Sure, Sherrika Sanders can whip up a new proprietary stabilizer for her company using her skills as a PhD in chemistry. But she’s also got a deeper purpose to fulfill when it comes to opening doors to greater diversity in STEM. In this Supply Chain Now classic episode, Scott and special cohost Allison Giddens chat with Sherrika about her work founding and managing the SPE Lion’s Den STEM Club, which connects students from a variety of backgrounds to hands-on STEM projects and immersive experiences. Tune in to learn more about what students are up to in the club and hear her thoughts on how companies can up their DEI game.

Intro/Outro (00:03):

Welcome to supply chain. Now the voice of global supply chain supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues. The challenges and opportunities stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain now.

Scott Luton (00:30):

Hey, good morning, everybody. Scott Luton and Allison Krache Giddens GIS with you here on supply chain. Now, welcome to today’s show Allison, how you doing?

Allison Krache Giddens (00:38):

I am good. And I’m excited. How are you?

Scott Luton (00:40):

What same, same, uh, you know, we’ve got, I love working with you. Uh, I love all your, your, uh, special co-host spots here. Atcha. Now

Allison Krache Giddens (00:48):

I love being included.

Scott Luton (00:50):

We love our featured guests and our repeat guests. Uh, and we’ve got a great one here. Our guests has enjoyed quite a career thus far in the technical fields, uh, currently in the manufacturing industry and one of our favorite parts. She’s helping lots of others, especially kids learn all about the opportunities that the stem fields pose. We just love her. Do good, give forward mentality. So stay tuned for a wonderful conversation and with no further ado, wanna welcome in Sherrika Sanders, PhD and senior technical engineer with man polymers. Sheika how you doing?

Sherrika Sanders (01:25):

Hey, how you guys doing? I’m great.

Scott Luton (01:28):

We are doing wonderful. Uh, I really have enjoyed, uh, I think this is your fourth appearance with us, uh, here at supply chain now, and each one has been a home run and Alex,

Allison Krache Giddens (01:38):

It really been four times.

Scott Luton (01:39):

Yeah. Can you believe that?

Sherrika Sanders (01:40):

Oh my goodness. I didn’t even remember that.

Scott Luton (01:42):

<laugh> yes. And on your fifth appearance, you get 10% off a, a BMT at subway. How about that?

Sherrika Sanders (01:47):

Wow, that’s terrific. Love it. <laugh>

Scott Luton (01:49):

No, we would upscale. It would be, um, it would be Pat’s sub shop at Aiken, South Carolina. If we, if we had to, if we really had to, um, hook you up with a, a really good sandwich, but I digress see Allison’s

Allison Krache Giddens (02:03):

Must be lunchtime or something. Cause

Scott Luton (02:04):

I always go to food. You always go to food. Um, but Allison kidding aside, food aside for a moment. Where are we starting with our dear friend Sheika today?

Allison Krache Giddens (02:14):

Well, you know, I mean, if we’re talking food, we might as well stay there. Um, so Sheika, let’s talk a little bit about where you grew up your upbringing. If you’ve got a favorite food dish maybe from set upbringing, you know, bring that up for sure. But tell us a little bit about that.

Sherrika Sanders (02:29):

So I was born and raised in Shreveport Louisiana. So Allison and I are both Louisiana girls trying to make it in these Texas and Georgia streets. Uh <laugh> but, um, yeah, that’s one thing that, that we do have in common and, and I just love it. You know, it’s always great to meet other folks from, from your hometown. And, um, one of my, oh, I, I don’t know if I have one favorite dish, but I would say the whole Louisiana cuisine is my favorite food. Um, all the seafood dishes, the jam Belia the gumbo, the it Toothface, you know, those type of things, stub shrimp, crawfish. I love it all.

Allison Krache Giddens (03:09):

So let’s just do the whole, let’s just do the whole podcast on this.

Sherrika Sanders (03:12):

Yeah, let’s just right, right.

Allison Krache Giddens (03:13):

Let’s just talk, let’s talk Asian food. Well,

Scott Luton (03:15):

Uh, so let me follow up with a quick question. Um, Sheika is there one dish out of outta the Louisiana cuisine that you could rattle it off? Just there, that, that we all love? Is there one that you’re really good at preparing?

Sherrika Sanders (03:28):

So I actually make a good shrimp Creole, um, that, that my fam my family likes make request it often. Um, and I got the recipe from my, um, grandmother, um, my dad’s mother and, you know, she was just really good at cooking a lot of, um, this Cajun dishes. And so that’s one that I kind of just hung onto and, you know, it’s like, it’s like a comfort food almost, cuz it’s, you know, warm, you serve it over rice. Um, you can have you a nice little side salad on the side or some garlic bread or something like that. And it just, it’s a home run every time.

Allison Krache Giddens (04:05):

Oh, I’m gonna have to share a, a book with you. I, I just got, and it’s all about the lost recipes that, that we’re losing in Cajun country. Yeah. Um, and fascinating. I, I kind of stumbled across it on Amazon, so I bought it, but I gotta, I gotta send you a copy cuz it’s really

Sherrika Sanders (04:21):

Good. Please do. Cuz I’m always looking for new recipes, um, like, you know, once a week or so I try to mix it up because you know, you’re, you get into a routine with your family and you just tend to cook the same things over and over and over. So throwing a new recipe in every now and then. Oh, it just works wonders

Scott Luton (04:38):

Shrimp Creole. Hey, speaking of cuz it sounds like you got that recipe from your grandmother. Uh, and good goodness knows. We gotta bless our teachers cooking or otherwise. And Allison, I think that’s where we’re going next with Shera,

Allison Krache Giddens (04:51):

Right? Yes. So I know, I know how we, you know, we talk food and stuff, but can you tell us a little bit about your upbringing when you were a kid? Was there a teacher that inspired you to be doing what you’re doing now or kind of walk us through that?

