Career Choice: Perpetuating Income and Social Inequality?

By Amanda J Felkey and Dimitra Papadovasilak

We tend to look at the C-suite, with its lack of racial representation, and conclude that racism comes from bias at the top, trickling down the ranks from the white men who make decisions.

Cross-Cultural Communication: Beyond Words

By Dr. Thomas J. Bussen

The 19th century Swiss philosopher Ferdinand de Saussure wrote, “In the lives of individuals and of societies, language is a factor of greater importance than any other.ⁱⁱ ”

To Women Everywhere: We Must Advocate for Ourselves
[PDJ: Part 4 in a Series]

By Bhavana Bartholf, Chief Digital & Transformation Officer for Microsoft Commercial Solution Areas (Global)

Thank you for joining me on this journey, where I have been sharing my Advocating for Yourself series in Profiles in Diversity Journal.

Embodying Pride Across All Lines

By Traci Wade, Vice President, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Oracle

June is LGBTQ+ Pride month, and as we kick off the celebration, it’s worth reflecting on the momentous progress made by the gay liberation movement…

Paying it Forward with Gratitude

By Esther H. Lim

A phone call changed my life.

How to Create a Data-Led, Measurable Diversity and Inclusion Plan

By Eleanor Goichman Brett, consultant and trainer at global diversity and inclusion training consultancy PDT Global, part of Affirmity

All organizations now recognize that diversity and inclusion (D&I) are key to their success as a business.

PDJ - 2022 Award Winners

2022 Black Leadership Award Winners

• Advanced Micro Devices - Pierre Maillard - SMTS Silicon Design Engineer
• Advanced Micro Devices - Mark Wadlington - Senior Vice President and General Manager, Core Markets Group, AECG
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP - Terence Rozier-Byrd - Partner
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP - Tiffanye Threadcraft - Counsel
• Axinn - Leslie Overton - Partner and Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
• Corteva Agriscience - Cheryl Curbeam - Vice President, Chief Compliance and Chief Risk Officer Ethics & Compliance
• Corteva Agriscience - Karis T. Gutter - Vice President, Government & Industry Affairs North America
• Coston Consulting LLC - Michael Coston - Chief Executive Officer
• Crimson Wealth Strategies LLC - Chauvon McFadden - Principal
• Davis Wright Tremaine LLP - Christopher Ford - Partner
• DiCello Levitt - Diandra “Fu” Debrosse Zimmermann - Partner-in-Charge, Birmingham, AL; Co-Partner-in-Charge, Washington, DC
• Enact Mortgage Insurance - Dina Fleurima - Senior Manager–Lender Services
• FordHarrison LLP - Karl Analo - Senior Associate
• Freddie Mac - Tinesha Richardson - Manager, Equitable Housing
• Givelify - Wale Mafolasire - Founder & CEO
• HARMAN International - Fred Owens - Vice President & Head of Intellectual Property
• Heartbeat - Christopher Cocking - Vice President, Solutions Architect
• Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP - Nefertiti J. Alexander - Partner
• Latham & Watkins - Sarah Fortt - Partner
• Latham & Watkins - David Ziyambi - Partner
• Levain Bakery - Kutina Ruhumbika - Chief People Officer
• LexShares - Cayse Llorens - Chief Executive Officer
• Mayer Brown LLP - Jeremiah A. DeBerry - Partner and Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Moss Adams - Shaunte' Kinch - Consulting Director
• Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP - Kraig B. Long - Partner
• Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP - Alicia Ritchie - Partner
• New American Funding - Kenol Cadet - Sales Manager
• New American Funding - Albert Nunnally - Senior Loan Consultant; Branch Manager
• New American Funding - Ken Smith - Sales Manager
• New American Funding - Micheline St. Fleur - Senior Loan Consultant
• New American Funding - Wonida Welch - Branch Manager
• New York Life - Martin King - Managing Director, NYL Investors LLC
• NorthEast Electrical - Deshawn Fentress - Director Project Management–Sales
• Norton Rose Fulbright - Vincent Dunn - Co-Partner-in-Charge, New York
• Novavax, Inc. - Dr. Talitha Hampton - Senior Director
• Partnership for Inclusion Leadership - Youlanda Gibbons - CEO
• Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler - H. Gregory Baker - Partner
• Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler - Peter C. Harvey - Partner
• Point32Health - Cain Hayes - President & CEO
• Revolt - Detavio Samuels - Chief Executive Officer
• RWJBarnabas Health - Suzette Robinson, MHA - Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion
• Saxena White - Omar Davis - Special Counsel
• Sonepar USA - Ron Harper - Senior Vice President of Supply Chain
• Strativia - Kenneth Kelly - President & CEO
• Sullivan & Cromwell - Kamil Shields - Partner
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso - Charmaine A. Martin, MD - Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Foster School of Medicine
• Union Pacific Railroad - Kenyatta (Kenny) Rocker - Executive Vice President–Marketing & Sales
• Webster Bank - John Guy - EVP and Head of Business Banking
• WilmerHale - Peggy Otum - Chair–Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Practice; Partner
• WilmerHale - Monya Bunch - Director, Diversity Equity & Inclusion
• Wind River - Kevin Dallas - President & Chief Executive Officer
• Withum - Adrienne Smith, PMP, ITIL - Assistant vCIO; Project Manager
• Withum - Jasmina Woodson, CPA/ABV/CFF - Manager–Forensic Valuation Services

