PBN 2021 Business Women Awards
Outstanding Mentor: Tracy McCaughey, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
Many institutions run valuable mentoring programs. But, effective mentoring – formal or informal – must always begin with a relationship founded on caring and trust, according to Tracy McCaughey, managing director of compliance and ethics and corporate compliance officer for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.
“There is no better feeling than knowing you have made a positive impact on someone’s life,” McCaughey said. “It is rewarding to help a person by bringing them to an understanding of what their potential could be.”
McCaughey has been with the Providence-based health insurer for 16 years of her 36-year career.
Being a mentor is not part of McCaughey’s formal job description, but she believes people who are successful in their own lives and careers should feel a duty to be a supporter and guide for others. She called mentoring “a two-way street,” adding, “I’ve learned a great deal from people I have mentored.”
An example is McCaughey’s relationship with Aneesah Cameron, a contract development specialist at Blue Cross whom McCaughey supervised and encouraged through moments of self-doubt. Some time ago, Cameron learned that the building she lived in was to be sold, and she told McCaughey that she was worried about finding a new apartment for herself and her mother and brother.
McCaughey suggested to Cameron that she consider buying a house, which stunned the younger colleague, a Black woman from a family that had never owned property. After a long process with lots of ups and downs, Cameron succeeded in buying a house. McCaughey, meanwhile, got an insider’s view of institutional hurdles faced by minorities, including banks that would not lend to Black people.
Michele Lederberg, executive vice president at Blue Cross, said of McCaughey, “She sees potential in people, and she goes out of her way to help them see the potential in themselves.”
Some years ago, McCaughey heard a presentation by the Rhode Island Foundation about how to step into the world of serving on boards of directors. With some hesitation, McCaughey began serving on a committee of the Women’s Resources Center, a nonprofit that helps people who are experiencing domestic violence.
Eventually she became a board member. She was in that role when Jessica Walsh, now the executive director, was serving as interim executive director while the organization was searching for a new permanent director.
Walsh had told the board she did not want the permanent position, but her view began to change after a quiet conversation with McCaughey, who prodded her about her reluctance. Walsh said she might be interested in the job if it was altered in some ways from its previous incarnation. McCaughey urged Walsh to be frank with the board about her ideas for the position.
“I encouraged her to consider the role and consider how she would like to change that role,” McCaughey said. Ultimately, Walsh took on the job permanently, a boon to Walsh and to the organization, McCaughey said.
McCaughey said racial justice is an important issue for her. She serves as executive sponsor – an advocate and intermediary to the executive level – of Black Council@Blue, one of Blue Cross’ employee business resource groups. She was selected as executive sponsor, said a company document, “in recognition of her advocacy and willingness to learn and change in order to be an effective white ally both inside and outside of the company.”
Lederberg concurred, saying that McCaughey “feels that as a white person of privilege, she has had more opportunities than others may have had, so she feels obligated to provide guidance to others.”
McCaughey said she was surprised and pleased when Shikenya Gough, an information technology product manager and member of Black Council@Blue, told McCaughey that she had told the group, “Tracy is the person who looked at the skills and potential of all of us and tried to create opportunities for us to succeed.”
