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If Lloyd Lewis had stayed the course that he thought his career was going to take – that of a C-level financial analyst for the likes of Smith Barney and IBM – he would have quite a different story to tell. But when his son Kennedy was born with Down syndrome, everything changed. From that moment on, Lloyd has devoted his life to radically changing and elevating the conversation around the INCLUSION of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since 2005, Lloyd has become an uncompromising advocate for people with IDD.
Lloyd is president and CEO of arc Thrift Stores, one of Colorado’s largest nonprofit organizations. By focusing on employment, healthcare, and housing, Lloyd has turned arc into one of the state’s largest employers of people with IDD and has issued a challenge to business leaders everywhere to change how we approach and truly embody inclusion in this country.
In this webinar, Lloyd will share his story, outline what other nonprofit organizations need to know about creating a truly inclusive culture, and provide helpful tips on how to take DEI to the next level.
Lloyd Lewis, CEO of Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado
Lloyd Lewis is the CEO of the Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado, one of Colorado’s largest social enterprises. Arc Thrift is also one of Colorado’s largest nonprofits, employers of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), recyclers, and relief organizations. Under Lewis’ tenure, Arc Thrift has funded over $250 million to nonprofit causes and charities since 2005.
Since taking on the leadership role at Arc Thrift Stores, Lewis has become a passionate and uncompromising advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With 80% of people in the U.S. with disabilities being unemployed, a champion was indeed called for. Focusing on healthcare, housing, voting rights, and employment, Lewis is most definitely that champion and is on a crusade to promote a new way to think about inclusion and diversity.
When and where he can, Lewis takes a stand and has issued a challenge to all CEOs and business leaders to follow his lead and change how we approach and truly embody inclusion in this country.
Lewis was a nominee for CEO of the Year by ColoradoBiz magazine in 2020 and named one of Denver’s Most Admired CEOs in 2021 by the Denver Business Journal. He is also the recipient of a Civil Rights Award and received the World Citizenship Award in 2022 from the International Civitans, an honor that has included such noted past winners as England’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Eunice Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics.
Lewis’s career in disabilities and employment has also been recognized in the Congressional Record by U.S. House of Representatives Jason Crow and Diana DeGette.
Lewis has an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Before coming to Arc Thrift Stores, Lewis was a municipal investment banker with Smith Barney, a senior financial analyst with IBM, a director of finance for a publicly traded medical equipment company, and a CFO for a high-tech start-up company that was ultimately sold to Micron. Lewis is a board member of the Colorado Business Roundtable and chairs its community committee.
Lewis lives in Englewood Colorado with his wife Claire who is a substitute teacher. He has four grown and two younger children, including a 19-year-old son with Down syndrome.
Lewis is a nationally recognized expert in IDD employment and speaks nationally to corporations about the positive contributions of employees with IDD. He will be speaking at the opening plenary session at the Arc of United States convention in November 2022.
Arc Thrift has a long and established partnership with BOK. BOK helped Arc Thrift navigate the Great Recession with an $8 million bond issue, and then the pandemic with a $14 million LOC followed by a $9 million PPP loan – and led the successful PPP loan forgiveness application. BOK continues to manage Arc Thrift’s operating cash balances.
Resiliency is weird. A lot of people are talking about it, but do you know anyone that’s actually succeeding at it? We don’t. Not even us. Which is why we’re reimagining resiliency–what it looks like, who it applies to, and who’s responsible for it. Through extensive research, we learned that resiliency is about so much more than self-care, breathing exercises, and staff pizza parties. Rather, resiliency is dependent on implementing collective cultural shifts within our organizations. Join Hailey Hawkins for a unique take on staff resiliency, retention, and capacity building and learn how to truly make your organization more effective, innovative, and resilient for years to come.
Hailey Hawkins
After experiencing burnout for the majority of her 10 years in the nonprofit sector, Hailey decided it was time to finally figure out what truly prevents and cures it. Through extensive research and collaboration, she discovered that resiliency, the opposite of burnout, does not lie solely within the individual, but in the collective culture of an organization. With this revolutionary approach, Hailey created the one-of-a-kind Resiliency Audit, a toolkit that guides organizations through the process of measuring and improving their internal resilience.
Hailey began her nonprofit career in 2010 as an organizer working to expand renewable energy development in the Southeast. After establishing an environmental policy at her alma mater, Mississippi State University, she continued working to train and empower hundreds of students to promote a clean energy future. She then attended graduate school at Naropa University in Boulder, CO and in 2016 received her master’s degree in Environmental Leadership. Hailey spent the next 5 years protecting wildlife and endangered species in the Southwest through policy action, community engagement, and coalition building. She was instrumental in passing numerous pieces of statewide legislation, building diverse coalitions, and leading habitat restoration projects. She is now the founder of Sailing Hawks Consulting, which helps nonprofits become more effective, innovative, and enduring while supporting their staff to be the happiest employees possible. Hailey believes that the strength of our movement is in the resilience of our teams.
