Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Conference

09:05 AM - 09:20 AM ET

Networking Meet & Greet

Participants come together for networking and exchanges, sharing recent challenges, insights, and achievements.

09:20 AM - 10:00 AM ET

Today's DEI: Moving Forward in an Era of Social and Political Unrest

From a pandemic, lockdowns, social isolation measures, and the rising cost of living to acts of mass violence and hate that threaten innocents within our communities, all of which have contributed to a resulting mental health crisis, the world has rapidly shifted since this gathering most recently convened in person. These issues impact both our lives and our work, leading to changes to the goals and priorities previously established in the crucial work of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Our panelists discuss the headwinds currently impeding their efforts, offer insights into what can be done to address toxicity in the workplace resulting from events taking place outside of the work context but which impact it nonetheless, and shed light into what strategies can be deployed to combat these challenges.

Lisa Moore, CDO, Head of Justice, Equity, Diversity, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, The

Elizabeth Morrison, Chief Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Officer, Levi Strauss & Co.

David L. Gonzales, Conference Chair and Head of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Institute, The Conference Board

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM ET

Creating REAL Workplace Culture Change Through Equitable and Inclusive Leadership

Research shows that diverse teams drive better business performance and that organizations with greater diversity become more resilient and innovative. Inclusion is required in order for diverse groups to thrive. Yet there's little point in considering how to recruit a more diverse workforce or how to ensure talented individuals from different backgrounds are fully included if your organization has not yet considered what different people need to be successful. And to do that, you need to understand equity.

In this session, the Center for Creative Leadership's Abigail Dunne-Moses and Charisse Kosova of McDonald's discuss how organizations can create meaningful workplace culture change when leaders at all levels shift mindsets, behaviors, and practices toward more equitable and inclusive leadership.

Abigail Dunne-Moses, Sr. Faculty, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion,, Center for Creative Leadership

Charisse Kosova, Director DEI Learning & Development, McDonald's Corporation

10:45 AM - 11:15 AM ET

Metrics: Making Sure You Are Measuring Real Change

Change is not possible without measurement, and that includes your DEI efforts. Once you have developed a strategy, measuring your progress and results is key. And determining exactly what data to measure will ensure that your organization is on track to take meaningful action on its goals over the long term

Stela Lupushor, Founder, Reframe.Work Inc.

Eric Darrisaw, Board Director, ICCR (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility)

10:45 AM - 11:15 AM ET

Artificial Intelligence: Awareness and Prevention of Bias in Technology

As business transitions into a new age of artificial intelligence and machine learning for human capital practices, companies are experiencing many of its benefits. But they must also take stock of potential risks. If these new tools are unintentionally designed in ways that reflect the same implicit biases that currently exist in society and in your talent data, they will only continue to perpetuate them.

In this session, hear from HR leaders and experts to learn how to identify and mitigate these risks through education, awareness, technology solutions, and governance to implement intelligent technologies that have the potential to minimize rather than perpetuate bias.

Jennifer Burnett, Ph.D., Principal Researcher, The Conference Board

Nancy Lanham, Sr. Director, Talent Planning & Performance, Vizient, Inc.

11:20 AM - 11:50 AM ET

Board Diversity: How the Regulatory Landscape Impacts Board Efforts

In a sign of the immediate influence of the shifting social sands, lawsuits challenging Nasdaq’s board diversity policy threaten its continuation. Panelists discuss the potential implications this will have on board diversity, what that augurs for boards going forward, and what that may mean for ongoing and future diversity and inclusion efforts.

Ilana Wolfe, Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs & Co.

Heather L. Coleman, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

11:20 AM - 11:50 AM ET

How to Interrupt Bias in Hiring, Performance Evaluations, and Access to Opportunity

Described as having "something approaching rock star status" in her field by The New York Times Magazine, UC Hastings' Joan Williams will discuss a new, data-driven approach to diversity: "bias interrupters." Bias interrupters can help companies make concrete progress on their diversity goals in a single year. Williams describes how organizations can effectively interrupt bias in hiring, performance evaluations, and access to career-enhancing work opportunities - with tips that companies can implement immediately.

