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A Story of Yesterday & Today

The demise of Eastman Kodak has left locals struggling to find work

In our first episode, we explore the demise of Eastman Kodak in Rochester, N.Y., and the impact it has had on local families struggling to find work in the aftermath of the company’s massive layoffs.
Through the eyes of two individuals – a former Kodak employee and a modern freelance photographer – "A Story of Yesterday & Today" digs into the changes of work from day's past to the present, specifically looking at photography and how the workforce has evolved from the classic 9-5 to the modern freelance era.
Director: Barbara Kopple

Eastman Kodak once was one of America’s premiere companies. Kodak was a brand synonymous with the art of photography. Now it has become a technology company, but at a terrific cost to its workforce.

We introduce “FutureWork,” a four-part series from Oscar-winning documentary director Barbara Kopple about how American workers and companies are adapting to new economic realities.

In our first episode, we explore the demise of Eastman Kodak in Rochester, N.Y., and the impact it has had on local families struggling to find work in the aftermath of the company’s massive layoffs.

Upcoming episodes of “FutureWork” will focus on: Year Up, a non-profit organization that partners with employers to provide young adults with training and internships; a two-year technical program developed by Toyota in central Kentucky that combines real work experience for incoming employees with advanced training in the field of robotics and automation; and how youth tech competitions like the Vex Robotics World Championships are becoming recruiting grounds for companies seeking employees with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

FutureWork is our signature digital series that shines the spotlight on the most innovative initiatives helping to train and re-skill Americans for the most in-demand jobs now and in the future.

FutureWork

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.