Why do you think Black History Month is important? And what does it mean to you?

Black History Month remains every bit as important today as it was at its founding by Carter G Woodson in 1926. In the era of creation, there was limited knowledge of successes of African American men and women, sciences, business, and the professions. For most African American children images of successful people who looked like them were few. As a child that grew up in the segregated south, in a poor community, my eyes were opened with the presentation of Black History Month in the seventh grade. I first heard the name Thurgood Marshall and the impact he had on shaping opportunity for African American people. Before learning about Marshall, the Attorney, I had never heard of or met a lawyer that looked like me. Studying Marshall’s career helped me believe that I could rise above my circumstances and be successful as a professional if I worked hard. Black History Month shows young people that there are people that look like them who have been successful in all sorts of professions. Young black and economically disadvantaged don’t have to settle for the stereotypes that persists about the community and its limitations but can lift their sights to successful people that look like them and form the desire and will to be successful. Sharing Black History Month with the general community helps to deal with stereotypes and demonstrate that people of color are indeed contributors to this great country.

What is an event or moment in Black History that has directly influenced your life, or that you believe is especially important?

April 4 ,1968, the night, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, was assassinated had a tremendous impact on me as a college freshman in Atlanta. I remember when the news of his death spread on campus students gathered in the gymnasium of Morehouse College to grieve and vent our anger. What happened as student leaders spoke and tried to process the loss of Dr. King was a collective commitment to keep Dr. King’s dream alive and keep striving for excellence and making a difference in expanding equality for African Americas. That night instilled in me and many others a drive for success personally and a commitment to expand opportunity for others.

Who is a Black individual that you believe has enhanced the field of public administration?

Phil Rutledge, NAPA Fellow, scholar in public administration, administrator in the federal government, mentor for many African Americans in public administration. Phill is someone who had tremendous impact on public administration and to expanding opportunities for African Americans in the field. He served as President of the American Society for Public Administration and was a founder of the Conference of Minority Public Administrators. DR. Rutledge was a role model for public Administrators across the board.

Who is a Black individual that has influenced your specific area of work?

Sylvester Murray, NAPA Fellow, one of the early African American city Managers, and the first city manager I worked for. Sy served as City Administrator of Ann Arbor Michigan Cincinnati Ohio and San Diego California. He later trained many Public Administrators in his roles heading the Public Administrator Program at Cleveland State University, Savannah State University and now Jackson State University. He has been a mentor to many and many of his assistants became city managers and local government executives.

How do you plan to observe Black History Month?

During February I will participate in Black History Programs at my church. I will also support a nonprofit that I chair in its annual production of Blacks N Wax performed during Black History Month where program participants ages 7 to 17 highlight historic African American figures through spoken word.

Why do you think diversity in the workplace is important?

Diversity and inclusion affect not only the businesses’ people and operations internally but also their customers, suppliers, and other external stakeholders. Businesses are more and more global intersecting with changing faces in terms of language, culture and religion of both customers and workers will represent a more diverse mix. Diversity in the workplace is an essential ingredient for a dynamic work environment where talent thrives, and company culture provides an environment that inspires success.

Leading companies know it’s essential to consistently maintain diversity as a top business imperative over a period of, at minimum, five years before diversity can gain traction and become part of the way those companies do business. True diversity is not just about the mix that constitutes the workforce; it’s also about a company’s customers and business partners.

Businesses are recognizing the need for and importance of investing in diversity and inclusion as part of their overall talent management practices and to continually challenge their organizations to make the connection between those principles and their corporate performance. Diversity is especially crucial in today’s global marketplace, as companies interact with different cultures and clients. The payoffs touch every area of the business by potentially resulting in increased creativity, increased productivity, new attitudes, new language skills, global understanding, new processes, and new solutions to difficult problems. greater agility, better market insight, stronger customer and community loyalty, innovation, and improved employee recruitment and retention. The businesses that fail to see the importance of diversity and inclusion might find themselves unable to attract and retain the kinds of customers, employees, and business partners that constitute our changing world.

How can we work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace?

