Episode Topic:

Affinity groups, mentoring, sponsorship, in many organizations, employees will say, we have these programs, but they have limited success. So how does an organization recognize the need for such a program, and even more so, how does an organization make it work?

In this episode of HR Power Hour, join host Tawny Alvarez of Verrill as she talks with Catherine Lamson, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at MEMIC as she discusses how the Million Women Mentors program acted as the catalyst for her and her team to create a mentoring program to emphasis STEM work within the insurance and provide MEMIC employees with an opportunity to connect with co-workers in a mentor/mentee fashion.

Catherine will discuss the successes and hiccups experienced in rolling-out MEMIC’s mentoring program in the midst of a pandemic and how the program has organically evolved to meet the needs of the MEMIC team, resulting in a tripling of program participants in the first year.
This Week's Guest
Catherine is the Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at MEMIC. She came to MEMIC in 2002. After 10 years in banking, she entered the healthcare sector working for Maine Health, the largest healthcare system north of Boston, and gained another 11 years of experience in a tertiary care hospital and medical laboratory setting.

She is responsible for the corporate administrative functions of the organization which are inclusive of human resources, compensation (cash and non-cash), benefits, training and education, along with responsibility for all real estate holdings and all facilities management functions throughout the system.

Catherine received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New England. She has earned the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Human Resource Certification Institute and the Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) designations from the Society for Human Resource Management along with Workers Compensation Professional (WCP) designation from AmComp.  She is also a graduate of the Institute for Civic Leadership.  

Catherine is the recipient of the Tower Award for Alumni Achievement, 2018 from UNE, the Woman of Distinction Award from Girl Scouts of Maine in 2019, and in 2020 the ACORD Millenial Women’s Insurance Advancement Award as well as the STEMConnector, MWM Trailblazer Award.

Catherine is currently a member of the Board and Board Secretary of the Olympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute. She is also the President of the Dorcas Society of Hollis & Buxton, a local philanthropic charity group since 1897 and the State of Maine Chair for the national Million Women Mentors movement and national chair of the States Committee of the Women in Insurance group that is focused on moving women up in the insurance industry.   

She has served as the Board Chair of the Park Danforth, which is a senior residential community and assisted living facility, and the Portland Downtown District Board as Treasurer in addition to being a member of the Board of the Town and Country Federal Credit Union and the Center for Grieving Children.
The show will air on
Saturday 4/17/21 at 10am
on News Talk WLOB 1310 AM and 100.5 FM
The HRPH is Presented by:
Our Sponsors:
HRPH Hosts:
David Ciullo

David Ciullo is the CEO of Career Management Associates (CMA), www.cmacareer.com, a New England HR services organization. He is also a HR thought leader, speaker and emcee as well as the talk show host and owner of the HR Power Hour national radio show ( www.hrpowerhour.com )

David currently serves as a Member of the Maine State Civil Service Appeals Board. He also is on the Board and Past President of both HRASM (Human Resource Association of Southern Maine) and the IFOB (Maine Institute for Family-Owned Business). In addition, he serves as Vice President on the Board of NNEAPS (Northern New England Association of Personnel Services
Tawny Alvarez

Tawny prides herself on helping clients comply with the law while simultaneously creating an amazing place to work.

She centers her practice on the understanding that the employment landscape is ever-changing and organizations do not have the time or resources to keep abreast of all these changes-from medical (and recreational) marijuana's effect on drug testing to the effect of social networking in the workplace, including the effect of the use of mobile devices on wage and hour issues. 




About Us
 
The HR Power Hour is an educational radio talk program dedicated to all things related to Human Resources. Local and national guests are hosted each week from a variety of industries to deliver the very best information from top professionals to our listeners. Tune in as Dave and guests bring you current, key information with valuable insight into Human Resources Management.

Catch HR Power Hour in three ways:
  1. Every Saturday at 10-11am (EST) on News Talk WLOB, 1310 AM
  2. Streaming live on wlobradio.com
  3. Downloaded from hrpowerhour.com any time after the show airs
  4. On your favorite podcast programs!

Career Management Associates 

207-780-1125

BECOMING A GUEST
For info on becoming a guest on the HR Power Hour show please contact David Ciullo 
Disclaimer:
The views expressed by guests are the guests alone and do not reflect the views of the hosts, the hosts’ employers, sponsors, advertisers, the station or the network.