Sometimes between the heartbreaking tragedies in the news and the justifiable rage against injustices, we opt to step back and choose silence, not because we don’t care, but because we feel paralyzed by the enormity of it all, not because we are insensitive or disagree, but as business owners, we are uncertain about what to do next. We’re doing everything we can to keep our clients happy so that we can keep our businesses afloat so that we can provide a safe and secure environment for our employees to thrive.
But we want to do more. We want to move beyond rhetoric, beyond the veneer of simply saying the right things, to putting our desire into action. In today’s episode, that’s exactly what I talk with Johanna Gottlieb about, what we can do -in our own businesses, in our community- to affect change.
Johanna Gottlieb is the VP of sales at Axis Promotions. She’s, a New Yorker at heart and lives in Chicago with her husband and her daughters, Olivia Bella and Lola Grace. Her mom was born in Cuba and her dad was born in Argentina. Over 15 years ago, Johanna began at Axis, as an associate account manager. With her amazing energy, she rose to her current role as VP of Sales, Midwest. Named to ASI’s “Hot List” in 2017, Johanna’s optimistic worldview and love of her work earned her the reputation of someone, “whom we all want as the spokesperson for the promo industry”.
Despite her incredibly busy work at Axis, Johanna makes time to chair two teams that are important to her values: PromoKitchen and most recently, chair of PPAI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force (2021) which is the subject of our chat with Jo today.
Join us as we talk about creating a culture of belonging.
Resources mentioned in this episode: PPAI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion resources.