Even if all you had to worry about were the quality of your company’s products or services and continued growth of its customer base, running a business would be challenging enough. However, companies are also subject to economic and environmental forces beyond their control. A change in the economic cycle could disrupt your cash flow, tighten your access to credit, rattle your customers and suppliers and even threaten the survival of your organization.

No one can precisely predict changes in the economy. Sometimes, they seem to come out of nowhere, as with the coronavirus outbreak, which, in addition to its personal toll, has made companies of all sizes rethink their short- and long-term plans.

A recent report from the Downtown Business Improvement District revealed downtown D.C.’s economic activity at the end of July 2020 was an estimated 12 percent of activity in July 2019. In addition, the city’s daytime population decreased by 90 percent between February and July, while the retail vacancy rate reached a record high of 17.1 percent in July. Although the Washington region has fared relatively well in comparison to many other metropolitan areas, the coronavirus continues to present substantial challenges for our local economy and businesses.

Weathering ever-evolving conditions involves keeping up with trends and forecasts for your specific industry, following broader assessments of the economic outlook, ensuring the safety of your employees and, most important, taking a close look at your own operations. A careful review of your internal processes and your key relationships may prompt you to make changes that could make your business more efficient, flexible and resilient under any circumstance. As you respond to current conditions, here are some challenges and key steps to keep in mind:

Take a look at your cash flow

During both good and bad times, cash flow can be a central challenge for businesses and is often cited as a top reason small business fail. Companies with great products and loyal customers can still falter without sufficient liquidity to meet payroll, pay suppliers and keep the lights on.

To safeguard against temporary shortfalls:

• Ask your banker about overdraft protection
• Speak frequently with customers and suppliers to stay aware of any potential changes in their businesses that could ultimately affect yours
• Review how reliably your customers pay what they owe and create a watch list of those who consistently fall behind. A little probing may help you address issues proactively.

Assess your credit situation

Credit can be a lifesaver during challenging financial times. During the recessions of 1990-91 and 2001, the growth rate for commercial banking loans to businesses dropped to zero, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

In a difficult economy, lenders may be especially cautious about companies they don’t know well. In fact, most lenders like to understand how a business performs over an entire business cycle. During good times, have you made capital expenditures to grow the business? During bad times, have you responded well to downturns? Knowing that your business has weathered challenges and responded effectively may give a lender the confidence to extend credit.

Give your company “survival training”

When a cyberattack takes down your website, a key employee leaves your firm or a natural disaster strikes, your company’s everyday operations can be threatened. The risk of adverse events may be greater than you think, and they can be particularly devastating during times of economic stress.

By 2018, business cybersecurity breaches had increased by 67 percent in five years, and during the first seven months of 2019, the U.S. experienced six climate and weather catastrophes with losses of more than $1 billion each. One in four small businesses fail to reopen after a natural disaster. Preparing your company to withstand challenging circumstances can make the difference between re-building and going out of business.

Keep tabs on expenses

During the Great Recession of 2008-2009, nearly 75 percent of company leaders identified cost cutting as a top priority. However, trimming expenses across the board during an economic crisis can backfire. Instead, take stock now of all your processes, from front-line to back-office functions, to determine what kind of savings might be possible when needed.

Make a plan for what to cut. Work through “what if” scenarios ahead of a downturn to determine the least painful and most effective reductions. Consider renegotiating agreements with suppliers or adjusting payment terms to align with revenue cycles.

In addition, automate where possible. An estimated 45 percent of jobs now performed by people in the U.S., at an annual cost of $2 trillion, could be automated with existing technologies. Administrative tasks like payroll, and other record-keeping, can often be digitized at minimal cost. However, be careful when it comes to reducing headcount. Automation can be an opportunity to re-train or re-focus employees on more value-added areas of your business.

Competing in business today requires endless resilience amid disruptions that can reinvent entire industries without warning. The steps outlined above are best practices that can help make your company stronger in the face of challenging, and often uncontrollable, external forces. The more you do to plan essential aspects of your company’s financial future, the more control you’ll have over your and your business’ future success.

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© 2020 Bank of America Corporation

Climate change represents enormous risks and opportunities for business. Risks lie in the physical consequences of droughts, floods, fires, storms, and heat waves, and in intangible factors like uncertain regulation and changing public opinion. Opportunities lie in the soaring demand for innovative solutions to decarbonize our economy.

