The Metro Chamber Ambassadors serve as liaisons between the Chamber and its 1,400 members, creating deeper connections finding opportunities to support the business community. The Ambassadors serve a vital role in ensuring members get the most from their membership and can engage with the Metro Chamber. The program also serves as an incredible networking opportunity for both new and existing members — as well as the Ambassadors.
Carlos Flores, the Director of Academic Affairs at University of Phoenix, has been a member of the Metro Chamber for nearly 3 decades. He is not only part of the Ambassador Program, but he’s also the current co-chair for the Ambassador committee.
Carlos: “I joined the Ambassador Program for a few reasons. From a business perspective, I wanted to enhance the brand recognition of University of Phoenix. From a personal point of view, being an ambassador gives me an opportunity to connect with new Metro Chamber members and understand their reasons for joining. My personal philosophy: create a win-win collaboration with those I interact on a daily basis. The Ambassador Program empowers me to create a large support network that I can connect to provide support to each member.”
Through the Ambassador Program, Carlos was connected with Bethany Sasaki and her business, Midtown Nurse Midwives. Through much of 2019, Bethany and her team were tied up with a major expansion at Midtown Nurse Midwives. In the fall 2019, Carlos made it a priority to lead an Ambassador visit to Midtown Nurse Midwives, showing the strength of our business community.
“Right from the beginning, I felt at home,” said Carlos. “I was given a tour of the Midtown Nurse Midwives facility and promptly returned for a follow-up visit to meet owner/director Bethany Sasaki and take a picture of her with the Metro Chamber plaque. Bethany and her staff were excellent hosts and told me a great deal about what they do for the community.”
According to Bethany, Carlos “may have got a little more than he bargained for — learning all about our breastfeeding medicine clinic and alternative natural birth center.”
From Carlos’s perspective, he was fascinated by the work Midtown Nurse Midwives provided, specifically the education to clients, staff, and interns in the nursing field. And he wanted to help Bethany make an impact and help more people in our community.
“Bethany has a welcoming personality that cares for her clients which she instills on her staff. She was so happy to receive the models that I made another visit to deliver them,” said Carlos.
Carlos and his team at University of Phoenix donated fetus, uterus, breast, and pelvic medical teaching models. In addition, they donated disposable gloves and other medical office supplies including three oxygen tanks that replaced the current tanks they were using.As you can imagine, Bethany and her team were absolutely thrilled.
“Items like these are useful to us on a daily basis but far out of our price range as a small business. Receiving large boxes of gloves and absorbent under-pads may not seem exciting to most people but to a nurse-midwife, it’s like Christmas morning! Thanks to the new portable oxygen tanks, we were able to set up a second resuscitation area on our third floor, giving us more flexibility during our busier birthing months.”
This was a true win-win on both a personal and a professional level.
Carlos noted, “My collaboration with Bethany Sasaki set my standard of how I wanted to provide a win-win service to the Metro Chamber and its members. As a current Metro Chamber co-chair for the Ambassador committee, I always remind potential ambassadors to find their reason to be part of the committee.”
Bethany said, “I hope to give back to the Chamber in the future to help a small business — the same way the University of Phoenix helped Midtown Midwives.”
Learn more about the many benefits of becoming a Sacramento Metro Chamber member.
Interested in engaging with Metro Chamber members? Become an Ambassador.