Sherrika Sanders (05:04):

It was two, two teachers actually. It’s always hard to narrow down. Just that one person who was extremely influential in your life and you know, kind of guided you towards, um, stem careers or any career in general. But I remember, um, so in, in, in elementary school, so we had the same science teacher, um, I would say third, fourth and fifth grade and his name is David Lamar and, and he was my science teacher all three years and he would have these huge science bowls and I lived for them. I mean I would spend weeks preparing for the science bowl and it was so funny after I got my PhD. Um, I ran into him at one of my favorite seafood restaurants in Louisiana, uh, framing and Harris, Pete Harris. Um, and I told him, he was like, so, you know, what are you doing these days?

Sherrika Sanders (05:55):

You know, I was like, do you know, I actually got a PhD in chemistry. Wow. Both of us just started to tear up like, and I was like, if you had a, you know, huge part in me going in that direction, just, you know, honing that skill and you know, helping me be competitive, um, in the field and all those things. And then fast forward to high school, my biology one and two teacher, uh, Kathy Williamson. Um, I just loved the way that she showed her passion for science and how she helped us to kind of, um, craft our skill and um, you know, it was just, it was just fun, you know, and she also cared about us as students. Um, so it, wasn’t just, I’m coming in here to teach you science and then you go home, she would ask about our home life. She would talk to us about her home life and you know, just to make sure that everybody was doing well, not just in school, but just in general and the, in these days and times that’s super important. Right? Cause we’re hearing about all these children, especially college students who are committing suicide and those types of things, you know, so it’s always good to have that teacher or someone outside of your home, um, that can connect with you and make sure that you’re well mentally, physically out of the above <laugh>, you know?

Allison Krache Giddens (07:17):

Oh yeah. And it’s crazy to think that I, I think as kids, we take a lot of that for granted, you know, we don’t, we don’t have a concept of, oh, Ms. Williamson is, you know, is being like this and she’s a good teacher because of it. Mm-hmm, <affirmative>, it’s just, she’s a good teacher because of who she is.

Sherrika Sanders (07:33):

Right. Right. Exactly. Exactly. So well

Scott Luton (07:36):

Said.

Sherrika Sanders (07:36):

Another funny thing about, uh, high school is that, uh, my, my, actually my chemistry, uh, teacher, he had a PhD in chemistry and he would always try to convince me to go to medical school. And I mean, I, I can tell you guys this cuz you’re family, but I always tell him, I don’t like people like that, you know, <laugh>, I’m just, I mean, you know, and especially sick ones <laugh> so I think it would be best for me to, you know, pursue sciences as opposed to, um, the medical field. Cause oh, I think you’ll make a great doctor. Da da, da, da go to medical school. No, I don’t think that I’m

Scott Luton (08:13):

Be good. I’m good.

Sherrika Sanders (08:15):

<laugh>

Scott Luton (08:15):

Yeah. Um, all right, so let’s get this right. So, uh, Dave Lamar and Kathy Williamson mm-hmm <affirmative> right. Yes. Um, you know, teachers and, and both of y’all making so many great points, uh, Allison you’re right. We don’t get it as young people. We don’t get it Sheika may have gotten, you know, cause, um, sounds like they, uh, they had, uh, a really deep relationship that clearly impacted her and encouraged your God PhD in chemistry. Allison that makes my head hurt because there’s so many pay grades above my ability for chemistry. What about yours? Alison? Were

Allison Krache Giddens (08:48):

You oh yeah. No, I mean, I like, let’s just put it this way when that category on jeopardy comes up. <laugh> I’m gonna go. I’m gonna go so neat. I’m good.

Scott Luton (08:57):

All right. So, alright, so let’s, let’s start connecting some of the dots here. So list starts, Hey, we are gonna talk supply chain, but y’all know our belief. Uh, we take a very holistic, uh, view of supply chain. It’s not just as valuable as logistics and transportation is. That’s a backbone, right? Manufacturing I’ve always believed is a big part of, of the global supply chain community. I’ll call it. So on that note, she, Erica, we love manufacturing around here. Of course, Allison leads, uh, uh, manufacturing, uh, uh, company here in the Atlanta area. Doing great work. Tell us what you do. Um, Shea professionally.

Sherrika Sanders (09:32):

Um, I, I mentioned earlier, so I have a PhD in inorganic chemistry, um, that led me to the codings industry and then to plastics. So I spent 10 years at the Dow chemical company first as a catalyst chemist. Um, and then I moved into tech services and development, so more customer facing, um, R and D group. Uh, and, and now I am a senior technical engineer for a man of polymers. And what, what that really means is product development. Um, any new product that needs to be developed any, uh, long term projects. Um, I, I work on those and I I’d help develop the product portfolio for the company. And then if any of our customers have issues, I travel to them, um, to make sure that they can run our product smoothly, or I make adjustments, um, here at home to their formulas so that it runs smoothly at their plant.

Scott Luton (10:25):

Wow. Um, I bet those, uh, Allison in my brain, when I was in metal stamping, uh, I leaned heavily on our engineers and our tool builders and, and they were the, the technical SMS. Right. It’s amazing what they could do because the problems were so complex, especially when we got into metallurgy and the different types of metals involved, Allison I’m getting the impression that Sheika is deep into these complex, uh, you know, product development and problem solving conversations. How about you

Allison Krache Giddens (10:53):

Definitely. And I think that there’s a whole nother level of creativity that we take for granted that has to be required of somebody like you. She, I mean, what, what, even if you could look back a few years into what you’re doing now, do you find that you’re having to tap into a lot of different kind of creative problem solving skills? Or how does that look different now?

