When New North Inc. President and CEO Barb LaMue approached Irene Strohbeen to help lead the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion task force, Strohbeen had some misgivings. In her work as the owner of Irene Strohbeen and Associates, she focuses more on helping small businesses succeed.
But after considering the offer further, Strohbeen decided that divergent focus area was exactly what would make her an asset to the group. Plus, as the child of Chinese-Filipino immigrants, Strohbeen — along with her two sons — has experienced intolerance firsthand. She says she wants to see the region do better.
“I see it as a matter of economic development. All areas want to grow, so that means attracting more business, attracting more residents. You have to be welcoming to people who don’t look like the majority or people who haven’t lived here for many generations,” says Strohbeen, who serves as co-chair of the task force’s executive council alongside Darcy Pierson, global leader of diversity and inclusion for Oshkosh Corp.
That goal is central to New North’s DEI task force. The economic development organization had led efforts over the years, but more recently, based on direction from a diverse group of leaders in the New North Roundtable, the organization established five workstreams: education, young professionals, entrepreneurship and small business, corporations and community. The workstreams address issues within their own groups and collaborate as parts of the whole.
“By continuing to take the regional approach, we can improve the retention, advancement and attraction of BIPOC talent to the region and provide opportunities for success for all historically marginalized individuals in Northeast Wisconsin,” LaMue says of the work.
The workstreams formed about two years ago, and the work began with taking an unflinching look at the situation at hand. The group heard from leaders including Henry Sanders, CEO of the Madison-based media group 365Nation, who shared data showing that around 90% of talent of color recruited to Northeast Wisconsin leaves within two years. Another DEI leader shared reservations about bringing up children of color in the area because of what they might experience in K-12 schools.
“To hear those words from someone who’s a leader in this space, it just tore me apart inside,” Strohbeen says.
The task is large, and Strohbeen says narrowing the focus to specific areas helps make it less daunting. For example, while she says it’s vital to continue to attract minorities to the region, the group is putting special focus on retention. Keeping people in the region must extend beyond workplace efforts and into creating a more welcoming community, she says.
Changing hearts and minds is no easy feat, says Pierson, who has spent several years doing DEI work, first for Associated Bank and now for Oshkosh Corp.
“DEI is probably one of the most complex areas that I have ever worked in. It’s so intertwined with us as individuals, our personal experiences, communities in which we grew up and values that are underneath the surface that we don’t even know,” she says.
Both Pierson and New North urge employers to look at signing the pledge for CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion. The pledge is designed to be more action-oriented versus simply making “performative statements” such as “We value and respect everyone” or “We have zero tolerance for discrimination,” Pierson says.
Signing requires no financial contribution but does ask leaders to commit to four actions within their companies: focus on unconscious bias education, build a plan, share best practices with the business community, and review progress annually with the board or governing body.
“It is not so much about signing the pledge as it is the deep resources that the companies receive once committed,” LaMue says.
Within K-12 education, efforts are underway to recruit more teachers, administrators and staff members of color. Appleton Area School District and Green Bay Area Public School District have held diverse staff events and invited other school districts to participate to help share the knowledge.
New North also is working with all the state minority chambers of commerce and will launch a Diverse Digital Data Hub that will provide resources and identify minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses.
Strohbeen says she hopes gradual progress will pay big dividends in the long run. “Like a lot of incremental efforts, we hope one day we’ll wake up and say, ‘Wow, it’s a different world we’re living in.’”
