At Levi Strauss & Co., one of our 2022 global priorities is to strengthen our position as a world-class destination for talent, including investing in our people as a competitive advantage. One exciting way we’ve brought this commitment to life is through the launch of our new talent development program for our Black and Latinx/Hispanic talent, Elevate: Accelerate Your Career.
Elevate: Accelerate Your Career is LS&Co.’s inaugural efficacy program that honors the unique experiences and challenges of Black and Hispanic/Latinx talent in the workforce. The program acknowledges headwinds and empowers participants with the confidence, tools, resources and connections to personal power, peers and leaders.
An especially powerful aspect of Elevate: Accelerate Your Career is the engagement and development of the cohort participants’ managers. Through dedicated workshops — which align with their team members’ learning journeys — we’ve worked with them to increase their cultural competence while equipping them with the tools, resources and inspiration to be more inclusive, empathetic, agile and skilled people leaders.
This week, we proudly celebrated our first-ever cohort of Elevate: Accelerate Your Career graduates in the presence of their managers as well as members of LS&Co.’s Executive Leadership Team.
Being a part of the Elevate program that LS&Co. offered this year has been very enlightening. I have learned how to embrace efficacy and gained invaluable knowledge that will in turn lead me to the career of my dreams,” said Whitney Bragg Chapman, Manager, Brand Environment, Retail. “My personal vision for my career is clear and I know what steps are needed to create the path to my future success. It has been such an honor to be a part of this company and program.”
The graduation ceremony, which marked the culmination of a multi-faceted four-month development experience, was an opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of the cohort and reflect on their hard work and commitment to self-development and continuous growth. We’re inspired by their journey and look forward to supporting them further in their professional development and career growth.
“After participating in this program, I feel for the first time in my career that I have the clearest vision of my short- and long-term goals and actions to take to get there,” said Omar Luna, Merchant, Global Men’s Bottoms, Levi’s. “One of those actions has been challenging myself to build authentic, collaborative relationships with peers and leaders that can help in my career development. It’s been incredible as well to hear the perspectives of other diverse colleagues at LS&Co. They’ve been pioneers for the new generation of diverse talent to flourish. As a young professional, I’m grateful to continue their legacy.”
Congratulations to all the cohort participants on successfully completing this program. We’ll continue taking action and building on our commitment to deliver exceptional career development opportunities and programs for high-performing talent that ensure long-lasting and fulfilling careers with us at LS&Co.