Sherrika Sanders (11:13):

Yeah. Oh yeah. Um, I can just give you guys an example of a, a problem we had last year and it’ll, you know, it actually made me, um, it was, it was a Eureka moment, but it also made me think back and say, this is why I do what I do. Mm. So we had a customer, um, that had major issues with a sheet product, meaning it was blooming. It was, and then on top of that, it was also causing us problems to make it so we were having problems making it, and then they were having problems in the fields. And so I had to just kind of dig into that thing here at home and at the customer. And I ended up developing a new stabilizer for our company that only is available to our company.

Scott Luton (12:06):

Hmm. Wow.

Sherrika Sanders (12:07):

Wow. That’s cool. And so it solved the problems here and our plant and it also solved the problems there at the customer. And so I had had to lean heavily not on the engineering side, but on the chemistry side and find out, okay. So if we have a formula that has, you know, 13 different components, which of these components is causing the problem, and then how do I fix that one component? So it doesn’t cause a problem. Wow. Uh, yeah. And so it was just a, just a aha moment, a Eureka moment, a, you know, all of the above until yeah. You had to have had like a little dance when we figure that out. I mean, yeah. And, and, and I, I tease our CEO sometimes because now that we’re having a lot of, you know, just in the industry, supply chain disruptions and all those things, and he goes, you know, we are, we’re actually doing pretty good in the midst of having all these supply chain disruptions. And I kind of teased him and said it. I was like, because, um, everybody else doesn’t have a chemist that can develop their own stabilizer. <laugh> heck yeah.

Scott Luton (13:06):

Well, so I’m gonna simplify this, right. Uh, to my level of understanding, but it’s like the problem hits she’s radar. Right. And then, uh, Dr. Sanders goes into a lab, right. A lab on steroids, I bet. And yes. You know, mixes, whatever you do in, in the lab, again, that’s above my pay grade and then you come out with a stabilizer. I can, I can see it now in one of those, uh, uh, narrow and then it widens out what, what are those two class class? Thank you very much. <laugh> and here y’all go here. Here’s the magic stabilizer. And, and it changes, especially that customer’s, uh, their problems evaporate. Mm-hmm <affirmative> so that is so cool. Last time you were with us, if, if I can move forward, um, last time you were with us and Allison, I’m not sure if you were there.

Scott Luton (13:51):

I wanna say Donna crate, you was with us in the comments. It was a live stream mm-hmm <affirmative> and it was, you know, Sheika lives in, in Texas. And it was around the time that, um, all the ice and the winter storms in Texas, and, and we were fortunate to get Sher tune in with us. Um, but out of all the goodness you shared with us Sher the couple things that really stick out, we still talk about as a team here today. Number one is all of your great work, uh, on the, unfortunately the Columbia disaster with NASA, right. And how meaningful that was to NASA, the family. I will never forget you telling that story. And then secondly, when folks were asking you, and we’re gonna ask you again here towards the end end of today’s episode, about, Hey, what do you do break in? And what do you do to advance? And your response was simple. Allison, it was do the work, do the work. And it was a mantra. You remember, we referenced it throughout the episode. Uh, she, so let’s do this. The question is since that was probably a year or so ago, and you’ve already shared one of clearly, you’re one of your favorite days of work. What else, what else, what else has been one of your favorite days at work since last time you were with us? She,

Sherrika Sanders (14:56):

I would say it’s the day that I got the email from the society of plastics engineers that said, Hey, we are looking to, um, develop a diversity equity and inclusion advisory board. And I literally paced the floor. I paced the floor because I was trying to figure out, do I even have capacity and time to devote and commit to this? Um, so it was funny because my boss actually saw a, um, a advertisement on LinkedIn as well. And he sent it to me. He was like, Hey, this is right up your alley. And I’m thinking, okay, so do I have your support? If I decide to do this, <laugh>

Scott Luton (15:36):

Turnaround, turnabouts fair play. Right,

Sherrika Sanders (15:38):

Right, right. He said, you absolutely have my support to do that. Um, and so, um, I responded back to the email that I got and I said, um, Hey, yeah, I can do this. And you know, I can spend, you know, maybe four to six hours a month, um, on this with you guys. And this has turned into, I don’t know, one of the most rewarding decisions that I’ve made, because I mean, so much has come of me being appointed to that board, um, in the industry. And some of the things that, you know, I never would’ve imagined that I would’ve been, been able to impact as far as like kids and students and educational programs for stem. So I would say in the last year, that’s probably one been one of my most favorite days.

Scott Luton (16:25):

Well, um, Alison I’d love to get both of y’all’s take here. What’s one thing that we can do along those lines to diversify the, the, uh, talent pipeline and coming into, uh, supply chain manufacturing, but also, uh, the stem, uh, positions and jobs out there. What’s one thing that you would suggest Allison,

Allison Krache Giddens (16:44):

I think you’d look at your rock stars. And it naturally happens. I was with a, a group not too long ago. We were trying to put together a team of a handful of professionals. And we were trying to make sure it was diverse and not only ethnicity and, and geography and industry and age and, and, and political thought. And we were trying to come up with this group and we spent a lot of time ahead of time coming up with this. Okay, well, we’ll pick this. And then the spreadsheet will automatically show where we are in the diversity. And somebody in the group said, well, hold on, time out. Why don’t we just go through the applications and pick the best rock stars out of them and see what happens? Mm-hmm <affirmative> and it naturally came into place. Wow. I mean, the group was naturally diverse and I, I think, and it’s, it’s tough cuz as, as I’m a, a woman in a male dominated industry, I’m not a woman of color in a male dominated industry. So she’s got another level of challenge that she works with. So I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries here. When I say that, I think I’ve got it pretty dang good because I don’t have, I don’t have the additional layers to push through and I almost wonder what would happen if we all just said, okay, time out. Let’s, let’s really, let’s elevate the rock stars in general and see what happens because I think there’s a lot out there.

