La Paz Chattanooga Explores The Evolution Of Diversity Monday

As part of National Diversity Awareness Month, La Paz Chattanooga will continue the Latino Awareness Series with a session entitled, "The Evolution of Diversity" on Monday. The session will be hosted in the auditorium at TVA's downtown Missionary Ridge Building on Market Street from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

"We are really excited about the theme of this particular session of the Latino Awareness Series," said David Martin, Development and Communications manager at La Paz Chattanooga. "Diversity is a nuanced and fluid term. The definition of the word has changed over time, and its modern implementation in the workplace is pursued in various ways, depending on environment. As a word that was initially appreciated primarily in the racial sense, diversity has grown into a more inclusive phrase incorporating differences in gender, age, sexual orientation, abilities, and more. Its layered definition is often taken for granted, and we hope to highlight it in its entirety."

This session of the Latino Awareness Series features a presentation on diversity, which is followed by a panel discussion to further explore the topic. The diversity presentation will be led by Dr. Linda Wiley, PhD, who serves as senior program manager of Diversity and Inclusion at TVA. She will then join a panel of local diversity professionals to answer moderated and audience questions, detailing the ways in which area entities approach the concept of diversity. Panelists include: David Ortiz, Corporate Diversity Consultant at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee; James McKissic, Director of the City of Chattanooga's Office of Multicultural Affairs; Dr. Bryan Samuel, PhD, Director of Equity and Diversity at UTC.