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Talent & Economic Inclusion


The Chamber has been actively engaging the Chattanooga business community in our Economic Inclusion work. This year proved to be challenging for many, in light of COVID-19, but the team quickly pivoted our work to virtual platforms to continue conversations around inclusion.

The Chattanooga Chamber held four Unity Networking Breakfasts to encourage individuals to connect and grow their network. These event focus’ on underserved populations and help connect them to the larger business community. In light of COVID-19, these events shifted to focus on connecting diverse businesses in our community with available resources. The Chamber Talent & Economic Inclusion team partnered with the Marketing & Communications team to host a variety of webinars, with over 100 businesses attending seeking access to funding supports.

Focusing on diverse talent retention, The Styles L. Hutchins Fellowship is a collaboration between the Chamber, the City of Chattanooga and the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga. The Styles L. Hutchins Fellowship works to create a plan that will elevate Chattanooga as a city where diverse talent can create a prosperous future. The cohort presented their initial research and recommendations in January 2020 to community members. Spring 2020 Fellows are continuing their research and work to implement recommendations.

In June, The Chamber held DIVERSIFY, a virtual summit highlighting diversity, inclusion and the 21st century workplace. The event provided a timely platform for diverse business owners and professionals as well as their allies during the unrest sweeping our country that spotlights the high cost of racial and economic inequality. To ensure the health and safety of our entire community, the DIVERSIFY Summit was held online this year. DIVERSIFY featured breakout sessions led by industry professionals and a keynote presentation by Manuel Pastor, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity at University of Southern California. We saw a 166% increase in attendance from last year.

Other Topics

In today’s race for technological leadership, few regions can claim a true first. Chattanooga just did. With EPB’s $22 million partnership with IonQ to bring a state-of-the-art quantum computer to its existing quantum network, Chattanooga has officially become America’s first…

Last spring, Abhi Sastri traveled to Chattanooga from San Francisco, where his start-up FLUIX was headquartered. He'd been named one of five global startups in the 2024 CO.LAB and gener8tor Sustainable Mobility Accelerator.  Selected among 145 applicants spanning the globe,…

In November 2024, HK Architects hosted its 25th anniversary celebration. Quite fittingly, the party was held at Wheelhouse, HK's headquarters, a perfect example of the way HK design incorporates community building and adaptive re-use planning. HK’s story is remarkable, a…

Tax time. Yes, it’s “busy season” for us accountants, but it’s also the time of year when people outside the four walls of our office building are laser focused on the importance of tax planning. If tax strategies are top of…

Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union (TVFCU) is inviting the community to choose one People’s Choice Finalist in each regional Idea Leap Grant – the credit union’s annual program that awards funds to entrepreneurs within TVFCU’s 17 county service area. The…

The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce recently hosted it's annual Economic Outlook Breakfast, featuring insights from Dr. David Altig, Executive VP at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, alongside Mayor Tim Kelly and Dr. Howard Wall, Chief Economist at UTC.…

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