Editor's Note: The following announcement is a press release from Profiles in Diversity. In a few places, photos and short profiles of award-winners are highlighted.
Profiles in Diversity Journal® announces the names of the organizations selected by the publication to receive its 11th Annual Diversity Leader Award. The award is given to organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to expanding and improving diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace and beyond.
The organizations and individual leaders, whose efforts will be recognized in the Journal’s upcoming issue (winter 2018–2019), view their entire enterprise and mission through the lens of diversity. They demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace, and have developed comprehensive strategies that permeate all levels, departments, and divisions. They work to understand the needs of their employees, reach out to diverse vendors, and serve their communities, while meeting the demands of today’s evolving business environment.
Listed below, in alphabetical order by organization, are Profiles in Diversity Journal’s 2019 Diversity Leader Award recipients (the name of a diversity champion chosen by each organization, along with location of the company’s corporate headquarters, is also included here):
Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate LLC; Sherry Chris, President and CEO; Madison, NJ
Bowman and Brooke, LLP; Roshan N. Rajkumar, Partner and Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair; Minneapolis, MN
Broadlawns Medical Center; Wayne Ford, Community Advocate; Des Moines, IA
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP; Patrick T. Quinn, Managing Partner; New York, NY
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO); Annie Holmes, Chief Equity Officer;
Washington, DC. In her role, Holmes is tasked with
leading the Council's internal efforts to achieve its goal of becoming a
more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization and supporting
chiefs to deliver on each of our ten equity commitments.
During her time at California Polytechnic Institute, she established the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion and collaborated with other institutional leaders to change policies and procedures that enhanced the recruitment of underrepresented faculty and students. read more
Corning Incorporated; Monica L. Bankston, Chief Diversity Officer; Corning, NY
Cozen O'Connor; Lynnette D. Espy-Williams, Member and Chief Diversity Officer; Philadelphia, PA
Dechert LLP; Satra Sampson-Arokium. Director of Diversity & Inclusion; Philadelphia, PA and New York, NY
Denny’s Restaurants; April Kelly-Drummond, Head of Diversity, Equality, Inclusion & Multicultural Engagement; Spartanburg, SC. Kelly-Drummond has served as Denny’s Director of Diversity Affairs since March 2008. She joined Denny’s in 1994 as an executive assistant to the Company’s Chief Diversity Officer and spent a significant amount of time on the road assisting in the Company’s diversity initiatives.
In her role as the Director of Diversity Affairs and Multicultural Engagement at Denny's, Kelly-Drummond serves as the key liaison with major civil rights organizations and builds relationships with local, regional and national minority organizations. read more
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield; Joseph Searles, Director of Diversity Community Engagement and Sady Fischer, Director of Diversity & Inclusion; Rochester, NY
Fish & Richardson; Teresa Lavoie, PhD, Principal and EMPOWER Chair;
Freddie Mac; Jacqueline M. Welch, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Diversity & Inclusion, and Chief Diversity Officer; McLean, VA
HARMAN; Dinesh Paliwal, President and Chief Executive Officer; Stamford, CT
HP Inc.; Dion Weisler, President and CEO; Palo Alto, CA
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP; Diane Lifton, Partner, Co-Chair of Life Sciences and Product Liability Practice Groups, and Co-Chair of Committee on Diversity and Inclusion; New York, NY
Jones Walker LLP; Richard Cortizas, Partner and Chair of Diversity Committee; New Orleans, LA
KPMG LLP; Michele Meyer-Shipp, Chief Diversity Officer; New York, NY. Meyer-Shipp leads KPMG's national Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) team and oversee its strategy and objectives, including growing diverse leaders and collaboration; inspiring broad perspectives and innovative client solutions; and fostering an inclusive, accessible, and vibrant workplace.
Meyer-Shipp comes to KPMG from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she served as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. She led the deployment of a firmwide diversity strategy, including building out infrastructure and ensuring that the firm's foundational principles of inclusiveness and diversity were reflected in all of its policies, work, and practices. read more
Liberty Mutual Insurance; Dawn Frazier-Bohnert, Senior Vice President and Global Chief
Diversity & Inclusion Officer; Boston, MA. She is responsible for leading the design, development and implementation of Liberty Mutual’s diversity and inclusion strategy and programs. This includes enhancing employees’ D&I capability and skills, internal and external communications, metrics and measurements, benchmarking, external partnerships and the development of employee resource groups.
Prior to joining Liberty Mutual Insurance, Frazier-Bohnert was Chief Administrative Officer and Partner at Global Novations, a Korn/Ferry International Company, where she developed their human capital strategy and led their post-merger company culture-shaping efforts. read more
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP; Melanie Figueroa, Emma Luevano, and Gregory Olaniran, Co-Chairs–Diversity & Inclusion Committee; Los Angeles, CA
New American Funding; Patty Arvielo, President; Tustin, CA
New York Life; Monique Y. Murphy, Corporate Vice President–Diversity & Inclusion; New York, NY
Robins Kaplan LLP; Brandon E. Vaughn, Principal; Minneapolis, MN
Walmart, Inc.; Ben Hasan, Senior Vice President and Chief Culture, Diversity & Inclusion
Officer; Bentonville, AR. He is responsible for the continued development of the evolution of
the company’s culture, the development of behaviors that embrace
diversity and inclusion at all levels of the company and the promotion
of the company’s external reputation as a great place to work. He
assumed this role in 2015.Ben joined Walmart in 2008 and previously served as senior vice president of strategic services in Walmart Technology.
Prior to joining Walmart, Ben worked 11 years at Dell, Inc. He progressed through several leadership positions before serving as vice president of corporate and product group information technology. read more
WilsonHCG; Marisol Hughes, Executive Vice President and General Counsel; Tampa, FL
About Profiles in Diversity Journal
Now in its 21st year of publication, Profiles in Diversity Journal is a quarterly B2B magazine, focusing on diversity and inclusion in business, government, nonprofit, higher education, and military settings. The Journal presents interviews, profiles, articles, and awards that highlight mission-driven leadership, best practices, workforce strategies, innovative ideas, and important individual contributions within the realm of diversity and inclusion.
Since 1999, Profiles in Diversity Journal has recognized the individuals and teams within organizations who create, develop, and promote strategies and initiatives that support diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace and the larger community.
Profiles in Diversity Journal® announces the names of the organizations selected by the publication to receive its 11th Annual Diversity Leader Award. The award is given to organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to expanding and improving diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace and beyond.
The organizations and individual leaders, whose efforts will be recognized in the Journal’s upcoming issue (winter 2018–2019), view their entire enterprise and mission through the lens of diversity. They demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace, and have developed comprehensive strategies that permeate all levels, departments, and divisions. They work to understand the needs of their employees, reach out to diverse vendors, and serve their communities, while meeting the demands of today’s evolving business environment.
Listed below, in alphabetical order by organization, are Profiles in Diversity Journal’s 2019 Diversity Leader Award recipients (the name of a diversity champion chosen by each organization, along with location of the company’s corporate headquarters, is also included here):
Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate LLC; Sherry Chris, President and CEO; Madison, NJ
Bowman and Brooke, LLP; Roshan N. Rajkumar, Partner and Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair; Minneapolis, MN
Broadlawns Medical Center; Wayne Ford, Community Advocate; Des Moines, IA
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP; Patrick T. Quinn, Managing Partner; New York, NY
During her time at California Polytechnic Institute, she established the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion and collaborated with other institutional leaders to change policies and procedures that enhanced the recruitment of underrepresented faculty and students. read more
Corning Incorporated; Monica L. Bankston, Chief Diversity Officer; Corning, NY
Cozen O'Connor; Lynnette D. Espy-Williams, Member and Chief Diversity Officer; Philadelphia, PA
Dechert LLP; Satra Sampson-Arokium. Director of Diversity & Inclusion; Philadelphia, PA and New York, NY
In her role as the Director of Diversity Affairs and Multicultural Engagement at Denny's, Kelly-Drummond serves as the key liaison with major civil rights organizations and builds relationships with local, regional and national minority organizations. read more
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield; Joseph Searles, Director of Diversity Community Engagement and Sady Fischer, Director of Diversity & Inclusion; Rochester, NY
Fish & Richardson; Teresa Lavoie, PhD, Principal and EMPOWER Chair;
Freddie Mac; Jacqueline M. Welch, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Diversity & Inclusion, and Chief Diversity Officer; McLean, VA
HARMAN; Dinesh Paliwal, President and Chief Executive Officer; Stamford, CT
HP Inc.; Dion Weisler, President and CEO; Palo Alto, CA
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP; Diane Lifton, Partner, Co-Chair of Life Sciences and Product Liability Practice Groups, and Co-Chair of Committee on Diversity and Inclusion; New York, NY
Jones Walker LLP; Richard Cortizas, Partner and Chair of Diversity Committee; New Orleans, LA
Meyer-Shipp comes to KPMG from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she served as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. She led the deployment of a firmwide diversity strategy, including building out infrastructure and ensuring that the firm's foundational principles of inclusiveness and diversity were reflected in all of its policies, work, and practices. read more
Prior to joining Liberty Mutual Insurance, Frazier-Bohnert was Chief Administrative Officer and Partner at Global Novations, a Korn/Ferry International Company, where she developed their human capital strategy and led their post-merger company culture-shaping efforts. read more
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP; Melanie Figueroa, Emma Luevano, and Gregory Olaniran, Co-Chairs–Diversity & Inclusion Committee; Los Angeles, CA
New American Funding; Patty Arvielo, President; Tustin, CA
New York Life; Monique Y. Murphy, Corporate Vice President–Diversity & Inclusion; New York, NY
Robins Kaplan LLP; Brandon E. Vaughn, Principal; Minneapolis, MN
Prior to joining Walmart, Ben worked 11 years at Dell, Inc. He progressed through several leadership positions before serving as vice president of corporate and product group information technology. read more
WilsonHCG; Marisol Hughes, Executive Vice President and General Counsel; Tampa, FL
About Profiles in Diversity Journal
Now in its 21st year of publication, Profiles in Diversity Journal is a quarterly B2B magazine, focusing on diversity and inclusion in business, government, nonprofit, higher education, and military settings. The Journal presents interviews, profiles, articles, and awards that highlight mission-driven leadership, best practices, workforce strategies, innovative ideas, and important individual contributions within the realm of diversity and inclusion.
Since 1999, Profiles in Diversity Journal has recognized the individuals and teams within organizations who create, develop, and promote strategies and initiatives that support diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace and the larger community.