(TSX: NFI, OTC: NFYEF, TSX: NFI.DB) NFI Group Inc.
(“NFI”), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a
leader in electric mass mobility solutions, today congratulates
Charli Champagne for being named to Mass Transit Magazine’s Top 40
Under 40 list for 2022.
Charli Champagne, the Workforce Development
Manager for NFI, is a diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”)
champion across the organization, leveraging over 10 years of
experience in training and development and 13 years in
manufacturing. She joins prior NFI inductees Stephanie Laubenstein,
Ian Macpherson, Paul Cantin, Brydon Owen, Ben Wood, and Lindy
Norris.
Joining NFI in 2017 as a Training and
Development Specialist, Charli ascended to her current role where
she leads NFI’s DEI and workforce development initiatives,
furthering efforts to increase opportunities for underserved,
underrepresented, disadvantaged, and diverse candidates. Under her
leadership, NFI administered its first ever data-driven
organizational climate assessment (DEI) survey – the first in the
Company’s history which garnered a more than 55% participation rate
– and based on results, she commenced development of tangible
strategies to strengthen NFI’s DEI efforts. Charli also introduced
pronoun use in the workplace to signal greater inclusiveness, and
she remains committed to enhancing the cultural safeness of NFI’s
workspace.
“We are tremendously proud of Charli for this
well-deserved recognition. She is an important change leader not
only on our team, but in our community and industry as well,” said
Janice Harper, Executive Vice President, People and Culture, NFI.
“At NFI, we are committed to investing in and advancing diversity,
equity, and inclusion – and the work Charli leads is an example of
our commitments in action, with results that illustrate steady
progress. Her ability to pair data with strategy, to put plans into
action, and to connect people with opportunity is unparalleled –
and we congratulate her for earning this prestigious award from
Mass Transit magazine.”
One initiative Charli is most proud of is New
Flyer’s Anniston Workforce Development Program in Alabama. In
partnership with the Transportation Diversity Council, Charli has
created pathways and opportunities to underserved,
underrepresented, and disadvantaged individuals to enter the
manufacturing industry, regardless of their experience or
backgrounds. As leader of the initiative, Charli has helped to
guide 18 individuals to join New Flyer’s Anniston team and provided
supports to transition them into new roles and opportunities for
advancement.
She also leads New Flyer’s involvement in the
American Public Transportation Association’s (“APTA”) Racial Equity
Commitment Program and has spoken on DEI initiatives during
industry panel presentations.
Charli’s passion for inclusiveness transcends
the workplace to her own community, where she leverages a decade of
coaching co-ed youth football to empower young girls to join the
sport and hopes to soon lead the first all-girls team in the
region. As a single mom and proud member of the LGBTQIA2S+
community, Charli is also working with local Pride organizers to
bring back community celebrations and provide visibility for her
peers. Her commitment to visibility, representation, and support
for all people has encouraged her to live openly, while proudly
serving as a role model for local youth.
“It is an honour to be named alongside many
exceptional leaders who are collectively advancing technology,
innovation, and inclusion in transit,” said Charli Champagne,
Workforce Development Manager, NFI. “The opportunity to evolve our
organizational culture and practices for the better is as
invigorating as it is rewarding. Each day, our tangible actions are
building greater inclusivity and helping individuals from every
background to enter the new mobility era. It is rewarding to be
part of building meaningful programs and pipelines to connect
underrepresented, underserved, and disadvantaged people with new
opportunities, and to see them thrive on our team and in our
communities. I am excited to continue this impactful work alongside
the amazing supports I have within NFI, and the communities in
which we co-exist.”
In Canada, calls for action through the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (or “TRC”) have grown
louder in recent years and Charli has not shied from them. As a
member of the TRC92: Employer Consortium, she works with other
businesses to meet TRC Call to Action #92 by building Indigenous
representation in business, completing workshops to identify and
remove employment barriers for Indigenous youth, delivering
training to leadership, and integrating findings to ensure NFI
workplaces are inclusive to all cultures and people.
Charli is a current board member of Career Trek,
a non-profit organization providing educational and career
exploration opportunities for disadvantaged youth in Winnipeg and
surrounding areas.
Several workplace initiatives led by Charli are
reviewed in NFI’s latest Environmental, Social, and Governance
(“ESG”) report, which can be found at nfigroup.com/ESG.
NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with
electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 110 cities
in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission
battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles
have completed over 70 million EV service miles.
Today, NFI supports growing North American
cities with scalable, clean, and sustainable mobility solutions
through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches,
technology, infrastructure, and workforce development. NFI
also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (“VIC”), the
first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing
bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since
opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted over 300 interactive
events, welcoming 5,000 industry professionals for EV and
infrastructure training.
About NFI
Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI
is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world.
With zero-emission buses and coaches, infrastructure, and
technology, NFI meets today’s urban demands for scalable smart
mobility solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities
through connected, clean, and sustainable transportation.
With 7,500 team members in nine countries, NFI
is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions
under the brands New Flyer® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI® (motor
coaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck buses),
Plaxton (motor coaches), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty
buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI currently offers the widest range of
sustainable drive systems available, including zero-emission
electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell), natural gas, electric
hybrid, and clean diesel. In total, NFI supports its installed base
of over 105,000 buses and coaches around the world. NFI’s common
shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under the symbol
NFI and its convertible unsecured debentures trade on the TSX under
the symbol NFI.DB. News and information is available at
www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com,
www.nfi.parts, www.alexander-dennis.com, www.arbocsv.com, and
www.carfaircomposites.com.
For media inquiries, please contact:Melanie
McCreathMelanie.McCreath@nfigroup.com
For investor inquiries, please contact:Stephen
KingP: 204.224.6382Stephen.King@nfigroup.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0716cf8b-4b76-4481-b242-8c8283ea945b
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