Navigating these risks and opportunities is a complex challenge. To help, we pulled together some of the country’s leading minds on corporate sustainability for a live, virtual discussion on October 6 at 10:30 AM. McKinsey & Company will present their recent research on climate risks and what it means for business, and sustainability leaders at Amazon, Skanska, JLL, and Pepco will share how their companies are making plans and investments for a low-carbon future.  Find more information on that event and register here for free.

In advance of that conversation, here are seven big climate headlines from 2020. Taken together, they paint a picture of where we are in responding to this enormous challenge.

Treading Water: Climate change is all too real for D.C. developers and leaders — and they’re working mightily to adapt.

February 7, 2020

In this Washington Business Journal feature, senior staff writer Daniel J. Sernovitz provides a sweeping look at how flooding is projected to worsen in our region and how city governments and developers are adapting. He catches several key angles, from the Alexandria City Council attempting fiscal gymnastics to upgrade sewer infrastructure to D.C. waterfront developers using cutting-edge architecture and engineering to prepare their buildings for the next 100-year storm.

Unfortunately we have again experienced another incredibly intense rain event in the City which far exceeds the design capacity of our stormwater sewer system.

Please report specific issues to @AlexandriaVA311 for our staff to track and investigate:https://t.co/5G0fCf68e2 pic.twitter.com/lbbU51ebcV

— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) September 10, 2020

CFTC report: Climate change poses serious risk to financial system

September 8, 2020

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a report which represented “the starkest warning to date by a U.S. financial regulator over the stresses that markets will face from climate change,” according to Politico. The cross-sector task force behind the report included experts from financial institutions, fund managers, commodities and energy companies, and environmental organizations.

.@CFTC subcommittee issues its first-ever climate risk report, as calls to regulate climate change as a systemic financial risk grow louder: https://t.co/IcQrOQEYQz

— We Mean Business Coalition (@WMBtweets) September 20, 2020

Western wildfires: An ‘unprecedented,’ climate change-fueled event, experts say

September 11, 2020

The wildfires in the west captured the nation’s attention this year because they were truly unprecedented in their destruction—burning over 3 million acres of land (and counting) in California, about double the record set in 2018. The smoke created dangerously bad air quality for millions of west coast residents and after drifting east could be seen high in the skies over our own region, thousands of miles away. Fire seasons in the West are trending more destructive, and experts say poor forest management and the hotter, drier weather created by climate change are both to blame.  

Business Roundtable endorses market-based climate policy

September 15, 2020

The Business Roundtable, a trade association representing companies with $7 trillion in combined annual revenues, announced its position in support of U.S. public policy that aligns with the international effort to limit global warming to 2 degrees C. This includes support for market-based mechanisms such as pricing carbon emissions through a tax or cap-and-trade system. You can read the full position here.

BRT today released new principles & policies to address #climatechange, including the use of a market-based strategy to incentivize the development & deployment of breakthrough technologies needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. https://t.co/jdbykyiVm9 (1/2) pic.twitter.com/T8FdZ8KqHT

— Business Roundtable (@BizRoundtable) September 16, 2020

China’s Pledge to Be Carbon Neutral by 2060: What It Means

September 23, 2020

China’s leader, Xi Jingping, recently surprised climate experts around the world when he announced to the United Nations that China commits to reaching climate neutrality by 2060. China produces about 28 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions—more than any other country—and is notoriously dependent on coal, but it is also the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles and produces 30 percent of the world’s renewable energy. Whether China keeps its promise depends on economic and political factors that are hard to predict, but if it does, it will be a big step toward meeting international climate goals.  

California Governor Signs Order Banning Sales Of New Gasoline Cars By 2035

September 23, 2020

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars beginning in 2035, giving the auto industry 15 years to make this transition. Transportation is California’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and though electric car purchases have increased, they represent only 8 percent of all auto sales.

Our cars shouldn't give kids asthma. Our cars shouldn't make wildfires worse. Our cars shouldn't melt glaciers or raise sea levels.

Today, Governor @GavinNewsom signed an executive order requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035. #CAclimateaction pic.twitter.com/VYRRxZzZ6f

— California Governor (@CAgovernor) September 23, 2020

Even Renewables Are Bigger in Texas

(Forbes, September 25, 2020)

This year, Texas is planning on gaining a huge amount of wind and solar power. The vast majority of energy projects in the pipeline to connect to Texas’s electricity grid are wind, solar, or energy storage, dwarfing the number of gas, coal, and nuclear projects. On the local level, analysts found that many landowners and municipalities now favor solar and wind because the revenues they generate are more stable than oil, which is prone to boom and bust cycles.

