Inspired by the education events of other employee networks and the support those events earned from Kodak management, the Lambda Network at Kodak organized their own. The event was an inspiring success for the network.
Kodak's employee networks received much support from Kodak Human Resources and management. As a result, networks were able to grow without much external resistance.
In his video address to the attendees of the 2001 Out & Equal conference, Dan Carp, Kodak chairman and CEO, expresses Kodak's Values, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and appreciation of the Lambda Network.
After George Fisher, Dan Carp became the chairman and CEO of Kodak in 2000, and continued CEO support of diversity was imortant to the success of the Lambda Network and other Kodak employee networks.
In 1993, the Lambda Network at Kodak invited Deb Price, a national columnist who wrote about gay and lesbian life, including her own, to speak at two events in Rochester: the first Rochester Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival and a fundraising event for the Lambda Network at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church.
Kodak was concerned with manufacturing visibility and produced the most popular film. The appearance of the Lambda Network on its film, film its members probably helped make, was a great symbol of Kodak's support for the network and its interest of popularizing a diverse and inclusive workplace. That photo was taken at the 1995 (1st) Lambda Network Education Event with Management.
At the 1995 (1st) Lambda Network at Kodak Education Event with Management, Elizabeth Birch linked the network to a larger movement for LGBTQ rights in the workplace. Her speech challenged Kodak's lack of domestic partner benefits and developed a sense of urgency for creating a safer workplace.
Elizabeth Birch returned to Rochester for the 2004 (10th) Lambda Network at Kodak Education Event with Management. Her speech celebrated the progress of the network, Kodak, and past workplace activism across the U.S., but it also brought attention to unresolved LGBTQ issues, reaffirming the importance of activism and employee networks like the Lambda Network.
