CEOs say their companies stand strong for fairness and against injustice

Yasmin Webb 19, center, participates in an anti-racism protest near the Torch of Friendship in downtown Miami on June 13. South Florida CEOs were asked: Have the protests and conversation about race become part of the official company conversation and if so, how is that playing out? MATIAS J. OCNER mocner@miamiherald.com

CEOs were asked: Have the protests and conversation about race become part of the official company conversation and if so, how is that playing out?

Istituto Marangoni Miami has always been a platform for love and equality. We serve as an international household for students of various origins, so diversity and inclusiveness is ingrained in our values and will continue to be part of our company conversation. We’re proud to have cultivated a culture for our students where multicultural perspectives are fully accepted and encouraged under the belief that everyone deserves to be respected, valued and connected. Now, more than ever, we feel the responsibility to empower our community to take a stand, communicate and educate themselves on issues of injustice.

Hakan Baykam, founder, CEO, Istituto Marangoni

Our law firm is committed to supporting diversity and fostering inclusion, which means supporting one another by standing together against injustice. Over the years, through training and discussions, we have broadened our understanding of concepts such as implicit bias and cultural competency. But we understand that listening and learning is not enough, so we have also taken proactive steps to achieve measurable results. Last year, our Firm achieved Mansfield Plus Certification (earned by only 51 law firms nationwide), which means that we considered at least 30 percent women, racially and ethnically diverse, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for significant leadership roles, lateral openings, inclusion on pitch teams, and promotions, and met this benchmark in a notable number of categories. We are also committed to helping our communities as they begin to repair and rebuild. As a leader within the Firm, I stand ready to help conduct office-based forums in the wake of recent events, to (i) check in on how people are doing, (ii) provide a safe and supportive environment for attorneys and staff to begin a dialogue within the Firm about these difficult issues, and (iii) foster a culture of inclusion and solidarity.

Luis Flores, managing partner, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Miami office

While the current protests have not become part of the official company conversation, they have sparked many conversations with the young men and women we serve. Voices For Children exists to primarily support the Guardian ad Litem program and to provide direct assistance to the children who end up in the foster care system, the majority of which are African American. Much of the conversations have centered around the fact that while more than 60 percent of the children and youth in the foster care system are African American, the general percentage of children 0 to 18 in Miami-Dade County are under 20 percent. This is of course disproportionate. While this stark truth brings up many different topics such as institutional racism, unleveled playing fields, exacerbated original wounds and paths to healing, it also brings up another important statistic: more than 50 percent of the Guardian ad Litem volunteers identify as white Hispanic. This tells me that in 2020 there are many people willing to be part of the solution. What I have also learned is that in 2020 professional African American men and women continue to be subjected to racial profiling and while we are all free their freedom is not the same.

As a member of the Children’s Trust, I have an opportunity to weigh in about where and what kind of investments are made for children in our community. I am proud of the great work that has been done over the years but particularly under the leadership of Jim Haj and the current chair of the board, Ken Hoffman. Ken recently appointed an ad hoc committee of the trust, chaired by Dr. Tiombe Bisa Kendrick-Dunn to discuss structural racism and discrimination. At our first meeting, Chairwoman Kendrick-Dunn set the groundwork for the important conversations that need to be had and which must begin with listening by all parts.

In my direct work with youth over the last 12 years, I have learned that many of the wounds we carry in our souls cannot be healed with material band aids. We have to converse with honesty and listen with great compassion.

Nelson Hincapie, CEO, president, Voices for Children

Discussing systemic racism and the need for reforming law enforcement in America has always been a welcome conversation within our company. As the 1st Vice President and Economic Development Chairman of the Miami-Dade Branch of the NAACP, we have consistently led conversations for years with our staff, interns, mentees, friends and local officials about our outrage when reviewing data relative to education, health care, housing, police brutality, gentrification and economic opportunities for black communities. Efforts to root out racist policies and individuals that perpetuate them have mostly fallen on deaf ears. We are witnessing across America an outcry for change and a mandate to level the playing field. Recent corporate donations by national brands to assist with social injustice issues in America are a good start, but there needs to be honest open dialogue in South Florida with our anchor institutions and political leaders. Four hundred years of oppression, including slavery, Jim Crow laws and redlining can only be resolved by having these conversations regarding systemic racism addressed in corporate boardrooms and federal court rooms. America has never had a unified revolt as we are witnessing against the racist systems in which this country was founded. Members of our team are elated about the hopes and promise of this new civil rights activism occurring to address injustice and disparities in communities of color. We compel everyone that cares about America to participate in this most difficult conversation and atrocity known as racism.