Bonus: build your foundation of climate knowledge with McKinsey & Company research

We are glad to have McKinsey & Company as our knowledge partner on the October 6 webinar and other climate-related activities. Browse their robust and consolidated library of climate change analysis to deepen your understanding of climate science, market trends, and business strategies.

A good place to start: The 1.5-degree challenge, an interactive and dynamic explainer on what it means to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

This TD Bank Morning Star Speaker Series event was held on September 29, 2020 and featured Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts, author of Race, Work, and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience. Watch the webinar recording or read the summary to learn how you can support a genuinely inclusive, diverse environment in your organization.

Watch the Recording

Read the Summary

• Experiences with race exist on a spectrum from actively racist to actively anti-racist, with several stages in between.
• In addition to a moral case, there is a strong business case for diverse organizations and leveraging differences. It is important for us to think about all forms of diversity and the value that they bring. The benefits of diversity include:
  • Expanding market awareness
  • Anticipating alternate solutions to problems
  • Attracting the best talent
  • Unlocking innovation
• Research on the black experience shows that there are many barriers to success, such as less access to education, healthcare, housing, financial capital, and professional networks, and this results in black Americans making up a very small percentage of managers (8%) and CEOs (<2%).
• Black professionals may also feel that they can not bring their authentic selves to work.
  • What feels visible: racial stereotypes and flaws.
  • What fees invisible: strengths, talents, accomplishments.
  • The consequences are that black professionals may feel less satisfied, less loyal to the organization, and make fewer quality connections.
• There is a barrier to advancement for many black professionals. They are often overrepresented at the lower levels of the organization and underrepresented at the higher levels.
  • They may see fewer opportunities to learn and grow, feel their role is not highly appreciated, and have less access to sponsors and mentors.
• When black professionals do reach leadership positions, they are more likely to face legitimacy challenges (e.g. mistaken for lower-status workers), and may be more harshly judged for failures, rewarded less generously for success, or more likely to take on high-stakes “glass cliff” roles to lead organizations through sustained crises.
• The wrong way to respond to racial injustice is to deny it is happening, get defensive, and disengage from the problem.
• The right way to respond to racial injustice is to:
  • Acknowledge the relevance of race and bias in careers, organizations, society, and in your life while accepting that this does not at all diminish your own worth – “Acknowledging the presence of bias and affirming the value of difference will not diminish the worth of my contributions or the validity of my hardships.”;
  • Affirm the value of diversity and Black workers’ potential for growth and advancement; and
  • Act to support Black workers in ways that will directly and indirectly benefit them, creating the climate for diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice that allows everyone to thrive. Don’t just check a box—keep asking, what more can I do?
• When choosing diversity and inclusion programming, ask:
  • How do these action items align with your leadership framework?
  • How do these action items strengthen your strategic capabilities?
  • How do these action items strengthen your moral integrity?
  • What are the costs of inattention and inaction? How do they undermine your strategic and values alignment?
• What can champions do?
  • Move from mentor to sponsor.
  • Advocate for employees of color in matters of racial justice.
• What can leaders do?
  • Create a culture of inquiry around race.
  • Pursue strategic and values alignment with stakeholders.
  • Lead and sustain organizational change
• Being a good ally means getting in the fight and not just cheering others on—and being willing to face some resistance.
• The biggest thing leaders get wrong in diversity and inclusion: not trying hard enough to hire diverse talent and then saying, “we just can’t find a good candidate who isn’t white.” This should challenge leadership to expand their talent pipelines and question their hiring processes. Leadership should embrace the idea that there is plenty of talent and that your organization should represent the community you work in.

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The 2020 Capital Region Business Forum was held on September 18 and is the only event of the year featuring Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia; Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland; and Ralph Northam, Governor of Virginia. This year, the event was held virtually and covered four important topics: COVID-19, racial justice and economic opportunity, education and workforce, and transportation. The conversation was moderated by Tony Pierce, Partner at Akin Gump.