Scott Luton (18:03):

Well, so same question you Sheika, uh, whether you’re, you’re following up on, uh, one of Allison’s comments there or just in general, what’s one thing you’d point to that maybe more companies could do.

Sherrika Sanders (18:13):

Um, you know, I think that when we get interview candidates, you know, it’s always the same people who are applying because like Alison said, we’re not filling the pipeline with enough diversity. And like she said, in diversity, it’s more than just race. Right. Um, diversity could be an, um, uh, a disability, you know? Right. Um, one example I can give in that area is that most manufacturing plants don’t even think about hiring someone who’s deaf, but you can set up your plant to where you have, um, sirens or visible things or things that like a, a buzzer that you can put on the person, um, to use their other senses so that they can be successful in stem careers. So you asked what we could do. We could, um, I think I’ve talked about this before we craft the, the, the job description such that it would, um, attract other people because right now job descriptions tend to be extremely sterile, right? They don’t contain purpose and most people want a job. Um, your rock stars want a job where they’re gonna feel like they have purpose. And so if those job descriptions are written that way, and then you set up your stem job, um, specifically manufacturing, plants, and different things like that to accommodate that diversity, then you’ll get more people.

Scott Luton (19:43):

Excellent point. She can, I’m go back to the front end of your answer there. And Allison, you touched on this a little bit. Uh, you know, I think companies and it’s changed a little bit at a necessity, but I think we get into our recruiting Ru and you recruit the same pipeline, the same applicants mm-hmm <affirmative> and naturally you’re, you’re gonna be limited to, to, um, the different candidates from all the different walks of life and all those different ver uh, uh, definitions of diversity. And we’ve slowly, certainly seen, especially as a labor market has changed companies getting more creative in terms of how to broaden the tent, to bring more folks and more qualified candidates from all sorts of different, uh, walks of life into the, the, the, uh, pipeline for consideration. So that’s, I think that’s a critical part of the equation as well.

Allison Krache Giddens (20:27):

Yeah. And I, I think too, that we’ve gotta start younger and we have to make sure that those that are diverse in industry are accessible to the younger generation so that they can see themselves. And I know we’ll talk about it in shortly, but what shark is doing right now at stem club is amazing. Yes. Because people who look like her and look like her peers are getting in front of young adults and, and kids who can say, oh, I wanna be Shea one day. I wanna be like

Scott Luton (20:55):

That. Right. AB dream it or see

Allison Krache Giddens (20:57):

It can’t be what you can’t

Scott Luton (20:58):

See. Right. Thank you house. And I was, I was, I was searching for it. I couldn’t quite find it. You found. Um, so we’re gonna touch on that in just a second cause that really, I love that, um, you know, that give forward, you know, once you’re up the ladder, you gotta put the ladder back down for other folks, and that’s some of the great work you’re doing, but before we get there, let’s step up. Let’s step back for a second. And, and it’s an amazing time. It’s really a amazing, fascinating, challenging, but innovative time to be in supply chain or manufacturing, or really all different segments of global supply chain. Sheika when you look at global business right now, mm-hmm, <affirmative>, what’s one topic that really, um, has got your attention more than others right now.

Sherrika Sanders (21:36):

Um, right now, just because of the, the, the climate and the state of our nation, um, gender and, and, and race disparities, um, especially in our, in our industry. Um, and so Allison has spoke about, you know, the fact that, you know, we are in a white male dominated industry, and that’s just, those are just the facts that that’s just, it is what it is. Um, however, you know, if you track this thing, there was a big push early nineties to get more women into manufacturing. Um, and we had an, uh, a uptick, but it’s since leveled off. Mm. Um, quite frankly, it’s since leveled off and it’s leveled off. Um, and we still have, um, different things going on for, in terms of the race disparity. So one of the ways that I look at it is that you’re dealing with, uh, and I, and I talked about this book, um, the last time where I hear co I was here called get your shift in order.

Sherrika Sanders (22:34):

Yes. Yes. Um, and so one of the ways that I look at it is that, okay, you have different generations dealing with different things in our industry based on the stance of our nation. So the, in the generation, before me, they were dealing with Jim Crow laws and, um, segregation and different things like that. So they only had a little bit of access stem careers, as it was, you look at your NASA computers, right? Those were black women who were called computers, right. Who had a little bit of access into the R and D group, but not all the way there was that one, Katherine Johnson who made her way through accidentally. Right. Um, it, and, and had to fight the whole time to be accepted because she was the only black female in there with all white men. Mm. So that’s one generation. Then you have our generation.

Sherrika Sanders (23:25):

So now Jim pro PAC, you know, is done. Segregation is done. We’re supposed to be included. We’re supposed to not be viewed as three fits human anymore. You know, we’re allowed to vote, you know, and all those things. But this is the generation who has parents and grandparents, who, who felt that way, who felt that, you know, okay, black people are not welcome. You know, we should still be segregated. And those things like that. And so oftentimes microaggressions and different biases trickle down into the workplace that say, for example, myself, as African American woman would have to deal with. Then I look at the generation after me, that’s coming on board. And I have to think about, well, what’s their stance on it. Their stance is, if I’m not welcome, I will leave. It’s just that simple to them. They, that this next generation, they will come in, they will give you their all, they will give you their best. But as soon as they feel like, Hey, I don’t like this anymore. I’ll just go find me another job. And so you find that they have multiple jobs on their resumes. And so that’s one thing that I continue to track and I continue to learn. And like I said before, do the work and grow so that I can be a good leader. And so I can be a good influencer because if you don’t realize what you’re dealing with, there’s no way that, you know, you can be successful at it.

Scott Luton (24:47):

Okay. Alison Sheika dropped a ton of truths in that last four minutes or so. Um, I’ve got a couple thoughts, but I wanna give you a chance to, to weigh in on, on, on something that resonated with you.

