|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
| |
|
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
Officially Launched! “Of Like Minds Productions”Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services, a small, African American, woman-owned insurance firm launched “Of Like Minds Productions” this week, a forum to bring business and community together to solve some of society’s most complicated issues related to social and economic justice. The firm has an inherent passion and focus on bridging the divide in opportunity and inclusion and is continuing to do so through the recognition and celebration of others in the community who are “Of Like Minds”.At its launch event on March 30th, Of Like Minds Productions celebrated the accomplishments of three of San Francisco’s most respected treasures in the field of social and economic justice. Aileen Hernandez was recognized for her work for over 60 years in the struggle for Civil Rights. At 83, Ms. Hernandez is more engaged than ever. She has led the Coalition for Economic Equity (CEE) for 10 years, holding government agencies at every level accountable for strong, clear and consistent policies, which promote diversity and inclusion in contracting. CEE’s efforts were primarily responsible for the strengthening of policies to ensure diversity and inclusion in California’s Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as well as City and County of San Francisco public contracting. Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR) was also honored for its representation of CEE and other organizations advocating for social and economic justice since 1968. Currently, the Lawyers' Committee is working with pro bono partner Bingham McCutchen to represent CEE in a lawsuit defending Caltrans’ implementation of its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program. "Minority and women-owned businesses are crucial to our communities, and we're proud to partner with a leading firm like Bingham McCutchen to ensure that small business owners have a fair and equal shot at the opportunities they need to succeed," said Lateefah Simon, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee. "We are honored by this recognition, and are committed to continuing to advocate for justice and equality." The third honoree at Tuesday’s event was Bingham McCutchen LLC, a San Francisco-based law firm serving as co-counsel with LCCR in the Caltrans litigation. Michael Begert, lead counsel for Bingham on the case says: “This is a tremendous honor for us. I have met so many wonderful people tonight who are doing such inspiring things, that I must say what we are trying to accomplish in this case is really rather -modest: to obtain a little justice and fairness in the way our government spends public money after collecting it from all of us. What always amazes me is the fear and defensiveness that motivates some people to oppose any effort to share even a tiny percentage of those funds with people who have contributed so much to our community”. Bingham has represented low-income clients in hundreds of housing, education, discrimination and immigration cases over the years. In addition to the evening’s “formal” honorees, the gallery was saturated with every-day social and economic justice advocates, including procurement managers, equity coordinators, and diversity officers. In addition, a whole host of small, minority, and women-owned businesses came out to honor their heroes. Of Like Minds Productions (OLMP) acknowledges these civil rights icons as an example of the kinds of efforts OLMP seeks to promote. “The kinds of gains these honorees have achieved are only possible through collaboration and unified vision. OLMP seeks to provide a vehicle for business and community to come together in support of such efforts”, says Ingrid Merriwether, President and CEO of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services, creator of OLMP. Merriwether’s community-based risk management programs have helped small and minority construction contractors bid on over $400 Million in public works construction through innovative bonding and finance programs. These same programs have saved over $10 Million for the firm’s public entity clients, through the enhanced competition they create. Upcoming Of Like Minds Productions will include discussion forums, advocacy campaigns and celebrations of efforts and initiatives to assist in expanding diversity and inclusion in our community. For more information on MWIS and Of Like Minds Productions please visit www.imwis.com. For Information: http://www.imwis.com/index.asp Contact: Bernida Reagan bernida@imwis.com Phone: (510) 740-6922 Discuss it on SBE Forum >> |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
All Rights Reserved |
