OTTAWA COUNTY (WHTC) — The Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce named Ottawa County a corporate champion of diversity during the chamber’s April 17, 2019, Celebrating Diversity Luncheon.
The chamber named Priya Gurumurthy as Individual Champion of Diversity.
Gurumurthy, an IT Manager at Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, works closely with the Global Engineering customers.
In 2016, she assumed leadership of the YFAI’s Diversity team, comprised of YFAI young professionals, HR, Leadership Academy and Womens Resource Network participants. The team has implemented a number of initiatives in YFAI like YFAI Diversity Scholarship, D&I Ted Talk Lunch & Learns, made LEDA D&I workshops part of YFAI Leadership Development Program.
As a member of the Ready for School (RFS) Board, Priya helped lead all the Diversity & Inclusion related activities for Ready for School. She is currently serving on the Board of Tulip Time representing the Indian/other diverse tourist community to support the efforts to in making the festival more and more inclusive. Priya is on the Board of Herrick District Library
County Administrator Al Vanderberg focused on on a Four Cs organizational improvement strategy, which focuses on customer service, creativity, communication and cultural intelligence.
County officials implemented programs to train more than 650 employees on diversity and inclusion within the sheriff’s office, the courts, the health departments, and other government services. Ottawa County’s Cultural Intelligence Committee has built relationships with many community organizations including the Migrant Resource Council.
Ottawa County recently established the Diversity and Inclusion Office, which will be responsible for developing templates to uncover and eliminate implicit bias, develop plans to promote diversity, and be an internal consultant on diversity, equity and inclusion topics.
“I was honored to accept the corporate Champion of Diversity Award on behalf of Ottawa County and our outstanding employees,” Vandenberg said. “Ottawa County’s vision statement is ‘where you belong’ and we look forward to continuing our journey, alongside others, to ensure that Ottawa County is welcoming to all, leading to prosperity into the future.”
