Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, has been named to serve on a national steering committee for a U.S. Chamber of Commerce initiative to improve economic equity and opportunity for people of color. 

The goal is to engage hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses, chambers and trade associations to help make it happen. 

With Minneapolis police officers now charged with the murder of George Floyd, America needs to use this as the turning point, he said. 

“We all have much to learn from the senseless killing of George Floyd and this moment in the nation’s history—I know I do,” Hamer said. “I welcome this appointment as someone who doesn’t have all the answers, but who has a real desire to ensure that all Americans have access to an even playing field and a future defined by hope and opportunity.”

The U.S. Chamber unveiled the last week in the midst of national outrage as a video went viral showing Floyd’s murder at the hands of four police officers on Memorial Day.

Call to the business community to take action 

The goal of the initiative is to engage hundreds, if not thousands, of chambers, trade associations and companies to participate and improve racial equity in their communities, Hamer said. 

He said, as a Jewish ‘kid’ from the Bronx, he was honored and humbled to be chosen for the committee. 

“The opportunities offered by this country should be open and available to all Americans, not just some,” he said.

Employment rates tell the story 

As part of the effort, the U.S. Chamber, representing more than 3 million businesses, will also promote policy at all levels of government to help effect change. 

The initiative will focus on four areas: education, employment, entrepreneurship, and criminal justice reform. 

The numbers show the need for a renewed effort, said Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber in a statement announcing the initiative last week. 

The unemployment rate is historically about twice as high for black Americans as for white.

“The combined impacts of the pandemic and economic crises have disproportionately hit disadvantaged communities, making this problem worse,” Clark said. “The chamber believes that the moral case for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is indisputable, and there’s overwhelming evidence that greater diversity benefits the American economy, businesses, communities and employees.”

Other programs to improve racial opportunity

The national initiative builds on other programs that U.S. Chamber has initiated or supports including:

-The U.S. Chamber Foundation’s that works to move students of color into high demand careers. 

-Partnering with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation on the that emphasizes the positive economic aspects of racial justice and higher employment,  like meaningful increases in consumer spending; federal, state, and local tax revenues; and decreases in social services spending and health-related costs.

-The , a collaboration with black colleges and universities to develop diverse business leaders by exposing students to new career opportunities and entrepreneurship, and encourage knowledge sharing among academics, business leaders, and trade associations.

Steering committee members from different industries, regions

In Hamer’s appointment to the steering committee, he joins five other business and chamber executives from different industries and geographies: 

-John Harmon, founder, president, and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey

-Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers

-Vincent B. Orange, Sr., president and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce

-Carlos Phillips, president and CEO of the Greenville (South Carolina) Chamber of Commerce

-Matt Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation

Hamer also chairs the U.S. Chamber’s Commerce Committee of 100, a group of chamber executives that represent the perspectives and needs of chambers and their members to the national body.

As the president of the Arizona Chamber, Hamer has taken an international role in promoting Arizona to have strong relationships with trade and intellectual partner countries like Canada, China, Israel, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. 

For more information about the Arizona Chamber, go to: .For more information about the U.S. Chamber, go to: .

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The recently appointed Consul General of Mexico in Phoenix, the Honorable Jorge Mendoza Yescas, was welcomed by the Phoenix community earlier this week.

Consul Mendoza is from Sonora and has worked in Tucson, Texas and most recently Vancouver before his appointment as Consul General of Mexico in Phoenix.

The Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC) hosted a reception at the Phoenix Country Club to welcome Consul Mendoza.

Leaders and community members who champion the Arizona-Mexico relationship joined in welcoming him.

“I was appointed by the president of Mexico as the Consul General of Mexico in Phoenix to serve Mexicans… to strengthen our important relationship,” Consul Mendoza told attendees.

In his role, Consul Mendoza will support Mexicans in the greater Phoenix area in a variety of ways.

“The role of consul general is basically to represent the foreign estate here in the area in the consulate district, right? Also, it’s to serve over the best interest of Mexican nationals who are living in the consulate district and also who might be a tourist,” Consul Mendoza told 91ֱ��.

He said he will also work to establish commercial and economic relationships.

In addition to representation, the Consul General will work to meet the needs of Mexican citizens, such as passports, birth certificates and more.

“The main one is the passports, we issue passports for Mexican nationals need to do something like any process they may have in the state or in the country here in the U.S.,” Consul Mendoza said.

He said, “We provide birth certificates to Mexican nationals and also legalizations of U.S. documents [that] can be validated and used in Mexico.”

The welcome reception was held at the Phoenix Country Club on the evening of Wednesday, June 5, and was hosted by the AMC, which works to improve the economic prosperity and quality of life for Arizonans through collaborations with Mexico in advocacy, trade, networking and information. This year, the AMC celebrates its 60th anniversary.

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