As a whistleblower, community organizer, author, motivational speaker, business owner and coach, the speaker in the Thursday, Feb. 21 Business of Diversity Speakers' Series would be hard to profile.
And in 1998 profiling was what Cathy Harris spoke out against, earning her the nationally recognized whistleblower status.
"She's going to be the inaugural speaker in our new Diversity Initiatives Speaker Series," said Dr. Sarah Stanwick, diversity officer and associate professor in the College of Business' School of Accountancy, and coordinated tonight's event.
Harris, at the time a Senior Customs Inspector, exposed the use of racial profiling, unlawful practices and human rights violations by the U.S. Customs Service, now known as Customs and Border Protection, at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
"I will talking about whistleblowing, what happened to me and why they also need to look at blowing the whistle as they travel through life and witness things that they don't feel comfortable with. Why everybody needs to become whistleblowers," said Harris.
Her testimony of what she witnessed resulted in an investigation by the Government Accountability Office, and subsequent change to Federal Legislation and Customs regulations.
Since her initial expose "Flying While Black: A Whistleblower's Story," Harris has written 18 books on varying topics but with similar themes of empowerment, a theme that does not end with her writing.
Her empowerment company, Angels Press, is the business front for her services of lectures, seminars, workshops, teleseminars and also her radio show, "The Cathy Harris Show."
The event is tonight at 7 p.m. in Lowder, Room 125A, Harris will be speaking to students seeking their CPA.
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