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Show 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 also 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
About The 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 MaineHealth, 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.
