Tag Archives: Other Sheep

My final blog, and the five things I’ll be doing next

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I have had a fulfilling run as a DEIB consultant and trainer

This blog has many links – please do explore them!

On November 5, 2010, I opened my business, Total Engagement Consulting by Kimer, and published my first blog, “Being passionate about what I do.” I shared that I was thrilled and excited to be forming a consulting firm around diversity and career development, two of the areas I enjoyed the most during my 31 years at IBM.  My second blog was actually a copy of the press release announcing the opening of my business.

I published another blog a month later titled, “Retirement – Having the time to make an impact.” Basically I was leaving a 50-60 hour per week corporate job and then starting my own firm with the target of working 30 hours per week. That provided me the flexibility to serve on nonprofit boards and to spearhead the Kimer-Kamba Community Centre in Mtito Andei, Kenya.

In my final newsletter which I sent out earlier this month, I shared that I am basically retiring, turning over most of my business, except a very small handful of favorite clients, to Deanna Jones of “Deanna Jones Now!”

So now here are the things where I will be spending most of my time:

1) Pursuing board and advisory positions. With my vast corporate and entrepreneurial experience, the next logical step in my vocational journey is to land one or two paying corporate board or advisor positions with medium or large sized companies. I seek to leverage my extensive organizational experience and creative mind to advise companies across all areas to maximize strategic and operational effectiveness. I have a greatly enhanced LinkedIn profile (check it out) to position me for future board and advisor positions, and of course welcome any references or suggestions from all of you.

I am looking forward to supporting my work in Africa and with Other Sheep.

2) Spending more time serving the nonprofit boards I am on. One initiative I need to devote significant time on is recruiting a volunteer Global Coordinator for Other Sheep. I am the President of this nonprofit with the mission of providing resources to faith activists in second and third world countries who are working with religious leaders be more accepting of sexual minorities. Other Sheep has basically been in a holding patterns for several years after the departure of our previous executive director (we have now redefined that role as “Global Coordinator.”) Please contact me if interested and want more information.

In addition, I continue to serve on the board of “Gay Sons and Mothers” as we are finishing a short documentary on this work, and on the Planning Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches.

3) Figure Skating! At the age of 59, I decided to pursue becoming a competitive adult figure skater, and after seven years of training and hard work have passed all the tests to now compete at the US Adult National Championships. I enjoy both the athleticism and performance aspects of figure skating, and have already won two gold and two silver medals at first first three US Adult Nationals. I want to continue to grow new skills and compete for many years to come. I have written several blogs about my skating journey and have lots of information, including my competition schedule, on my figure skating web pages.

4) Spending time with friends and family. It is nice to be able just to spend time with friends and family and take a nice 3-hour lunch with friends when I want to. Also, spending time with my 92-year-old mother who is in good health and continues to live on her own in the family home less than 2 miles from where I live.

5) And other future ventures? Of course there are still many places around the world on my bucket list that I would love to travel to, and I am strongly considering trying to get engaged in acting in community theater.

I look forward to seeing what adventures unfold in my life after work!

Opening Up Communications Channels Through the Performing Arts

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A poster depicting the JTP’s 2019 – 2020 season.

In the past, I have published a number of blogs about how the performing arts can help transport people from their daily lives to gain a better understanding of social issues and diversity. One of the organizations leading this work in my community is The Justice Theater Project (link to my introductory blog about the JTP.)

I am pleased to share that my business, Total Engagement Consulting by Kimer is supporting the Justice Theater Project by placing a full page ad in the 2019 – 2020 season program book. In addition, I serve on the JTP’s Community Engagement Committee which helps line up educational speakers and schedule area non-profits to present their organizations at the shows.

This season’s 2019 – 2020 theme is “From Monologue to Dialogue – Open Communication Opening Minds.” This theme was chosen as we head into our next Presidential election cycle at a time when the USA is facing unprecedented division along the lines of political parties, race, gender and socioeconomic status. This year’s productions demonstrate how characters falter when their minds are closed and how they rise when they approach difficult topics with open dialogue.

The season’s first production runs on the weekends from September 13 – 29, “Inherit the Wind.” This play is a dramatization of the true “Trial of the Century” when a schoolteacher is thrown into jail for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Revisiting this trial is quite timely in today’s world when an increasing number of people are proclaiming science (such as global warming, human pollution and impact on the environment, etc.) as “fake news.” Link to the full list of 2019 – 2020 productions.

Vanessa Woods, Author of Bonobo Handshake, will be our pre-show speaker on September 28th.

At the September 28th show, I will be introducing that night’s educational speaker, Vanessa Woods speaking on “Survival of the Friendliest: Evolution and What it Means Today.” Vanessa Woods, NYT Bestselling Author of The Genius of Dogs and Bonobo Handshake, is a most fascinating speaker and often shares about her research with the Bonobo apes of the Congo. At the September 29th afternoon show, I will spotlighting Other Sheep, a non profit of which I am the board chair, that provides resources to religious leaders in third world countries to promote acceptance of LGBTQ people.

Later in the season, I plan to deliver a short educational workshop prior to one of the shows on the complexities of effective communications in an increasing complex diverse world.

Please consider ways you or your business can support the work of the Justice Theater Project. Become a season subscriber or a sponsor. Details on the JTP website. And if you are one of my blog readers from outside the area, perhaps see if there is a similar theater company in your community, or perhaps consider starting one!