Human Resources + DEI Leader

DEI is a hot topic - and a new one to a lot of folks. It has evolved to mean a lot of things to a lot of people.

As far back as I can remember, there has always been a woman who helped me get to my next big thing: My mom drove me to excel in school so I could be the first in our family to graduate college (shoutout UTSA!). One of my Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority sisters referred me to my first job out of college. I had managers who were women that took chances on me, coached me, and gave me confidence to step into that next big thing. Even today, in my DEI role at Google, I was connected to the opportunity by a woman.

My journey to DEI started before it was even a concept. It started in my Grandma Epi’s tiny house, an inclusive place where everyone was accepted - all races, religions, ethnicities, gender identities, and sexual orientations. She was poor, but we never felt poor because her house was abundantly overflowing with love.

To me, DEI (diversity + equity + inclusion) is a unique expression of love: A specific way to use data to inform strategies to make your workplace, team, community, or even family a place where everyone feels like they belong.

I always knew the best outputs come from the most diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizations, yet as I moved further up corporate ladders, I found myself often being the only woman of color in the room. I never felt like I was a part of the team because I was different, and a fire was lit in me to change that.

Volunteering was a key entry into DEI for me. I started by offering to help lead employee resource groups when I worked at Rackspace and in the local community with organizations like Latinitas. I invested time by reading books, watching shows, and engaging in conversations with people who were different from me. I learned about my privileges, the importance of allyship, and how it can show up in various ways, like being encouraged by my Dad to break the boundaries set on what an Indigenous Latina like myself can be. He taught me that being “chingona” could be a compliment, not an insult. I grew to be an ally to those with less privilege than me so they could be safe to lean into their inner chingona too.

I learned new things and built new relationships that broadened my DEI connections and my cultural acumen. And it was invigorating! I could feel myself grow into a better human, and I was ready to grow as a professional as well.

Google had long been a dream company of mine, and I admired their early investment in and commitment to DEI. Google began releasing data on the demographic of the overall company back in 2014, and almost ten years later, the tradition continues in the Google Diversity Annual Report. In 2014, massive global tech firms like Google weren’t doing anything like that, and I found the transparency admirable.

Google understood that in order to create the best, most universally used products by billions of people around the world - Search, Maps, YouTube, Pixel, and more - they needed a diverse team that represented the world to build those products. Moreover, the company needed to be a place where a diverse group of employees had access to equitable processes and inclusive teams to do their best work.

I finally began my Google career in 2017 as part of the Google Cloud sales team and once again found volunteering critical to grow my DEI practice. Immediately, I was facilitating training and leading conversations for over 9,000 Googlers worldwide that focused on antiracist awareness, building equitable systems, promoting allyship practices, and more. I assisted with campus outreach at Hispanic Serving Institutions (including UTSA!) to encourage students to apply to Google. Through that volunteer work, I built a reputation as a passionate DEI advocate and soon moved into Human Resources as a full-time DEI agent.

Today, DEI is a hot topic - and a new one to a lot of folks. It has evolved to mean a lot of things to a lot of people. To some, DEI means change, and change can be hard, but change is the strongest agent to a new human connection. To me, DEI is still a special type of love: A resource to make your company, family, or community a place where every person (regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation) feels like they belong, can thrive and create the best place for generations to come.

For more information, visit thejennymendoza.com

Karen White Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Longtime banker Karen White became Frost’s chief diversity and inclusion officer in June 2021 but had been a banker with Frost for eight years before that. This is her first position as a diversity and inclusion official, but it’s something that has been important to her throughout her life.

After growing up in New Orleans, she completed a degree in music education from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., and an MBA from Texas Southern University. Along the way, White worked at a couple of credit unions and with the National Credit Union Administration. She served as the chief financial officer at two nonprofits and worked at the United Way of Greater Houston and NationsBank before joining Frost Bank. At Frost, she drew on her experience working in nonprofits to help serve them as Frost customers.

“When I heard that our CEO was creating a position for a chief diversity and inclusion officer, I was interested in it right away,” White said. “I’d built a reputation as a person who’s inclusive and respectful of everyone. I treat everyone with dignity and grace. I felt like this was something that I wanted to do, that I could help fulfill the vision that the CEO has.”

White feels her mandate is to help us make all people’s lives better every single day. “It’s right in line with our core values, and it’s about making sure that everyone belongs.”

Since taking on the role, White has worked with all of Frost’s lines of businesses to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging both inside the bank and in the bank’s interactions with the public. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion follow all the lines of our businesses,” she says. “It’s not like a piece over here that we just pulled into the picture.

The fact that I’m reporting to the CEO says a lot to me — that I will have the authority that I need, and I will have his backing. And that’s why I’m extremely proud to have been offered this position. When it comes from executive leadership, that says to everyone that this is a priority.”

CPS Energy is committed to a strong supplier diversity program and partners with local, small, and diverse vendors to deliver service to our growing community. Maria Stanton, VP of Supply Chain at CPS Energy, oversees procurement, warehousing, and supplier development and is passionate about providing business opportunities to our community.

“We provide multiple opportunities for our local Small, Minority, Women, and Veteran Business Enterprises (SMWVBE) to compete in our procurement process to help us keep our dollars local.”

Maria’s team is dedicated to educating and providing guidance to vendors about how to register to conduct business with CPS Energy. Her team also participates in business support fairs throughout the year to provide helpful information for local SMWVBE on the registration, bidding, and procurement process. In 2022, the Supplier Development team coordinated more than 140 separate outreach events resulting in direct communication and engagement with hundreds of potential local vendors.

“I’m really proud that over the last calendar year, these proactive outreach efforts have resulted in over $260 million local and diverse supplier spend right here in our San Antonio community.”

Prior to this role, Maria served as Vice President of Community Engagement & Corporate Responsibility, delivering to our community the first Customer Response Unit, Community Outreach team, Public Safety & Education team, and the Casa Verde Weatherization Program.

Maria has brought this community focused lens to Supply Chain with intentionality, targeting SMWVBE opportunities and virtual workshops to help guide the procurement bidding process in addition to expanding a dedicated Supplier Diversity team.

“There is no question our city is experiencing significant residential and commercial growth and we are committed to overcoming global Supply Chain challenges to support the exciting developments throughout our community.”

For more information on doing business with CPS Energy, email SupplierDevelopment@cpsenergy.com

Helping others.

It’s what the staff at San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries does every day through their work with the homeless. Impact San Antonio is proud to have awarded two of our annual grants to this nonprofit so they could buy a new van and upgrade their Teen Center. SAMMinistries is one of many agencies that have received a total of more than $5.3 million in grants since our first one in 2005. We’ll be awarding more grants this year. Stay tuned!