2022 Women Worth Watching^® in Leadership Award Winners

• AARP - Shani W. Hosten - Vice President, Audience Strategy–Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Activision Blizzard - Johanna Faries - GM, Call of Duty
• Advanced Micro Devices - Caixia Jiang - VP–Software Development
• Advanced Micro Devices - Deborah Nations - Sr. Director, Global Communications
• Advanced Micro Devices - Jennifer Wong - CVP, Silicon Integration
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - Melissa Schwartz - Partner
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - Emma Simmonds - Partner
• Ankura - Taffi Schurz Jaso - Managing Director–Data and Technology
• Arrowhead Consulting - Kuma Roberts - Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
• Axinn - Lisl J. Dunlop - Partner
• Bayer US - Beth Roden - SVP and Head of Communications, Bayer US
• BDO USA, LLP - Catherine Moy - Chief People Officer
• Capital Electric - Charmienne Ganao - Vice President of Finance
• Co/LAB Lending - Megan Marsh - CEO & Co-Owner
• Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna LLP - Cindy Jordano - Partner
• Cooper Electric - Jill Kaplan - Vice President of Operations
• Delta Dental of California and Affiliates - Sarah Chavarria - President
• DentaQuest - Kamila Chytil - Chief Operating Officer
• DentaQuest - Roxanne E. Martinez - EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer
• EHE Health - Joy Altimare - Chief Revenue Officer
• Enchanted Rock Electric, LLC - Thais Grossi - Chief Operating Officer
• Frantz Ward LLP - Angela Lydon - Partner, Litigation Practice Group Vice-Chair
• Freeborn & Peters LLP - Christine E. Hollis - Director of Attorney Recruiting, Development and Diversity
• Galderma - Silvina Nordenstohl - Head of Galderma U.S.
• GEI Consultants, Inc. - Brooke Bennett - Senior Geologist
• GEI Consultants, Inc. - Katie Unke Ehrenberg - Senior Practice Leader
• Gibbons P.C. - June M. Inderwies - Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer
• Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes LLP - Skye Tian Gao - Associate
• Google - Sylvia Chen - Senior Patent Counsel
• Greenberg Traurig, LLP - Shari L. Heyen - Managing Shareholder, Houston; Global Co-Chair of Restructuring & Bankruptcy Practice
• Greenberg Traurig, LLP - Diane Ibrahim - Managing Shareholder, Delaware
• Herrick, Feinstein LLP - Shivani Poddar - Partner
• Holwell, Shuster & Goldberg LLP - Alison Miller - Associate
• Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP - Meaghan Gragg - Partner
• Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP - Shemin V. Proctor - Partner
• Idaho National Laboratory - Ashley E. Finan - Director, National Reactor Innovation Center
• Idaho National Laboratory - Krista Harris - Manager
• Idaho National Laboratory - Tiffany Leavitt - Materials and Fuels Complex Business Division Director
• Idaho National Laboratory - Michelle Wiest - Director, Acquisition & Contracts Management
• Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP - Melissa A. Barahona - Partner
• Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP - Heather S. Kim - Partner
• Keller Postman LLC - Zina Bash - Partner
• Korn Ferry - Tanya van Biesen - Managing Partner, Board & CEO Succession Canada
• Kroll - Sharon Kaur Dhall - Chief Information Officer
• Kroll - Anne O’Dwyer - EMEA Management Committee Chair and Managing Director, Restructuring
