CARLOTTA ROGERS ON UNLEASHING POTENTIAL
Carlotta Rogers, an Atlanta-based senior manager of enterprise security at Cox Enterprises, consistently shows up for others. She has led the Cox Beyond School Walls program with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta from its launch. The program has inspired multiple schools and companies to participate, impacting the lives of countless high school students and helping drive progress toward our goal to empower 34 million people by 2034. Her energy and compassion have been invaluable to the business continuity team and our organization for 17 years.
Here, Carlotta shares her passion for community engagement and how she leads with heart.
Working together for three years, Carlotta and her “little” Maddy, who is now a successful college freshman, developed a close mentor-mentee relationship.
At Cox, HOW we support our business and each other is just as important as WHAT we achieve. Our Empowered People Principles are our cultural guideposts that serve as the foundation for HOW we conduct business and build a culture that remains competitive. Empowered people make the world a better place for our employees, customers and communities.
SHAPE THE FUTURE CHAMPION INCLUSION UNLEASH POTENTIAL
EMPATHY FIRST
Cox has hosted a mentorship program with Chamblee High School for more than 30 years. I learned about it when I joined the company, and the ladies who started the program are my mentors. I call them my Sister Circle, and we still meet regularly.
In 2019 we launched Beyond School Walls, which shifted the program to bring students on-site to our Cox offices monthly for mentorship and exposure to career opportunities. Cox was the first company in Georgia to host this program, setting an example for others to follow.
Through this program, I’ve learned to lead with passion and with heart. My dream has always been to have our “littles” eventually intern with Cox, come on as full-time employees, and then give back to other students in the same way as mentors.
POIGNANT MOMENTS
There are so many poignant moments working as a mentor. Usually, it’s witnessing students who come in super shy, don’t have direction or much confidence, and then experience a light bulb moment when they realize what they want to do — whether it’s going on to college or into a vocation — and pursue it. I keep in contact with so many of my “littles” as they get older and am always available for them, but there does come a bittersweet moment when you recognize it’s time to let them go.
IN MY DNA
My passion for mentorship is multigenerational and comes from women in my life who consistently showed abundant compassion toward other people. My grandmother’s wisdom and genuine desire to help others were evident in every interaction. And my mother was a mentor in our church growing up. It’s just ingrained in me. I was in junior high school when I started mentoring a first grader — she’s almost 40 now and has a mentoring program of her own.
ALIGNED VALUES
Being part of the Cox business continuity team perfectly aligns with my passion to help others. We are a small but mighty army working behind the scenes to ensure our Cox team members are supported in times of crisis. In January, we had employees impacted by the California wildfires. As a team we closely monitored what was happening, making sure our employees had a safe place to go and get whatever assistance they needed.
During Hurricane Harvey, we were able to help so many of our employees — one of whom lost power and needed electricity for her grandson’s medical care. My son was 5 at the time and had just experienced his first asthmatic episode, so I understood the worry this employee was going through; it just hit differently. As we scrambled to get them set up in a hotel, her electricity came back on, and she texted to say she was okay. I told her I’d been praying for her, and she replied, “I know, I felt it.” I’ve kept that text for so long and read it from time to time, especially on hard days.
A BLESSING
It’s such a blessing to connect with people and do work that truly matters. It’s never the same day twice, and I don’t always know how many hours I’m going to put into a day, but it’s so gratifying to be the person who shows up. There are people who just need a little bit of support from time to time. They just need somebody to care.
Carlotta (center) received the Big Impact Award in 2021 for her exceptional contributions to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta.
Carlotta is grateful for her Cox family, which includes (from left) Tiffany Sudderth, Marie Schwein and Eddie Mangan from her team.
Powered by Purpose is a regular feature about our employees making an impact as living examples of our Empowered People Principles. If you’d like to share your story, email us at InsideCox@coxinc.com.