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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 28, 2021 21

Directors of DEI are a new breed. They hail from the world of human resources, but many have been recruited from other disciplines. The importance of these 39 specialists grew last year following the growing stature of the Black Lives Matter movement, the murder of George Floyd and the recognition of systemic racism. A number of them report directly to their company’s president or CEO. Many DEI managers opened channels to hear the grievances of Black and Latino employees. They launched speaker series and expanded resource groups. They added inclusion initia-

tives or established more concrete goals in recruiting and advancing minority staff along with metrics to measure progress. In some cases, job descriptions were rewritten to mitigate bias, and interview processes were reviewed. Some managers launched training for senior management to spotlight unconscious bias. The next years will show whether Chicago companies are willing and able to reform long-established practices that have hindered diversity and inclusion. By Judith Crown and Lisa Bertagnoli

CRYSTAL ANDREWS BANKS Director, diversity and inclusion Ulta Beauty

At the beauty products retailer based in Bolingbrook, Crystal Andrews Banks launched diversity and inclusion initiatives, including the company’s first Diversity Week and Race Matters Series, a mandatory leadership training program. Following the murder of George Floyd, Andrews Banks and her team provided leaders with resources to engage with employees and hear their concerns. Efforts led to the recruiting of actor Tracee Ellis Ross as an adviser. Andrews Banks joined Ulta in 2019 from Johnson Controls, where she was global manager of diversity and inclusion. Since 2015, she’s been an ambassador at the One Young World Summit, which convenes global talent to share DEI experiences. Andrews Banks is chair of the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council and is on the board of Girls in the Game.

JOAN ARCHIE Executive director, construction compliance UChicago Medicine

Joan Archie runs a program at UChicago Medicine that provides a pathway for certified minority- and women-owned firms to participate in medical center construction and renovation projects. While at the Chicago Urban League, she developed the Construction Compliance Initiative for UChicago Medicine to benefit minority- and women-owned construction and construction-related firms. The program opened opportunities for minority firms, expanded their technical capacity and better positioned them to bid on and win other projects. Archie led the diversity effort on the construction of the Center for Care & Discovery, which was completed in 2013 and was the largest construction project in the history of the university and medical center. Before joining UChicago Medicine in 2007, Archie was director of the economic development department at the Urban League.

EKPEDEME “PAMAY” M. BASSEY Chief learning and diversity officer Kraft Heinz

Ekpedeme “Pamay” M. Bassey implements diversity and inclusion strategies at Kraft Heinz. She launched the WE Network, a leadership accelerator for women at the associate director level. Bassey also started a speaker series for all employees that features experts from diverse backgrounds. She’s a charter member of the Global Inclusion Council and through that group garnered support for the company to join the Human Rights Campaign’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act. Following the murder of George Floyd, Bassey was a voice for Black employees before board members and top leadership. Bassey joined the food giant in 2018 from BlackRock, where she was global head of learning and professional development. She’s the author of My 52 Weeks of Worship, describing her visits to a variety of sacred spaces.

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METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from nomination materials submitted. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only executives for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after an editorial review. The honorees demonstrated that they made an impact in advancing DEI at their companies and in the workplace.

NATALIE BODUS

PAMYLA BROWN

Senior director, inclusion and diversity and employer brand Zebra Technologies

Community and citizenship director Turner Construction

In the past 18 months, Natalie Bodus led the launch of employee networks to enable Lincolnshire-based Zebra to progress toward its goal of a more inclusive workplace. Bodus’ team established goals for managers with guidance on how all employees can further inclusion and diversity. The team also launched KPIs—key performance indicators—that are reviewed quarterly with senior leadership to ensure progress is measured. Other efforts include an executive-sponsored inclusion and diversity council and partnerships with outreach organizations to provide access to talent from diverse backgrounds. To remove barriers to entry and advancement, Bodus has worked to revise job descriptions and interview guides. She joined Zebra in 2017 from Medline Industries, where she was global HR manager. Earlier, she held HR positions at Baxalta and Baxter.

At Turner Construction, Pamyla Brown oversees DEI programs for Turner-Chicago projects. She leads on-the-ground efforts for the development and execution of economic-impact programs for the Obama Presidential Center, or OPC, and the O’Hare 21 Project. In addition, Brown oversees the OPC Resource Center, which, prior to COVID, hosted information sessions for individuals interested in a construction career and one-on-one meetings for interested vendors and contractors. Following the murder of George Floyd, Brown assisted senior leadership in hosting a series of calls to highlight the company’s stance against racism. Brown is responsible for planning at the Turner School of Construction Management, a series of free workshops for entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds interested in construction management. She is on the boards of Chicago Women in Trades and Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago.

