Nearly two decades ago, power duo Sherri and Charles Mitchell joined forces in business. As founders of All About People, they have brought a unique perspective to executive placement and recruiting. For the Mitchells and their team, All About People is more than just their company name, it is their core belief. This group has been meeting recruiting needs for corporations large and small, delivering one remarkable candidate at a time.
The All About People team is not only impacting the lives of those they directly serve, but their work has an incredible ripple effect that impacts the families and communities in which they live. Their experience, determination and value-driven strategy combine to serve a plethora of needs. Their obsession to serve brings many of their goals to the forefront.
It is the years of experience working with people and for people, coupled with their voice in the community, that has placed them in a position to be of service with some very necessary but very difficult conversations. As an interracial couple, the Mitchells have a perspective that inspires them to lead difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion.
Because Sherri and Charles operate from a place of accountability and determination, they recognize that the current social climate in our country has presented them with a unique opportunity. The Black Lives Matter movement along with the current economic crisis going on in our country positions them to be a strong voice. Through their community involvement with organizations such as Young Presidents Organization, they are serving as a catalyst for change in many ways.
They see an opportunity to elevate the Black Lives Matter movement conversations that are finally coming to the forefront. They recognize we all have a lot of work to do to open more doors and be more responsible to our local community. It is their goal to advocate for honest and real conversation regarding systemic injustice. They believe that by acknowledging the socio economic and racial discrepancies in our country, we will be able to create a space for sustainable change to happen.
So, through its hefty roster of corporate clients, All About People has been socializing the concept of a greater focus on diversity and inclusion in corporate culture. And now there is greater opportunity to have a dialogue and really discuss matters of race and what it means for all of us. “Our goal is to operate in a space so there is equity in the work that we do, there is true diversity in the work that we do, there is true inclusion in the work that we do,” shares Charles Mitchell.
All About People has been a Valley staple, placing talent in prominent roles for PetSmart, University of Phoenix, the State of Arizona and General Electric, to name just a few. And through their community efforts, the team is furthering their impact by being a catalyst for the diverse workforce they hope to serve as a resource for and to. And so, Charles Mitchell took on the challenge when approached to help launch and elevate Vista Preparatory School and serve as its founding board chair.
Vista College Prep runs free charter schools in Phoenix, with a longer-than-usual school day, small class sizes and teachers who firmly believe all students can achieve academic success if they have access to a high-quality education. Led by Julia Meyerson, the school has made tremendous headway in only a few years and has even been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Blue-Ribbon School.
Vista holds true to the mantra that “demographics should not determine destiny.” Its approach is unique in setting an expectation that its kids explore college and attend if they so choose. Vista staff does this by starting the conversation about college early. Through this communication, they know they can move the needle on the educational divide.
With 90 percent of students at Vista Prep being brown or black, the education these youth will receive will undoubtedly have a positive impact or ripple effect on the workforce of tomorrow. Thanks to the success of their Fund a Bus campaign, which enabled the school to add access to transportation for its mostly impoverished demographic, Vista is well on its way to changing the face of tomorrow.
Thanks to the continued leadership and work of Sherri, Charles and their entire All About People team, this organization is working to take part in the difficult, racially motivated conversations being held today, all while serving as a voice and advocate championing a more diverse talent pool and thus providing communities with the talent that sometimes gets overlooked.
Photo courtesy of Chris Loomis
Tyler Butler (“Tyler Butler | Giving in Style”), founder and CEO of 11Eleven Consulting, is a corporate social responsibility practitioner and expert leader in the corporate citizenship space. She has served on numerous national and local boards and is often cited as a subject matter expert by Forbes, Entrepreneur, U.S. News & World Report and more.
Did you Know: A 2018 study by Harvard Business Review found the most diverse companies were also the most innovative, allowing them to market a greater range of products to consumers. Calculating each company’s diversity across six dimensions — migration, industry, career path, gender, education and age — HBR found that industry, nation of origin and gender had the biggest impacts, but by thinking about diversity in a multidimensional way companies were able to lead in innovation.
