The Tempe Chamber of Commerce recently held its Diversity in Leadership Conference at the Embassy Suites in Tempe, which featured the 2024 Business Woman of the Year and Diversity Impact Awards. 

Bringing together over 200 of the Valley’s stakeholder business professionals, the annual event is meant to encourage participants to exchange ideas, learn best practices and collaborate on creating initiatives that foster diversity and enhance leadership skills, a press release explained.

The event opened with a presentation by Bridgett McGowen, an award-winning professional international speaker and author.

Then, the fireside chat brought Chamber President and CEO Colin Diaz together with Jay Parry, president and CEO of the 2024 Final Four and 2023 Super Bowl Committees, and Latasha Causey, president of NASCAR’s Phoenix Raceway.  

They shared insights on the economic impact of their respective sporting events impacting the Valley, according to the release.  Each of these Valley leaders relayed their story of how they climbed to the top of their professions and their secret sauce for success.

“Our goal was to emphasize the importance of inclusivity and the leadership needed to foster it. I believe we not only met that goal but exceeded it,” Diaz stated in the release

The Women in Business Council’s Mentor Program also acknowledged its graduating protégés and mentors with certificates and accolades.

The Tempe Chamber presented The Diversity Impact Award which was created to recognize businesses that are both acknowledging the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as implementing practices to enhance business culture.  

The five criteria that this year’s nominees were evaluated on were:

• Inclusive workplace culture,
• Diverse representation,
• Community engagement,
• Supplier diversity and
• Continuous improvement and accountability.

This year, the award went to ASU’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.

The event culminated with the anticipated crowning of the 2024 Business Woman of the Year, which was first established in 1996 to recognize an outstanding businesswoman in the community who demonstrates leadership, excellence and community involvement, the release explained.  

Lisa Rehurek, founder of the RFP Success Company, is the 2024 winner.  Her company was recognized as one of Inc’s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in 2023.  

She has participated in or has donated to local giving circles, outreach for the homeless and Treasures for Teachers among many others, the release detailed. As a mentor in the Tempe Chamber Mentoring Program, she empowered emerging leaders and fostered a culture of collaboration and support.