Carla Cooper..........................................................................United Nations World Food Programme

Carla Cooper

2022 SUPER P&E

Carla Cooper has spent nearly 30 years working in Human Resources and Diversity & Inclusion for some of the world’s most well-known companies. It’s more than just a job for her; it’s a calling. That’s because Carla, her younger brother and parents made a harrowing one-month trek mostly on foot from wartorn Maputo, Mozambique to Cape Town, South Africa when she was a child. They arrived, as refugees, when apartheid still existed in South Africa, which made life difficult because her family was classified as non-white (people of color). Seeing the injustice, experiencing discrimination, and living in apartheid shaped Carla’s life. It’s the reason she’s devoted her professional life to working in Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion. Carla studied at UNISA specializing in Human Resources, but learned most of her skills living and working as an intersectional woman in an evolving world. She began her career working in Human Resources, where she dedicated herself to understanding South Africa’s BroadBased Black Economic Empowerment, Affirmative Action and Employment Equity laws, so she could effect change. She did that by persuading those in charge of leading organizations to follow the laws of the land and integrate black people into the workplace, support black businesses and give back to poor black people who had suffered injustices such as having their land repossessed during apartheid. Her success in HR led to her work in Diversity & Inclusion in the Middle East and Africa regions, where she has spent 15 years creating programs and initiatives that led to jobs for folks who never would’ve received them without her work. Carla’s work led to more inclusive practices such as hiring, promoting, and retaining more women, persons with disabilities and those from underrepresented races and ethnic groups. At a global multinational in the Middle East and Africa regions, she built a DEI department from scratch and made it one of the most impactful departments in just two years. She did it by being a trailblazer and creating initiatives on how to hire, promote and retain black people and other minorities. It was a tough task in a company where most executives grew up in a world where racial bias was common or didn’t affect them. To change the minds, attitudes, and behaviors of executives, so they would start hiring more people who didn’t look like them or grew up in vastly different backgrounds or had little knowledge of persons living with disabilities was challenging. She educated them about the importance of giving people from diverse backgrounds opportunities because it would ultimately make the company stronger, and she used success stories to drive home her points. If that didn’t work, Carla overwhelmed them with data and research that showed her initiatives were working and making a difference in the company. Carla succeeded because she persuaded executives to focus on their own humanity instead of just doing the right thing. Part of doing that was by telling them stories that put a face on the points she made instead of overwhelming them with graphs and data points. Carla’s work is emotional because of her childhood. She understands how DEI can have a generational effect on employees, their families, and communities. When Carla isn’t working, she enjoys hiking and watching television shows about restoring old homes. She resides in Texas with her husband, Carlton, and their three daughters.

Carla Cooper Head of Global Diversity & Inclusion United Nations World Food Programme Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, Parco dei Medici, Rome, Italy carla.cooper@wfp.org