Author: sHq_LoGiNz

By Candace Higginbotham

Back-to-school season is more than a circled date on the calendar. In August and September there’s a new energy and excitement in our neighborhoods as communities gather to celebrate students, teachers and families. For many of us, it brings back memories of seeing old friends and making new ones, having fun new school supplies and being eager to learn.

Education is an important part of Regions’ community engagement strategy, and bank associates understand back to school can also be a difficult time for many families. So, each fall, teams across the bank’s footprint eagerly take part in volunteer activities to help students have a strong, fresh start to another successful year.

I’m proud that our teams engage in this tradition of volunteerism each year that helps prepare students in our communities for the exciting year ahead.
Leroy Abrahams, head of Community Engagement at Regions.

Regions’ back-to-school efforts are not limited to K-12 students. Associates also support back-to-campus activities for college and university students, offering financial education, career guidance and doing some heavy lifting on move-in day.

“It’s important that students get off on the right foot at the start of the school year, to ensure academic success,” said Leroy Abrahams, head of Community Engagement at Regions. “I’m proud that our teams engage in this tradition of volunteerism each year that helps prepare students in our communities for the exciting year ahead.”

Here are some highlights from back-to-school events across the bank’s footprint:

Florida

• What better way to make a fresh start to the school year than with a fresh car wash? Tampa Bay area Regions associates teamed up with United Way Suncoast, Academy Prep Center of Tampa and Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg to treat teachers and staff to a fun surprise – a back-to-school car wash.
• “The Leadership Circle for the Orlando/Space Coast market had a great idea for a fun and meaningful back-to-school volunteer activity that everyone could participate in,” said Community Engagement Officer Stephen Ponzillo. “And it was a huge success!” The market team collaborated with five area schools to share appreciation with hand-written thank-you notes for teachers and staff as they head back to campus to start the new academic year. A whopping 125 Regions associates participated.
• Associates from all 37 Miami branches, representing several lines of business, participated in the annual Back-to-School Supply Drive and Backpack event. More than 500 backpacks were filled and donated to Branches, an organization supporting local families in need.
• Regions Commercial Banking associates in Fort Lauderdale took part in United Way of Broward County’s school supply drive, filling backpacks with colored pencils, crayons, notebooks and more

North Carolina
Regions’ Inclusion, Belonging & Impact, Learning & Development and Talent Acquisition teams hosted a back-to-campus event at Johnson C. Smith University in August. Around 25 students attended the program, which included a presentation about Regions’ Emerging Talent Program, a Regions Next Step Reality Check workshop and a panel discussion about careers in banking. Charlotte Market Executive Thad Walton was impressed with both the university’s commitment to supporting practical life skills for freshmen and with the students themselves. “I was really struck by how well-rounded these students are—the number who work part-time or are student-athletes, and all the expectations and demands they face. They’re being asked to grow up quickly, even as college freshmen.”

Illinois
Taylorville Branch Manager Alex Evrley and his team helped North Elementary School students head back to school as part of Back 2 School America, an organization that addresses the inequities in educational opportunities for children in Illinois and across the country. To reduce the financial burden on families and teachers, the B2SA program has supplied more than 400,000 children with their own school supply kits, distributing over 12 million supplies to those who need them most.

Alabama

• United Way of Central Alabama hosted their annual Back-to-School Backpack Drive and several Regions teams joined in on the fun, including Internal Audit. According to Tasha Branch, who leads the team’s community engagement efforts, 16 associates stuffed backpacks with folders, pencils, erasers, index cards and other necessities. “Supporting students and teachers is a shared commitment across the Audit team,” Branch said. “We feel a responsibility to support the communities the bank serves. And helping students and teachers prepare for a successful school year is a meaningful way for us to give back, connect beyond our daily work and help enrich lives where it truly counts.”
• Recently, Lawson State Community College in Birmingham hosted a group of rising high school seniors who are part of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s SOAR Program. The students participated in a one-week residential stay at the HBCU and as part of their program, around 60 of them came to Regions Center for an afternoon of financial education, career networking sessions – and lunch. The students took part in a Regions Next Step Reality Check budget simulation and Regions volunteers spent time with them talking about their roles at the bank.
• Other students also went “back to school” during summer break. Regions associates Natasha Burnett and Josh Green, from the Homewood branch, delivered three financial wellness sessions for rising high school juniors and seniors attending Samford University’s Alabama Governor’s School. Regions is a longtime supporter of the program, which hosts high-achieving student leaders from across the state. 90 students participated in the Regions Next Step Banking Basics for Freshmen course. “I’m so pleased we were able to deliver practical, financial wellness information to these future leaders as part of the Alabama Governors School,” said Mark Senter, Experiential and Sponsorship Marketing Program Manager at Regions. “The bank has supported this impactful program for more than 25 years and it’s exciting to be part of this special experience.”
• Several Birmingham-area teams helped local schools welcome students back by sprucing up classrooms and campuses. Associates volunteered at Ephesus Academy, Dolly Ridge Elementary, Glen Iris Elementary, Henry J. Oliver Elementary and Brock’s Gap Intermediate School.
• Students at First Light, an organization providing safe and supportive environment for homeless women and children, were treated to back-to-school hair services and Regions associates were on hand to help out.

