Month: March 2024

By Candace Higginbotham

Regions Bank has a strategic and cultural commitment to do what is right for our customers and communities.

Philanthropy, volunteerism, community development lending, financial education, sponsorships, disability and veterans outreach, and board service are among the tactics Regions Foundation, Regions Bank and bank associates utilize to make life better for the communities and neighborhoods where we live and work.

Recently, Regions’ Leroy Abrahams and his Community Affairs team have developed an additional approach: sharing insights.

“We see a lot of need in our communities,” Abrahams said. “And we work with many organizations across our 15-state footprint to help address those needs. Frankly, we only have so much time and money to share. But at Regions we have an unlimited supply of knowledge, skill and experience.

“And during times like this, with economic and market volatility, geopolitical and political uncertainty, operational challenges as well as labor market and workforce issues – we’ve found that technical support can be extremely beneficial to our community partners.”

We see a lot of need in our communities. And we work with many organizations across our 15-state footprint to help address those needs.

Leroy Abrahams, head of Community Affairs at Regions

The team put some of that know-how to work recently by hosting an Important Insights seminar at Regions Center in Birmingham, Alabama, for local community partners. Leaders from 25 organizations gathered for a half-day session to engage with Regions specialists on topics that are top of mind for nonprofits.

Regions Chief Investment Officer Alan McKnight spoke to the group about the state of the economy, reporting that inflation is coming down, unemployment is staying relatively low and balance sheets are basically healthy. But he acknowledged that consumers are paying significantly more for food and those prices “stay sticky.”

McKnight also discussed increased housing costs and shortages. Like any business, those economic factors have a big impact on a nonprofit’s funding and the needs of their clients.

In this presidential election year, politics and legislative agendas are on the forefront for everyone, including community organizations. Jason Isbell, head of State Government Affairs and Economic Development at Regions, spoke to the group about current issues being debated, including economic development, education, workforce development, childcare, housing and healthcare.

Workforce matters were a common thread with all the speakers and a topic that received a lot of engagement from the participants. Dwight Julbert, head of Human Resources Operations at Regions, led a panel of human resources specialists to discuss issues around many aspects of human capital management.

“The topic of hiring, training, retaining, as well as managing performance of employees was especially relevant to me as a nonprofit director,” said Jennifer Sumner, executive director of Pathways, an organization that serves homeless women and children.

The meeting wrapped up with a cautionary presentation about about fraud – another subject that affects businesses large and small. According to Jeff Taylor, head of Commercial Fraud Forensics and Payment Strategy at Regions, fraud is a pervasive threat for individuals, families, governments and businesses. Nonprofits are particularly vulnerable due to “limited resources for combating fraud and an unwavering focus on their mission to do good,” Taylor said.

Taylor spoke about the dangers of insider fraud, payment fraud, check fraud, ransomware and business email compromise. He shared tips and strategies to stop the bad guys, including a very simple reminder: Stop, Call and Confirm. Taylor advised the group, “Before proceeding with a suspicious transaction, stop what you’re doing, call a number you already know to verify the request and confirm with a person that the transaction is legit.”

Wendi Boyen, Community Development Lending and Investment leader at Regions, organized the event, which expanded on a concept she put in place recently with Regions’ support of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs).

I feel that Regions did an excellent job addressing the issues that nonprofits face each day.

Jennifer Sumner, executive director of Pathways

In June, Boyen and Abrahams hosted a CDFI Convening where bank leaders engaged with CDFI and MDI executives on timely topics such as risk management, balance sheet management, economic and market conditions, consumer lending, deposit pricing, strategic planning, liquidity and technology.

“We’re pleased to provide financial support to all these organizations, but we’re hearing from them that brainstorming with bankers and networking with each other can be just as helpful, if not more so, as they navigate challenging economic and operational issues,” Boyen said.

Based on their feedback, the participants of the Important Insights seminar agreed.

“I feel that Regions did an excellent job addressing the issues that nonprofits face each day, from political impact to human relations, and the need to protect our organizations against the threats of accessing secure information that could impact lives,” Sumner said. “We greatly appreciate our relationship with Regions Bank.”

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at GoDaddy.

I am a Software Engineer on the Managed WordPress Platform Team. Our team focuses on creating tools and solutions to make managing WordPress websites easier and more efficient for our customers. We work on various aspects such as improving site performance, enhancing security features and providing seamless user experiences. My journey with GoDaddy began as an intern last summer. The collaborative environment and the impactful projects we work on made me eager to return full-time after graduating from college.

Why is GDWIT important to you as a woman in this industry?

Joining Employee Resource Groups like GDWIT (GoDaddy Women in Tech) has been instrumental in my professional growth. Being a part of this community has provided me with invaluable support, mentorship and networking opportunities. It’s incredibly empowering to connect with like-minded individuals who understand the unique challenges and triumphs of being a woman in the tech industry. GDWIT fosters an inclusive culture where diverse voices are celebrated, making me feel more confident and supported in my career journey.

What advice would you give to women entering the tech industry?

Embrace your uniqueness and never underestimate the value of your perspective. Be confident in your abilities, stay curious and don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek mentorship. Remember that your voice matters and your contributions are essential to driving innovation and progress in the field. Additionally, cultivate a supportive network of allies and colleagues who champion diversity and inclusion. Lastly, don’t be discouraged by setbacks or challenges. Instead, see them as opportunities for growth and learning.

What motivates you at work?

My motivation at work stems from the opportunity to tackle complex challenges, collaborate with brilliant minds and make a meaningful impact on our customers’ lives. I’m driven by the constant learning and growth that comes with working in technology, as well as the satisfaction of seeing our efforts translate into tangible results. Knowing that the work we do directly contributes to empowering individuals and businesses online fuels my passion and drive every day.

Tell us about your biggest role model or mentor.

I recently matched into the GDWIT Mentorship Program, where I’ve been paired with a seasoned professional within our organization. In just a short time, my mentor, with over a decade of experience as an engineer, has already imparted invaluable insights aligned perfectly with my career aspirations. Our partnership not only facilitates my professional growth but also underscores the supportive culture at GoDaddy.

How does your team, manager, or GoDaddy as a whole support your career development and aspirations?

I’m fortunate to be part of a team and company that prioritize employee growth and development. My team fosters a collaborative environment where everyone’s ideas are valued, and continuous learning is encouraged. My manager provides regular feedback and guidance, helping me identify areas for improvement and opportunities for advancement. Additionally, GoDaddy offers various resources such as training programs, mentorship initiatives and career development opportunities that empower employees to pursue their aspirations and reach their full potential.

What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

International Women’s Day is a profound reminder of the ongoing struggle for gender equality and female empowerment. It’s a day to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women worldwide, while also reflecting on the work that remains to be done. For me, it’s a call to action to continue advocating for inclusivity, challenging stereotypes and fostering an environment where every woman can thrive and succeed.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

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BELLEVUE, Wash., March 22, 2024 /3BL/ – T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) today revealed its next Hometown Grant recipients, with 275 communities across 46 states now part of the exclusive crew that will receive funding and support to fuel local projects that help people connect and innovate. And since providing more than $12 million in Hometown Grants since the Un-carrier kicked off its five-year commitment to small towns in April 2021, the Un-carrier is well on its way to hitting the program’s $25 million mark.

Hometown Grants is T-Mobile’s way of giving people who live in small towns and rural communities a chance to transform the places they call home. Through community development initiatives across infrastructure, education, technology, environment and more, the Un-carrier is helping to create a stronger and more resilient future for communities nationwide —and is now extending its impact to include towns in Louisiana, Massachusetts and Nebraska.

Here are the next 25 Hometown Grant recipients and their projects:

Jacksonville, Ala.: Build a gazebo at the Public Safety Complex Lake, to provide a covered outdoor space for fishing enthusiasts and community gatherings.Camden, Ark.: Revitalize an empty lot and former library space into an outdoor community green space, with a strong emphasis on community engagement, environmental sustainability and recreational opportunities.Russellville, Ark.: Renovate the Riggs-Hamilton American Legion Post 20, updating the 90-year-old building’s interior with ADA accessible restrooms.Ukiah, Calif.: Transform the United Disaster Relief of Northern California (UDRNC) Resource Center into a warm, home-like environment for those impacted by a disaster, including lounge areas, new cozy furniture, upgraded technology and toys and games for children.Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Conn.: Plan and develop a Business Tech Center for The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) community, aimed at supporting tribal entrepreneurs with tools and resources to turn business ideas into successful, strategically planned business ventures.Cordele, Ga.: Complete historic building renovations for the new home of the Culture Arts Center, a hub for community services, afterschool programs and cultural arts festivals.Hogansville, Ga.: Revitalize the historic 1937 Royal Theatre, with upgrades to the building’s electrical so it can serve as a theatrical hub for the community and increase downtown vitality.Clinton, Iowa: Restore and reopen the Vince Jetter Community Center, providing expanded outstanding programs and services to underserved youth and families in the community.Spencer, Iowa: Transform the Spencer Public Library courtyard into a musical garden, providing an interactive and inclusive outdoor space in the heart of downtown Spencer.Angola, Ind.: Expand the existing Imagine Alley, in partnership with the City of Angola, Easterseals RISE and Relic Emporium, by creating a vibrant mural promoting kindness and inclusivity.Argos, Ind.: Launch the “4-H Poss-ABILITIES Program,” crafted to offer inclusive youth livestock and exhibit building experiences, pairing K-12 grade special needs students with 4-H youth mentors, providing enriching opportunities in both livestock care and exhibit development throughout Marshall County.El Dorado, Kan.: Complete the District Stadium, an outdoor venue dedicated to hosting a variety of entertainment and wiffleball events for the community and visitors.Hammond, La.: Install a public address communications system at Chappapeela Sports Park, to ensure the safety of the community.Northampton, Mass.: Install artistic lighting installation on railway underpass in downtown Northampton to enhance walkability and the physical connection of Main Street.Hattiesburg, Miss.: Renovate the playground at Vernon Dahmer Park and restore the fire-damaged pavilion for community events and gatherings.Laurel, Miss.: Create the Laurel-Jones County Library Bookmobile, a refurbished trolley enabled to provide technology on the go for those living in underserved, rural areas across the county.McComb, Miss.: Establish the first-ever McComb Museum of Music, renovating an existing Main Street building to highlight the community’s local artists and musical history.Goldsboro, N.C.: Install automatic doors at the Wayne Opportunity Center, providing a safe, accessible and inclusive environment for the community.Hickory, N.C.: Update the Samuel William Davis, Sr. Multipurpose Field at Taft Broome Park, making improvements to the field’s turf, PA system, netting and fencing, to provide an enhanced facility for sports and community events and preserve the rich history of the former Ridgeview High School.Murphy, N.C.: Revamp the new Cherokee County Sharing Center food pantry building, including restrooms and a large wash sink for produce, to continue to provide nutritious groceries to families in need.Columbus, Neb.: Construct an all-inclusive community playground in the heart of downtown near the Columbus Community Building which houses the public library, children’s museum, city hall and more.Lovelock, Nev.: Renovate Amherst Park, creating a fitness court with new fitness equipment to provide the community with a dedicated outdoor space to promote physical wellness.Independence, Ore.: Enhance the community experience at Sunset Meadows Nature Park by building a new accessible play area that will promote nature and community bonding.Herminie, Pa.: Establish a comprehensive career training lab within Yough School District that will provide training opportunities for local youth, prepare students for the workforce and foster economic career growth within the community.Sun Prairie, Wis.: Install solar panels on the renovated Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce building, providing a sustainable energy solution while continuing to foster connections and growth in the community.

To select Hometown Grant recipients, T-Mobile partners with Main Street America and Smart Growth America to assess applications based on their level of detail, community impact, feasibility and other considerations. Each quarter, T-Mobile awards 25 Hometown Grants to small towns with populations of 50,000 or less. To apply for a Hometown Grant, visit here.

T-Mobile’s commitment to small towns goes beyond Hometown Grants, with initiatives like Project 10Million, which offers free internet connectivity and mobile hotspots to eligible students to help close the digital divide. Plus, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet and Business Internet give homes and businesses across the country access to reliable and affordable broadband option.

In addition, T-Mobile is boosting its largest, fastest and most awarded 5G network in communities across rural America, recently announcing expanded Ultra Capacity 5G network performance for nearly 60 million customers over nearly 300,000 square miles from Auction 108. And for the first time, T-Mobile is lighting up Ultra Capacity 5G in counties like Scott County, Kansas, Pennington County, Pennsylvania, and Marathon and Portage County, Wisconsin.

For more information about T-Mobile’s commitment to small towns, visit www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrants. And to see how Hometown Grants are creating change, go here.

Follow @TMobileNews on X, formerly known as Twitter, to stay up to date with the latest company news.

# # #

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Not available in all areas. Delivered via 5G cellular network; speeds vary due to factors affecting cellular networks. Project 10Million: Verify National School Lunch Program eligibility at signup.

About T-Mobile 
T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is America’s supercharged Un-carrier, delivering an advanced 4G LTE and transformative nationwide 5G network that will offer reliable connectivity for all. T-Mobile’s customers benefit from its unmatched combination of value and quality, unwavering obsession with offering them the best possible service experience and undisputable drive for disruption that creates competition and innovation in wireless and beyond. Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile provides services through its subsidiaries and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile and Sprint. For more information please visit: https://www.t-mobile.com .

Media Contacts 
T-Mobile US, Inc. Media Relations 
MediaRelations@t-mobile.com

Investor Relations Contact 
T-Mobile US, Inc. 
investor.relations@t-mobile.com 
https://investor.t-mobile.com

Data centers have an eco-unfriendly reputation, but they will actually be powerhouses for change in the race to a more sustainable future. Read on to see how they’re helping to enable a new power paradigm built on clean energy—and how we’re supporting them at Eaton.

Written by Dr Karina Rigby, 03/04/2024

Amid the push to net zero, data centers are coming under increasing scrutiny. With a reputation as energy devouring carbon culprits, these facilities are firmly in the sights of environmental groups and governments—but they actually have a vital role to play in the green revolution.