22 June 28, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

DERRICK BRUMMELL

TANJIA COLEMAN

ERICKAJOY DANIELS

CARL DAVIS

MELISSA DONALDSON

Inclusion and diversity lead, U.S. Midwest Accenture

President Reimagine Organization Development

Chief DEI officer Advocate Aurora Health

Senior vice president, DEI and recruitment Mesirow

Senior vice president, chief diversity officer Wintrust Financial

Derrick Brummell manages the inclusion and diversity strategy for Accenture Midwest’s 11,000 employees. This includes driving progress toward Accenture’s goal of a gender-equal global workplace in 2025. Brummell leads a partnership with the Mom Project to address the impact of the pandemic on working women. The company established a goal of hiring 150 project members. He also introduced a learning series that covers topics such as stereotypes, privilege and microaggressions in the workplace. Brummell was a team lead in the company’s campaign to diversify referrals. He’s active across resource groups representing minority employees and is a mentor in the African American employee resource group. He joined Accenture in 2015 from PNC Mortgage, where he was vice president, HR business partner, mortgage originations.

Tanjia Colman heads her own consultancy specializing in DEI, executive coaching and leadership development. Following the murder of George Floyd, Coleman helped clients manage trauma among employees and change the way talent is recruited. She helped them form DEI committees and employee resource groups. Coleman holds a faculty position at the Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business and is a founding member of and faculty at the school’s DEI leadership institute certification program. In July, she joins the dean’s board of advisers. She is program development chair for the Academy of Management, a professional association for management and organization scholars with 20,000 members worldwide. Coleman has held HR management positions at YWCA Chicago, KinderCare Education, Microsoft and Starbucks.

Last year, Carl Davis played a key role as Mesirow enhanced its DEI commitment. He helped establish a DEI Council with representation across the company’s businesses. Following the George Floyd murder, Mesirow expanded inclusion-related initiatives, and Davis led in identifying processes to elevate people of color in leadership positions. He also led in improving the environment for candid conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing Black colleagues. Davis has more than 25 years of experience in technology and financial services recruitment. He joined Mesirow in 2016 from JPMorgan Chase, where he was a senior corporate recruiter. Davis has served in a pastoral capacity for nearly 32 years at a number of religious institutions. He is a mentor in the LINK Unlimited Scholars program.

Melissa Donaldson is the first chief diversity officer at Wintrust Financial in Rosemont and reports to the CEO. In the past 18 months, Donaldson hosted a two-day workshop for senior women at Wintrust. She co-facilitated a meeting of directors from across the Wintrust enterprise to discuss advancing racial equity. Additionally, she expanded diversity and inclusion business unit action plans, affirmative action operations and business resource groups. Following George Floyd’s

During the pandemic, Erickajoy Daniels directed educational resources toward African American and Latino communities. Her team at Advocate Aurora Health in Downers Grove supported 1,980 telehealth visits that required an interpreter. She led the health system’s community-based flu vaccination initiative in the ZIP codes with the greatest gaps in life expectancy. Following the murder of George Floyd, employees came together in a kneeling ceremony, and the system adjusted its policies. For example, it now requires mandatory unconscious bias training for all staff members. Daniels has been invited to provide leadership for national platforms. She co-designed and taught the Health Management Academy’s first Master of Health Care Administration DEI Course. Daniels joined predecessor Aurora Health Care in 2015 from Brady Corp. in Milwaukee, a manufacturer of safety products.

murder, Donaldson was recruited to the crisis communications team. Donaldson joined Wintrust Financial in 2016 from Walgreens, where she was director of diversity networks and communication. She is on the boards of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future and Chicago Sinfonietta.

