The Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce will host its monthly General Membership Luncheon May 17 at 12 p.m. at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. The featured speaker will be Sonya Whited, Director of Process, Packaging and Commercialization at Perdue Farms, presenting “Diversity and Inclusion are Good for Business.”
Whited plans to discuss her perspectives on diversity and inclusion practices in business. To that effect she will also proffer how these practices influence consumers. She plans to discuss how a diverse and inclusive environment is essential to creating a welcoming atmosphere, assisting business patrons, and promoting business. She will offer suggestions for events and activities businesses may incorporate into their standard procedures to build an environment hospitable and inviting to people of multiple various backgrounds.
The cost of the event is $25 for Chamber members and $35 for Future Members. Tickets can be purchased at salisburyarea.com or by calling Director of Events, Lauren Barnas at 410.749.0144.
More about Sonya:
Sonya Whited is a native of New Jersey who moved to Salisbury almost 13 years ago. She works Perdue Foods LLC as a director of Process, Packaging, and Commercialization, where she her team work with cross-functional associates and vendors to make a concept into reality. Sonya was recently honored as one of the The Daily Record’s Maryland Top 100 Women in 2018 due to her work at Perdue, as well as her community service and mentoring. Her community service includes immediate past president of the Princess Anne Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, serves a Board Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Eastern Shore and Village of Hope, an active membership with United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore, and is founding co-chair of the Inclusion Council at Perdue Farms.
As a person who grew up with the importance of community service and the knowledge that all people are equal, it is very important to her for diversity and inclusion of everyone – where different thoughts, backgrounds, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds -are able to express themselves freely and be heard. Sonya thoroughly enjoys working with all types of people and departments, who give different perspectives and ideas that end in a richer collective result. A big believer in this for personal and professional life, working with people is important and critical for a truly effective team, her personal hashtag is #AuthenticCollaborator.
