Mr. Tommie Lewis

Community Advocate of the Year

Tommie Lewis is Founder, President and CEO of Make It Plain Consulting, LLC. He and his firm offer three decades of domestic and global experience providing organizational development, strategic planning, executive coaching, and professional development training solutions to educational institutions, government agencies, public and private corporations, and nonprofit organizations.

After several years working as an architectural engineer in the construction industry, Tommie received what he calls “the most pivotal professional advice in my life”. Tommie’s manager and mentor realized his unique skills and talents advised him to “stop building buildings and start building people”. In 1996, Tommie founded Make It Plain Consulting in Nashville, Tennessee, as a business management firm specializing in human resource management, workforce development training, executive performance coaching, and economic inclusion. Tommie leverages his past professional experiences as a Senior Manager of Relationship Management at INROADS, a Professor of American History and Communications at Fisk University, and a Global Chief Diversity & Culture Officer at Convergys Corporation, to help individuals and organizations uncover their inherent strengths for sustained growth.

As the Inclusion Executive for Convergys Corporation, Tommie directed global inclusion strategies for the company’s 75,000-employee workforce spanning 82 countries. Tommie has traveled to more than 55 different countries to lead business and workforce initiatives in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, India, and Asia Pacific. Tommie held responsibility for the company’s Global Inclusion Strategy, Employee Resource Groups, Executive On-Boarding Program, and Inclusion Metrics.

Tommie’s leadership is widely recognized by his past and present service on local and state Board of Directors, including The Chatfield Edge (formerly Chatfield College), the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFICI), the University of Cincinnati ADVANCE Program, Best Point Education & Behavioral Health, Camp Joy Outdoor Education, 4C for Children, Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Upic, Inc. (a United Way organization).

Tommie holds degrees and professional certifications in African & European Studies from Tennessee State University, Egyptology and Deep Thought from the University of Chicago, International & Cross-Cultural Management from the University of Houston, Emotional Intelligence from the UCLA Emotional Intelligence and Diversity Institute, Coaching Across Cultures Executive Coaching from the Advanced International Executive Coaching Seminar in Rome, Italy and Intercultural Development Inventory.

Tommie and his wife, Penny, have a loving and blended family of three adult sons, a college-age son and nine grandchildren.