2021 NOTABLE EXECUTIVES IN DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Benesch congratulates all of the 2021 Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We take particular pride in recognizing our partner, Margo Wolf O’Donnell. Margo is Co-Chair of Benesch’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and Co-Chair of Benesch’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.

www.beneschlaw.com

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 28, 2021 23

Opening opportunities for minority contractors Joan Archie has been a trailblazer in opening opportunities for minority contractors. A South Side native, she spent 24 years at the Chicago Urban League, where she became interested in economic development. Archie developed the Construction Compliance Initiative for UChicago Medicine to open more opportunities for minority- and women-owned contractors. She then went on to join UChicago Medicine after being recruited by Michelle Obama, then executive director for community affairs at University of Chicago Hospitals, and Valerie Jarrett, chair of the medical center’s board of trustees. CRAIN’S: What attracted you to the Urban League? ARCHIE: I simply fell in love with the mission and vison of the organization. Working to achieve equity for Black families and communities through social and economic empowerment resonated with me and my desire to work toward making a difference. I wanted to know, at the end of my career, that I worked toward changing lives and communities, as opposed to creating shareholder wealth. How did the Construction Compli-

ance Initiative come about? UChicago Medicine wanted a program that maximized opportunity for certified diverse firms to participate in the system’s new construction projects. At the time the initiative was developed, I was a consultant to UChicago Medicine through the Chicago Urban League. The medical center was committed to providing opportunities to diverse construction and construction-related firms. The UChicago Medicine president participated in our weekly diversity meetings and at each milestone achievement would say: “What more can we do?” Did you come across resistance to this approach? The support provided by the health system at the highest level was not mirrored in construction management or general contractors working at UChicago Medicine. There was expected resistance to identifying separate, distinct portions of work to subcontract to diverse firms. We wound up doing a great deal of work with construction-management firms and general contractors, helping them to see and comply with our vision for

providing economic benefit to diverse firms through their construction and renovation projects. How does it work? Do companies contact you directly or do they work through the general contractors?

to minority and female construction workers. More information is available in the health system’s community benefit report: Community. UChicagoMedicine.org/2020 What are obstacles for further progress?

There are many: lack of access to Certified diverse firms are either capital, banking and bonding relasolicited to participate in the compettionships, limited access to critical itive bid process by UChicago Medinformation and business networks, icine or through the awarded construction management firm or general and a lack of opportunity. It’s the legacy of systemic bias that creates contractor. There are minority- and an unlevel playing field. It takes a women-owned business enterprises lot hard work for an organization to utilization goals on every construction and renovation project, and there actualize its desire to have diversity in are processes in place to support attaining those IT’S THE LEGACY OF SYSTEMIC BIAS THAT goals. Efforts are made to utilize certified firms CREATES AN UNLEVEL PLAYING FIELD. as prime contractors whenever possible. the construction firms used to comCan you share metrics on the value of plete its projects. Unless and until a work completed by minority contraccompany has a real commitment to tors? achieving and maintaining diversity, it will be a hard problem to rectify. In fiscal 2020, UChicago Medicine Thankfully I’ve seen firsthand what spent $20.8 million with certified happens when employers commit to minority- and women-owned conthis work, and I’m proud to be a part struction and construction-related of that continued effort at UChicago firms, through contracts awarded and Medicine. paid, with $4.3 million in wages going

OUR TEAM PROUDLY INCLUDES CHICAGO’S VERY BEST We know our best asset is our people. And, we wouldn’t be where we are today without them. We’re lucky to call some of Chicago’s very best part of the Wintrust family. Leaders like Melissa Donaldson, senior vice president and chief diversity officer, contribute to our success by offering expertise, guidance, and dedication in everything we do. Congratulations, Melissa, for your recognition as one of Crain’s 2021 Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Your contributions are invaluable in making us the company we are.

Congratulations on being named Crain’s 2021 Notable Executive in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion! MELISSA DONALDSON Senior Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer, Wintrust Banking products provided by Wintrust Financial Corp. banks.

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ALAN DURAND Senior director of people Kin + Carta

At the Kin + Carta’s U.S. operations, Alan Durand improved female representation by 28 percent and minority representation by 19 percent. Durand leads an HR department of 20 people covering 600 employees. Last year, job interviewers completed unconscious bias training, and analytics were improved to better measure demographics and pay equity, as well as to ensure equity in employee advancement. Job descriptions were rewritten to mitigate bias, and new diversity-focused recruiting partnerships were forged. Most recently, Durand led the firm through implementation of a hybrid work model that ensures internal opportunities and promotions remain accessible to all employees, regardless of their chosen work location. Durand joined Kin + Carta early last year from Uptake, where he was director of human resources. He’s also held HR positions at Avant and Capital One.