Joan Williams, Sullivan Professor of Law and Director, Center for WorkLife Law, University of California, Hastings

11:55 AM - 12:25 PM ET

Pay Equity: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Pay equity has become a top priority for businesses concerned with how systemic inequality and racism inhibits the personal and professional growth of their employees, and yet the numbers indicate that there is much work that is left to be done. This session provides perspective into how a shareholder proposal committed to pay equity could impact your organization, what strategies you can adopt to set up your organization and your workers for success, and how efforts implemented today can result in meaningful progress on pay equity in the years to come.

Tammy Browning, President, KellyOCG, Kelly Services, Inc.

Bala Sathyanarayanan, Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer, Greif, Inc.

Stela Lupushor, Founder, Reframe.Work Inc.

11:55 AM - 12:25 PM ET

The Foundations of DEI Success

Whether your organization is just starting its DEI journey or you’ve been tasked with expanding a burgeoning division, this session will provides insight into the foundational steps needed to develop a successful DEI program.

Eric Peguero, Chief Diversity Officer, Vroom

Jamal Lopez, J.D., Vice President, Inclusion & Diversity, Burlington Stores, Inc.

Maria Osorio, Chief Diversity Officer, NYC Mayor’s Office of Contract Services

12:25 PM - 01:25 PM ET

Lunch with Roundtables Hosted by the Center for Creative Leadership

Roundtable topics include:

Revealing Relevant Opportunities for DEI at Work, , facilitated by Sarah Nabors, Vice President of Brand Strategy and Gabe Clevenger, Strategic Business Partner

Elevating Equity Over Diversity & Inclusion, facilitated by Lisa Bradley, Leadership Solutions Partner and Abigail Dunne-Moses, Senior Faculty, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Activating Diversity When Leading Teams, facilitated by Shelly Majoy, Strategic Business Partner

Leading Inclusively Across Boundaries, facilitated by Stephanie Haynes, Strategic Business Partner

01:25 PM - 01:40 PM ET

CEO Spotlight: FedEx Custom Critical's Ramona Hood

In January 2020, Ramona Hood was appointed the first Black female to lead a FedEx operating company. Throughout the three years in which she has served at the head of FedEx Custom Critical, Hood has led her organization through a global pandemic, social unrest, the "Great Resignation," the corporate awakening on DEI in the workplace, and more.

Hear from Hood as she shares how she's been intentional in her more than 30-year career with FedEx, lessons learned leading from the front in 2020 and beyond, and managing through pandemic recovery and the after effects of social unrest.

Ramona Hood, President and CEO, FedEx Custom Critical

David L. Gonzales, Conference Chair and Head of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Institute, The Conference Board

01:40 PM - 02:10 PM ET

DEI: No Excuses for Inaction

As DEI continually becomes a priority topic of conversation, many organizations find themselves wondering where to get started and how to find the necessary resources and time, particularly when juggling a myriad of other decisions involved in building a sustainable and profitable company. Tailored Brands faced these questions and more.

With no Chief Diversity Officer, no dedicated resources to address DEI challenges, and so much other work to be done in restructuring and stabilizing the organization as it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and recovered from the impacts of COVID-19, Tailored Brands had to make some difficult decisions regarding time, resources, and energy invested into its DEI efforts. In conversation with Tailored Brands’ DE&I Council Chair Joe Bahena, FTI Consulting’s Darius Johnson explores the highs and lows of the company’s DEI journey, how motivated individuals can overcome institutional barriers, and what the future holds for the company.

