FCC Completes Dynamic Capacity-Building Program with Burns & McDonnell
2023 Accelerate Cohort, including FCC's Chris Carothers and Irwin Morrisey
Program Description: RGMA has teamed with Evergy and Burns & McDonnell to deliver a business talent pipeline for small and diverse businesses in our community through the Accelerate Program.
The Accelerate Program will partner executive and emerging leadership at Evergy and Burns & McDonnell to provide mentorship with small and diverse businesses in our community. These partnerships will help build the select business capabilities and functioning to partner with Evergy, Burns & McDonnell, and other similar organizations in our communities. This program endeavors to develop these businesses as competitive entities capable of growing their skill sets and business functioning to meet the needs of our organizations.
Burns & McDonnell: Together By Design
Accelerating Diversity in Business
We are committed to being a great place to work by fostering a culture that values and respects differences. This includes not only among our employee-owners, but also among the small and diverse businesses who help us build the infrastructure that moves and connects people around the world.
Over the last five years, Burns & McDonnell has had a total business diversity spend of $2.2 billion and has worked with over 2,700 small and diverse businesses globally. But it goes beyond the “spend” to build relationships and develop mutually beneficial partners where together we make a difference in the communities where we work, live, and play.
In celebration of our diverse business partners, as well as our employee-owners, we’re thrilled to share Together By Design, our diversity e-newsletter. In this issue, we focus on mentoring and information sharing. You’ll hear from entrepreneur and astronaut Aisha Bowe; read about Bayen Group, one of our 2022 Partners of the Year; and discover how disadvantaged communities can access government funding for projects through the Justice40 Initiative.
In addition to sharing our diversity e-newsletter, I’m equally excited to share the news that in August, Burns & McDonnell, Evergy, and Ralph G. Moore & Associates (RGMA) recognized nearly 40 small and diverse businesses that graduated in the inaugural class of Accelerate, our six-month supplier diversity mentoring program. As part of the program, Burns & McDonnell and Evergy provide 1:1 mentors while RGMA leads training that focuses on improving competitiveness, capacity, and financial strength.
Plans are underway to continue Accelerate in 2024, and I can’t wait for you to learn more about it in our next issue of the e-newsletter. I personally believe programs like Accelerate are important because I’ve seen firsthand how diverse partnerships can contribute to an area’s overall health and stability. I hope as you read this letter and review Together By Design, you’ll be inspired in new ways that not only fuel your company’s growth but help fuel others on the way to building stronger communities. Enjoy the journey!
Tammy Martin
Business Diversity Program Director