• Discuss what you learned about the practice of management from the article by James Moore.
• Evaluate how the article about the actions of Veronika Scott can impact diversity in the practice of management.
• Reflect on how you could use the lessons from Scott to impact your career.
• Evaluate the use of diversity, equity or inclusion in the article by the organization.

DIVERSITY IN LEADERSHIP: Veronika Scott: Innovating a Source of Empowerment By James Moore Veronika Scott is the CEO and founder of Empowerment Plan, as well as the creator of the EMPWR coat. On its surface, the EMPWR coat looks like a simple coat, but it is transformational. Not only does the coat convert into a sleeping bag that offers warmth and protection to the wearer as they sleep, but the development of the coat inspired an entire business with a goal of changing the lives of people experiencing poverty. While working on a college project to address needs in the city of Detroit, Michigan, Scott discovered a pain point: People experiencing homelessness want to hold onto their pride, and living in a shelter can limit independence and dignity. But in a city that experiences temperatures below freezing in the winter, living outside a shelter is dangerous and even life-threatening. Scott's approach to addressing this pain point was creating a coat that converts to a sleeping bag. Scott embedded herself at a local shelter as a volunteer and developed a prototype for the coat. Carlos Osorio/AP/ASSOCAITED PRESS Veronika Scott demonstrating her sleeping bag EMPWR coat at a homeless shelter. While working at the shelter, Scott was humble enough to take advice from a woman in the shelter who explained that, although the coat kept unhoused people warm, it did not change their situation or lift them from poverty (Empowerment Plan, n.d.-a). So Scott took the project further: She started a company, Empowerment Plan, that not only serves those in need but also employs them. Empowerment Plan's mission is "to educate, employ, and empower homeless individuals to create a better life for themselves and their families while producing a humanitarian product for those in need" (Global Thinkers Forum, 2014, para. 4). In alignment with this mission, Empowerment Plan seeks to produce durable, innovative coats while providing its employees the opportunity to earn a consistent income, locate housing, and regain their financial independence. The goal is to break the cycle of homelessness through employment (Empowerment Plan, n.d.-c). Currently, Scott employs an ethnically and gender-diverse group of roughly 35 people that play various roles at the company, including seamstresses and seamsters, logisticians, trainers, and human resources managers, to name a few. Empowerment Plan is well known and has impacted many lives in the Detroit area. In addition to providing EMPWR coats to community members in need, the company's paid-to-learn model, which provides access to supportive services and programming during paid time and helps employees secure employment beyond Empowerment Plan, has helped 35 individuals move into good-paying jobs in the community (Empowerment Plan, n.d.-c). The company also provides services beyond the Detroit area, distributing the EMPWR coat to communities around the world. In 2020, it partnered with the Lucky Duck Foundation, a San Diego-based organization that focuses on programs that assist with homelessness in Southern California. So far, the partnership has resulted in more than 5,000 coats being donated to those in need in San Diego (Empowerment Plan, n.d.-b). Scott took an idea and created a business that developed jobs and a positive outlook for employees' lives while making a positive impact on the community. Scott set a golden example of what leaders should do and, as with any good leader, she realizes that it is not about the money but the people.