During a reception hosted by Rocket, moderator Laura Granneman, Executive Director of the Rocket Community Fund and Gilbert Family Foundation, led a discussion with leading women of Michigan to explore how they overcome challenges and navigate professional careers in business and politics.
Women in Leadership on the Impact of DEI and Cultivating the Next Generation of Women Leaders
May 28, 2025
Allie Ciak |
Tina Kozak, Chief Executive Officer, Franco
“I think just the integration of people is so important. I also think you know, because I’m a woman and I think we tend to have maybe higher relational competencies … and without trying to like you know, paint a really broad brush … those emotional intelligence capabilities … they’re power skills and really important skills as both performance and success skills.”
Angelique Power, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Skillman Foundation
“About my job a lot of the time I think about myself as a gardener. And really, my job is to cultivate the soil and what grows from that are the employees and community members that we work with. But that is the strength and the beauty of what I do and that it isn’t like ‘get from point A to point B’ — it’s trying to change something — helping others really shine and helping them bloom.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)
“The signal is being sent [from the federal level that] instead of diversity being a positive thing, diversity is a bad thing. It’s sending shock waves of fear through the system, and the conversations I’m having with Michigan organizations are: Don’t overindex — don’t bend over backwards to go in the opposite direction. We’re in Michigan — diversity is a value.”
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