WILLIAM T. “TOBY” EVELAND Chicago office managing partner Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Following the murder of George Floyd, William T. “Toby” Eveland, then vice office managing partner, launched a program of town hall discussions across the firm’s 16 offices. It culminated with a firmwide diversity and inclusion retreat in the fall. As part of the retreat, Saul Ewing retained a consultant to review its culture and promote an inclusive environment. Eveland was promoted to Chicago office managing partner earlier this year. He also leads the firm’s higher education practice in Chicago. “Toby has been critical to our DEI efforts and, as a member of the LGBTQ community, serves as a role model for diverse lawyers through his tremendous success in growing his practice,” says DEI committee chair Indira Sharma. He is on the board of the Federal Bar Association, Chicago chapter.

CORLISS GARNER

GRAHAM GRADY

ANURADHA HEBBAR

Senior vice president; head of corporate social responsibility and DEI First Midwest Bank

Partner Taft Stettinius & Hollister

Partner, global DEI practice leader Kincentric

Real estate and land use attorney Graham Grady is active in diversity and inclusion issues. He’s a founder of the Chicago Emerging Minority Developer Initiative, which builds a pipeline of community-focused developers from African American, Latino and other minority communities. He participated in “Diversity in Development: How Black and Latino Developers Can Change the Map,” on WTTW’s Black Voices series. In his legal practice, Grady helps clients win approvals for land developments. He joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister in 2012 from K&L Gates, where he was an equity partner. Earlier, he was CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority, city buildings commissioner and zoning administrator and also an assistant state’s attorney. He is on the board of BOMA Chicago and active in a number of other civic organizations.

Anuradha Hebbar leads DEI for HR consultancy Kincentric, parent Spencer Stuart and recently acquired consultancy Cambria. The companies generate a combined revenue of $750 million. Based in Deerfield, Hebbar leads consulting engagements with CEOs, C-suites and boards in inclusive leadership, DEI, talent and culture. Last year, Hebbar led her clients to conduct objective assessments around DEI. She’s working with six CEOs and teams on these topics, which include an exploration of how

Last year, Corliss Garner led First Midwest to broaden philanthropy. The bank doubled its employee match for donations to COVID-19 funds, as well as to social justice and racial equity causes. Participation tripled its 2019 levels. Garner led efforts to commit $2.5 million over two years to organizations providing COVID-19 relief and financial stability to underserved communities. Following the George Floyd murder, she expanded listening sessions

with executive leadership and groups of Black and Latino employees. Garner joined First Midwest in 2019 after a 24-year career at BMO Harris, where she was most recently vice president and senior advisor, diversity and inclusion.

CONGRATULATIONS TO

CORLISS GARNER Named one of Crain’s 2021 Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

racial bias manifests in organizations. Hebbar joined Kincentric last year from Verizon, where she was global head of diversity and inclusion. Earlier, Hebbar held DEI positions at Zurich North America, Blue Cross & Blue Shield and McDonald’s. She served on the diversity and inclusion council of the Executives’ Club of Chicago.

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PRECIOUS S. JACOBS-PERRY Equity partner Jenner & Block

Over the past 18 months, Precious S. Jacobs-Perry has advocated for Black lawyers and their mental health. She worked with Jenner & Block’s diversity and inclusion committee on a pilot in which the firm assigned each Black lawyer a sponsor on the management or policy committee. This provided a tangible opportunity for Black lawyers to elevate their visibility and have a sounding board and support system in upper management. Given the success of the pilot, the firm will roll it out to other groups. In her pro bono practice, Jacobs-Perry is working with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund to help obtain legal name changes for transgender, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary people. She’s also represented women who have been subjected to sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.

JESSICA KIMBROUGH Chief DEI officer United Airlines

In her role since July 2020, Jessica Kimbrough teamed with United’s executive DEI council, chaired by President Brett Hart. She’s prioritized transparency and the use of demographic data to track progress and build accountability. Following the George Floyd murder, Kimbrough led several initiatives, including a formal mentoring program to support and retain Black executives and a commitment to add greater diversity to the board. United in February announced the addition of a second Black board member, Laysha Ward, executive vice president at Target. Kimbrough joined United in 2011 from the Illinois Labor Relations Board. She’s led United’s pro bono partnership with the nonprofit Equip for Equality, which provides legal support to parents of children with disabilities.