The World Economic Forum suggests that around 60% of global  gross domestic product is now somehow digital, putting data centers firmly at the heart of economic growth for the foreseeable future. As unstoppable digitalization accelerates worldwide, there are now as many data centers planned as already exist—and that’s before powerful trends like artificial intelligence have fully impacted the market. Indeed, entire regions like the Middle East are beginning to refocus from an oil-based to a digital-based economy, which can only be a good thing.

However, while data centers are vital to economic prosperity, they are also often regarded as digitalization’s dirty secret. Headlines claiming data centers out-pollute airlines are easy to find, causing many leaders to worry about the dramatic rise in their numbers. But is this eco-unfriendly reputation fair?

Accounting for about 1.5% of global energy consumption, data centers have long been striving to raise efficiency and reduce emissions. It’s a testament to the success of these efforts that, as the IEA reports, data center emissions “have grown only modestly despite rapidly growing demand for digital services”.

From our customer conversations, sustainability is now one of the core imperatives for data center operators alongside speed and cost. We have a broad range of products and services that are supporting this push, for example optimizing energy efficiency or enabling local renewable generation.

Emerging technology trends will only accelerate this process—for instance, switching to hydrogen rather than diesel for back up power, or enabling more efficient cooling. Over the coming years, these innovations will further drive down data center costs, energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Yet, such greener operations are just the beginning of the data center sustainability journey. Our market position puts us in the ideal place to survey the energy ecosystem as a whole, and it’s increasingly clear that a symbiotic relationship is emerging between data centers, utilities and grid operators that will be good for everyone.

It’s increasingly clear that a symbiotic relationship is emerging between data centers, utilities and grid operators that will be good for everyone.

Karina Rigby, president, Critical Systems, Electrical Sector, EMEA

The rise of energy prosumers

The olden days of top-down power generation, transmission and distribution are gone. Grids are becoming extremely complex and now demand much more flexibility and intelligence. Electricity no longer just flows one-way to assets hanging on the grid, but back and forth in a much more decentralized ecosystem.

As utilities bring more and more renewable generation online—potentially meeting around 60% of total European electricity demand by 2030—grid volatility is becoming a pressing issue. The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, but expecting utilities or governments to build out huge amounts of back-up power generation to balance the grid isn’t financially feasible, especially with energy demands rising fast as industry electrification and the electric vehicle revolution gather pace.

The answer lies in greater demand-side flexibility driven by a new breed of energy prosumers—entities with the ability to generate and store power locally, then feed it back into the grid. Data centers are uniquely positioned to benefit from this trend, because each facility already has an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that ensures normal operations can continue in the event of an electricity outage. With the right infrastructure and intelligent management capabilities, these battery backup systems can return energy to the grid to help balance demand and enable vital flexibility for the renewable revolution.

For utilities and grid operators, this two-way power flow with energy prosumers helps to address flexibility challenges while also providing a route to harness more renewables. Equally, data center operators, who already prioritize the best grid access, can monetize otherwise underused assets, create new revenue streams, and strengthen their net zero credentials.

Awareness of this symbiotic win-win is growing fast. We’re proud to be enabling customers from all sides to embrace it, helping energy consumers become energy prosumers through our medium and low voltage solutions, battery technology, digital grid balancing capabilities, consulting services, and more. For instance, we’re already working with major hyperscale and colocation data center players to enable grid stabilization through their UPS systems with our EnergyAware solution.

Expecting utilities or governments to build out huge amounts of back-up power generation to balance the grid isn’t financially feasible.

Karina Rigby, president, Critical Systems, Electrical Sector, EMEA

Nurturing a new energy ecosystem

From our conversations with customers and partners on the ground, it’s clear that a combination of powerful trends is driving the development of a new energy ecosystem where data centers will play an important role.

The rapid growth of digitalization, the energy transition to renewables, data center sustainability improvements, the rising complexity of grids, and the need for intelligent power management—all of these trends are moving at slightly different speeds, but they are all going in the same direction.

The economic case is strong. The sustainability argument is compelling. And the necessary technologies are coming online. The key challenge is now one of culture. Grid operators and data center energy prosumers need to align in their thinking—and that is steadily happening with more and more organizations trying to understand how they can support a net-zero playing field.

Government has an important role to play here in setting the right policy framework and financial incentives to drive cultural change. Demand-side players weren’t previously involved in the grid, so policymakers need to incentivize data center operators to sell flexibility services. That means building the business case, clarifying the current rules, and making participation easier with advances like smart billing. Legislation like REPowerEU is a good step, helping different market players come together to fast forward the clean energy revolution.

Now is the time for everyone in this ecosystem to move things forward by collaborating, breaking down siloes, learning, and sharing best practices. Most importantly, we need to advance the conversation about the environmental impact of data centers and shake off their high-carbon reputation. Data centers aren’t holding back a sustainable future—in fact, they’re helping us get there faster.