Tennessee
Each year, the Regions Nashville team takes part in the United Way of Nashville Stuff the Bus Day of Action, which ensures that 15,000 students in the nine-county area have the tools they need to start the school year off right. Once again, the event featured a crayon challenge and according to Community Relations Officer Yolanda Hollingsworth, Regions teams donated 16,605 boxes of crayons, surpassing last year’s total by 103 boxes. The top donating branch was Rivergate. “I am so proud of this team,” said Denise Vazquez, branch manager and Nashville Impact Network Workplace co-chair. “We delivered 4,300 boxes of crayons!” The strong showing earned the team an outing at a Nashville Predators game.

Texas
In August, Regions Bank branch manager Jason Escobedo and his teammates visited Texas Southern University (TSU) to teach the Class of 2029 – all 1,200 of them – Regions’ “Banking Basics for Students” financial education course during Welcome Week. Read more about Escobedo’s and Regions Stadium Branch relationship manager Maranda Alix’s inspiring day with TSU students on Doing More Today.

Louisiana
Regions teams supported the successful Stuff the Bus program organized by Salvation Army of Baton Rouge. 30 single-parent households with K-12 students received backpacks, calculators, pencils, pens, notebooks and other supplies donated by bank teams and the community.

Georgia
Regions bankers took part in the New Teacher Orientation in Gwinnet County, which is the largest school system in the state. Around 1,500 new teachers, counselors and school psychologists attended the event. Watch this video to see how associates showed their support and helped equip school staff for a great school year.

Arkansas
Jonesboro Main branch manager Joey Pettit organized a team of 15 associates from three branches and across several business groups to assist students and parents on move-in day at Arkansas State University. Hear from Pettit about the fun (and exhausting) experience on Doing More Today.

From packing backpacks to mentoring and organizing events, these efforts reflect a shared commitment to education and community. Together, Regions is working closely with schools, colleges, universities and local nonprofits to help pave the way for a successful year ahead.

Equal Opportunity Employer/including Disabled/Veterans

Authored by Baker Tilly’s Darren R. Jones, Mark Scallon, Mike Vanderbilt

In a rapidly evolving digital world, life sciences data privacy is becoming a top priority as life sciences companies are under increasing pressure to safeguard personal data while meeting a growing array of local, national and international privacy obligations. With every advancement in digitalization, from virtual clinical trials to cross-border data collaborations, the need for robust, compliant privacy practices becomes even more critical.

Navigating today’s global privacy landscape

Life sciences organizations face unique data privacy challenges due to the nature of their work. From handling sensitive data on healthcare professionals (HCPs) to managing multinational product development pipelines, companies must ensure personal information is processed lawfully across multiple jurisdictions. The fragmented legal landscape only heightens this complexity.

In the absence of a U.S. federal data privacy law, states continue to pass individual privacy laws, resulting in a patchwork of obligations. Meanwhile, international laws like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) remain highly influential, even for companies headquartered elsewhere due to its extraterritorial scope and principle-based approach to ensuring personal data is processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently.

Key developments currently shaping the regulatory environment include:

• GDPR: Applies to organizations within and outside of the EU that process personal data of EU residents, setting a high bar for personal data processing standards including explicit informed consent and data subject rights.
• The California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA): The first major U.S. state data privacy law which grants residents enhanced rights over their personal data and which opened the flood gates to some 20 other U.S. state privacy laws to date. The CCPA applies to certain businesses that collect personal data from California residents, regardless of where the business is located. The CCPA was strengthened by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which added new rights and limiting the use of sensitive personal information.
• The California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA): An earlier California privacy law requiring websites that collect personally identifiable information from California residents to post their privacy policy online and may apply to smaller business that do not meet the CCPA’s applicability thresholds. Additionally, this policy must detail the information collected and with whom the information is shared.
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) updates (2025): Updates to the HIPAA Security Rules include mandatory risk analysis, formal incident response plans, vendor oversight, updated technical safeguards and more. Additional protections for reproductive health data have also been added.
• U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) restrictions: As of April 2025, the DOJ, through the Data Security Program (DSP), prohibits the transfer of sensitive personal data, to include personal health data, amongst other categories like human ‘omic data and biometric identifiers, to certain foreign entities. The DSP’s definition of “bulk U.S. sensitive personal data” includes data that has been anonymized, pseudonymized, de-identified, or encrypted, provided it meets the specified bulk thresholds.
• U.S. state law expansion: U.S. state data privacy laws are rapidly expanding, granting consumers significant control over their data; the Washington My Health My Data Act notably creates specific, strict protections for “consumer health data” falling outside of traditional HIPAA protections.
• The European Health Data Space (EHDS): Adopted in early 2025, EHDS is a major EU initiative establishing a single, secure framework for sharing health data across borders, aimed at empowering individuals with control over their data while facilitating its reuse for research, innovation and policy-making under strict safeguards.

Implications for life sciences companies 

These developments represent more than a compliance checklist — they require a shift in how companies collect, manage, share, secure or otherwise process personal data. The key impacts include:

• Compliance complexity: The proliferation of state-level privacy laws in the U.S. necessitates a comprehensive approach to compliance, ensuring adherence to varying requirements across jurisdictions.
• International data transfers: The DOJ rule, as well as the GDPR and the myriad of other international data protection regulations, impose stringent restrictions on how and when person data can be transferred, requiring companies to assess and potentially restructure international collaborations involving both personal and sensitive personal data.
• Enhanced security measures: Updates to HIPAA and safeguards requirements established by other regulations underscore the need for organizations to have a thorough understanding of how they are protecting the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of personal data and assessing if those controls are adequate based upon the sensitivity of the data and potential negative impact the data could have if exposed.
• Data minimization and purpose limitation: Laws like Maryland’s Online Data Privacy Act emphasize the importance of establishing a data privacy program built upon data privacy best practices such as only collecting the personal data that is reasonably necessary and proportionate to provide the specific product or service and using that data solely for the specific purpose for which it was originally collected.

Building privacy resilience for the future

At Baker Tilly, our life sciences professionals help organizations stay ahead of the curve by designing and implementing tailored privacy programs that go beyond compliance. Our team of Value Architects™ builds scalable frameworks that align with evolving regulatory expectations, business operations and the unique needs of the life sciences industry.

Baker Tilly supports life sciences organizations in building sustainable privacy programs that meet today’s standards and anticipate tomorrow’s requirements. Our solutions include:

• Privacy assessments
• Policy and procedure development, including privacy manuals and training programs
• Website and digital infrastructure risk reviews
• Data mapping and repository creation for efficient rights response (GDPR/CCPA)
• Clinical trial privacy advisory services
• DPO advisory support
• Privacy procurement protocols and checklists

We also recommend periodic program reviews to account for regulatory and operational changes. Our experienced professionals understand that privacy compliance is not one-size-fits-all. That’s why we design programs tailored to your size, operations and privacy maturity.

With the regulatory environment continuing to evolve, life sciences companies need a proactive alliance to manage risk and maintain trust. Baker Tilly’s life sciences team helps companies navigate complexity, build internal capability and establish the data privacy resilience organizations need to thrive. Connect with a Baker Tilly specialist today.

Originally published on newsroom.marykay.com

What happens when you trade your desk for a different one – or even the production floor – for a few weeks? At Mary Kay, the #1 Direct Selling Brand of Skin Care and Color Cosmetics in the world^[1], it leads to sharper insights, greater teamwork, and a more connected supply chain.

Job shadowing is said to be less common in supply chain innovation. Mary Kay has proven otherwise. The Mary Kay Operations and Scheduling teams at the Richard R. Rogers Manufacturing and R&D Center (R3) in Texas recently embarked on a cross-functional job shadowing initiative designed to foster better collaboration and innovation. In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, efficiency and coordination are everything. While data and dashboards offer valuable insights, nothing compares to the clarity gained from seeing the work firsthand. That’s where job shadowing comes in – a simple, yet powerful tool that can transform how operations and scheduling teams perform seamlessly and in unison.

“For us at Mary Kay, job shadowing isn’t just a learning tool – it’s a strategic advantage,” said Chaun Harper, Mary Kay’s Chief Supply Chain Officer. “Cross-functional job shadowing connects teams more closely to the heart of manufacturing, sparking insights that lead to smarter decisions, stronger problem-solving, and greater agility. My mission is to build a world-class Supply Chain organization, and every step we take is aligned to that bold goal.” 