• Kroll - Christina Pullo - Managing Director, Head of Kroll’s Restructuring Administration and Issuer Services practices
• Kroll - Jill Weise - Chief Impact Officer
• Latham & Watkins - Melissa Arbus Sherry - Partner, Supreme Court and Appellate Practice; Vice Chair, Associates Committee
• Latham & Watkins - Sharon Lau - Partner and Executive Committee Member
• LegalEase Solutions LLC - Patrice Asimakis - Director of Legal Services
• Lincoln Financial Group - Sharon Scanlon - Senior Vice President, Customer Experience, Producer Solutions and Retirement Plan Services Operations
• Marshall, Gerstein and Borun LLP - Lynn Janulis - Partner/Patent Attorney/DEI Chair
• Mayer Brown LLP - Nicole A. Saharsky - Co-head of Mayer Brown’s Supreme Court & Appellate Practice
• Microsoft Corporation - Bhavana Bartholf - Global Head of Digital and Sales Strategy, CSA
• Moss Adams - Kimberly Sokoloff - Assurance Services Senior Manager
• Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP - Colleen Pleasant Kline - Partner
• New American Funding - Patty Arvielo - Co-Founder & President
• New York Life - Catherine L. Council - Vice President & Head of the DE&I Center for Awareness & Advocacy
• Olivia DePiore - Olivia DePiore - International Model and Inclusion Advocate
• OPTrust - Jesusa Chow - Vice President, Member Experience
• Partnership for Inclusion Leadership - Youlanda Gibbons, PhD - Founder and CEO
• RBC Wealth Management–U.S. - Tammy Buchert - Chief Administrative Officer
• Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP (RJLF) - Christine E. Lehman - Managing Partner, Washington, D.C. Office
• Renasant Bank - Dr. Tracey Morant Adams - Executive VP & Chief Community Development & Corporate Social Responsibility Officer
• Saint-Gobain North America - La-Toya P. Hackney - Senior Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary
• Sandia National Laboratories - Robin Jones - Manager–Building Systems Engineering
• Sandia National Laboratories - Kimberly Pino - Senior Manager, Facilities Capital Planning and Acquisition
• Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP - Christine Dunn - Partner and Co-Chair of Criminal/Sexual Violence Practice Group
• Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP - Melinda Koster - Partner and Co-Chair of the Discrimination and Harassment Practice Group
• Seward & Kissel LLP - Dora Pulido - Counsel
• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory - May Ling Ng - Head, Engineering Department
• Sullivan & Cromwell LLP - Nicole Friedlander - Partner
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso - Dr. Andrea S. Tawney - Vice President
• The Conference Board - Amy Lui Abel, PhD - Vice President, Executive Programs
• Truth DEI Consulting - Nona Lee - Founder/CEO
• Ulmer & Berne LLP - Jennifer Lawry Adams - Partner; Co-Group Leader, Health Care
• Union Pacific Railroad - Grace Olsen - General Director–Locomotive Engineering & Quality
• Valley Bank - Tammy Garnes Mata - Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
• Venable LLP - Stephanie DeLong - Partner
• Viking Electric - Stacy Stanslaski - President
• Washington Capital Partners - Giselle Bonzi - President
• WilmerHale - Emily R. Whelan - Partner; Chair, Intellectual Property Department
• WilmerHale - April N. Williams - Partner
• WilsonHCG - Jennifer Koss - Vice President–Talent Operations, NAM
• Withum - Theresa Richardson, CPA - Partner and Chief Talent Officer

2022 Diversity Team Award Winners

• Ally Financial - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team - Reggie Willis
• Best Best & Krieger LLP - Best Best & Krieger Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee - Chief Talent Officer Danielle Sakai
• Milbank LLP - Milbank LLP Diversity Group - Mikeisha Anderson Jones, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
• Washington Capital Partners - Washington Capital Partners - Giselle Bonzi

2022 Native American/Indigenous Leadership Award Winners

• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - Allison C. Binney - Partner
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck - Sarah Murray - Shareholder

2022 Women Worth Watching^® in STEM Award Winners

• Ally Financial - Donna P Hart - CISO
• Ally Financial - Jovan Talbert - Sr. IT Director, Digital Engagement & Marketing
• Altimetrik - Carol May - Head of Agility Practice
• AT&T - Sarita Rao - President, Integrated & Partner Solutions
• Dechert LLP - Angelina Liang - Partner
• e.l.f. Beauty - Ekta Chopra - Chief Digital Officer
• Fish & Richardson, P.C. - Bailey K. Benedict - Principal
• Fish & Richardson, P.C. - Kelly Allenspach Del Dotto - Principal
• Globality - Neda Pitt - Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
• HARMAN - Mary Joseph - Vice President–Digital Leadership, Lifestyle Audio Division
• Latham & Watkins - Jekkie Kim - Partner
• Latham & Watkins - Amy E. Speros - Counsel
• Latham & Watkins - Susan Y. Tull - Counsel
• Lincoln Financial Group - Michelle DeCarlo - Divisional CIO, SVP, Technology Leader for Corporate Functions
• New York Life - Betty Smith - VP & CIO of Foundational Insurance Business
• Oracle - Alison J. Derbenwick Miller - Vice President, Oracle for Research
• Regor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Marjorie Zettler, PhD, MPH; - Executive Director of Clinical Science
• Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP - Khue Hoang - Co-Managing Partner, New York Office
• Sandia National Laboratories - Sondra Spence - Engineering Program Project Lead
• Teltech - Giulia Porter - Vice President of Marketing
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso - Munmun Chattopadhyay, PhD - Assistant Professor
• Urenco USA - Karen Fili - President and CEO
• West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. - Liat Shochat - Senior Director of Research & Development, SmartDose 10 Platform
• WilmerHale - Sarah Tegan Hogan - Partner
• WilmerHale - Mindy Sooter - Partner
• Withum - Zsia Rosmarin, CPA - Partner, Head of Tax, Technology and Emerging Growth Services

2022 Asian Leaders Worth Watching^™ Award Winners

• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - Shiva Aminian - Partner
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - Z.W. Julius Chen - Partner
• Bazaarvoice - Zarina Lam Stanford - CMO
• Berea College - Nicholas D. Hartlep, PhD - Robert Charles Billings Endowed Chair in Education & Education Studies Department Chair
• Blizzard Entertainment - Walter Kong - General Manager, Overwatch
• Cornerstone Research - Rahul Guha - Chief Executive Officer
• Dechert LLP - Nitya Kumar Goyal - Partner
• DentaQuest - Hyon Chu Leon - Director, Data Analytics & Underwriting
• Freddie Mac - Kathy Sheng - VP, Assistant General Auditor
• Greenberg Traurig, LLP - Magan Pritam Ray - Shareholder and Co-Chair of the Global Employee Benefits & Compensation Practice
• HARMAN - Jennifer Liang - Director, Global Marketing
• Latham & Watkins LLP - Kuan Huang - Partner
• Moss Adams LLP - Jennie Ly - Innovation & Strategy Senior Manager
• New American Funding - Karen Chiu - Builder Business Development Manager
• New York Life - Helen Wei - Vice President, CFO of Wealth Management Solutions
• Norton Rose Fulbright - Scarlet McNellie - Norton Rose Fulbright’s U.S. Head of Corporate, M&A, and Securities
• Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP - Qiaojing Ella Zheng - Co-Managing Partner–San Francisco, Chair of Asian American Litigation and Finance Practice
• Sestina Bio, LLC - Bruce Wu, PhD - Chief Legal Officer
• TransUnion - Ann H. Chen - Senior Director and Assistant General Counsel
• Veo - Candice Xie - Co-founder and CEO
• WilmerHale - Brenda Lee - Partner
• Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP - Parada K. Ornelas - Partner
• Withum - Peter Kim - Principal, Practice Leader for Financial Crimes

