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CORRIDOR
New Diversity Focus executive motivated to start new programs
Reporter: Tim Kenyon
tim@corridorbiznews.com
Moving into an executive position of a high-profile organization can be challenging enough. Doing it during a natural disaster could be a monumental obstacle.
“She stayed anyway,” is how Hazel Pegues sums up her arrival and future plans in Cedar Rapids as the new Diversity Focus executive director.
“It’s almost prophetic,” Ms. Pegues said about the departure from her Cincinnati townhouse and the whirlwind trip to start as the nonprofit organization’s new leader.
Except for some items she loaded in her vehicle, all of her household goods were packed and loaded during the two days prior to her planned departure. She had not tuned in to news reports about the pending disaster until friends called as she was closing her garage door on June 11.
She got more information from a banker after she completed a couple of errands before carrying out her plan to go about half way and stay the night in Bloomington, Ill.
Once on the highway headed west, she called contacts in Cedar Rapids who told her about the pending downtown evacuation as flood crest projections continued to rise.
Ms. Pegues arrived in Bloomington, and after conversations with Diversity Focus officials, she put plans to continue to Cedar Rapids on hold.
As floodwaters overwhelmed the downtown and nearby areas, she decided to stay a little longer in Bloomington and headed early to Chicago on June 13 for a planned professional development series.
She arrived three days later to a Corridor devastated by flooding damage.
Diversity Focus, formed in 2005 to enhance Corridor diversity, sustained devastating damage to furniture, equipment and valuable files in its downtown ground-floor office at 205 Second Ave. SE.
While it landed temporary space on the Rockwell Collins campus on the north side of Cedar Rapids, Ms. Pegues is eager to get the organization back downtown.
“Absolutely, as soon as possible it is really important for us to have a presence downtown that is easy to find, accessible with floor accommodations and meets our business needs,” she said.
Ms. Pegues’ initiative-driven leadership impresses Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce President Lee Clancey.
“She’s a remarkable woman. I think her positive attitude is really going to take her a long way in a position she’s going to have to redefine with what the community is going through in the Corridor,” said Ms. Clancey, a Diversity Focus board member. “They lost everything. They didn’t get anything out of the office. She has not only the task of keep ing this organization moving forward but also to rebuild the office from the last two years. It’s a formidable task to be sure.”
Ms. Pegues said staff and volunteers salvaged some documents and a few board members supplied copies of other materials to help with recovery and moving forward.
The organization is considering three downtown sites, including its old location.
“We’re pretty blessed compared to some other nonprofits that were destroyed with no place to go,” Ms. Pegues said.
Timing and investment requirements are two major factors in site selection, she said.
The potential to expand office space is vitally important as well, she added.
She wants the organization’s permanent location to be “the hub of diversity activities in the Corridor area.”
Expanding programs is a crucial part to the group’s mission, Ms. Pegues said.
One example is setting up a speakers bureau where businesses and organizations can turn to Diversity Focus to provide presenters on various inclusiveness themes.
“We want to be a one-stop shop as a reference and resource,” she said.
In turn, it will help businesses recruit and retain professionals, she said.
To help that, she wants the office staff to grow as the organization increases future programming so resources can be delivered efficiently.
She also plans to expand the organization’s Spanish-conversation circles to possibly include lunch gatherings at businesses or meetings at churches with an increased supply of volunteers to lead the discussions.
“There’s a lot more potential there,” she said.
Her quick adjustment in absorbing organizational goals and objectives will help the organization move forward to meet more demands, said board member Jim Friel, assistant vice president for human resources at ACT in Iowa City.
“She has a deep commitment to what we’re about at Diversity Focus, and that’s what I think is driving her,” Mr. Friel said.
He said Ms. Pegues seems more than ready to take on extra challenges, as she displayed at a recent board meeting.
“I was very impressed with the short time she’s been here with her ability to grasp the issues. She’s very concise and as a board member I feel very comfortable with her as the executive director,” Mr. Friel said. “She has great insight with working for not-for-profits, establishing plans of action and she has reached out… in a short period of time to a number of people she’s had contact with in trying to establish working relationships, with the backdrop of some of the most dramatically tough times in the Corridor.”
Ms. Pegues has worked with nonprofits for more than 20 years. Past roles include vice president of programs for the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, director of Partners in Education for the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative and executive director/chief development officer for the Friends of the School for Creative and Performing Arts.
She succeeded Karen Brown, who served as interim director following the departure of Alfred Ramirez last December. CBJ
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