Making an Impact on Juneteenth with Northwestern Mutual

Making an Impact on Juneteenth

Watch On-Demand Now:

Originally recorded: June 14, 2022, 1:00 PM Eastern Time

Panelists: Edward Cook, Julia Smith, Tammie L. Wiley
Moderator: Debbie Smith Rayford

How are you making an impact on Juneteenth? Each year, Juneteenth commemorates and celebrates the emancipation of African-Americans enslaved in the United States. As the oldest nationally recognized commemoration, the importance of Juneteenth lives on and continues to grow in 2022. We’re proud to bring you a panel of leaders from Northwestern Mutual’s African-American Employee Resource Group (AA-ERG) to discuss the significance of Juneteenth to them and the African-American community today.

We will also discuss:

  • How Northwestern Mutual’s AA-ERG will observe Juneteenth this year.
  • Their plans to collaborate with and educate other ERGs at Northwestern Mutual about Juneteenth.
  • The impact of Juneteenth on their ERG and others.
  • How leadership at Northwestern Mutual is acknowledging this very important holiday.

Watch Making an Impact on Juneteenth Now On-Demand

Making an Impact on Juneteenth Panelists

Headshot of Edward Cook, Making an Impact on Juneteenth Panelist

Edward Cook

Co-Vice Chair of the African American ERG (AA-ERG)

Ed has been with Northwestern Mutual for seven years. He is currently an Assistant Director of Operations Integration. In his role he handles all aspects of internal operations as well as creating synergies and integrations between Sales Support and any other departments they touch and impact.

Ed is currently the Co-Vice Chair of the African American Employee Resource Group (AA-ERG) after serving three years prior as the Programs Chair. As a member of Northwestern Mutual’s Sustained Action for Racial Equity (SARE) Task Force, Ed focuses on economic empowerment and development in the local African American community. He has also written three books and a stage play. He considers himself an effective leader within the Northwestern Mutual organization and the local faith community. Ed strives to teach with clarity to help others connect to their superpowers, overcome their fears, maximize their potential to live and serve their organization, community and family. Ed’s goal is to help people bring the best version of themselves to every situation.

Headshot of Julia Smith, Making an Impact on Juneteenth Panelist

Julia Smith

Chair of the African American ERG (AA-ERG)

Julia Smith has been with Northwestern Mutual for nearly 10 years. She is currently an Assistant Director of Learning Experience. In this role Julia empowers leaders to build the skills, mindsets and habits to develop high-performing teams.

In addition to this role, she serves as the Chair of the African American Employee Resource Group (AA-ERG) which is focused on attracting, retaining, developing and advancing Black talent as part of the overall talent eco-system. Prior to Northwestern Mutual, Julia has over 10 years of experience in Adult Education, Talent Development and Organizational Design in both the public and private sectors including Healthcare, Retail and Non-Profit. As an Inclusion Champion, Julia is passionate about providing equitable opportunities to historically- marginalized groups. Julia’s personal mission is to inspire others to use their talents, skills and abilities to impact the world through building relationships and connecting others to opportunities.

Headshot of Tammie L Wiley, Making an Impact of Juneteenth Panelist

Tammie L Wiley, MBA

Co-Vice Chair of the African American ERG (AA-ERG)

Tammie Wiley is a Business Strategy Consultant with Northwestern Mutual. She has consulted in areas of practice management, O. Al Granum guiding principles, staffing and infrastructure, mission, vision values, activity management, goals and CRM.

She is currently managing and designing Northwestern Mutual’s core and most elite awards and production programs. Tammie had achieved the following accomplishments:

– Onboarding 76 network offices across the company onto a business organization tool CRM.
– Launching the company’s #1 used app, Posting+

Tammie earned her undergraduate degree in Business Management and a master’s in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix Arizona. Tammie is the Co-Vice Chair for Northwestern Mutual’s 1st employee resource group, the African American Employee Resource Group (AA-ERG). Tammie is married to Michael, and she lovingly devotes her time to her faith, family and shopping.

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