Episode 76. Darlene Chapman-Holmes – Faster Together

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Darlene Chapman-Holmes is the Director of Development at Women Business Collaborative where she creates partnerships for sponsors, advisory and leaders council and manages client accounts. The WBC is a network of leaders who work toward achieving parity with Equal Position, Pay and Power for women and people of color. Darlene works with women leaders to create impact and uphold over 66 partners and resource organizations and over 350 champions. Prior to her consulting, she served as Vice President of Development and Communications at Lutheran Social Services National Capital Area where she oversaw donor relations, communications and marketing. Darlene has held several positions in Sales and Marketing over her career. While at Saval Foods Corporation, she managed a team in corporate marketing and communications for the regional food distributor and Deli Brands of America, a national meat manufacturer and distributor across the U.S. She brings over 20 years of experience as a veteran of sales, contract negotiations, digital marketing, research, and communications. Prior to Saval, she was head of sales and marketing at National Public Radio where she oversaw the satellite sales engineering team and customer service staff that managed and served over 450 stations and producers. While at National Public Radio, she was responsible for generating millions of dollars and distribution of equipment for the Public Radio Satellite Service to support hundreds of public radio and television stations. Chapman-Holmes has served in many sales and marketing roles in the cable television industry including Viacom, BET, Retirement Living TV and Discovery Networks and led teams in digital marketing, project management, customer service, brand strategy, research, press and website management.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Chapman-Holmes has served on several boards including: Girls Inc, The Children’s Cancer Foundation, Heartshare of New York, and Women in Cable & Telecommunications.

Chapman-Holmes has a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. She lives with her husband, and their two daughters in Maryland.

Favorite Quote:

“God gave us two ears and one mouth….for a reason. Listen more than you talk.” — Darlene’s Grandmother

Quote from interview:

“Get out of your comfort zone, because you can’t grow unless you stretch.”

R.O.G. Takeaway Tips:

How well are we doing relative to the Women’s Business Collaborative Nine Action Initiatives?

Executive Women’s Leadership in Business:

Do you have a woman CEO or have a woman in the pipeline who is being sponsored and groomed to be the CEO?
How many women do you have in the C-Suite and executive leadership positions with P+L responsibility?
How many women are on your board?

Underrepresentation of women in business:

Does your organization hire and support women own businesses as vendors and partners?
How is your organization supporting women in capital and finance through partnerships and venture capital?
What is the representation of Women in C-suite Technology positions?

Equity for Women in Business:

What is your organization’s formal commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?
Does your organization pay fairly? How could you find out?
How many women does your organization have in the pipeline for talent acquisition and promotion?

In addition to these important considerations, here are recommendations on how to be a generous leader: