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TH E M R EP O RT | 25 FEATURE Reaching Out T he FHLBank Chicago has also recognized that it must create value in the communities it serves. "Our members operate in a number of communities, but we also have community investment programs that impact a number of different people as well, and so for us it's just part of our business strategy," Thurman said. "It makes good business sense for us to think about this and helps us make sure we're making the impact we choose to make." For Thurman, the future of their diversity strategy would also come from its members and stakeholders even though he can guess what it would be. "We are in the process of doing a number of focus groups with our key stakeholders. Those being our employees, our board of directors, our members, our trade associa- tions we work with, community investment partners we work with, and our vendors," he said. "The feedback from those stakeholder meetings is really going to inform how we approach our diversity strategy." And for firms looking to make D&I a more integral part of their business strategy like FHLBank Chicago, Thurman encourages them to take a step back and ask, "what are they doing from a holistic diversity inclusion perspective?" "Many times, these conversations get focused singularly on representation inside an organization. They're staff only, but to us it's much bigger than that," Thurman said. "It's how do you impact the marketplace, how do you impact your members, your clients, your customers? And so I would encourage you to think holistically about D&I strategies and what can you do to impact the marketplace." RADHIK A OJHA, Online Editor at the Five Star Institute, is a graduate of the University of Pune, India, where she received her B.A. in Commerce with a concentration in Accounting and Marketing and an M.A. in Mass Communication. Upon completion of her master's degree, Ojha worked at a national English daily publication in India (The Indian Express) where she was a staff writer in the cultural and arts features section. Ojha also worked as Principal Correspondent at HT Media Ltd and at Honeywell as an executive in corporate communications. She and her husband currently reside in Dallas, Texas. You can contact her at Radhika.Ojha@ theFiveStar.com ≥RIGHT: John Stocchetti, EVP and Group Head of the MPF Program, Cedric D. Thurman, SVP, Chief Diversity Officer, and Michael Ericson, EVP and Group Head Members and Markets ∆BELOW: The team from the Capital Markets Working Group: Emiranda Miller, Josh Schleman, Amy Shi, David Vidler, Natalie Gonzalez, Carly Juetten, and Rene Cornejo