Ambassador of the Month: Peter Cajina

The Mid-America LGBT Chamber's Ambassador Program recognizes Peter Cajina as June's Ambassador of the Month and New Ambassador Program Co-Chair.

 

Kansas City, MO | Tuesday, June 22, 2021 - The Ambassadors for the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce are proud to recognize Peter Cajina as June’s Ambassador of the month and announce Peter’s new role as Ambassador Co-Chair. Peter has been committed to his previous role, streamlining the processes for the Ambassador program, and we look forward to his achievements in his new leadership position. Outside of the Ambassador program, we celebrate Peter for the work he does for the Chamber, sitting on multiple committees, and commend him for the work he does outside of our organization to make our city a more inclusive place. 

About Peter

Coming from a public health background, Peter currently serves as a Senior Project Manager for Cerner in their Strategic Growth sector. Focusing on helping healthcare systems to better improve population health efforts, he works to align strategies that best make use of Cerner’s telehealth solutions and opportunities to better reach the market. Outside of work, Peter competes in agility competitions with his pug, Hunter.

Q&A with Peter

Why did you join the chamber or get involved?

It was more of a random find. I at first was helping to set up happy hours for Cerner and wanted to do more. Crystal Denson was a resource and shared more about Cerner’s efforts with the Chamber. I attended a few B2B’s with friends and then just jumped right in as an ambassador.

 

Why did you join the Ambassador program?

I thought that while the B2B’s were nice, I’m more of an extroverted introvert. So rather than be a wallflower, I thought “What’s the best way for a middle child to reclaim the attention I was never given?” Boom. Ambassador it was. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes at the Chamber and being an ambassador would allow me the opportunity to connect on a broader scale work is being done for our LGBT+ community. That, and I wouldn’t have to stand there awkwardly at a B2B thinking “Are these snacks really free?”

 

What advice do you have to someone curious about getting involved with the Ambassadors or the Chamber?

While the monthly events can be fun, there’s a ton of great work happening in the committees. That is where I’ve found a lot more of the work that keeps the pieces moving. From helping to create surveys to better tailor Chamber programming, to conversations about making our demographic questionnaire more inclusive there’s a lot more going on than one might realize. While yes, a lot of it still make take that touch of networking, the committee chairs have been super helpful in connecting me to the right resources. So jump right in and ask those questions!

 

What benefits have you received from being an ambassador? 

Well, I’m still single and haven’t married rich, so no super amazing benefits BUT I have been super engaged with our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee! It’s there that I’ve found a great group who have been very understanding that we have to go beyond face value platitudes and recognizing that despite being in the Midwest, we still have a ton of diversity within our city. As such, we want to ensure our mission/visions/values reflect that as well as our makeup. So seeing the various ways the Chamber is working to reach out to the LGBT+ community has been insightful. The connections I’ve made in seeing what Cerner is doing and what various community members are doing have also been super helpful.

 

Why do you think businesses should join the LGBT Chamber of Commerce?

One thing to consider is that managing a business can be difficult. There’s a lot of unknowns and of course, during COVID more uncertainties as well. The LGBT Chamber of Commerce is a good central hub that offers various resources or opportunities to connect with folks who know the best path forward to assist you. Additionally, we want to see more representation from small business owners. We want to find ways to help cultivate the workforce of tomorrow and our future leaders. By joining you can help us out too so we as a Chamber can better serve you as a community. It’s a win-win for everyone! Also, spoiler alert the snacks at the B2B are free.