Darryl Holsendolph, president, CEO of Holsen Inc. Merchandising

As an LGBTQ agency, Our Fund Foundation recognizes that our own struggle for equality is inextricably linked to other disenfranchised communities. So while we celebrate the June 15 Supreme Court decision to end workplace discrimination for LGBTQ citizens, we also rally resources to uplift and protect our Black brothers and sisters and to end racism in all forms. Our Fund is in discussions now to host a series of virtual town halls for South Florida LGBTQ agency leaders to learn how we can educate ourselves and leverage our positions and agencies to become advocates for anti-racism. Our empathy isn’t enough. We need to harness resources and educate our community to become stronger allies.

David Jobin, president, CEO of Our Fund Foundation

This is a time when companies and their leadership are under a microscope, and actions taken over time and, especially now, are critically important. For The Keyes Company, our commitment to fair housing for all individuals has been a pillar of our organization. In our 94-year history, we have always served the entire community. We believe our sales force is a reflection of the communities we serve.

Mike Pappas, president, CEO, The Keyes Company/Illustrated Properties

As a company, we have had discussions about the protests and about race. We have a diverse group of employees in terms of both race and ethnicity. Like many others, I have been angered and profoundly saddened by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor. However, more importantly, I am reminded of the systemic racism that the Black community has faced and continues to face. I personally have been reminded that I need to go far beyond just being non-racist but anti-racist and find ways to build anti-racist principles into our company, families and community. I, like many in our community, am aware that Black voices need to be heard and I want to help amplify their voices. I do not think we have always gotten it right and we are looking deep inside of ourselves with humility and honesty to educate ourselves to get it right and help in impactful ways.

Coralee Penabad, principal, Urban-X

One of our organizational core values is open, honest, and transparent communication. This applies to all stakeholders, both external and internal. We do not shy away from any conversation, including race, no matter how difficult or awkward. As an example, we introduced the concept of unconscious bias into our organizational leadership development curriculum about a year ago. This was precisely to spur dialogue and surface up several of the systemic issues that have now so swiftly and universally emerged to the forefront in the current context. This helped pave the way for unified and constructive organizational conversations now taking place on how Power Financial Credit Union can proactively contribute a positive impact to real and sustained change in the mission to eradicate racial injustice.

Allan Prindle, president, CEO, Power Financial Credit Union

Racial justice is at the core of YWCA South Florida’s official company business. We pledge to do social justice work every day until injustices that affect women, girls and people of color are uprooted and dismantled. Systemic issues require systemic responses. And we, too, hold ourselves accountable to evaluate decision-making and allocate resources through the lens of our equity goal by training our staff and volunteers regularly, examining and strengthening our policies and relationships and seeking new funding to sustain racial justice efforts.

For companies and individuals that are unsure of how they should address racial inequity, YWCA South Florida wants to offer a place to begin this work. We’ve launched a “21-Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge” which invites stakeholders and community members to explore issues of race, power, privilege and leadership through daily virtual activities. Register yourself or your company free at ywcasouthflorida.org.

Kerry-Ann Royes, CEO, YWCA Greater Miami-Dade

We have definitely been engaging in conversation with our clients about the protests and what they mean, and why now is such an important time to recognize and support a more equitable justice system. Additionally, two of my represented artists auctioned artwork for 100% donation to Black Lives Matter. We continue to represent diaspora artists and artists of color and make sure their stories are told.

Mindy Solomon, owner, director, Mindy Solomon Gallery

The awakening occurring globally for social justice and reform has certainly spurred action in our organization, such as examining our internal policies and discussing the intersection of our mission with social justice. Our mission involves fostering an understanding of the sciences that impact our daily lives and in aiding the public in the development of skills necessary to understand that information, such as critical thinking, interpreting data and making fact-based decisions. Social and racial justice policy can be better understood and solved when fact-based policy decisions are made. We also aim to improve the understanding of our impact on the environment. Social justice and environmental policy are deeply connected throughout the world where both Black and underserved communities are most impacted by poor environmental policy decisions. Conversations on how to create positive change in environmental justice require an understanding and acknowledgment that racism and social inequality in general exist, are systemically intertwined with past policies, and that environmental conservation will be most successful when it equally benefits the entire community. Finally, we understand that culture and science-based disciplines overall need to do more to attract and support a greater diversity of talent within our industry, including that of our staff, leadership and partners at Frost Science. These are the areas of our ongoing conversation and I recognize we need to do more. I’m hopeful that we can make a difference as we continue to grow and evolve as an organization.

Frank Steslow, president, CEO, Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science

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THE MIAMI HERALD CEO ROUNDTABLE IS A WEEKLY FEATURE THAT APPEARS IN BUSINESS MONDAY OF THE MIAMI HERALD. RECENT QUESTIONS TO THE ROUNDTABLE HAVE INCLUDED:

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