Chris Jarrett’s year as NAWBO Charlotte’s chapter president started with a question—“What do I want my legacy to be?”—and ended with the coveted 2024 Chapter of the Year Award. Here’s how they got there.
For those who attended NAWBO’s Annual Membership Meeting and Leader Onboarding day in Washington, DC this past June, the excitement was undeniable as NAWBO Charlotte was announced as Chapter of the Year and Chris, the chapter’s 2023-2024 president, took a celebratory loop around the room before accepting the honor with her fellow leaders.
While this chapter has been runner-up for several consecutive years, this was their first win as top chapter. “It validated all the hard work,” says Chris about the award in a city that is the third fastest-growing in the nation with a highly educated group of women and large number of young women entrepreneurs. “I felt like we were recognized amongst our peers across the nation, and everyone was so loving.”
It also came when Chris needed it personally the most. “My parents’ health has been extremely hard during this time,” she explains. “My mother had a brain aneurism in October and three brain surgeries, with the last one in March. As my mom was coming out of her third surgery, my dad was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and is now in palliative care. I needed this. I love NAWBO and I feel like I contributed in a different way, in a different season.”
So many things contributed to such a remarkable year for NAWBO Charlotte. For one, the chapter is ingrained in the city’s economic growth. City representatives come to NAWBO Charlotte events and NAWBO leaders sit on two city committees: The Charlotte Business Advisory Committee and Charlotte Business INClusion Advisory Committee. Both include key executives from local Fortune 500 companies, which has been an exciting opportunity to share with them about NAWBO’s focuses and work, including certification and advocacy.
“NAWBO has such a great relationship with the city here,” emphasizes Chris, who steps in this month to serve on one of these City committees in place of now-chapter president Rochelle Stewart. Marise Kumar, also a past Charlotte chapter president, serves on the other committee.
Additionally, NAWBO Charlotte gathered market data and implemented a targeted strategy this past year to attract and engage new members, including those from underserved communities, and corporate partners that are aligned with our values. “The market data was important to understand who we were talking to, what they were looking for, their diversity personally and within their industries,” Chris explains. “We found some of the things we were doing had low interest because we weren’t doing a great job of reinventing ourselves.”
Based on what they learned, they eliminated some events where engagement was low to focus their efforts more on what was working. They added 30 minutes of networking before each event and fun games to support engagement. They also made an effort to really understand the power of social media and to leverage it on different platforms. “We did a good job of talking to our audience,” says Chris. So good, in fact, that their retention rate was 90 percent and growth rate was 30 percent across the board.
NAWBO Charlotte was also the host city for this year’s National Leadership Academy and helped to attract 80 attendees from the local market and to bring on one of the most well-received speakers, Molly Barker of Girls on the Run. They also celebrated 40 years as a chapter with an event attended by over 30 past presidents and a yearbook filled with their rich history. Additionally, they introduced a local NextGen program and leadership-focused book club and expanded their DEI&B workshop series.
For Chris personally, she also wanted her year to include a business strategy that the next president could then make her own and carry forward. “I was very intentional about this,” she shares. “When a new president co
mes in, we stick to our vision to propel women in economic, social and political spheres of power, but I wanted to make sure I also brought in the president behind me to intentionally take on what we’ve already done.”
In the end, that’s exactly what Chris and her fellow Charlotte leaders accomplished. “It was this Board during this time to make the changes we did,” she emphasizes. “I could not have done it with them. I walked in with a plan that they embraced, and we worked the plan. We showed up and fostered deeper local participation and highlighted NAWBO in a different way. I’m very proud to leave that legacy behind.”
Chris’ NAWBO Story
Chris was introduced to NAWBO through Bank of America in 2008. She was working as regional manager of North and South Carolina and part of Georgia in middle market, and they had just brought small business banking into middle market at the time. Bank of America was a NAWBO partner and Chris served as ambassador to the local chapter.
In 2018, she decided to step out on her own. She founded RHC Workforce Solutions, a nationally certified workforce development firm and DOL Registered Apprentice specializing in sustainable skilled trades talent acquisition and workforce management services. The solutions are designed to help organizations meet hiring needs, manage their workforce efficiently and optimize training initiatives.
Chris’ background also included experience in construction and manufacturing, and she had worked closely with the city of Charlotte through her certifications. This interest in government contracting is what drew her to NAWBO Charlotte as a member. “NAWBO was the only organization that spoke not just about advocacy, but certifications in a different way and had a great relationship with the city.”
Chris has since grown her business—propelled and celebrated by her NAWBO community of support. In fact, RHC Workforce Solutions is excited to announce a new partnership with the NC Department of Adult Corrections and the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Through the Return-to-Work initiative and Reentry Employment Services, they will offer targeted job training, sustainability apprenticeship opportunities and Braille literacy for the visually impaired. This statewide collaboration underscores their dedication to delivering impactful solutions, driving differentiated results and positively impacting communities. Together, they support workforce development and continuing education.