A native of Nigeria, mother of three, and a recent immigrant to the United States, Lola Oyewumi has often struggled with her self-image. “I sometimes think that people do not like me—they do not like my accent, they do not like my color,” Oyewumi said. But now, she has new tools to fight that self-doubt and begin rewiring her brain. Oyewumi was one of 11 pairs of early career professionals and their mentors to complete the Washington Employers for Racial Equity (WERE) leadership training program , co-hosted by CWU’s Milton Kuolt Professor of Business Andy Parks. Parks is co-chair of WERE’s Pipeline for Black and Indigenous Employees committee. The leadership program empowered the participants with 12 weeks of training focused on emotional intelligence, mindfulness, business development, and sponsorship and networking—all skills critical to helping them succeed in the business world. Participating companies included Microsoft, Delta Dental, Avista, and Lease Crutcher Lewis. The program kicked off in January with an in-person launch and wrapped up with a graduation ceremony this spring. The rest of the weeks were held virtually. The program featured instructors from CWU, University of Washington, Seattle University, and Washington State University. “This has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career,” Parks said. “The difference in the participants between week one and week 12 in terms of their business acumen, their confidence level, their belief in themselves— it’s amazing.” MENTORS AND MENTEES GROW IN RACIAL EQUITY LEADERSHIP PROGRAM BY SAVANNAH TRANCHELL
Lola Oyewumi
It’s a transformation that Oyewumi can certainly attest to. Oyewumi is a product manager for Microsoft’s Digital Employee Experience group. “I see a difference now in how I start my day, how I start each meeting. I’m using all those tips and best practices and the leadership skills I learned,” she said. “This helped me with my self-awareness of who I am and how I can position myself in the room. The program helped me understand my unconscious bias and my self-talk. It let me understand how I want people to treat me.” Oyewumi’s mentor, Melissa Delgado, also noticed the shift. Delgado has been with Microsoft since 2014 and is a program manager on the privacy team. Delgado lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and participated remotely. “I’ve seen her grow through this program, and become more mindful about her negotiation skills and communications,” Delgado said. As a mentor, she also took a lot away from the program, including more knowledge about communication types and how to identify the best ways to communicate with others. “If you are a mentor, that’s critical. If your mentee has a way of communicating and you’re trying to guide them through a path, you have to learn what their style is,” she said. “You have to learn to communicate how they want in order for your guidance to be meaningful.” With the first cohort complete, Parks hopes the program can continue, with a goal of reaching up to three cohorts per year.
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