IRINA KONSTANTINOVSKY Executive vice president, chief human resources and chief diversity officer Horizon Therapeutics

Irina Konstantinovsky last year led a program to improve inclusion in culture, recruiting, employee development and community engagement. The program brought together hundreds of employees to discuss racism and its impact on patients, employees and communities. Horizon pledged $500,000 to support community organizations addressing racial inequality and racism, and the company is working to promote inclusive leadership behavior and recruit employees from diverse backgrounds. Earmarking $100,000, Horizon was the first contributor to the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago’s Racial Justice League. Konstantinovsky joined Deerfield-based Horizon in 2017 from Baxter, where she was vice president of global talent. Earlier, she spent 14 years at Towers Watson. She is board chair for the Human Resources Management Association of Chicago.

WIL LEWIS

CONNIE L. LINDSEY

Chief DEI officer Experian

Executive vice president and head of corporate social responsibility Northern Trust

Wil Lewis in October joined credit reporting firm Experian in Schaumburg. His mandate is to ensure employees and stakeholders feel connected to the organization. He’s also involved in developing products and materials that help communities of color better understand how credit works and gain a path to financial security. Before joining Experian, Lewis spent 13 years at Bank of America, most recently as senior vice president, global diversity and inclusion executive. He expanded membership in business and employee resource groups by 30 percent. Lewis launched training for the top 5,000 employees to promote understanding of DEI concepts. He is board secretary for the nonprofit Centers for New Horizons and is on the board of the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council.

As a direct report to the CEO, Connie L. Lindsey is responsible for the design and implementation of Northern Trust’s global corporate social responsibility, community development and investments, and DEI strategies. She also manages the firm’s response to environmental matters and social issues within the marketplace and workplace. She’s held many leadership roles at Northern Trust, including deputy business head in operations and technology, group head in the company’s wealth management business and director of enterprise relationship management. Lindsey is a former national board president of Girl Scouts of the USA. She is on several civic and charitable boards, including Leadership Greater Chicago, McCormick Theological Seminary and the Obama Foundation Inclusion Council. She was recently profiled on PBS’s “30 Good Minutes” and ABC7’s “Heart and Soul.”

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ALETHA MAYBANK Chief health equity officer, senior vice president American Medical Association

Since launching its Center for Health Equity, Dr. Aletha Maybank has focused on sustaining and elevating the AMA’s health-equity efforts. She facilitated a change in processes to embed racial justice into organizational performance and outcomes. She’s been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey about structural inequities in COVID-response efforts; wrote a New York Times opinion piece, “The Pandemic’s Missing Data;” and moderates a biweekly web series. A pediatrician and public health physician, Maybank was a founding deputy commissioner for the Center for Health Equity in New York City’s Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. She’s a board member of RaceForward and Human Impact Partners and was vice chair of the Health Equity & Social Justice Committee of the National Association of City/County Health Officials.

NATASHA MILLER WILLIAMS Vice president, head of diversity and inclusion Ferrara

Natasha Miller Williams leads Ferrara’s multiyear strategies on workforce commitments, organizational culture and partnerships. Under her guidance, the company has committed to transparency in workforce data reporting; launched corporate initiatives for BIPOC with Management Leadership for Tomorrow, the McKinsey Black Leadership Academy and the company’s first virtual HBCU Fair; and holds a “Day of Solidarity” for Juneteenth, a “Day of Wellness” and a “Day of Legacy” in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. By the end of 2020, 100 percent of responding employees described their DEI awareness as “progressing or excellent.” Before joining Ferrara, Miller Williams was a senior vice president at Nielsen. She was on the host committee for Rep. Lauren Underwood’s election and is on the executive board for Oak Lawn’s Chamber of Commerce.

OTTO NICHOLS III

ANDREA O’LEARY

AMALIA PALLARES

Executive vice president and shareholder Clayco

Global senior director, culture and change Aon

Associate chancellor and vice provost for diversity University of Illinois at Chicago

Pa an Lo

One of 11 shareholders at Clayco, Otto Nichols III leads large-scale projects from conceptual design to turnover. He’s also creating Clayco’s first-ever DEI operations manual for Chicago for executing supplier diversity outreach on every project. Under Nichols’ leadership over the years, more than $350 million in contracts has been directly awarded to minority- and women-owned contractors. In 2020, Nichols co-created the Clayco Foundation Juneteenth Fund as an outlet for individuals and organizations to support causes that promote freedom, equity and safety in their communities and has raised nearly $200,000 to date. Prior to joining Clayco, Nichols was a facilities engineer with Olin. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, Pedal the Cause and the Construction Career Development Initiative.

Andrea O’Leary leads Aon’s global initiatives to drive culture transformation. She is one of 20 leaders on Aon’s Global Inclusive Leadership Council, co-chairing its promotion workstream and helping to expand Aon’s apprenticeship program to six cities and 125 positions. She also leads the North American Black Professional Network leadership team to help advance Black colleagues. In 2020, she revamped Aon’s culture transformation workshops to be delivered virtually, trained facilitators to deliver them in eight languages and reached more than 6,000 colleagues. Prior to joining Aon, O’Leary was a product management/ project manager with CareerBuilder/Personified, consulting externally with organizations on how to improve employee experience including DEI initiatives. She’s on the board of Cara, working to eradicate poverty.

Amalia Pallares advises the provost and chancellor on DEI-related issues. She has oversight responsibilities for seven centers for cultural understanding and social change as well as office of diversity initiatives in diversity education, student inclusion and faculty retention. Launches include a postdoc-to-faculty mentoring program, an inclusive classroom initiative with eight online modules, an equity dashboard enabling UIC’s 16 colleges to monitor DEI progress, redesigned training for the faculty search committee and a new scholarship and pathway program for Black students in STEM. She’s been on the faculty for 22 years and is a professor of political science and Latin American and Latino studies. She led a statewide campaign to pass the RISE Act, giving undocumented college students access to aid.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 28, 2021 27

ERNESTO PALOMO

JANICE PARKS

ALLISON PITTMAN

KAVITHA PRABHAKAR

Partner and co-chair of diversity and inclusion committee Locke Lord

Chief human resources officer First Hospitality

Head of inclusion and diversity, U.S. Region CIBC

Chief DEI officer Deloitte US

Ernesto Palomo is co-chair of Locke Lord’s 30-person diversity and inclusion committee, focusing on recruitment and equal advancement opportunities as well as expanding education efforts, including mandatory, firmwide training to identify and interrupt bias. The firm has established a diversity supplier program and achieved its fifth consecutive 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. In 2019, Palomo filed Locke Lord’s amicus brief with the Supreme Court on behalf of 16 organizations opposing a citizenship question on the 2020 census. He is treasurer of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms and a board member of LatinoJustice PRLDEF. He handles pro bono matters through the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Center for Disability & Elder Law and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.

Janice Parks develops and executes all aspects of First Hospitality’s people strategy, including talent management, organizational development, culture transformation, thought leadership and executive coaching. Under her guidance, the company formalized its diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, upgraded its people management systems, reimagined the recruitment process and launched new leadership training partnerships covering issues such as unconscious bias. She led the U.S. strategy for a one-day national hiring event that hired 50,000 people and helped boost the company’s Archways to Opportunity tuition reimbursement program by 30 percent. Before joining First Hospitality, Parks worked at McDonald’s, PacifiCare Health and the United Way of Orange County, Calif. She’s a mentor with the 100 Black Women Organization of Orange County, financially supporting “college-able” African American girls.

Allison Pittman is responsible for the design and implementation of a comprehensive DEI strategy at CIBC. She leads the U.S. Inclusion & Diversity Action Committee, addressing issues such as unconscious bias learning. Following the murder of George Floyd, in June 2020 Pittman led 13 listening sessions that engaged more than 200 employees in conversations from 22 U.S. CIBC offices. Prior to joining CIBC, she was business program manager and associate vice president, operations project consultant manager at Bank of America; corporate investment banking auditor at Wells Fargo; and in the finance enterprise program at Wachovia Bank. She is an ambassador with Bonfire Coaching and a lead with the YearUp organization.

Kavitha Prabhakar is a principal with Deloitte Consulting and cochair of its Black Action Council, which is building trust with the community through “Brave Space” listening sessions and an “Uncensored” series showcasing Black experiences. Along with Deloitte’s CEO, she championed $10 million in donations to organizations for improving social justice, employment, wealth and equal educational opportunities, with additional funding for organizations addressing anti-Asian discrimination. Prabhakar released Deloitte’s inaugural DEI Transparency Report and co-authored its Equity Imperative report. Previously, she led a $1 billion practice with nearly 5,000 professionals as Deloitte Consulting’s civil government sector leader. She is committed to increasing STEM awareness and is involved in Girls on the Run and Girls Who Code. She also supports charitable causes including the Race for Hope, Walk for Wellness and Helping Hand Center.

