GOAL has made an impact on the company and its members that ties back to its pillars,” Pérez said. IBM: Diversity as Part of a Global Business Strategy With business conducted in more than 170 countries, it’s not surprising that IBM has more than 200 diversity network groups (DNGs) worldwide. IBM’s 20 Hispanic DNGs worldwide – HispaNet, the Global Hispanic DNG; the LatinAmerican Network Group, or LANG, in Canada, the National DNG; and 18 local DNGs – support its Hispanic employees. HispaNet, which was launched in In just four years, members of ExxonMobil’s GOAL have made a significant impact on the local Hispanic community. ExxonMobil’s Hispanic employees originally created an affinity group in the 1990s at its Baytown, Texas, complex, and GOAL (Global Organization for the Advancement of Latinos), was formed in 2004. Senior management formally recognized its support for its diverse employee groups through the establishment of six formal affinity groups, which include GOAL. Four years young, GOAL already boasts 400-plus members: 100 in the Fairfax, Virginia, area and 300-plus in the Houston area. GOAL’s efforts revolve around four pillars: diversity awareness, community outreach, leadership development and professional recruiting. Specifically, its mission is to “facilitate the business and personal growth and advancement of Hispanics at ExxonMobil,” according to Romeo Pérez, ExxonMobil Production Company’s Piceance Basin Expansion Project Manager. “We will endeavor to attract and retain the best and the brightest candidates and assist in their successful career development,” he said. As part of its community outreach, GOAL has been involved in the University of Texas-Pan American Hispanic Engineering, Science & Technology Program (HESTEC) for more than four years. It is one of the sponsors of HESTEC’s Latinas Day, a successful program that annually brings approximately 1,500 middle school girls and their mothers to the University of TexasPan American campus to hear from GOAL role models. ExxonMobil supports the Hispanic HispaNet at IBM is one of 200 diversity networks in the company. SHPE ❘ Conference 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHPE - Conference 2008

SHPE - Conference 2008 President’s Letter From the Vice President News of Particular Interest to Society Members Calendar Making the Most of the Career Fair Grupos de Afinidad Phoenix Rising Advancing Hispanic Excellence in Technology, Engineering, Math and Science (AHETEMS) 2008 SHPE Conference Program Guide Welcome Letters Highlights Conference Schedule STAR Awards Company of the Year Chapter of the Year Awards Speakers Entertainment Hospitality Suites Advisor Program Professional Program Quick Guide Business Proposal Competition Professional Workshop Descriptions Technical Paper and Poster Competitions AHETEMS Design Competition Extreme Engineering Challenge National Academic Olympiad AHETEMS Teacher Program AHETEMS Pre-College Symposia Corporate Tours AHETEMS Graduate Program AHETEMS Distinguished Lecture Series AHETEMS Deans’ Summit Undergraduate Workshops Quick Guide Undergraduate Workshops Descriptions MUST Scholars Symposium Career Fair Exhibitors Sponsors Hotel and Convention Center Maps Regional Roundup Inner Circle Employer Profiles Advertisers Index

SHPE - Conference 2008

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