Developing an effective and intentional workplace diversity, equity and inclusion program is a business imperative. Diversity and Inclusion brings in diverse different talents together working towards a common goal using different sets of skills that ignites their loyalty and increases their retention and productivity. With so many different and diverse minds coming together many more solutions will arise as every individual brings in their way of thinking, operating, and solving problems and decision making. Feeling included and appreciated increases loyalty and feeling of belonging. Language skills pool is increased and propels organization forward either to compete in the International global world or to increase its diverse customer base. The advantages of diversity & Inclusion embracing affects the base line revenues of any organization and can be the make or break of any business. Ignoring the effects or the existence of diversity in this global new market will only keep organizations back loosing on all the productivity and most important profitability of any business and its core of existence.

Michael C Rogers was recently appointed Interim City Manager for the City of Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Senior Executive Leader who drives the success of for-profit, not-for-profit and government organizations. Rogers is known as a results-oriented, innovative problem solver, who has demonstrated many approaches to transforming organizations, reducing cost of operations, generating new revenue and instituting innovative programs to improve performance. He is recognized for broad strengths in diverse functions in government and business: strategic planning, general management, financial management and fundraising, operations and administration, procurement, marketing/business development, leadership development, and contract negotiations as well as public policy, labor relations, government relations and advocacy, corporate relations and external affairs. He has led organizations with revenue as high as $3.5B, directed operations for 42,000 employee government while planning and administering $5B budget.

Michael Rogers was appointed by Mayor Marion Barry as City Administrator/ Deputy Mayor for Operations in February 1995. Serving with Mayor Barry during the financial crisis faced by the District he led many initiatives that restructured government, reduced expenses and increased revenues and improved processes and procedures that improved efficiency of government. Many of the initiatives that he led for Barry helped to reduce the financial crisis and put the District on a path to recovery and growth.

Upon leaving District Rogers was appointed as Executive Director of The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Executive Vice President for Corporate Services for MedStar Health, Executive Director for Strategic Planning and Consulting for Kaiser Permanente Mid Atlantic Region. Most recently he served as Chief Operating Officer/ Chief Financial Officer for the Petersburg, Virginia. Other Key appointments include appointment by Mayor David Dinkins, as Director of The Mayor’s Office of Contracts and Chief Procurement Officer for City of New York; appointment by Commerce Secretary Ron Brown as National Director of The Minority Business Development Agency in the Department Of Commerce and As vice President for Institutional advancement at the University of The District of Columbia. Rogers also served as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Contracts and City Chief Procurement Officer where he led efforts to transform procurement in to a an efficient and business focus operation. Rogers is noted for investing in and developing staff as he has led the creation of a university-based leadership development program in each of his major leadership positions including the Center for Excellence in Municipal Management in Partnership with George Washington University and The District of Columbia, and the Institute for Regional Excellence, a partnership between The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and George Washington University. Rogers is a long-time member of the International City Management Association, the National Forum for Black Public Administrators and the National Academy of Public Administration.

Michael Rogers has been involved with several nonprofits and community-based organizations, serving on the boards American Red Cross of the National Region, The Conference for Community and Justice (Chair), American Heart Association Capital Region and Leadership Greater Washington (Chair), and The Non-Profit Roundtable. He was appointed by Mayor Bowser as Chair of the Commission to Commemorate Mayor Marion Barry that recommended the Statue of Mayor Barry that now sits on Pennsylvania, Avenue. Michael Rogers Currently Chairs the Marion Barry Legacy Foundation and the Recreation Wish List Committee which supports the South East Tennis and Learning Center. He serves on the Board of The National Theatre Foundation.

Rogers is a past Vice Chair of NAPA and chair of the Elliot Richardson Prize Fund Committee and a member of the Board Governance Committee.

He received a J.D. from Georgetown University National Law Center and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Ford School for Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Clark College. He is a native of Atlanta Ga.

He is currently Managing Partner of Michael C. Rogers Consulting, LLC, a management consulting firm, providing strategic advisory services to government, private sector and nonprofits.