A survey of diversity and inclusion practives and benchmarking metrics at real estate investment management firms in North America found:

96% of firms have a diversity and inclusion program or initiatives to improve D&I.

71% of firms dedicate

staff to their D&I approach (either dedicated or through committees), compared with 37% in 2017.

15% of executive

managers were minority professionals, compared with 10% in 2017.

44% of executive

management new hires were women, higher than the 7% rate of departures for women and helping increase the ratio of women to men across survey participants.

Sources: NAREIM Diversity & Inclusion Survey 2021 and NAREIM Compensation Survey 2017.

Congratulations Jonita, your vision is driving change Į ğ ą Ğ ğ feel at home hereğ Ğ ğ ğ Ğ ğ ğ Ğ Jonita Wilson, 2021 Crain’s DEI Honoree ą

Learn more at jobs.discover.com/culture The same way we treat our employees is how we treat all applicants – with respect. Discover Financial Services is an equal opportunity employer (EEO is the law). We thrive on diversity & inclusion. You will be treated fairly throughout our recruiting process and without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status in consideration for a career at Discover.

28 June 28, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

PAMELA RANDLE

CLAUDE ROBINSON

LAURA ROCK

CEDRIC D. THURMAN

Vice president and senior business consultant JPMorgan Chase

Executive vice president, external affairs and diversity UCAN

Chief human resources officer Zurich North America

Last fall in Chicago, Pamela Randle, co-chair of JPMorgan Chase’s Black Organization Leadership Development in Illinois, helped develop, design and launch an initiative to accelerate minority small-business growth through tailored advisory services. It proved so successful that it’s being expanded to 13 other cities this year and is now a central pillar in JPMorgan Chase’s $30 billion Path Forward commitment to advance racial equity. She previously held positions with PayNet, Urban Partnership Bank and Bank One. Since 2015, Randle has been actively involved with SCORE, the nation’s largest volunteer/business mentor network helping small businesses launch and grow. She’s also a member of the League of Black Women and has been an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University and Robert Morris University.

Claude Robinson is the Chicago Community Trust’s 2021 Donald Stewart Fellowship recipient. He’s the lead practitioner of UCAN’s ninetiered, internal/external DEI model. He has fostered more than $2.5 million in spending with minority- and women-owned business enterprises, up 48 percent from 2009. During the pandemic, he pivoted UCAN, which serves more than 10,000 individuals annually, to virtual collaborations through more than 50 virtual events. Prior to joining UCAN, Robinson served Chicago’s South Side as supervisor of the Chicago Park District’s Lindbloom Park and Gage Park. Robinson sits on the boards of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth and the Foundation for Homan Square, is a committee chair of the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council and is on the Hearing Board of the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission.

Executive vice president, chief diversity officer and group head, community investment and DEI Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

Laura Rock is responsible for driving Zurich North America’s overall HR strategy, including DEI, talent management, performance management and sustainability initiatives. She led the formation of an executive diversity and inclusion council and the development of an action plan to advance diversity in Zurich’s workplaces and industry. She supported the expansion of Zurich’s Apprenticeship Program, extending a professional pathway that does not require a college degree, as well as its Inclusion Cohort program, which identifies leadership competency among employees of color. She organized anti-racism training for the leadership team and expanded Zurich’s Inclusion for Success program, educating managers on unconscious bias. Rock championed Zurich’s partnership with Markle’s Rework America Alliance and is also on the board of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago.

Reporting directly to the CEO, Cedric D. Thurman shapes the FHLBank Chicago’s culture and ensures that the bank’s DEI commitments are integrated into customer-facing program offerings. Recently, he helped devise goals for the office relocation project, ensuring that 81 percent of the project cost was diverse. Following the George Floyd murder case, he spearheaded bankwide panel discussions on how race affects decision-making in the workplace plus conversations on Tulsa’s Black Wall Street and the racial wealth gap. In 2020, his annual Cultural Exploration event took board members and executives through the ways systemic and institutional racism affect employment, housing and access to capital. He is on the boards of Urban Initiatives, UCAN, Junior Achievement of Chicago, the Gies College of Business Alumni Association and Fellows Association.