Allison Krache Giddens (25:00):

So I, I have noticed, uh, really post COVID that just exactly what you said about resumes with lots of, lots of jobs, you know, six months here, a year here, and I’m having a hard time getting out of my old school way of thinking of yes. Oh, well, gosh, you can’t, you can’t hold a job or you what’s matter. You just, you keep bailing on somebody investing time in you. And there’s a lot of assumptions. I sit here and I make as a business owner of mm-hmm <affirmative>, you know, well, do I even wanna give this person my time of day? Right. And I, I think it’s crazy. I think it’s an interesting perspective that, um, in a way I’m almost jealous of the younger generation freedom, be able to, you know, it

Sherrika Sanders (25:38):

It’s freedom

Allison Krache Giddens (25:39):

Exactly. To be able to say, you know what, I’m not gonna stick it out for 10 years, somewhere that I’m unhappy. Life is short, right. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and to, you know, to a degree, well, actually do wanna hire those people.

Scott Luton (25:51):

So I think one of the things you’re saying, uh, from these candidates that are, have, have multiple, uh, jobs is they’re saying what I’m hearing both of y’all allude to is I’m not putting up with your bull shift anymore. Mm-hmm um, Sheika right. Mm-hmm, <affirmative> using play a play on that title. Secondly,

Allison Krache Giddens (26:08):

Don’t leap him out. Don’t break him out.

Scott Luton (26:10):

<laugh> Sheika I think from the last, what you just shared a minute ago, we could dedicate a series two to dive in deep and into so many things you mentioned, but, uh, for the sake of time, I’m I mentioned two other things, um, you know, Allison moment ago was talking about kind of that, that conscious bias that, that she’s trying to retrain herself when you see a candidate with lots of jobs, right. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, I think all of us, uh, are challenged with that. And I would say, and, and arguably, unfortunately, as I’ve learned on social, uh, Elba, pre Gallagher really helped me better understand subconscious bias, right. Things that are in your blind spot that you do, and you do it just because it’s like baked into your DNA and you don’t even know you’re doing it. Right. Um, and that’s some of the things I think you were kind of alluding to that all of us need to really look in the mirror and, and, and, and try to put a big old spotlight in that blind spot. We have to uncover what we’re doing cause of that subconscious bias. Um, your comment there, she Erica.

Sherrika Sanders (27:10):

Oh yeah. Um, unconscious bias, subconscious bias. Um, those things are super, super important. I mean, because I mean, people, I would say that, uh, a lot of folks would tend to see other people’s biases before they see their own. Um, and it is really important to survey yourself mm. Um, and figure out, okay, why do I feel this way? So sometimes if something happens, um, and I <affirmative>, um, and I, I feel some kind of way about it and I’m not quite sure that I actually know why I feel what I’m feeling. I stop and I pause and I try to dissect it and say, okay, so why might I be feeling this way? Right. And oftentimes we feel a certain way because of history and prior things that have happened in our lives, you know, everybody has their own filter that they’re looking through.

Sherrika Sanders (28:02):

So I take a look back at, you know, my filter and say, well, I probably feel this way because X, Y, Z happened. And I’m attaching this current situation to that past situation. And I try to deconvolute it to make it make sense for today’s time. So, yeah, those are all the biases. And I mean, you know, um, we had a, uh, a conference, a diversity conference, and there was one speaker from Dow that said, Hey, if you have a brand, you have bias. Everybody needs to know if you have a brand, you have bias. Cause like, oh, I’m not biased. I’m not biased. You know, or I’m not this, I’m not that if you have a brain, you have bias. <laugh> agreed.

Scott Luton (28:39):

Absolutely. You know, it’s interesting. Um, I put a take out there on LinkedIn one time, um, on SUBC, uh, unconscious, subconscious bias, whatever word I’m supposed to be using there. And man, there are some folks that don’t believe in that one. I Iotta. And you know, I gave up, uh, I’ll playfully call it Facebook fighting social media fighting a long time ago. Cause you just don’t win. Right, man, you would’ve thought I kicked people’s dogs. There’s some, lots of passion on both sides here, but nevertheless, um, so Allison, uh, so much good stuff here. Where are we going next? I think we’re getting into the stem stuff and to give forward stuff that she is doing, right?

Allison Krache Giddens (29:19):

Yes. Yes. I would love for you to tell us more about SPE lions, den stem club, what it is and why you’re involved. And I mean, it’s just been so much fun watching on social media. So I want the world to know about it.

Sherrika Sanders (29:32):

Oh yeah. Oh man. This, I mean, this has been near and dear to my heart. Uh, this actually started with the appointment to the, uh, SPE D E I advisory board. We were just kind of talking about, you know, what’s, what’s gonna be our impact. What’s gonna be, what are we gonna do? How are we going to make a difference? And one of the ways that we’re making a difference is to tap into, uh, the school systems. So we actually have, um, a SPE club going on in Detroit and as well as, uh, lake Wells, Florida, uh, McKinney is just so happens to be, um, the one that, that, that I’ve been heavily involved in. And, um, when I first got on the board, it was just, uh, Detroit and lake Wells. And we said, okay, what, where do we wanna go next? And everybody was saying, I think we should go Texas, but we don’t know exactly where Texas.

Sherrika Sanders (30:22):

And we tossed around a couple of ideas. We talked to a few school district leaders in Houston and Frisco and all these kind of places. And I mean, strange things happen in the shower. One day, I’m showering. I’m like, why don’t we do it right in my backyard in McKinney? Why are we looking all these other places when we can do it right here? So I get on the phone, I call CEO of SPE foundation. I’m like, our name is Eve vital. And I’m like, Eve, why are we doing in McKinney? I already have. We have the, the business connections. We have everything right here in McKinney. And she was like, let’s do it. And within a month, you know, she was down here. We met with all the, um, the schools and the, the business partner liaisons and all that kind of stuff. And they were like, they, they, they looked at the proposal and were, they were immediately on board.