2022 Diversity Leader Award Winners

• Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), York Region & South Simcoe - Rebecca Shields - CEO
• Credera - Nickoria Johnson - Chief Diversity Officer & Partner
• Davis Wright Tremaine LLP - Yusuf Z. Zakir - Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
• Dechert LLP - Satra Sampson-Arokium - Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
• Greenberg Traurig, LLP - Nikki Lewis Simon - Litigation Shareholder and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
• JAMS - Mark Smalls - Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and Chair of the JAMS Diversity Committee
• Kelley Kronenberg - Harsh Arora - Partner; Co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee
• Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP - Katerina Taylor - Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• New American Funding - Patty Arvielo - Co-Founder & President
• Pitney Bowes - Sheryl Battles - Vice President–Global Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement

2022 Latino Leaders Worth Watching^™ Award Winners

• Advanced Micro Devices - Daniel Chavez - Senior Director, Supply Chain
• Advanced Micro Devices - Sofia McDaniel - Global Consumer Marketing Director
• Advanced Micro Devices - Rhonda Medlin - Senior Manager, Information Technology
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - Jose Borjon - Senior Policy Advisor
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - Marissa Román Griffith - Partner
• American Battery Technology Company - Andrés Meza - Chief Operations Officer
• Best Best & Krieger LLP - Alisha M. Winterswyk - Partner
• Co/LAB Lending - Andres J. Munar - Broker/Owner
• Dechert LLP - Mauricio A. España - Partner
• Dickinson Wright PLLC - Cindy A. Villanueva - Of Counsel
• Entergy New Orleans - Deanna Rodriguez - President & CEO
• Freddie Mac - Mario Garcia - Director–Loan Servicing; Investor Reporting; Single-family Operations
• Freddie Mac - Luis Villavicencio - Director, Multifamily Finance
• Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes LLP - Olga Lucia Fuentes - Founding Partner, Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes LLP
• HARMAN - Rodrigo Rihl Kniest - South America Senior Vice President, HARMAN Brazil
• HARMAN - Veronica Morales - Senior Director of Operations & Site Leader for Juarez and El Paso, Texas, Operations
• Jones Walker LLP - Monique Garcia - Partner
• Latham & Watkins - Roderick O. Branch - Deputy Office Managing Partner of firm’s Chicago office
• Latham & Watkins - Elizabeth Deeley - Partner and Global Vice Chair of the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice
• Lincoln Financial Group - Vivian Y. Adams - Assistant Vice President, Underwriting Training & Audit
• Moss Adams LLP - Pedro A. Gonzalez - Assurance Partner, Dallas Office Assurance Leader–Central Region Energy Industry Group Leader
• National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Community Development Fund, Inc. - Marisa Calderon - Executive Director, CDFI; Chief of Community Finance & Mobility, NCRC
• New American Funding - Patty Arvielo - Co-Founder and President
• New York Life - Victor Verastegui - Vice President–NYL Direct Head of Insurance Operations
• Sanford Heisler Sharp - Felicia Gilbert - Managing Partner, San Francisco Office
• Study.com - Adrian Ridner - CEO and Co-Founder
• Ulmer & Berne LLP - Dolores (Lola) Garcia - Partner; Vice Group Leader, Business Litigation
• Venable LLP - Belinda Martinez Vega - Partner; Co-Chair of Venable’s West Coast Litigation Group
• Washington Capital Partners - Daniel Huertas - CEO
• Withum - Christina J. Barea - Business Development Executive
• Zynga Inc. - Claudia Sanchez Wilson - Vice President, Legal