Minority Networking Event, CLE Set
Article Date: Monday, March 19, 2007
Written By: Russell Rawlings
Give Me A “D!” – the “D” stands for diversity – is the rallying cry for the upcoming CLE and networking event at the N.C. Bar Center featuring Della Britton-Baeza, president and CEO of the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
Planned by the NCBA Minorities in the Profession Committee, Give Me A “D!” Winning Strategies for Diverse Counsel Teams expands upon previous minority and corporate counsel programs in assisting corporate and private attorneys in their efforts to build successful, diverse counsel teams.
Building on sports-related themes such as the “front office,” “players,” “coaches” and “fans,” the April 19 CLE culminates with Britton-Baeza’s keynote address, “Bringing It All Together: Your Diversity Playbook.”
Sandwiched around the CLE component of this event are networking interviews and a networking reception during the afternoon and early evening of April 18, and additional networking interviews during the afternoon of April 19.
A native of Pittsburgh who holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton and a law degree from Columbia, Britton-Baeza has directed the Jackie Robinson Foundation since 2004. She previously served as president of AJM Records and Hillside Publishing, and also has experience in private practice with Covington & Burling of Washington, D.C., and as in-house counsel for the American Broadcasting Companies.
The impressive speaker roster also features Carmen Canales, chief talent officer for Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice; Ella Long, senior director of human resources and employment practices for the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; Maureen O’Connor, senior vice president and general counsel for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C.; and Dr. Benjamin D. Reese Jr., assistant vice president for cross-cultural relations in the Office of Institutional Equity at Duke University.
Additional insight from the private perspective will be provided by attorneys Brian Beverly of Raleigh, who joined with Susan Giamportone of Winston-Salem in planning the program, Merl Code of Greenville, S.C., and James Fuller of Davidson.
The current list of companies conducting interviews is quite impressive: Bank of America, Belk, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Duke Energy, Fidelity Title, Progress Energy, R.J. Reynolds and Wachovia.
The Minorities in the Profession Committee is co-chaired by Paul Meggett of Chapel Hill and Arnita Dula of Hickory. Winston-Salem attorney Candice S. Wooten, immediate past chair of the committee, chaired the steering committee charged with planning and coordinating this event.