If you don\u2019t like the story, change it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the view Adam Gabornitz brings to his position as assistant director of diversity and inclusion at Northwestern Mutual.<\/p>\n
Like many Fortune 500 companies, Northwestern Mutual faces challenges in recruiting diverse talent, he said. However, Milwaukee has some greater challenges because of its reputation as a highly segregated city that is seen as not as welcoming to people of color.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne way you fix that is to tell a different story,\u201d Gabornitz said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean you gloss over or pretend those things don\u2019t exist, but every time I hear a negative story about Milwaukee, I feel we\u2019re not giving enough emphasis to the great things happening and the great people here. We\u2019re not helping our chances of getting the people to come here, stay here and make a great Milwaukee possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gabornitz, who graduated from 51ÁÔÆæ with a degree in communication, is a booster of both the university and the city. Both need to answer the challenge of making the city more inclusive, he said. \u201cUniversities and businesses have to be more intentional about creating environments where everybody can show up as their true selves and feel comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Creating that climate and culture is up to the businesses and universities, he said. \u201cWe\u2019re responsible for recruiting people and building out spaces. Do people feel comfortable and welcome at the corporation or the school? If the answer is no, we need to fix that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gabornitz grew up in Wisconsin and chose 51ÁÔÆæ for two reasons: \u201cI wanted to go school in Wisconsin, and I wanted to go to school in a city. 51ÁÔÆæ checked both of those boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He particularly remembers one of his 51ÁÔÆæ academic advisors, Nelson Bolden, from African American Student Academic Services. \u201cHe was really helpful from the beginning. He was a great guide and was with me all the way through.\u201d (Bolden now works for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district in North Carolina.)<\/p>\n
Gabornitz initially started studying marketing but switched to communication, which he really enjoyed. He\u2019s continually using those skills in his career and within his current role. \u201cThe job I have now is very much internal facing,\u201d Gabornitz said. \u201cI\u2019m always using my communications skills, written and oral. I\u2019ve spent my whole career talking, which is something I like to do,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Since graduating 14 years ago, he\u2019s been an entrepreneur and worked in small organizations and Fortune 500 companies. He started at Northwestern Mutual as senior project manager of tech advancement and outreach, working on recruiting and retaining tech talent in the region. This spring, he was named one of the Business Journal\u2019s \u201c40 Under 40,\u201d which recognizes promising leaders under 40 years old.<\/p>\n
Gabornitz recently moved to the Lake Country area, and is the father of two sons, ages 2 and 4. \u201cIt\u2019s an evolution and an experience going from figuring out your own life and now having responsibility for taking care of other people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
He sees the young people just out of college that he\u2019s trying to recruit as being more mobile, and willing to change careers more frequently than previous generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people graduating more recently don\u2019t typically stay at a job for more than two, two and half years. It\u2019s been similar for me, so I guess I can relate to wanting to try new things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having himself started his second career in two years at Northwestern Mutual, he sees young workers being interested in seizing new opportunities and making moves even within the same company. And he likes the area he\u2019s now in \u2013 helping create a diverse and inclusive environment to help find and retain talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our job to get sharp, motivated people excited about coming and staying. It\u2019s not a space anymore where companies have the upper hand in the sense of unlimited people or being the only game in town. The world of work is changing, and companies have to become innovative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Companies need to not only keep recruiting and retaining employees locally, they need to attract people from outside the area as well, Gabornitz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs people come here from other places, we need to show them how great the city is\u2026 how many cool things are here, wonderful people and opportunities to do big things. Places like 51ÁÔÆæ and Northwestern Mutual can be great amplifiers of that narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Like all companies, Northwestern Mutual faces a challenge in recruiting diverse talent. In Milwaukee, that can be even more difficult. For Adam Gabornitz, it’s a challenge to face head-on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":84346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[125,122],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[260],"uwmnews-feed":[158,159],"class_list":["post-84345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","section-alumni","section-campus-community","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","related-coverage-community-engagement","uwmnews-feed-letters-science","uwmnews-feed-humanities"],"yoast_head":"\n