Sherrika Sanders (31:10):

This could help our kids. This is gonna be great. We’re and you know, we are targeting, um, underrepresented minorities for this group, but everyone is welcome. And we have a nice mix of, uh, diversity and, uh, different childrens from all walks of life and, um, backgrounds in, in the club. And so how we started it is we had a big kickoff day where we touched every single sixth grader in that middle school. And we did polymer science. We did all types of hands on stem projects. They had a blast, but what we were really doing is we were trying to feed see which one of those students had that light, that man, I wish I can do this. You know, I love I’m loving this. And from that, we got, uh, 28 kids, um, who are now part of the SPE lions stand stem club and they name themselves.

Sherrika Sanders (32:04):

<laugh> really <laugh>. Yeah. So, um, of course, society of plastics, engineers, fab, middle school, they are the Fabian middle school lions. And so they were like, let us be the lions then. And I’m like, I love it. You can be the lions then. Uh, and I mean, we had a white coat ceremony, so we gave them a lab coats as part of their initial PPE learning about personal protective equipment. Um, and they spent the day here with me at work. Um, and they did every single thing that you can do, um, in this company. Wow. We had them make sales calls. So I had a little script for ’em and they made sales calls to customers to find out what their customer needed and how manner polymers could help them. I mean, they had a blast, they went out on the manufacturing floor. They did qu the quality job for a couple of hours.

Sherrika Sanders (32:54):

They did a R and D job for a couple of hours. I mean, they, they just did everything. Um, and, and they had such a good time. We’ve done lots of things with them. We had them bring a picture of themselves and we had, um, um, them make, uh, a 3d avatar of themselves and so that they can use themselves, um, as a figure in the metaverse. Um, and they learned how to do that. And man, I mean, they, they have gotten a lot of exposure in such a short period of time. And our next thing is that we’ll do a 10 day intensive right before the beginning of the school year starts where they hun down and get ready for the next school year. And I’ll share with you guys, um, that’s just a small sport, small part of the overall vision of, uh, the stem club.

Sherrika Sanders (33:40):

We’ll have science fairs, they’ll do participate in an essay contest. Um, and then they will also walk. We will walk with them now, sixth grade, all the way through 12th grade. My vision is that by the time they’re sophomores and juniors, we will have a lab built, um, that they can come and do research. We will give them grant money so that they can learn how to manage their own research projects. Um, we just did this in Detroit and we had some students present for the UN um, their research projects. Exactly. Yeah. That they they’re doing. So we’ll replicate that same thing here, um, in McKinney. So that by the time that in their juniors we’ll do, I’ll do the, a C T S a T prep for them. I don’t got know if you guys know that’s in my background as well. So I used to do a C T S a T prep. So I’ll do that for them as well. Um, and then we’ll take them on college tours and get them ready for college. Oh,

Allison Krache Giddens (34:32):

Cow. I’m always impressed when someone dedicates an afternoon to kids. Yeah. This is your life. This is you’re dedicating six plus years. This is awesome.

Scott Luton (34:44):

It really is. I can only imagine the impact, the outcomes I can. We imagine the PhDs in inorga chemistry or other simulated fields that, that you’re definitely going to, um, help them, uh, fulfill their potential. And I think for the, I should have shared this at the front end, but for the three people maybe listening that aren’t familiar with stem, science, technology, engineering, and math. Right. Mm-hmm <affirmative> right. Is that right? Okay. I’m gonna make sure I got it right. Um, sometimes I forget my vows and, and other things, but wanna make sure I nailed the acronym. Um, okay. So I meant ask you earlier. And, um, I, I think it’s, apropo here, you know, that movie hidden figures, you mentioned Cathy Johnson earlier, uh, the movie hidden figures is such a great film. Have you ever shared, and, and, and maybe do you think there’s value in these, in these, uh, wonderful group of kids that are now learning and, and, um, uh, uncovering all the potential that it’s in stem field to understand what, what other professionals had to fight to wave through? Do you see any value in that Sher?

Sherrika Sanders (35:50):

Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, it’s funny at the, I think the first time that I was on your, on your show, um, I actually got a few calls, uh, from science teachers that said, Hey, we saw your, um, your podcast and we had our students watch your podcast, but not only that we had, we went back and we watched hidden figures. <laugh> wow.

Scott Luton (36:11):

I love it.

Sherrika Sanders (36:11):

I know. Right. And I, I thought that was so great, um, that they, that they went back and they watched a movie. Uh, I think I had shared with you guys, like I had that actual experience of when she was walking through the wind tunnel and her heel got stuck in the grading on the floor that actually happened to be now, I wasn’t in a wind tunnel, but I was on a manufacturing floor and I’m thinking I will never wear heels again to a manufacturing plant. What was I thinking? <laugh>

Scott Luton (36:38):

That, you know, that is so awesome. You never know when that, that, um, that ripple effect will happen to something you mentioned, you kind of speak it to the universe and you never know who’s gonna hear that. And then take action because of something that, uh, she or Allison has said. So

Allison Krache Giddens (36:53):

I love Allison. Yeah, please. They, uh, I think this would be the appropriate time then for a little chemistry pun. Ah, and that is if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitant.

Scott Luton (37:07):

I don’t know what a precipitant is, but it sounds funny. Alison <laugh> so, so,

Sherrika Sanders (37:13):

Um, yeah, I think I posted that on Facebook. Oh,

Allison Krache Giddens (37:15):

Did you? You probably did. And that’s probably where I got it.

