Celebrating the Women of IST

This month is celebrated as Women's History Month to recognize the contributions of women throughout U.S. history. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8th as National Women's History Week. Seven years later, Congress declared March as the first Official Women's History Month. This year's Women's History Month theme is: "Providing Healing, Promoting Hope."

Our National Director of Operations for Court Reporting, Connie Snow, sums up how women promote healing and hope. "During the pandemic, women provided healing and promoted hope in many ways. For example, many women had to work and help their kids adapt to virtual learning. Kids were not only missing out on being in school, but they also had to miss out on normal school functions such as after-school activities, sports, and social interactions. This was a tough adjustment for all kids. An adjustment that the women in their lives helped them adapt to. Another example of how women helped kids adapt was the drive-through graduations so that the kids who could not participate in their graduation walk could still participate in the graduation itself. This act helped provide healing and promote hope for our kids when life was uncertain."

We have great women who work for IST who aid in hope and healing in the workplace. Lori Mitchum, Vice President of Human Resources, said, "Providing mentorship to other employees and watching them grow in their positions at IST from entry-level to Director and VP status is something I am proud of. I have spent time mentoring on business advice and sharing experiences and struggles women face that come with gender stereotypes, conditioning, and navigating family and work successfully."

Group Picture of some of our Female National Directors at Corporate: (from L to R) Sydney Ayers, Nicole Fryson, Denika Thomas, Karen Watts, Stacie Hutchison, and Lacy Pepe.

Azure Hicks-Brown, National Director of eDiscovery Operations, had this to say, "Women are natural-born leaders and multitaskers. We often juggle spouses, children, parents, employees, and clients, daily. At IST, we have women in every department in every position we offer and are seeing more women stepping into leadership positions at IST. We are always on the lookout for the best people for the role, and we welcome more women to join our ranks and bring their drive and determination to our clients."

More recently, we've hired many women for key roles at IST. Mulu Tesfaye is our new Assistant Controller. Nicole Fryson is our new National Director of Managed Review, and Denika Thomas is our new National Recruiting Director for Managed Review.

This month will also be known as one of the greatest months in IST history! First, we had a fantastic grand opening of our new headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

Vice Presidents Brad Burgess and Lori Mitchum's team crushed it! The building is absolutely beautiful, the ribbon-cutting was fabulous, and everything was flawlessly planned and executed. IST would love to thank Atlanta's Mayor, Andre Dickens, CEO & President of MUST Ministries, Dr. Dwight "Ike" Reighard, Georgia Senator, John Albers, and to everyone who came to celebrate this momentous occasion. We look forward to many years in our new home off Moreland Avenue!

At IST, we strive to encourage a work environment that allows women to grow. We promote healing and hope both on the job and through our many charitable organizations, such as MUST Ministries. IST pledged $50,000 to MUST Ministries, which helped build and buy new iPads and technology for their new after-school learning center in the Elizabeth Inn. I salute all women at IST, worldwide, and across the United States. We are in a better world because of you! Thank you for all that you do!

L to R: Hal Blackman, CEO & President of IST Management, Mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens, and Dr. Dwight "Ike" Reighard, CEO & President of MUST Ministries.