Month: August 2023

Episode Summary

Women’s Equality Day is the focus of this episode of the “Better Together” podcast with guest Lauren Nennig Tucker who serves as Vice President of Global Total Rewards at SEE® (formerly Sealed Air). Lauren shares details about her career path and how her current role provides her the opportunity to learn about the challenges women, and other employees, are facing in business and how she is not only helping be part of the solution but also bringing attention to pay equity, representation, and leadership.

Listen to the episode here.

About the Podcast

Believing employees can strengthen connections by learning from the experiences of co-workers, global packaging solutions provider SEE® (formerly Sealed Air) created “Better Together,” a DEI-focused podcast that gives employees the opportunity to share personal stories and perspectives that spark understanding and respect. The corporate podcast encourages employees to embrace their identities and look beyond differences to help foster inclusion in the workplace. “Better Together” is hosted and produced by Akilah Garvin, SEE’s Senior Manager of Supply Chain Communications.

Originally published by Walgreens Boots Alliance

I’m Aaron Kim, an HIV specialty pharmacist at Walgreens, and my passion is providing holistic care for my patients living with HIV and AIDs. As a pharmacist, I know that HIV disproportionately affects gay and bisexual men—they make up 63% of patients, according to the CDC. And as a gay man, I’m empathetic to the challenges and successes my patients experience.

I joined the Walgreens family in 2011 as a pharmacy manager at a Duane Reade store in my native New York City. On a visit to my own doctor, I made an appointment to start PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis medication, a highly effective and commonly used medication for preventing HIV. The doctor just gave me a blank look and asked what I was “prepping” for.

It hit me like a ton of bricks that if a trained medical professional didn’t know what PrEP is, then they’re not having the right conversations with their patients and they’re holding back our community’s ability to fight the epidemic. It dawned on me then: I could use my role as a pharmacist to be an advocate for my community.

I requested a transfer to a specialty pharmacy (we have more than 300), and it was there that my journey into the world of HIV medicine began. By immersing myself in a new community, I gained experience caring for those vulnerable to HIV. Even as a gay pharmacist living in an urban area, there was so much that I still didn’t know about treating HIV.

Thankfully I met another pharmacist familiar with HIV, and they became my mentor. They introduced me to the real-life implications of the virus and helped me understand the importance of allyship in the community on a human level. It was such a formative time for me.

While I’m a proud New Yorker, I recently made a big life change and moved to a specialty pharmacy in the Chicago area to grow my professional skill set and be closer to the Walgreens headquarters. It’s been a great opportunity and I’ve been working with my current team in Glenview, Illinois, for just over two months.

A day providing healthcare to the LGBTQ+ community

My co-workers and I wear many hats in our roles as Walgreens specialty pharmacists. On any given day, we could be working with physicians, physician assistants, nurses, case workers, outside clinical pharmacists, or public aid partners on behalf of our patients.

You’ll see us on the phone a lot, connecting with patients and other healthcare providers. There are about 50 team members (pharmacy technicians and specialty pharmacists with expertise in myriad disease states) who I get to interact with daily. It’s wonderful because as a specialist in HIV medicine, I get to consult with my colleagues in treating the patient more comprehensively.

But our work can also be challenging, navigating the healthcare system and providing long-term care for what is a chronic health condition. On any given day, I can also play the roles of “problem solver,” “billing detective” and “cheerleader” in motivating my patients to stick with what can be a complex daily regimen.

When people living with HIV and AIDS are discriminated against because of their sexuality, which is not a choice, it affects their self-worth and they lose the motivation to take care of themselves. Many of my patients are unhoused and uninsured because navigating the insurance process is so cumbersome.

That’s why I try to keep patients motivated by sharing my own experiences as someone in the rainbow community. I want to create a safe space for them to confide in me, knowing that they won’t be judged or criticized. Nothing brings me more joy than when a barrier is broken down and a connection is made with another person.

After a busy day at work connecting with patients and caregivers who all have unique needs, I head home to relax with my husband, Chris.

A lot of my free time centers around my love of food and traveling and connecting with others through food. Since moving here, I’ve been exploring Chicagoland and all the diverse cuisine. After work, I spend time putting together Instagram reels of all my travel and food adventures!

Taking steps on National HIV Testing Day

In 2023, we are at a point where a single, small pill has the ability to keep most people’s viral level suppressed (undetectable), which means they can’t transmit the virus (untransmissible). Together with simple prevention regimens, we have the tools to end the HIV epidemic. It’s a matter of getting the knowledge and tools out there, and that’s what this role helps me to do.

That’s why June 27—National HIV Testing Day—is so important. It’s about encouraging people to get tested for HIV, know their status, and find avenues to care and treatment. This year’s theme is “Take the Test & Take the Next Step,” and it highlights the actionable steps people can take, regardless of their test results.

Just as my mentor helped me early in my career, I now mentor others and do my best to pay it forward. I am happy to help someone take their first steps on their healthcare journey or even just talk and connect.

My work with the Pride Alliance BRG

I’m proud to be involved with Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Pride Alliance business resource group (BRG), which has been a source of support for me. Growing up queer was an isolating experience and certainly not an aspect of myself I thought would be present in my professional life. But I’ve come to understand that I am a whole person and can’t compartmentalize my identity. Most people spend more time at work than they do at home, and when I’m at work, the Pride Alliance BRG gives me comfort in knowing I’m supported at my “home away from home.”