Volunteers who believe in an organization’s mission are 80% more likely to donate and are more likely to donate 10x more money to charities than those who do not volunteer. Subsequently, donors who participate in at least one volunteer activity increase their donor retention rate by 2.5x. Volunteers and donors go hand-in-hand, and every nonprofit needs both.
In this session, we’ll focus on how you can turn your volunteers into loyal and engaged donors by understanding what motivates your volunteers and donors, tips for segmenting your volunteers, and how to double down on storytelling to connect with your audience.
James Goalder
With almost 20 years of experience working in nonprofit technology and sales and relationship management, James brings the perfect blend of experience for his role as Partnerships Manager at Bloomerang. In addition to his work experience, James volunteers with Project Grows, a community farm in Virginia, serving on the Board and on Volunteer Nights with the organization.
Does your organization work cross-culturally? Have you ever been frustrated by miscommunications with team members who come from different backgrounds? We will go over five basic concepts of leading a team in a way that leverages cultural diversity. Learn practical exercises that you can use in your organization to increase cultural awareness and reduce frustration. We will end with a discussion on how your organization can become an incubator for high-performing multicultural teams.
Andrew Hoskins has led and taught multicultural teams for the past two decades. He spent the first 17 years of his career leading nonprofit teams in multiple countries across Africa. He moved to Colorado Springs two years ago and is currently the Vice President of International Programs for The Exodus Road, a nonprofit fighting to disrupt global human trafficking.
Andrew is soon completing a DBA at Trevecca Nazarene University. He holds an MA in International Development from the University of South Carolina. He is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and a Proci Certified Change Management Practitioner.
The American Psychological Association reports that the vast majority of American adults are experiencing emotions associated with prolonged stress, with 87% feeling like there has been a constant stream of crises over the past two years (Mar 2022). In addition to the personal pain we are holding, we have been navigating the fear and uncertainty of a pandemic, experiencing inflation, and wrestling with racial injustice. Trauma can have negative impacts on our mental and physical health, particularly if gone unacknowledged.
Research shows us that alongside difficult experiences, positive outcomes such as personal growth, gratitude, and a stronger sense of self often emerge. Once we give ourselves time to effectively feel and process challenging emotions, research-based strategies can help us orient ourselves towards meaningful shifts. In this session, we will engage in telling redemptive stories to reclaim our personal narratives, and make sense of what we have been through. Uncovering opportunities for learning and growth will help us connect with the meaning and purpose that sustain our personal and professional fulfillment
Mary Cipollone – Big Onion Partnerships
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The American Psychological Association reports that the vast majority of American adults are experiencing emotions associated with prolonged stress, with 87% feeling like there has been a constant stream of crises over the past two years (Mar 2022). In addition to the personal pain we are holding, we have been navigating the fear and uncertainty of a pandemic, experiencing inflation, and wrestling with racial injustice. Trauma can have negative impacts on our mental and physical health, particularly if gone unacknowledged.
Research shows us that alongside difficult experiences, positive outcomes such as personal growth, gratitude, and a stronger sense of self often emerge. Once we give ourselves time to effectively feel and process challenging emotions, research-based strategies can help us orient ourselves towards meaningful shifts. In this session, we will engage in telling redemptive stories to reclaim our personal narratives, and make sense of what we have been through. Uncovering opportunities for learning and growth will help us connect with the meaning and purpose that sustain our personal and professional fulfillment.
Finding the right people for your organization and then keeping them engaged is your number one priority. Using Emotional Intelligence tools can help you recruit and retain your most valuable resource. This session will discuss key elements of EQ and how they apply to your culture, your recruiting efforts and engagement strategy. We will explore how to use EQ tools to evaluate current staff, potential staff and create developmental opportunities that uplift your organization’s culture.
Mary Ann Little
Mary Ann, an accomplished Senior Executive with an extensive background in business – large, small, global and domestic – startup and mature, is the CEO of –Peak To Peak Business Strategies, LLC and is a certified coach. Her company specializes in Business Coaching using proven methodologies coupled with experiences from her vast career. Based in Denver, Colorado, Mary Ann serves the US and International countries offering clients ways to work smarter, not harder. Mary Ann is an executive coach, trainer and advisor backed by more than 36 years of executive leadership, international business development, operations, customer excellence, product management, team management and sales leadership.
She began her career in the high- tech industry as an Account Manager for AT&T and was rapidly promoted to Executive Briefer with the AT&T Global Briefing Program. In 1991 she was promoted to General Manager with AT&T Computer Systems managing a multi-state sales region. The next step was the National Sales Director for AT&T Video Technology program. Mary Ann moved to New Jersey to become the Executive Chief of Staff with an officer with AT&T Headquarters. During the launch of Lucent Technologies, Mary Ann served in 4 marketing assignments to extend the brand in the global marketplace building the Executive Briefing Program, Consultant and Analyst Program, Trade Show & Exhibits, and Client/CEO/Business Partner Global Events.