Scott Luton (37:19):

Some Googling tonight. Um, thank y’all, uh, smart people for making me feel inadequate on your dad jokes, Alison, um, uh, one quick follow up. Uh, we were talking hidden figures. Uh, we were talking high heels. I had one thing I was gonna ask you about, oh, you actually received an award. Cause the first time we met mm-hmm <affirmative> I think you had gotten to 2018 hidden figures award of, uh, of one of the cities in Dallas. That’s right. Mm-hmm <affirmative> um, and, and, you know, it’s important that we remind folks, uh, I bet you had lots of interesting conversations related to, uh, you getting that recognition, huh?

Sherrika Sanders (37:57):

Yeah, it was, uh, it was 2017. Um, it was through the national society of black engineers, NSBE and our Congress, Roman Eddie, Bernice Johnson set out to find, uh, 10 women in the Dallas area who could they, they could name hidden figures of Dallas based on their contributions to science and technology. Wow. Um, and so we got, you know, plaques from the president certificates. I mean the whole nine, it was a, a, a great experience, but you’re right. Um, that spawned a lot because I mean, it was in the newspaper. And so it was just like, okay, which one of you can I get to speak at my conference? And so we would kind of huddle and say, okay, you go to this one, you go to this one. Or if five of us could make it to one, you know, that would be cool, but it was good that it was 10 of us and not just one person spread then love it. Um, but yeah, and I mean, I still get calls, Hey, I saw this article, are you available to come and speak to my students? Or, you know, um, sit on this panel or, you know, whatever it is. But yeah, it was a great experience.

Scott Luton (39:01):

I I’ll tell you, it’s just te it’s testimony to the impact you’re having. Um, and, and, you know, Allison, I thought to you, and I know we got another question or two with she, but can you, do you pick up like me, do you pick up on the passion and just a thrill that share, you can see it, it exudes as she’s talking about what the stem stem club’s up to, you know? Oh yeah. How cool is that?

Allison Krache Giddens (39:23):

Oh yeah, you could definitely tell. So I guess from when, when it comes to the lions stand, when it comes to the stem club and really over the past, I guess, year or so, was there ever a moment, some aha moment that you had along the way that, um, maybe you had something in mind, the way things were gonna go and you had this grandiose idea about, you know, these kids, they’re gonna plug into this, you’re gonna love it. They I’m betting, they exceeded your expectations. Cause that’s just typically how it works. Mm-hmm <affirmative> um, but were there any aha moments that you could share with us?

Sherrika Sanders (39:54):

Yeah. Uh, there actually been, been quite a few <laugh> uh, so, so one that, that, um, oh, actually a couple that, that stay with me and have stayed with me throughout this is that, um, I always, when I make a post, I’ll say hashtag on assignment, and the reason that I say that is because I feel that I am called to do this, you know, this is, this is a gift, you know? And so, um, after the white co ceremony, and I don’t wanna start crying here, but after the white co center ceremony, I had a parent come to me and she said, you know, I’ve been looking for stem clubs for my son for years. Um, and she said that, uh, I have four children. I would’ve had to send him to private school to get what he’s getting from you. And I cannot afford that.

Sherrika Sanders (40:45):

And so she was like, God bless you, um, for doing this because otherwise my son would not have had this opportunity. And so I go, you know, I’m glad I paced the floor that day. I’m glad I made the decision to go and ask my boss if he would support me, um, and be appointed to the advisory board because had I not, you know, stopped to read that email and to answer the call, you know, um, then I could have been off doing something else, you know, not even been being in place and in position to make this happen for, um, a lot of kids who would not have otherwise had had the opportunity. And so that was just an aha moment for me, um, that, Hey, I’m on the right path and I’m doing the right thing.

Scott Luton (41:36):

Mm, okay, man. Um, I do too. And I want to give hugs. I love, I really love what you’re, what you both do. Cause you both Sheika and Alice both y’all do so much in the industry and Sheika, I love how, how important that, that cause you are called to do this undoubtedly and the impact you’re having, when you hear that anecdotally from, in this case, the parents, uh, that you’re providing opportunities that they would’ve gone without mm-hmm <affirmative>, you know, you don’t want any kid to go without. Right. So let me ask you two quick follow up questions. Uh, um, I’m going off, off, off road here a little bit, but are, would you be open to benchmarking kind of how your SIM club works, if any, our listeners in, in any, any other part of the world would wanna form something similar? Would you be open to that?

Sherrika Sanders (42:22):

Oh yeah, absolutely. Benchmarking. Yes. Yes.

Scott Luton (42:25):

And then second. Absolutely. Uh, and then secondly, if, if, is there any way that, um, any of our listeners or companies you name it, um, could support what you’re doing? Is there any, anything you’d be looking for?

Sherrika Sanders (42:37):

Yes. Um, so that, that’s the other thing, I mean, uh, to make this happen, obviously we need funding. Um, and you know, I’m always, um, on the lookout for people who want to support, um, our efforts, um, because it, it, this, these things don’t happen for free. I mean, it’s just, it is just, is what it is. Um, uh, one way you can connect with me on LinkedIn, uh, share Cassandra PhD, and I will, um, direct you to support directly to the McKinney is D um, stem program. Um, as we continue to grow, because one thing that I didn’t notice that there are five middle schools in McKinney and we’re adding E one each year to all five, have a stem club, right? So that’s a minimum of 300 kids that will be impacting per year. Wow. Um, and you know, to, to, to make sure that we stay on target with that goal, we’ll need funding to make that happen.

Sherrika Sanders (43:34):

And so if any, company’s out there, um, want to support us in any way, no amount of money is too small, um, to make this happen for us or other ways that you can support our, uh, provision of supplies, lab supplies, um, or another way that you can support is provision of PPE. So the lab codes, those things aren’t free. Um, you know, and, you know, we, every kid gets their own lab code and, and, and these are things that they need. I mean, you can’t walk, uh, perform an experiment in a lab and not, you know, be protected from all the things that you’re come into contact with. So those are different ways. And then the other way outside of contacting me is through the, um, society of plastics engineer’s website. There’s a way you can donate directly to society of plastics, engineers, foundation, it’s for spe.org, the number four. Um, and you can donate through that, through that website as well. And it will get distributed across all of the, um, stem, stem programs.

