Atlanta, GA - Chairman and CEO Doug Daft
announced today that The Coca-Cola Company will provide a $1.5 million
grant to establish the Diversity Leadership Academy of Atlanta (DLAA),
a program designed to build diversity and further the missions of the organizations
they lead.
Daft announced the initiative before business,
civic and community leaders at the Commerce Club luncheon in downtown Atlanta.
"Many organizations in the public and private sectors throughout our community
are grappling with diversity issues," said Mr. Daft. "The Civil Rights
movement has deep roots in Atlanta." What better place to launch a program
that will help realize the promise of an open society that values all individuals?
We all must do our part not only by making our own organizations exemplars
of diversity, but also by contributing to a deeper public dialogue that
will benefit everyone in our community.
"We are establishing the Diversity Leadership
Academy of Atlanta because we believe in diversity; we believe in our community;
and we believe that as a community, not only can we do better, we can be
the best," said Mr. Daft.
The Academy will be developed and operated
by The American Institute for Managing Diversity (AIMD), a 16 year-old
Atlanta based non-profit, public interest organization that has been at
the forefront of education and research in the field of diversity management.
AIMD was founded by Roosevelt Thomas, an alumnus of Morehouse College,
the University of Chicago, and Harvard University, and widely considered
the nation's foremost expert in diversity management.
Dr. Thomas will personally lead sessions
at the Academy, which will operate in conjunction with the Andrew Young
School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. The Andrew Young
School is noted for developing leaders for the public and private sectors
and for providing an intellectually stimulating environment that supports
advanced solutions to complex issues.
"I've had the opportunity to work with
Doug Daft and his executive team to help them develop strategies for leveraging
diversity in their own organization," said Dr. Thomas. "With this initiative,
The Coca-Cola Company is demonstrating true corporate leadership that will
ultimately benefit our entire community. Moreover, this program provides
a model for other companies and communities around the country."
The Academy will be open to leaders from
all sectors within the Atlanta community: government, education, non-profit,
and private industry, and will require an investment of one full day per
month over five months, to build skills and competencies to lead in the
area of diversity management. All participants will attend on fellowship
based on letters of application and recommendation. The program will include
class size of 35 to 40 participants, with two five-month sessions per year.
It is anticipated the over a four-year period, the Academy will have reached
300 to 350 leaders throughout the Atlanta community.
"My hope is that the leaders who will graduate
from the Academy will become the architects of a new culture of diversity,"
said Mr. Daft. "Our expectation is that their influence, ideas and enthusiasm
will ensure that Atlanta continues to build on the legacy of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Through their efforts, our city will remain a model for
the nation and the world." Individuals interested in applying to the Academy
may contact The American Institute for Managing Diversity at (404)302-9226.