Moving to Chicago has allowed me to attend more in-person Pride Alliance BRG events, which has been great to build community. I’m grateful to the Pride Alliance BRG because it advocates for all people to be authentically themselves knowing we are supported by a global organization—one I’m so proud to work for and one that helps me navigate through this journey.

As published in Qualcomm’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report

Our ongoing collaboration with FIRST is another important way that we are increasing access to STEM education and investing in the development of our future workforce. FIRST is the world’s leading youth-serving non-profit organization advancing STEM education. It engages students in grades PreK-12 in hands-on, mentor-based robotics programs to help them become science and technology leaders and well-rounded contributors to society. We have been a proud supporter of FIRST since 2006. As a FIRST Strategic Partner, we are a thought leader along with several Fortune 500 companies that are helping to advocate for equitable access to these programs and drive innovative thinking in how programs are delivered. We also directly support FIRST programming, events and thousands of teams globally through both funding and time donated by hundreds of employees.

In 2022, FIRST programs and competitions welcomed teams back to a hybrid approach of virtual and in-person events. Our 2022 FIRST engagement highlights include:

Presenting Sponsor of the 2021-2022 Future of Transportation season, which reached approximately 534,0000 students in 90 countries.For the first time since 2019, FIRST was back in person for its 2022 World Championship event in Houston, Texas. Approximately 33,000 students and guests from more than 40 countries were in attendance — surpassing the 2019 numbers.Sponsor of the Global Innovation Awards 2022, in which 110 teams from across the world identified a problem or opportunity connected to the season’s transportation theme, designed a solution, created a business model and advanced their skills by using technology. Students developed new ways to address cargo packaging, vaccine and medicine delivery, remote transportation, shipping efficiencies and more. Qualcomm employees helped to mentor students along their innovation journey and provided workshops on Sustainable Design and Patent process.Expanded our support to Brazil and Singapore FIRST programs with help from local leadership and employees.

The season’s virtual and in-person programming made it possible for our Company to maintain our high level of employee engagement in FIRST programs. Employees across the Company donated more than 9,500 hours of their time as coaches, mentors, judges and volunteers to support students in nine countries.

Looking ahead, we are excited to be the presenting sponsor for the 2022-2023 youth robotics season, FIRST ENERGIZE, which focuses on reimagining the future of sustainable energy and powering new ideas forward.

Learn more in Qualcomm’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report

BOISE, Idaho, August 28, 2023 /3BL/ – KeyBank has awarded a $100,000 grant to Life’s Kitchen, a non-profit organization that prepares at-risk youth in Idaho to be successful in food service and other careers. The KeyBank grant will allow Life’s Kitchen to expand its program and equip more young adults with the skills and training needed to secure employment.

“KeyBank is proud of the mission and work of Life’s Kitchen,” said Scott Schlange, president of KeyBank Idaho. “This grant will help to equip more young adults in our community with the confidence, skills and training needed to navigate the workplace and manage their household budgets.”

Founded in 2003 by localrestaurateur Rory Farrow, Life’s Kitchen operates three foodservice businesses to provide on-the-job work experience to trainees. In addition to foodservice training, students receive GED training, and attend life skills and employability classes each week. The curriculum covers a broad range of topics, including financial literacy, healthy relationship skills, mock job interviews, understanding insurance, taxes, college enrollment and more.

“Life’s Kitchen offers the confidence and training so desperately needed for at-risk youth to gain sustainable employment, escape poverty and learn to become financially stable,” said Angel Reyes, corporate responsibility officer for KeyBank in Idaho and Utah. “KeyBank is honored to support this valuable and much-needed community initiative.”

More than 53% of Life’s Kitchen students live at or below the poverty level and 20% experience homelessness. In addition, many of these young adults face other serious challenges, such as mental illness, addiction, and abuse.

“We have seen the increased need in our community to support and provide workforce development, life skills and GED services to our young adults,” said Tammy Johnson, Executive Director of Life’s Kitchen. “The $100,000 impact grant from KeyBank Foundation will provide the means to help us reach more young adults to become independent and self-sustainable. On behalf of the board, staff, and our young adults we are deeply grateful. The KeyBank investment will open doors for more youth in our community.”

About Life’s Kitchen

Life’s Kitchen is a 501c3 nonprofit social enterprise organization, providing Opportunity Youth (at-risk youth) ages 16-24 with wrap around work and life skills since 2003. Through our Workforce Development, Food Service, Life Skills, and GED Training Program, trainees receive the valuable skills and resources they need to become independent, financially stable, and successful. Life’s Kitchen students not only graduate from our program – they become part of a community. Upon graduation from the program, alumni maintain access to support from Life’s Kitchen for multiple needs including connecting with resources, continuing education, job placement and much more. Fifty-nine percent of alumni continued to engage whether for assistance or volunteer opportunities. Over the years, Life’s Kitchen has provided over 575,000 hours of job training to more than 900 young adults, while providing more than 1,350,000 meals to community members in need. Life’s Kitchen provides 1,000 meals a week to Interfaith Sanctuary to help feed the homeless community.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $195 billion at June 30, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

CONTACT:

Life’s Kitchen:  
Tammy Johnson  
208-331-0199 x 302  
tammy@lifeskitchen.org

KeyBank:  
Jennifer Shermer  
303-902-9419  
jennifer@keetonpr.com