Opening Remarks

Summary

• Mayor Bowser: The Mayor’s administration is focused on how the District will come back from the pandemic, and she is optimistic that because they were in a strong financial position going into the pandemic, they “have the building blocks to come back swift and strong.” She looks forward to working with the Board of Trade and the business community in that effort.
• Governor Hogan: The Governor reported encouraging COVID-19 health metrics and credited early and appropriate action for the state’s success, but cautioned that vigilance is needed to keep the virus at bay. Earlier this month, Maryland entered Stage 3 of its reopening plan and its unemployment rate is now at 6.9%, much better than the national average. All county schools are now authorized to begin the process of bringing some children back into schools, particularly children with special needs.
• Governor Northam: The Governor praised Governors and Mayors around the country for working together through the pandemic to secure personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing supplies. Like the Mayor, Governor Northam cited Virginia’s strong financial position and business-friendly environment going into the pandemic and said he expects a strong recovery. However, he also called out persistent racial inequity, which the pandemic has exacerbated, and called for greater action to make Virginia’s economy more inclusive. He cited expanded access to broadband internet as one initiative his administration is undertaking which can help level the playing field.

Pandemic Response & Recovery

Summary

• Governor Northam: The Governor noted that Virginia and most other jurisdictions entered the pandemic with a shortage of critical supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits. He says that this situation has improved thanks to collaboration across jurisdictions, but there’s still work to do. He also called on all of us to continue wearing masks, keeping our distance, and taking other actions to slow the spread. Regarding the economy, Governor Northam said that our highly trained workforce has been a tremendous asset and stressed that being nimble and investing in training and retraining our workers, especially the unemployed, as the job market evolves will be critical for recovery.
• Governor Hogan: The Governor said that testing is critical to getting the virus under control. He explained that in the beginning, each state was competing for very limited supplies of testing materials. This situation has improved and new antigen testing, which can provide a result in as little as 15 minutes without outsourcing to a lab, is on the horizon. The Federal government was not moving forward with antigen tests so Maryland, Virginia, and other states created a compact to acquire 5 million antigen tests. Additionally, the business community can help Maryland and the region in the months ahead by following guidelines for safe operations and reopening. It is going to take everyone working together at the state, local, and federal government levels and with the private sector to innovate new ways to bring people back to work safely.
• Mayor Bowser: The Mayor pointed out that D.C. still needs funding from the federal government. The CARES Act was a good start, but “The hole created in our economy by COVID is larger than any state or local government can fill.” She called for the business community’s support to advocate for further federal funding and ensure that first responders, teachers, and municipal workers are not disrupted. Mayor Bowser also said the business community can help build consumer and worker confidence, which is important because the economy will not recover if consumers and workers do not feel comfortable participating. Lastly, the Mayor said the one thing that has made a big difference in fighting the virus is communicating frequently and candidly with residents because they are smart and tough and will respond appropriately.

Racial Justice & Economic Opportunity

Summary

• Governor Hogan: His administration has been working hard to provide grants and information to small and minority-owned businesses. Maryland paid out $2.3 billion in CARES Act funding for things like PPE production and to help small businesses with payroll. They are advocating for more federal stimulus funding to continue this assistance. He said that it is frustrating that the House and Senate and Democrats and Republicans have struggled to reach a deal. He cited a bipartisan effort he is a part of and said he would continue pushing.
• Governor Northam: Governor Northam explained that minority communities have been hardest hit by the pandemic. His administration has a Diversity and Inclusion Officer who has helped make sure their interventions reach all communities. Citing that over 90% of our economy is made up of small businesses, Governor Northam touted the Rebuild Virginia program, which has offered $50 million in grants and assistance to small businesses. He wants small business to know that the Commonwealth has resources to use and “we are here to help.”
• Mayor Bowser: The Mayor said, “Business communities are recognizing that their customers demand their participation in this national conversation on racial justice.” She applauded companies that are reaching out to local governments on training, internship, and apprenticeship programs to drive up minority participation in the workforce. She said many are also focused on improving minority participation in company leadership. However, she also said that we have persistent problems to deal with, such as the racial wealth gap and access to affordable housing. The federal programs have been helpful but she noted that PPP loans went out to minority-owned businesses more slowly than to others and she speculates that’s because majority-owned businesses have more longstanding relationships with financial institutions disbursing the loans. She pointed out opportunities for local governments and businesses to work together to make a long-lasting impact on racial equity, arguing that local governments can provide data and incentives and businesses can drive innovative ideas.