In 1999, Mary Ann was promoted again to Vice President/General Manager for an AT&T/Avaya business partner – Expanets – where she built a $100M business spanning 8 states. Upon the merger of Expanets to Avaya, Mary Ann led the sales transition and then became the Vice President for Services at Avaya. Inside this role Mary Ann built 26 Technical Centers of Excellence to support Avaya’s largest Fortune 100 clients on a global basis. With over 1500 engineers, Mary Ann established platforms for technical support in 16 languages. Also with Avaya, Mary Ann took on the role as Vice President for Channels and developed channel/distribution programs for the services portfolio.
Upon leaving Avaya, Mary Ann was promoted again to Vice President Portfolio Management for Bank of America where she built the product management function for Information Services and managed a $1.5B contracts portfolio.
In 2015, Mary Ann opened her own company – Peak to Peak Business Strategies – providing executive & business coaching and business consulting. She enjoys speaking, teaching, coaching and consulting for clients on a global basis. Her specialties include Strategic Planning, Leadership Development, Growth Strategies and Team Building.
Mary Ann graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with an Emphasis in Management from the University of Northern Colorado. She also attended The Executive Marketing Program at Columbia through her work at AT&T and Lucent Technologies. She is trained in Change Management and LEAN through her work in Lucent and Avaya.
It’s so important to get hiring right, especially in times when the hiring market is competitive. Your nonprofit is a great place to work and you need to make sure your potential employees know it! In this session we will update your job descriptions to ensure they are accurate, have language that protects your organization, and, most importantly, sound exciting and enticing to qualified applicants. We will build on your job descriptions to develop thoughtful, structured interviews that are designed to help your applicants demonstrate their talents to you while filtering for unconscious bias on the part of the interviewers. From there, we’ll discuss effective onboarding strategies that ensure your new hires are set up to succeed. Finally, we’ll explore strategies for employee retention that go beyond on-tap craft beer and ping-pong tables.
RB Fast, CEO, Fast Impact.
RB Fast is an experienced nonprofit leadership coach and operations expert. She’s adept at helping leaders take an honest self-inventory and move towards people first leadership while ensuring their own well-being. She has a long history of getting results for nonprofits. If she’s not in her office working with nonprofit leaders, you can probably find her in the garden.
Session 1– Human Resource & Compliance Top Trends: leverage your current organizational offerings to improve the recruitment and retainment of top talent
Presenters: Hayley Klein and Meg Gilland- GNA Partners
Course Description:
In this interactive session we will give a general human resource and compliance update for the Colorado nonprofit community. Share how company compliant strategies such as PTO and benefits translate to better recruiting and retaining of top talent, we will also take time to answer HR compliance and benefits related questions that are top of mind!
Session 2-Managing and Leading Effectively
Presenter: Kim Stewart- Athena Coaching and Consulting
Course Description:
Being a good supervisor is not something that just happens. It requires intentionality, skills development, and practice. Many people are put into a supervisory role and given no more than a list of their director reports. With today’s employment climate and the need to attract and retain staff, we need to do better. This course will outline the basics of leading, managing, and holding staff accountable.
Session 3- Hiring with Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Mind
Presenter: Monica Williams- The Equity Project
Course Description:
In this 60-minute session, Monica Williams, Chief Consultant Officer at The Equity Project, will discuss how attracting, recruiting, and retaining diverse talent requires organizations to looks inwards, and better understand how their policies, practices, and decision-making may be impacting both who is applying and who is staying. Utilizing her own experiences leading DEI initiatives over the last decade in organizations such as Denver International Airport and CenturyLink, Monica will offer best practices in the field, and share tools and resources that leaders and hiring managers can implement in their recruitment efforts.
How can you stand out at work, have a greater impact, and focus on what energizes you the most? Knowing and leveraging your strengths can help you accomplish all of these outcomes. But strengths can be challenging to identify because many of our workplaces focus on improving our weaknesses. In this workshop, we’ll help you identify your edge by taking the StandOut Assessment. We will talk about ways to manage your weaknesses and explore tips to engage with others so that your team and peers can benefit from a strengths-based mindset.
Bonnie Davis, Founding Partner and Keynote Speaker at HuWork
Get the transactional legal assistance your nonprofit needs for free!
COLORADO NONPROFIT PRO BONO LEGAL MATCH PROGRAM
The Colorado Nonprofit Pro Bono Legal Match Program, is an initiative of Colorado Nonprofit Association and the Colorado Lawyers Committee effectively matching nonprofits in need of legal assistance with volunteer lawyers who can help.
Participating Organization Criteria
Areas of Assistance
Volunteer lawyers may assist in transactional-type issues, including:
Pro Bono Legal Group Requests
Submitting a request through the Pro Bono Legal Group DOES NOT guarantee legal counsel for your organization. We simply make your request available to a lawyer who may decide to assist your organization and timing can take up to two months for a lawyer to contact you once you submit a request. We encourage you to maintain your own efforts to secure needed assistance. Acceptance of each request is dependent upon the professional and personal criteria of the individual attorneys who volunteer their time and expertise.
Pro Bono Legal Group assistance is NOT available for:
In partnership with:
