Black Women Making History: 10 Black Women Working to Make Companies More Inclusive

Black Women Making History: 10 Black Women Working to Make Companies More Inclusive

It's Black History Month (and Women's History Month is quickly approaching), so I wanted to highlight some Black women who are making history in the work they are doing each and every day. Today I'm featuring 10 Black women who are working hard within organizations to make sure that either their companies and cultures or their supplier bases are more inclusive. And, as you will see, these women are role models not only inside of their organizations, but outside of their organizations as well.

 

Lori George Billingsley

Lori George Billingsley: Lori is the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for The Coca-Cola Company, a role she was appointed to in October 2018 after leading Community and Stakeholder Relations for the company. A graduate of Howard University, Lori, like many Black women, leads far beyond the four walls of her office building. Lori is a phenomenal leader in three C's — in her company, church (she's an ordained minister) and community.

 

 

Cynthia Bowman

Cynthia Bowman: Cynthia is the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Bank of America. An alum of Spelman College, Georgia Tech University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Cynthia has had an incredible career that includes roles as Partner at Accenture, Leadership Development executive at Bank of America and now CDIO. Cynthia brings her brilliant mind and diverse experiences into her role, where she serves as the chief strategist for diversity and inclusion globally and leads programs, initiatives and policies that actively support the bank’s diverse and inclusive workplace – in thought, style, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, culture and experience. Cynthia has also received numerous prestigious awards over the years and is a proud wife and mother of four.

Lesley Slaton Brown

Lesley Slaton Brown: Lesley is the Chief Diversity Officer at HP, Inc. Working in D&I in the tech industry, which is historically challenged by low numbers of women and people of color at the top, her job is constantly approaching headwinds. But Lesley understands that the only way to truly be successful with diversity, equity and inclusion is to start at the top. Last year in Authority Magazine she shared, “We started by creating one of the most diverse boards in the US tech industry…The commitment and actions we have at the senior most levels or our company is unquestionable and cascades down through our business while our employees are empowered to stand up and speak up.” Keep up the great work, Lesley!

 

Dr. Karmetria Dunham Burton

Dr. Karmetria Dunham Burton: Not only is Karmetria the Director of Global Supplier Diversity & Sustainability for Delta Air Lines, she is also the Founder and CEO of the Paint Your Lips Red movement. This movement inspires women to be fierce, fearless and feminine, two lips at a time and was inspired by her grandmother. In her role at Delta, Karmetria is responsible for developing and executing a global Supplier Diversity program while enhancing the processes to assist Delta Air Lines achieve its vision of being an industry leader of making minority and women owned businesses. Thank you, Karmetria, for being a great role model both inside and outside of the office!

Traci Dunn

Traci Dunn: Traci is the Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity and Culture at McKesson. She has spent the majority of her career deepening her expertise and increasing her impact as a human resources strategist and diversity and inclusion practitioner in companies including Accenture, Huntington National Bank and Four Seasons Hotels. Traci understands that diversity and inclusion is more about culture than it is about numbers and practices that philosophy every day.

 

 

Michelle Gadsden-Williams

Michelle Gadsden-Williams: Michelle is the Managing Director, Inclusion & Diversity Lead – North America for Accenture and the author of the best-selling book, CLIMB. Given her background and experience, it is not a stretch to say that Michelle is a diversity and inclusion expert. During her incredible career Michelle has worked and lived in three countries abroad including Switzerland (where she lived for close to 10 years). Michelle and her amazing team have worked tirelessly to ensure Accenture's environment is inclusive for all (and if you haven't seen their “Inclusion Starts with I” video from 2017, it's worth a look). Diagnosed with Lupus in 2005, Michelle has become a strong advocate for Lupus research, and also serves on the board of the Lupus Research Alliance. Through her book, CLIMB, Michelle is inspiring women of color to be courageous in their careers and make wise choices — personally and professionally — as they climb.

Liliahn Majeed

Liliahn Majeed: Liliahn is the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for the National Basketball Association (NBA). A graduate of Howard University and the Kellogg School of Management, Liliahn's career spans sales, marketing and operations. Liliahn moved into her current role a year and a half ago after spending over 10 years at the NBA in the league’s Team Marketing & Business Operations group. In her role, she leads inclusion efforts for the league's offices and teams, which includes identifying minority and women-owned businesses for programs and events, providing coaching programs for women and people of color, and partnering with groups and leadership across the organization. In just a short period of time, Liliahn has made a significant impact in her role, including leading their first-ever Women's Leadership Forum which was a powerful event attended by more than 400 women at the NBA. Liliahn is rooted in the understanding that inclusion is really about a human desire for belonging. And, it's this philosophy that continues to drive her work in diversity, equity and inclusion at the NBA.

Tamika Curry Smith

Tamika Curry Smith: Tamika is the Vice President of Global Diversity & Inclusion at Nike. Tamika joined Nike after spending time at Mercedes-Benz USA, Target and Deloitte as well as her own practice. A fitness enthusiast, Tamika is combining her passion for exercise and her passion for diversity and inclusion at Nike, where she joined in October 2018. Coming into this position at this moment in time is such a great opportunity and Tamika is sure to work her magic to make Nike a leader in this space.

 

 

Nzinga Shaw

Nzinga Shaw: Nzinga Shaw is the SVP, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena. Nzinga is not only the first CDIO for the Atlanta Hawks, she's the first CDIO for an NBA team, and has already made a significant impact since joining the team's staff in 2014. The team is now an active participant in the Atlanta Pride parade and is aligning itself to the local LGBT and Hispanic communities as it continues to deepen engagement in those areas. In a recent interview with Earth Equity Advisors she shared her team's approach to D&I, “We’ve now championed the role of diversity and inclusion at all levels of the organization, and not only racial integration but also thinking about sexual orientation, thinking about sensory inclusion, thinking about ALL the racial demographics that we serve here in Atlanta. ”

Terrez Thompson

Terrez Thompson: Terrez Thompson leads Supplier Diversity for the Coca-Cola Company. Over her 30+ years with the company, she has continued to climb with roles of increasing responsibility and impact including controller of The Coca-Cola Trading Company and company liaison in national and international communication arenas such as the World Economic Forum, the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum and the International Chamber of Commerce. Terrez has been instrumental in leading Coca-Cola's 5by20 program where they are looking to expand economic opportunity for 5 million women owned businesses by 2020. A member of Delta Sigma Theta and alum of Morgan State University, Terrez continues to be a tireless advocate for women and minority-owned businesses.