By stepping into each other’s daily workflows, both operations and scheduling teams gained a new appreciation for the complexities, demands, and pressures each role faces. More importantly, it opened the door for richer communication and smarter collaboration moving forward. While the primary focus was on supporting the cell manufacturing re-rollout, the benefits extended well beyond any single project.

“The experience was a masterclass in curiosity meeting continuous improvement, allowing both teams to literally and figuratively ‘walk in each other’s shoes.’ From this specific shadowing experience, the most valuable lesson I learned was how our changes impact our partners. It was a powerful lesson in empathy and broadened my understanding of how interconnected our roles are across the company,” said Haley Buckley, Manager, Production Operations.

Over the course of several weeks, team members temporarily swapped spaces, trading office time for hands-on experience on the production floor and vice versa. For a full day, scheduling team members shadowed their operations colleagues, observing the fine details of packaging lines, participating in team meetings, and getting face time with on-site personnel. The reverse also happened, allowing operations team members to sit with schedulers and understand the intricacies behind production planning. 

“Although our two roles work toward the same end goal, they’re very different. It was interesting to see just how complex the production process is and the types of challenges that can arise. It’s not as simple as setting things up and hitting ‘start.’ Operations constantly must adapt as new issues come up, all while managing staffing, equipment, and other variables. It was eye-opening and gave me a new level of appreciation and respect for the work they do. It’s a tough job,” said Monique Ordonez, Analyst, Supply Chain. 

“Something unexpected I experienced while job shadowing was realizing how different assumptions can be from actual understanding. Before shadowing, I tended to make quick judgments about what other departments were doing, and at times, I was inclined to assign blame. However, by learning more about their processes firsthand, my perspective changed significantly. I became much more empathetic and understanding of the challenges they face, which has positively influenced how I collaborate with them moving forward,” said Bernard Filic, Manager, Packing Operations.

As teams peel back the curtain on each other’s day-to-day realities, they’re discovering that the power of collaboration lies in understanding – not just what others do, but why they do it. With renewed respect and fresh insight, these supply chain partners are now better equipped to tackle challenges and innovate together.

At Mary Kay, this kind of cross-team learning is more than a one-off; it’s a model for building a more agile, connected, and high-performing organization.

To learn more about corporate jobs at Mary Kay in the U.S.A., please visit us at Mary Kay Careers.

Did You Know:

• Mary Kay’s state-of-the-art Richard R. Rogers (R3) global Manufacturing/Research & Development Center is located in Lewisville, Texas, and has a production capacity of up to 1.1 million products per day.
• 57% of products manufactured at R3 are exported to Mary Kay’s international markets.
• The 453,00 square-foot facility boasts 20 product-packaging lines and 21 processing vessels and mixing tanks.
• Renewable energy powers 100% of our R3 manufacturing facility.

From Observation to Optimization: The Impact of Job Shadowing & Cross Training on Supply Chain 

Benefits for Operations Teams

• Improved Process Understanding: Shadowing helps operations staff see how their decisions impact production on the floor, leading to more informed and practical process improvements.
• Enhanced Communication: It fosters better communication between frontline workers and operations managers by building empathy and shared context.
• Problem-Solving Insight: Observing real-time challenges helps operations teams identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or safety concerns that may not be visible in reports or dashboards.
• Realistic Time Estimates: By seeing how long tasks take, schedulers can create more accurate and achievable production schedules.
• Better Resource Allocation: Shadowing reveals how labor, equipment, and materials are used, helping schedulers optimize resource planning.
• Stronger Collaboration: It builds trust and understanding between schedulers and production teams, reducing friction and improving responsiveness to changes.

Benefits for Scheduling Teams

• Realistic Time Estimates: By seeing how long tasks take, schedulers can create more accurate and achievable production schedules.
• Better Resource Allocation: Shadowing reveals how labor, equipment, and materials are used, helping schedulers optimize resource planning.
• Stronger Collaboration: It builds trust and understanding between schedulers and production teams, reducing friction and improving responsiveness to changes.

****

About Mary Kay

One of the original glass ceiling breakers, Mary Kay Ash founded her dream beauty brand in Texas in 1963 with one goal: to enrich women’s lives. Learn more at marykayglobal.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or follow us on X.
 

^{[1] “Source Euromonitor International Limited; Beauty and Personal Care 2025 Edition, value sales at RSP, 2024 data”}

For decades, workplace safety programs have emphasized rules and compliance as a way to prevent incidents. While these efforts have helped reduce risk, they’ve often put too much focus on individual actions without fully addressing the broader systems in which work occurs.  

Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) introduces a new approach, one that acknowledges human error as a natural part of work and focuses instead on improving the conditions that shape behavior. By viewing workers as problem solvers rather than problems to be solved, HOP offers a more resilient and collaborative path forward. In this post, we’ll explore the principles behind HOP, strategies for implementation, and the organizational benefits of adopting this safety framework. 

What is Human and Organizational Performance?  

Human and organizational performance has emerged from human factors engineering and systems thinking, representing a significant shift in how organizations view and approach safety. Rather than asking how employees should perform, HOP asks: What made that action make sense at the time? Mistakes are seen not as personal failings, but as signals of system-level gaps that need attention. 

The 5 core principles of HOP 

To truly understand human and organizational performance, you must first familiarize yourself with the methodology’s core principles. 

1. People make mistakes. Human error is not only normal, it’s inevitable. Even the best employees make mistakes.
2. Blame fixes nothing. Punishing individuals or focusing on who’s at fault doesn’t prevent future errors. It makes employees feel like they can’t speak up, even when they know they need to.
3. Context drives behavior. It’s not just about individual choices – systems, conditions, and pressures strongly influence how people perform and why things go wrong.
4. Learning is vital. Organizations must continually examine and evolve their existing systems by learning from past mistakes.
5. How leaders respond to failures matters. A leader’s response shapes the success of HOP. A supportive and curious attitude is more likely to lead to understanding the root cause of the issue. 

Traditional safety programs are often more blame based. Those tactics assume that human error can simply be eliminated with rules and compliance efforts. The individual is responsible for the mistake, and mishaps can be eliminated by “following the rules.” In the traditional view of safety, organizations use a name, blame, shame, and re-train approach – but that doesn’t get to the root of the issue. 

The Business Case for Human and Organizational Performance  

HOP has gained traction as companies seek to improve safety culture and reduce incidents. But beyond safety, HOP also helps organizations improve how work gets done. By shifting focus from compliance-based programs to understanding how work actually happens, HOP can lead to better decision-making, more resilient systems, and stronger employee engagement. 

Safety and operational benefits 

More organizations are implementing HOP because it reduces accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Since human and organizational performance requires businesses to dig into the systemic problems that contribute to human error, it more effectively corrects issues. With pressure taken off the individual for errors, employees can feel more confident sharing errors and correcting problems before incidents occur. 

When systems run more smoothly, operations are less likely to be disrupted. That makes it easier for companies to meet goals, reduce downtime, and avoid costly fixes later. 

Cultural and workforce advantages 

Perhaps one of the best benefits of using HOP for workplace safety is the boost it gives to a company’s culture. By taking blame out of the picture, organizations build psychological safety with their employees. Workers know that they can be honest about issues without being chastised, and in turn can also feel safer knowing that issues will be addressed. It also enhances communication and collaboration within a business, where everyone takes ownership over safety measures. 

When employees can feel psychologically, mentally, and physically safe at work, they’re more likely to stay engaged and satisfied in their roles. HOP helps reduce turnover and improves the general morale of an organization. 

Implementing HOP in Your Organization 

If HOP aligns with your company’s goals, implementing it is a practical and achievable next step. However, the shift to this safety program requires thoughtfulness and adaptability. Organizations must be in a position where they are ready to transition and willing to invest enough time to see real results.  

HOP implementation  

The first step to using human and organizational performance in your organization is assessing your current safety culture. Take an audit of your systems and identify what existing safety management programs you can keep. Look at the data to find problem areas so you can determine what path your company should start with.  

Adopting HOP requires a mindset shift – not a one-time rollout. Rather than formal training on a program, it’s about helping teams and leaders build the habits and perspectives that support HOP principles. Start small, allow space for reflection, and grow from what you learn. Implementation works best in phases, where teams can try ideas, adapt, and improve over time. 

Once departments begin to participate in human and organizational performance, make sure to track progress. Start with the number of incidents or almost incidents that are being reported and compare them to the previous year to see progress. Also remember to listen and learn from employees. They will be the ones engaging with HOP principles day to day and will be able to give real time feedback on how things are working. Employees are the problem solvers – not the problem to be solved. 

The Future of HOP in Workplace Safety  

As time goes on, more and more organizations are looking for transformative safety programs and finding a way to successfully integrate HOP philosophies. By putting the main focus on fixing systems rather than blaming individuals, HOP not only encourages people to report problems, but it also strengthens trust, efficiency, and morale.  

HOP also promotes organizational adaptability, requiring businesses to evolve their processes. Success starts with selecting an approach that aligns with your company’s values and goals. Begin by assessing your current systems and take the next step toward a safer, more resilient workplace.