Education & Workforce

• Governor Northam: The Governor again highlighted the region’s top-notch workforce as its major strength. He said that Virginia has a commission for STEM-field training and education and is also invested in improving early childhood education. He explained that there is a tremendous learning potential in children before they even reach kindergarten. He described looking across the whole education spectrum, from early childhood education through K-12 and including colleges and universities, to build the talent pipeline needed for all the jobs being developed in Virginia.
• Governor Hogan: Governor Hogan agreed with Governor Northam that our highly educated workforce is our greatest asset. He pointed out that the pandemic has been especially difficult on kids who can no longer go to school. Closing schools was a very tough decision but was necessary for safety, but now they are balancing those concerns with the need to prevent kids from falling behind. Now, school systems in Maryland are authorized to explore a hybrid model that brings some children back to school grounds, prioritizing special-needs kids who need face-to-face instruction the most. Seventeen of 24 jurisdictions have such plans. To reach other kids who will stay home, Maryland has used much of the CARES Act funding to provide Chromebooks and broadband internet to children who needed them.
• Mayor Bowser: The Mayor said that children in the District are learning remotely with hopes to bring some back in a hybrid model by November 9. She said that bringing kids back to school has been a priority for her administration. Related to company talent, she first shared her belief that there is no replacement for on-site work, so she expects that offices will eventually reopen. People come to this region because of the jobs on offer, but also because they want to live in a world-class city and take part in its culture. She encourages the business community to leverage that when recruiting and attracting talent.

Transportation

• Governor Hogan: The Governor reminded the audience that in 2018 DC, MD, and VA reached an agreement to provide dedicated funding for Metro, but the federal government refused to participate, despite relying heavily on Metro to move its workforce. The agreement was a milestone but now each of their jurisdictions are threatened by a budget shortfall due to the pandemic. He is going to continue pressing the federal government for assistance. He also pointed out that the Capital Beltway Accord, a project with VA, will move forward because it is privately funded.
• Governor Northam: The Governor said that Virginia has about $6 billion set aside for transportation infrastructure, which has been able to move forward and has benefited from having fewer drivers on the road during the pandemic. He explained that VA raised the gas tax to help pay for transportation projects but he warned that a gas tax will not be enough and called on the private sector to help come up with new ideas.
• Mayor Bowser: Mayor Bowser agreed with Governor Hogan’s call for more federal support for transit and noted that this is a national, not just a regional, problem. She said that the Long Bridge agreement with VA was a milestone and also said that improvements to Union Station are also important. She said that the 11th street bridge is another important project to residents of DC and Maryland. But beyond big infrastructure projects, her administration is looking at how to keep traffic low in the District even after offices start reopening. They are exploring more bus-only and bike lanes.

Like many industries, higher education was forced into virtual spaces at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But while other industries may see a permanent increase in remote work, this pandemic has only made me more confident in the strengths of traditional, in-person instruction. Our real opportunity for evolution lies in providing a more personalized approach to learning, which students need now more than ever.

In March, as COVID-19 cases exponentially increased, we decided to transition our nearly 700 academic courses to a remote delivery format. Thanks to the flexibility and agility of our faculty and staff, students were provided a high-quality academic experience online, and they were very understanding.

A physical academic environment provides benefits that cannot be easily replicated online.

But while this worked on a temporary basis, our students have been clear that they miss in-person, face-to-face instruction. A physical academic environment provides benefits that cannot be easily replicated online. Students are more likely to absorb what the professor is saying, they can more easily participate in collaborative exercises, they benefit from on-campus activities, and they gain meaningful exposure to other students with different backgrounds and cultures from all over the world. We know that these experiences help students develop and discover what their passion in life is, and that is what higher education is all about.

That is why we have worked so diligently to ensure we can return to on-campus learning and living for the fall semester in a safe and secure manner. Marymount University’s Return to Campus Plan focuses on five key areas – reopening safely and sustainably, repopulating campus, monitoring health conditions, containing the possible spread of COVID-19, and following contingency plans in the event of a potential shutdown order. Measures to accomplish those goals include a face covering requirement, consistent sanitizing of all facilities, reconfiguring physical spaces to maintain social distancing, utilizing contact tracing apps, and increasing access to critical health services, testing, and personal protective equipment such as face masks.