Joe Bahena, Senior Vice President, Joseph Abboud Manufacturing Corp. (a Tailored Brands Company)

Darius Johnson, Managing Director, People & Transformation, FTI Consulting

02:10 PM - 02:40 PM ET

Managing DEI Throughout the Talent Cycle

Hiring diverse talent is the first step many organizations take to increase diversity, but plotting out a long-term plan to manage their career paths and to ensure retention is just as essential to creating a meaningfully inclusive workforce. Our panelists share strategies for laying the groundwork a diverse pipeline within all ranks of the organization, including the very top.

Valerie Capers Workman, Chief Legal Officer, Handshake

Tiffany Collins, Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Avery Dennison

Demetrius Thornton, Chief Diversity Officer and Talent Management, Madison Square Garden Company

02:40 PM - 03:10 PM ET

Culture Clash: Defusing Conflict

The fact of the matter is that we would not need to prioritize DEI if we lived and worked in a world free of interpersonal conflict. Managing these when they happen is a critical component of any professional working in the DEI function, and developing strategies to move parties of different backgrounds and perspectives from clashing to collaborating represents one of the DEI professional’s most important responsibilities. Our speakers share methods for handling potentially explosive situations that you can immediately apply at your organization.

Nichelle Grant, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Siemens Corporation

Jessica Watson, Manager, Talent Inclusion, Publicis Groupe

Lacee Jacobs, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, BTS

03:25 PM - 03:55 PM ET

Shining a Light on Antisemitism in the Workplace

Since 2015, incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and assault have nearly tripled. As DEI professionals, we know that what happens outside of the workplace is usually correlated with what employees bring with them into the workplace. Employees and their leaders face conversations in which they often feel ill-prepared and sometimes even misinformed at a time when some of these incidents have begun to make national headlines.

Our panelists discuss how antisemitism has evolved and how it manifests itself today both inside and outside of the workplace, share insights into some effective real-world examples, and provide resources and strategies that can be deployed immediately to better equip you and your organization to shine a light on antisemitism.

Adam Neufeld, Chief Impact Officer, Anti-Defamation League

Aaron Mitchell, Advisor, Shine A Light

Julie Li, Chief People Officer, Stealth Startup (Live Events Tech),

03:55 PM - 04:25 PM ET

DEI in the New Normal of Remote and Hybrid Work

Creating inclusivity and belonging is challenging enough in person when your team performs their jobs each day under the same roof. Move your workplace online, and an a new set of both challenges and opportunities will naturally arise. In the new normal of hybrid work, organizations need new approaches to ensure that their goals are being met. Gain insight into best practices for maintaining organizational culture that includes everyone, no matter where they are located.

Rob Kaminski, Executive Director, Inclusion, Diversity, Estee Lauder Companies Inc., The

Scott Nycum, Vice President, Inclusion, Diversity & Giving, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)

Dionn Schaffner, Chief Diversity Officer, Aurea Software

04:25 PM - 04:55 PM ET

LGBTQ+ in America

Paramount's Audience Impact & Intelligence team's latest study explores what "queerness" means in pop culture, reveals the distinct nuances across the identity spectrum, and identifies key strategies on ways brands, companies, and allies alike can create a world of empathy and understanding with the LGBTQ+ community.

Angel Bellon, Senior Director, Insights & Cultural Intelligence, Paramount

Alexander Cammy, Manager, Insights & Cultural Intelligence, Paramount

04:55 PM - 05:25 PM ET

Sustainability: The Organization's Responsibility as a Global Citizen

Today's DEI practitioner understands their role transcends the internal organization and shapes the role of the organization as a global citizen. It's imperative that DEI is integrated into the broader sustainability practices of the company, leading to greater equity across all communities.

Our panelists discuss the opportunities and challenges they face when incorporating sustainability into their agendas.

Michael Thorne-Begland, VP Talent & Culture, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Altria Group, Inc.

Ilina Das Ewen, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, Samet Corporation

Anne-Claire Berg, Chief People and Impact Officer, Gen II Fund Services