WHAT’S NEXT
Trends in DEI&B A conversation with NextUp’s VP of Learning Karen Jones KAREN JONES,
vice president of learning and partner solutions, came to NextUp with 25 years of experience and endless testimonials to her insight and grace. She was a DEI&B (diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging) expert before “diversity” was a buzzword, and before many companies cared what the world thought about how many women and people of color sat on their boards.
By Angelina Bice, Content Strategy Specialist, NextUp
Jones now leads NextUp’s learning and development team, and personally leads dozens of DEI&B workshops every year with companies all over the country and beyond.
In this wide-ranging interview, we discuss what Jones has seen in searingly honest conversations inside some of the largest corporations in the world, the work we all still must do to reach equity, and what’s on the horizon in the DEI&B conversation. This article is excerpted from the full interview, which can be read at nextupisnow.org/blog. Bice: What’s in the air right now in DEI&B? What’s bubbling up in the DEI&B education community and the wider conversation about women going back to work?
Convenience Store News is pleased to continue this series of educational columns by NextUp, coinciding with the annual CSNews Top Women in Convenience awards given out each fall. Ninety-one female managers, executives and directors who work in the convenience store industry will be honored in our 2022 program. In addition to being a presentation sponsor for the Top Women in Convenience program, NextUp and CSNews have partnered to develop this series of columns directed at helping corporate leaders drive more inclusive company cultures.
THE 2022 CONVENIENCE STORE NEWS TOP WOMEN IN CONVENIENCE PROGRAM IS SPONSORED BY: Founding & Presenting Sponsor:
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