Are there aspects of the current higher education model that should be changed? Absolutely – and as leaders in higher education, we must avoid the one-size-fits-all approach in favor of one that is more personalized. For example, at Marymount, we are seeking to build easier on- and off-ramps for students of all ages. Our recently-launched program, “Upskilling for the What’s Next Economy,” encompasses a unique and comprehensive range of modular graduate certificates and degree qualifications that provide students with the technical, management, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills to get them back to work. We also recently launched stackable graduate certificates in areas that include Cybersecurity, Data Science, Digital Health, Digital Transformation, Leadership, Project Management, and Intrapreneurship. These certificates can combine into a master’s degree in Emerging Technology, which gives students the tools they need to seize the opportunities that the market currently provides.

Expanding opportunities available to [students] is a significant way to make higher education more inclusive.

The nature of these offerings is that students can earn certificates slowly, one at a time, or earn multiple certificates all at once – it is up to them and their schedule. This flexibility is especially important for current students who are navigating a tremendous amount of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also opens doors for nontraditional students who want to start working towards a graduate degree but are unable to commit to a full-time course schedule. Expanding opportunities available to them is a significant way to make higher education more inclusive.

This is just the beginning, because we need to always be finding new ways to increase access and personalization in higher education. It is the future, and I believe we will all see that even more clearly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Irma Becerra, Ph.D., is the seventh President of Marymount University. She is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, and author in the fields of knowledge management, business intelligence, and entrepreneurship. She is a thought leader, innovative educator, tenured full professor, and community leader. Dr. Becerra’s broad educational background spans the fields of engineering, IT, and business. She may be contacted via email at [email protected].

Board of Trade members are invited to share their views on this blog with editorial support from the Board of Trade staff. Views may or may not represent the official position of the Board of Trade. To contribute to the Board of Trade blog, contact Lindsey Longendyke, Communications Director, at [email protected].

Our region’s colleges and universities play an important role in our economy and our communities. How will they operate in Fall 2020 given the nation’s surging COVID-19 case numbers? In this conversation, leaders from area academic institutions describe how their campuses will adapt in these unique and extremely challenging conditions.

Speakers:

• Ronald Mason, Jr., J.D., President, University of the District of Columbia
• Anne M. Kress, Ph.D., President, Northern Virginia Community College
• Paul Almeida, Dean, McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University
• Darryll J. Pines, President, University of Maryland College Park

Watch the Recording

Read the Summary

Every institution for higher education in our region is facing an enormous challenge: they must begin the 2020-2021 academic year in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Ronald Mason, Jr., J.D., President of the University of the District of Columbia, explained that all academic institutions share many concerns. Their budgets are taking a hit because fewer students are enrolling and states are allocating less funding; Faculty and students are required to quickly adapt to online learning; there are equity issues, especially for students whose financial hardships prevent them from possessing a reliable computer and internet connection; and schools must be prepared to manage COVID-19 outbreaks on their campus.

Beyond these shared concerns, each school faces unique challenges that depend on their circumstances—the students they serve, the curriculum they teach, the government policies they operate under, and so on.

In this online discussion, leaders from several area academic institutions described their circumstances and the decisions they have made for their students, faculty, staff, and communities.

University of the District of Columbia

The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is the only public university in the District. It provides degrees from Bachelor’s to PhDs and JDs as well as workforce training programs. It has decided that for the fall semester, all courses will be delivered online by default. There will be limited access to campus with one-directional walkways, and masks will be required.

To help students who do not possess a computer and a reliable internet connection, UDC has set up student workstations that are spread apart far enough to enable a safe environment.  

CARES ACT funding has helped UDC and its students during the pandemic, but budget issues remain. Unfortunately, they have had to put on hold an ambitious workforce development program which is designed to help workers advance through professional credentials at their own pace.

Georgetown University

Georgetown has decided to start the year with the Freshman class on campus and other classes learning virtually. Freshmen are at the very beginning of their higher education journey, and Georgetown’s leadership decided that they needed the on-campus experience to make that transition. Upperclassmen who are unable to properly learn from home will also be allowed to attend classes on campus. After Thanksgiving, all students, including Freshmen, will only have online coursework.

Most faculty and some staff members will work on campus, but Georgetown is limiting employee density as much as possible. Face masks will be required of all persons on campus, hand sanitizer will be ubiquitous, and the school will take other standard sanitization and hygiene precautions.

