Episode 141 - Wichita Chamber Business Accelerator - Amy Williams

Posted by: Hannah Crickman on Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Over the Wichita Business Accelerator Podcast's summer break, we revisit some of our favorite episodes. -- Journey Unseen podcast series with Amy Williams.

On the last episode of our Journey Unseen series host Don Sherman is joined by Amy Williams who shares about how she learned to own her own space when she entered the room.

Amy joined Spirit AeroSystems in December 2015 and is currently the Senior Manager for Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I).

Amy has a long history throughout her career in both Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and DE&I. Upon joining Spirit, Amy had responsibility for the strategic direction for CSR enterprise-wide. In 2021, she was given the opportunity to lead the global DE&I strategy for the organization. Amy joined the Spirit team from the retail industry, working with Belk, Inc. and Sears Holdings Corporation (SHC). During her time in retail, she has experience actively partnering with the C-Suite, HR teams, Employee Business Resource Groups and national nonprofit partners, providing leadership to strengthen company brands and inclusive work environments.

Prior to her time in retail, Amy was with Cargill, Inc. where she spent over 10 years partnering with multiple business unit leadership teams to align and execute global CSR and DE&I strategic objectives with goals that were meaningful to the local communities.

Amy is a Wichita native and an active leader in the community. She currently sits on the boards of Music Theatre Wichita, Via Christi Foundation, the Wichita Public Library Foundation, the WSU Tech Foundation and serves as the co-chair for the DE&I Task Force of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. She completed her MBA from Newman University and has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management from Wichita State University.

Amy Williams

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With these special conversations we share the stories of women in our community who have had a profound impact on our community through their leadership and achievements. On this episode we discuss:

What brought Amy back to Wichita
Having a passion for customer relations
Teaching others to play nicely in the sandbox together
Growing up as the bossy older child in the family
The value of adaptability
Having to tell the Emperor they have no clothes
Owning your own space when you enter a room
The struggle when you don’t see progress being made
Why Amy got started in DE&I (Diversity, Ethics and Inclusion)
Helping people see other worlds
The continuous movement towards integration
Always learning from others
Dealing with the polarization in our country

Listen on popular podcast directories and aggregators, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Pandora, and ICT Podcast Network or using the player above. Send feedback on this show and/or suggestions for future guests or topics by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or emailing communications@wichitachamber.org.

Wichita Chamber Business Accelerator is a weekly podcast devoted to supporting and learning from area business owners. Released every Wednesday, it's produced by Forge Podcast Co, managed by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce.

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If you are interested in being a featured guest on the Wichita Business Accelerator, or know of a company that you'd like us to interview, submit the business's information for consideration using this online form.

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