WASHINGTON, DC — The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) is the preeminent membership organization committed to increasing the number of global Black executives in C-suites, on corporate boards and in global enterprises, and developing the pipeline of the next generation of Black executives. Today it announced its lineup for the 2020 Mid-Level Managers’ Symposium (MLMS). Boasting more than 20 fireside chats and 10 different workshops, this two-day symposium will be, for the first time, a fully virtual leadership development experience. The goal of The ELC’s MLMS is to amplify the successes of Black professionals and increase their capacity for designing meaningful careers.
“COVID-19 challenged The ELC to figure out how to elevate the Mid-Level Managers’ Symposium to meet the needs of the next generation of Black leaders during this time,” said Crystal E. Ashby, interim President and CEO of The ELC. “This virtual leadership development experience will be more comprehensive than any previous version and provides our team with the ability to impact more careers and lives. This is not just a professional development program. Rather, it is the opportunity for professional transformation in an atmosphere where the Black experience is centered, essential and unapologetic.”
The ELC will provide more leadership development opportunities this year at MLMS than in the past, delivering sessions on various topics featuring contemporary subject matter experts: April Ryan, Austin Channing Brown, Bakari Sellers, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Butch Graves, Cole Brown, Common, Derrick Johnson, Elaine Welteroth, Eric Thomas, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Karen Boykin-Towns, Keke Palmer, Linal Harris, Linda Johnson Rice, Marc Lamont Hill, Marc Morial, Melody Spann Cooper, Michael Eric Dyson, Misty Copeland, Rachel Cargle, Rashad Robinson, Sybrina Fulton, Tamika Mallory and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Several ELC members, Black C-suite executives and leaders in their own corporations are volunteering their time to lead or moderate sessions sponsored by their companies and share their experiences as Black business leaders. These include Altria’s Neil Simmons, Apple’s Lisa Jackson, Bank of America’s D. Steve Boland, HSBC’s Monique Frazier, PepsiCo’s Karen Jordan, Pfizer’s Willard McCloud and Target’s Laysha Ward.
This year’s program takes the entire identity of the Black professional into account. Dictated by the current state of the world, between COVID-19, the fight for social justice and the economic turndown, the program meets those issues head-on to best prepare the next generation of Black leaders. The ELC shifted to provide developmental conversations about social justice, corporate responsibility and voting rights to illustrate how these issues impact the Black professional’s identity and how they show up to work during this unprecedented time. Every panel is competency-based and corresponds to the learning model of The ELC’s Institute for Leadership Development and Research. All discussions will be developmental.
To register visit www.elcinfo.com/mlms
The 2020 Mid-Level Managers’ Symposium is made possible with support from lead sponsors Target and PepsiCo Foundation, signature sponsor HSBC, live-stream sponsor FedEx and session sponsors Altria, Apple, AWS, Bank of America, Cadillac, Cisco, Citi, EA, Linde, Merck, Novartis Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Twilio and USAA.
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