The university is preparing activities that students can participate in virtually to give them the same social and extracurricular experiences they would normally have, to the extent possible.

Georgetown attracts students from around the United States and the world, so they are preparing to help students who come from “hot spots” quarantine for the initial two weeks, as required by DC law. They are also reimagining the study abroad experience, which has been a standard and important part of the curriculum for the McDonough School of Business.

Northern Virginia Community College

Northern Virginia Community College, or NoVA, will welcome to campus students who are pursuing fields that require hands-on training, such as fields in healthcare or the trades. These students represent about 20 percent of the student body. The other 80 percent will take their courses online for the Fall 2020 semester.

About half of NoVA’s 70,000 students live on the economic margins and face some form of basic needs insecurity, such as housing or food insecurity. The pandemic has eliminated jobs or hours for many, exacerbating these economic challenges. In response, NoVA has created a laptop loaner program and washed large parking lots in free Wi-Fi to make sure all students have the digital tools they need to continue their studies. NoVA has also trained professors to identify students who may be struggling and to notify a designated staff member who can intervene and help that student find assistance.

NoVA received $10 million from the CARES Act to navigate the challenges of the pandemic. President Anne M. Kress, Ph.D., noted that this sounds like a lot of money but breaks down to only $132 per student.

Her fear is that many of her financially challenged students will not return to school. This is a recipe for disaster when most jobs require some form of post-secondary credential.

University of Maryland, College Park

Like NoVA, University of Maryland (UMD) at College Park is offering approximately 80 percent of their courses online and 20 percent on campus for the Fall 2020 semester. Dorm occupancy has been reduced by half and most units will be single occupancy.

Beyond these changes, UMD has made the extraordinary commitment to test all students, faculty, and staff on campus for COVID-19 infection at multiple points throughout the semester. They expect to conduct 30,000 to 40,000 COVID-19 tests. They are asking all incoming students, faculty, and staff to provide a list of people who they regularly encounter (friends, coworkers, family, etc.) so that if they test positive, UMD can provide that list to the Maryland Department of Health and get a head-start on contact tracing.

Despite the enormous effort and resources required to reopen campus this fall, Why reopening at all? Because we really don’t know when we will have a COVID-19 vaccine. Historically, it has taken 4-7 years.

It is clear that reopening for business has not meant a return to pre-pandemic norms. What lies ahead is a long period of uncertainty with unpredictable market conditions. In this webinar, experts from Accenture and regional business leaders discuss how companies can reinvent themselves in this unprecedented moment.

Presenter: Paul Nunes, Global Managing Director of Thought Leadership, Accenture Research

Moderator: Tawfik Jarjour, Senior Manager, Accenture Strategy

Panelists:

• David Dacquino, Chairman & CEO, Serco, Inc.
• Mary McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, Beltway Region, Comcast
• Blue Jenkins, President, Washington Gas
• Sharon Pinder, President & CEO, Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council

Watch the Recording

Download the Slide Deck

The D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region (the DMV) is prosperous, but it is no secret that opportunities to participate in that prosperity are not shared fairly and that disparity often follows racial divides. This lack of economic equity is a moral failing and holds us back from reaching our full potential as a thriving, productive community. Join us for a meaningful and substantive conversation on how companies and local governments can address inequities and help shape an economy that gives everyone a chance to succeed.

Moderator: Michael Akin, President of LINK Strategic Partners

Panelists:
Cordell Carter, II, Executive Director, Socrates Program, Aspen Institute
Denise Rolark Barnes, Publisher, The Washington Informer
Jaqueline N. Tucker, Race and Social Equity Officer, City of Alexandria
Tony Waller, Senior Director of Diversity Relations, Walmart

Watch the Recording

Read the Summary

What does equity mean?

Michael Akin, president of LINK Strategic Partners, begun the discussion by asking each of the panelists to define the term “equity.” Each panelist approached the answer slightly differently, but two themes emerged.

First, it means that all people must be able to succeed. Denise Rolark Barnes, Publisher of The Washington Informer, recalled a quote from Jesse Jackson about the need to level the playing field, making the point that equity is about fairness in how we are able to succeed in this world. This is the starting point.

