THE ABILITY PROJECT

May 2022 Edition - WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT PODCAST SERIES: Celena Evans Speaks

We started the Podcast Series with the intension to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these worrying COVID-19 times as they seek their new careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of their college campuses. We have invited employers and HR-related professionals from various industries to share experiences, guidance, information, instruction, and recommendations for graduates. Our hope is for new and recent graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college. For this month’s episode, we interviewed Celena Evans, an enterprising business professional with exceptional repertoire of experiences across many industries. Celena Evans is the founder and president of Meliora Consulting. She is a strategic senior-level professional with over 20 years’ experience across several industries in business management, market strategy, product management and development, and project management roles with multi-billion-dollar corporations. She is known for developing innovative solutions that successfully meet both customer and company needs, while bridging strategy and execution to consistently deliver exceptional results. A licensed REALTOR in Georgia and a Project Management Professional (PMP, she is highly skilled at leveraging internal and external relationships and leading through change. During her corporate tenure she realized that she has tremendous passion for working in a consultative manner with a variety of businesses to solve unique problems, optimize processes, and bring new opportunities to fruition. Celena is also passionate about community, mentoring, talent development, and diversity. She is an avid supporter of organizations that focus on women, minorities, children, and education. She is a member of the board of trustees for Literacy Action, the oldest and largest adult education program in the Southeast. She served on the Emory University Executive Women of Goizueta alumnae board from 2008 to 2013 and held positions of President, as well as Chair of the Advisory Board. She served as a board member of Economic Empowerment Initiative from 2004-2010. She has mentored many young women through programs offered by Emory University, Spelman College, Pathbuilders, and several non-profit organizations. In recognition of her leadership in business and commitment to the community, Celena was named to the 2009 “Top 40 under 40” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Ms. Evans holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an M.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. She is a 2009 graduate of the Pathbuilders Achieva program for high-performing people. She is also Pragmatic Marketing Certified, and a Toastmasters Competent Communicator.

April 2022 Edition - WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT PODCAST SERIES: Dr. Vincent Parry Speaks

We started the Podcast Series with the intension to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these worrying COVID-19 times as they seek their new careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of their college campuses. We have invited employers and HR-related professionals from various industries to share experiences, guidance, information, instruction, and recommendations for graduates. Our hope is for new and recent graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college. For this month’s episode, we interviewed Dr. Vincent Parry, an imminent project management professional and educator. Dr. Parry is an astute fellow Santaclausian with a knack for precision, learning and research. His unique stories are relatable to many professional diasporas in their search for professional success and an ending desire to making a difference within their communities. Dr. Parry is an Associate Professor at DeVry University and holds a green belt certificate in Lean Six Sigma. His work in Information Technology has helped to transform best practices at Oklahoma State Department of Health and Koch Industries, among others.

March 2022 Edition - WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT PODCAST SERIES: Christine Chasse Speaks

We started the Podcast Series with the intension to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these worrying COVID-19 times as they seek their new careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of their college campuses. We have invited employers and HR-related professionals from various industries to share experiences, guidance, information, instruction, and recommendations for graduates. Our hope is for new and recent graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college. For this special international women’s month episode, we interviewed Christine Chasse, a lawyer, a master's prepared registered nurse, and a plain-speaking advocate for fair-mindedness. Her combined professional experiences are intertwined with cardiac nursing, hospital education, and nursing leadership for a career in healthcare law. Ms. Chasse is an Associate Attorney for Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, a U.S. general practice law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California with offices in 52 cities and 29 states and Washington, DC. She focuses her practice on representing healthcare institutions such as skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities regarding claims of professional liability, healthcare or medical malpractice liability, premises liability, and wrongful death. Ms. Chasse also represents healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, and chiropractors. Her riveting post on LinkedIn about her experiences with a misogynist went viral, trending with over a million views from across professional networking platforms.

February 2022 Edition - THE CANDIDATE CONVERSATION: DR. KANDISS TAYLOR SPEAKS

This Podcast Series is a special one, with the intention to inform the people of Georgia about who they need to know and vote for in the upcoming Gubernatorial elections to held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. For this episode, we interview Dr. Kandiss Taylor, a South Georgia native and seasoned educator. For more than 19 years as a public servant, Dr. Taylor has served as a public school system teacher, school counselor, testing coordinator, student services coordinator, and homeless liaison. She is passionate about the plight of Georgia’s working class and willing to boost small business growth and the overall economy. Her passion runs deep on many causes, including the state of mental health, education, and election integrity.  Dr. Taylor is running to give Georgia a true representative, non-establishment alternative leadership based on conservative principles for all Georgians.

January 2022 Edition - WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT PODCAST SERIES: Dr. Irene Molina Speaks

The Podcast Series is intended to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these troubling times as they seek their careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of college campuses. Employers and professionals from various industries will share experiences, guidance, information, instruction and recommendations for graduates. The hope is for graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college. For this episode, we interviewed our first guest with roots from southeast Asia.  Dr. Irene Molina is a registered nurse with 26 years of combined experiences in critical care nursing, nursing administration, nursing education, research, and public health practice experience.  Her clinical background allows her to practice critical thinking, decision making, and organizational skills to work efficiently under extreme pressure. Dr. Molina has taught as an adjunct faculty for nursing undergraduate and graduate programs for colleges. She has a wealth of practical experiences in health program evaluation, grant reviews, public health advocacy, and legislative policy support.  Dr. Molina had the opportunity to provide technical assistance support to several community-based organizations serving the minority communities in Maryland. As a public health researcher, her special interests included dissemination and translation research, and health disparities research. Dr. Molina is a staunch advocate of health disparities improvement and minority health.  As a member of American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), American Association of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and Maryland Association of Healthcare Executives (MACHE), she utilizes social media platforms to advance her advocacy works. Her vision is to improve health disparities by addressing the impacts of social determinants of health to enhance health outcomes, and health care utilization.