Scott Luton (44:33):

Love it. Um, love it. All right. One final question, Allison, I wanna make sure folks know I connect with you and the Dave Che foundation. Um, folks, if you can help, if you can help out these efforts, clearly they’re making a massive impact, or if you wanna, you know, be a, a, she Sanders PhD in your own neck of the woods, you know, there’s a great benchmarking opportunity here, and goodness knows we need it. We need folks like Sheika and Allison to, to, to roll up the sleeves and really make, you know, get involved and frankly, change these kids’ trajectories. Right. Uh, one final question is if, if any of our listeners or students then wanna break into manufacturing and we’re breaking into stem or supply chain, whatever your last appearance with us, it was your advice to them was do the work. As you’ve mentioned, I’ve mentioned here, anything else, stick out, any one other thing that you’d like to, uh, equip them with. And when it comes to advice,

Sherrika Sanders (45:22):

Know your why know your why and the reason. And I, and I tell this to my stem club kids now, um, it will give you staying power in our industry when you know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Mm. So initially, um, I had someone tell me when I was getting my PhD. Um, you know, Sheika, I really don’t believe that you’ll really use this PhD, but I think this PhD will give you a platform to do something greater, and I didn’t get it at the time. Right. You know? Um, and while I do love science and I do love what I do, um, it con it’s the gift that keeps on giving it’s the gift that, um, keeps on continuing to place me in places that I would not have otherwise been. Um, I wouldn’t have been in that program where Allison and I met had I not gotten that PhD and became the director of R and D at authentics. Um, and so it, it, it knowing your why, and knowing that, Hey, I chose this stem career because of something that’s larger than myself. Um, and, and, and it is to change the life of a child, um, which then changes the lives of their families, which then changes the lives of their communities. Um, and that’s bigger than me. And that’s the reason that I will never walk away because I wanna continue to make that impact.

Scott Luton (46:51):

So well said, and even more importantly, so well done, you know, Steve’s not words, that’s how we try to operate around here. And you’re both of y’all are the epitome of that. And, um, thank you so much. Uh, Sheika for joining us once again, Dr. Sanders, um, folks you can connect with Sheika, uh, via LinkedIn, as she mentioned. And she mentioned a few other ways, but, uh, Hey connect, have her have her speak, uh, help support what they’re doing, benchmark, what they’re doing. You know, there’s so many great opportunities here and she will have you back again so soon. Um, alright, Allison man, I’m with you. I got chills throughout, uh, the last hour or so. Um, let’s make sure she, I don’t know if you know about this. Um, I know that y’all known each other and collaborated, but, uh, Allison, uh, founded co-founded what have you, the Dave CCHE foundation mm-hmm <affirmative> and they’re also making a massive impact on, on kids here. Um, Allison, tell us little about that and then, uh, how folks can support it and then how can folks connect with you?

Allison Krache Giddens (47:50):

Sure. Thank you. So the Dave crche foundation helps kids play sports outside inside of a Metro Atlanta area. Primarily, uh, we help kids play sports when their families can’t afford it. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so kind of to the, the same, same line of thinking is that if these kids can do something that they love and it helps to give them a, a purpose, and it helps their families to be able to breathe a little bit easier and, and, you know, continue to do what they need for their family, then the community is better for it. And then maybe one day that kid will pay it forward him or herself as well. So, yeah, definitely check it out. Dave creche.com, D a V E K R a C H e.com. Um, and we’re just, uh, we’re grateful for our, our local supporters and those that help to spread the word

Scott Luton (48:36):

Outstanding. So check out the website and Allison, the folks wanna connect with you, uh, LinkedIn, is that what you suggest to?

Allison Krache Giddens (48:44):

Yes, they can find me definitely on LinkedIn. I’m Alison Giddens. Uh, I’m at win tech here in, in Kennesaw, Georgia. So would love to connect

Scott Luton (48:52):

Outstanding, man. Both of y’all again, I, I love connecting. I love collaborating with, with you both. I think you, um, you challenge what leaders should do and, and impact they’re making far beyond their, their own four walls, you know, um, you know, beyond inventing stabilizers and solving customers’ issues, uh, those highly technical stuff, or, you know, building, um, some of the, uh, very complex parts for the aviation industry and beyond, I mean, beyond that, the value there’s so much value and impact there. So big thanks to our featured guest, uh, Sheika centers PhD again with Manor polymers, and let’s get, we get this in SPE lions den stem club. Yes. Right. Thank you so much for joining us. JICA

Sherrika Sanders (49:39):

Thank you for having me. I always have a good time with you guys.

Scott Luton (49:43):

And of course my fearless co-host, uh, Alice Giddens, always a pleasure, um, be, be sure to check out that Dave crche foundation they’ve helped over a thousand kids now play sports that they otherwise wouldn’t have had the resources do. They would’ve gone without. Uh, so Allison always a pleasure to knock out conversations like this with you.

Allison Krache Giddens (50:01):

Thanks for

Scott Luton (50:02):

Having me. You bet. Okay. Folks, uh, man, the bar has been set by, by uh, she and Allison. Um, hopefully you enjoy this conversation as much as I have. I am so glad we were able to carve out time with, with our guests here. Um, but whatever you do, there’s so much that that Allison and Sheika has challenged you with right? Whatever you do, Hey, choose to do good, lean into giving forward and acting so you can be the change that’s needed. And with all that said, we’ll see next time, right back here on supply chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (50:35):

Thanks for being a part of our supply chain. Now community check out all of our programming@supplychainnow.com and make sure you subscribe to supply chain. Now anywhere you listen to podcasts and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on supply chain. Now.