Second, it means that we must meet people where they are and recognize that different groups of people have different needs because of historical factors. Jaqueline Tucker, Race and Social Equity Officer for the City of Alexandria, explained that race is the primary predictor of health, income, and wealth in this country due to historical marginalization that held non-white groups of people back from opportunity. While equality means we are all treated the same way, equity means everyone is being given what they need precisely to bring them up to a fair starting line, which may mean that some communities require different or additional measures or investment.

Tony Waller, Senior Director of Diversity Relations at Walmart, put it simply: “Equality is making sure everyone has shoes. Equity means everyone has shoes that fit.”

What can a major retailer do?

Tony Waller acknowledged that in 2015, the country was having the same conversations and many companies came out with corporate statements. Now, five years later, nothing has changed. Companies need to change their response.

Tony described the steps that Walmart is taking to make a substantive and not just symbolic impact on racism and racial equity. Those steps start in Walmart’s supply chain, where the company is examining what changes it can make to its procurement requirements to accommodate more small and minority-owned businesses, to beyond its stores, where it is helping neighboring shops rebuild after being damaged in the riots.

Walmart’s management is looking at the jobs and advancement opportunities it provides and asking if more should be done for people of color. For example, they are asking how they may be able to help people who were previously incarcerated come back to the workforce. Walmart is also examining what it can do to help people of color access better healthcare that meets their needs.

Walmart’s CEO recently made a statement about all these commitments and asked that workers who are not on board with the program seek employment elsewhere. This conviction meant a lot, said Tony, and is a strong demonstration of leadership in a difficult time.

What can a local government do?

Jaqueline Tucker provided an expert history lesson of the laws that have created the situation we are in today. She explained that for hundreds of years, laws explicitly discriminated against Black people by denying them freedom, the right to vote, the right to attend certain schools, or the right to buy a house. Eventually, the law achieved racial neutrality, where everybody legally has the same privileges regardless of their race.

However, we now know that racial neutrality is not enough to make our society equal because Black and historically marginalized communities do not have the same history of wealth-building and investment—we have not reckoned with our past, according to Jaqueline. She pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated these disadvantages.

She says that some local governments, like Alexandria, are now proactively designing policies, procedures, programs, institutions, budgets, and so on to help deliver what people need to succeed. For example, Alexandria focused its communications during the COVID-19 pandemic on the communities who would be most vulnerable rather than targeting everyone equally. It has also formed a community response group that not only includes people of color, but compensates them for their time, knowing that not everyone can easily volunteer.

What can a media company do?

Denise Rolark Barnes explained the value of the Black press. Newspapers like hers have been telling the story of Black Americans for decades—stories that do not always get told in other publications. She pointed out that regular readers of The Washington Informer would not be surprised to learn about police brutality or faults in our criminal justice system, since those are stories that are covered regularly.

Denise also made that point that the Black press does not just cover stories that matter to Black Americans, they track those stories and follow-up on their outcomes.

What can a nonprofit do?

Cordell Carter, II, Executive Director of the Socrates Program at the Aspen Institute, explained that his organization is dedicated to bringing people together to share ideas. That legacy may have started years ago with white men, but it has expanded to include everyone.

Cordell says that in doing this work, it is important to be willing to look at yourself, be sensitive, and know that you do not have all the right answers. He points to today’s protesters and observes that many are marching with “signs in one hand and books in the other,” searching to understand our current condition intellectually. This is important and can support the ground-up movement we need where people across sectors and backgrounds contribute to being a part of the change we need.

Action Items

Michael Akin asked each panelist to provide one action item for the event participants.

Tony Waller suggested that everyone commit to having one difficult conversation with someone in which both people end the conversation better. Give the other party the opportunity to express where they are and better understand where you are.

Denise Rolark Barnes suggested that each participant, if they can, support a Black-owned business. Get to establish a new business relationship or get to know a new business owner in your community.

Jaqueline Tucker recommends we all follow the three A’s: Assume, Assess, and Act. Assume that your institution has white supremacy and white privilege embedded in it. Assess your staff, payscale, policies, and more to understand what should be changed to improve diversity, inclusion, and equity. Finally, act—do the work and be committed to the outcome.

Cordell Carter, II implores us to read. His reading list:

• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo
• Stamped from the Beginning: The History of Racist Ideas in America and How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
• A Letter to My Nephew, by James Baldwin
• PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America, by Dr. Claude Anderson

Lastly, Jack McDougle, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, asked that everybody approach the work of creating racial equity as one region. We cannot be satisfied with leveling the playing field in some neighborhoods and not others.