SHANNON TOMLINSON-EILAND Senior director, DEI and HR compliance Cantel Medical

Shannon Tomlinson-Eiland is responsible for the design, implementation and maintenance of Cantel Medical’s DEI strategy as well as its programs to advance diversity. She facilitates a variety of recognition events, piloting training and discussion programs as well as a monthly DEI communication. She recently piloted a “Day of Understanding” to drive candid conversations about different social scenarios and unconscious bias. In addition to her DEI responsibilities, Tomlinson-Eiland has been pivotal in developing and leading overall initiatives as senior director for HR at Hu-Friedy, a Cantel acquisition. Tomlinson-Eiland is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the Human Resource Management Association of Chicago. She also supports corporate social responsibility activities by partnering with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Brave Space Alliance.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 28, 2021 29

J. VINCENT WILLIAMS

KEN WILLIAMS

JONITA WILSON

President and CEO Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council

Executive vice president Chicago White Sox

Chief diversity officer Discover Financial Services

As executive vice president, Ken Williams maintains oversight and final approval of major decisions for the White Sox roster. He’s actively involved in Major League Baseball’s Diversity Committee, an 18-member task force seeking to increase racial and ethnic inclusion in the game. The White Sox rank fifth in the overall diverse workforce category in MLB, according to the league’s 2020 analysis. The team exceeds league averages for on-the-field representation of Asian Americans, African Americans and Latinos. Williams is the first African American general manager in Chicago sports and the third in major league history. He joined the White Sox organization in 1992 following his playing career that started with the White Sox and took him to Detroit, Toronto and Montreal.

In 2020, Discover created a new DEI Office, promoted Jonita Wilson to chief diversity officer and launched a host of initiatives: It updated its code of conduct language to limit bias, enhanced the company’s diverse supplier spend program, required DEI goals for all people managers along with companywide training sessions, instituted a strategy to increase disability inclusion and set new gender-identity and transition guidelines. She also co-led a task force with more than 30

As president of ChicagoMSDC, J. Vincent Williams facilitates connections between diverse minority suppliers and corporate buyers. During the COVID-19 shutdown, ChicagoMSDC provided outreach, assessments, technical assistance and CARES Act relief resources to those businesses most negatively affected by the pandemic. The ChicagoMSDC partnership includes more than 250 privateand public-sector buying organizations—reporting more than $3 billion in annual purchases from minority firms—and nearly 1,100 MBEs, which employ some 20,000 workers. Prior to joining ChicagoMSDC, Williams was vice president of economic empowerment at the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, director of business and entrepreneurship at the Illinois Small Business Development Center and director of membership at the Executives Club of Chicago. He serves with YearUp Chicago and YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.

cross-function employees to increase minority representation and develop advocates for ensuring an equitable work environment. Prior to joining Discover in 2018, Wilson was global human resources business lead at a global consumer packaged-goods firm.

CIBC is proud of Allison Pittman for her work and recognition in helping to build an inclusive culture within our bank. We congratulate all of the 2021 notable executives in diversity, equity and inclusion.

MARGO WOLF O’DONNELL Partner Benesch

Margo Wolf O’Donnell co-chairs the labor and employment group and DEI committee at Benesch. This past year, she led a number of training programs on implicit bias and anti-discrimination and harassment issues for some of the largest employers in the world, working with several to develop diversity councils and employee resource groups. O’Donnell co-founded B-Sharp, Benesch’s power coaching and professional development group. Under her leadership, the Coalition

of Women’s Initiatives in Law expanded membership from a handful to more than 70 people at law firms in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. Before joining Benesch, she was chair of the diversity committee and founder of the women’s initiative at Vedder Price.

NAMRATA YADAV SVP, global head of inclusion Bank of America

Namrata Yadav heads the inclusion strategy at Bank of America, creating initiatives focused on the work environment and culture, underrepresented-talent strategies, external partnerships and global executive-development diversity programs. Working with the global diversity and inclusion council, business council leaders, business heads, staffing and other enterprise teams, she has created award-winning programs using scalable technologies, gamification, just-in-time resources and big data measurement methodologies. Recently, Yadav’s team doubled down on conversations on race, privilege and equity, engaging with 160,000 employees out of an organization of 220,000. She joined Bank of America in 2008 as part of the Human Resources Development program and has held roles in learning and leadership development. Before joining the bank, she held human resources positions at General Electric and IBM Daksh in India.