Creating Extraordinary Change, Together: Untapped’s Top DEIB Leaders of 2022

Introducing Untapped's Top DEIB Leaders of 2022 'Walk The Walk' Award Winners

The trailblazing American author, James Baldwin, known for shining a spotlight on race in America, famously observed, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."  

Stepping up to help others face the obstacles and challenges experienced by the underrepresented and marginalized and inspiring and actuating change takes a remarkable individual. The purpose of Untapped's Top DEIB Leaders of 2022 'Walk the Walk' is to recognize the people challenging the status quo and pushing DEIB forward in their organizations and communities.

As a company, Untapped is on a mission to make the world more equitable by broadening access to transformative careers. We could not achieve our goals without the efforts of the dedicated phenoms who have made it their purpose to champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging – speaking it, being it, and inspiring it. Talking the talk – using their voices for good. Walking the walk – implementing action and modeling exemplary behavior.

This year's "Walk the Walk" Diversity Equity & Inclusion Leadership Award winners are a shining example of what individuals can accomplish when they inspire others to prioritize facing uncomfortable truths and committing to meaningful, real-world change. From C-suite executives to grassroots organizers, our list showcases DEIB leaders across industries and their innovative strategies, groundbreaking programs, and impressive results.  

We are thrilled to share this year's 100 award winners!

1. Ambrean "Bre" Ford, Director of Community Life, Diversity & Inclusion, American Youth Foundation (AYF) ‍

Bre has been working at AYF since 2016, and after only three months as a full-time employee, she formed the organization's first small-but-mighty 16-member DEI committee. Bre also revamped AYF's Mulcahy Fellows program, which aims to acknowledge systemic barriers that keep people with historically underrepresented identities from spending time outdoors. She also used the revamp as an opportunity to hire two of the fellows as community life advisors. Prior to her current Directorship, Bre aimed to diversify AYF through unofficial recruiting and advocacy.

2. Andréa Long, Founder & CEO of Andréa Long Consulting + Head of Talent Engagement at Upstart

Andrea has made advocating for underrepresented communities central to her work throughout her career, from increasing representation, to cultivating inclusive workplaces, and fostering belonging once candidates onboard. While at LYFT, she led the Black ERG, partnering with the HR team to offer mental health benefits after many Black employees expressed that they were struggling. Andréa also managed employer branding and diversity recruiting partnerships at Twilio, DoorDash, and Upstart, where she marketed to, sourced from, and recruited talent that was often overlooked. She spends much of her time focused on teaching people about DEIB by providing companies, nonprofits, and educational institutions with training to make their recruiting, marketing, and events more inclusive.

3. Andrew Gramley, Director of Early in Career Talent at Twilio

Andrew Gramley is the Director of the Early in Career Talent team at Twilio. He has been a guest on Untapped's podcast to share how Twilio is using University Recruiting to attract early in career talent from underrepresented groups, including the steps Twilio has taken to diversify its hiring process and talent pool, how Twilio’s robust hiring engine has baked in a legit focus on DE&I at each stage, and how to be an ally and show up for other communities and individuals. Andrew is drawn to the amazing culture and great EIC team at Twilio as well as the opportunity to build EIC programs that can scale with the company's accelerated growth. 

4. Angela Cafarelli, Global Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Prudential Financial

Angela strives to foster an inclusive environment at Prudential Financial. She is responsible for designing and executing diversity, equity, and inclusion priorities for the business, aligning with the company-wide strategy. While leading the charge for several causes, her goal is to ensure that everyone feels included, understood, and respected. She also helped the company's tech organization understand the LGBTQ+ NexGen workforce and all that it entails, resulting in a changed system that embraces pronouns and chosen names in the workplace.

5. Anna Oakes, Editor at Quartz & Founder & CEO of Oakes Co.

Anna Oakes is the Founder & CEO of Oakes Co. Her main goal is to restore humanity back into our work and workplaces - one human being at a time. Anna Oakes is a change agent, who combines her love for humanity with her nearly 20 years working in small, mid-sized, and large companies, and 5 years as an entrepreneur. Acting as a leader, coach, and strategic business advisor, Anna helps organizations, teams, and leaders enhance performance through a focus on humanity and the bottom line. Anna works to nurture the integration of humanity and work, owning and operationalizing company culture, and working with other leaders for maximum impact. 

6. Annette Reavis, Chief People Officer at Envoy

In her influential position as an executive leader, Annette is committed to evangelizing and executing DEIB strategy. And as a prominent Black CPO, she uses her voice for good, sharing important thought leadership around diversity and the future of work and relentlessly championing DEIB at public events. She has broken down and removed barriers for underrepresented communities, focusing on inclusion in return-to-office discussions. She spearheads Envoy's social impact strategy in an effort to drive the company to achieve meaningful change . Perennially focused on opening doors for others and creating inclusive paths, she created an equitable compensation structure to eliminate pay disparity in the organization.

7. Arianna Gelwicks, Tech Recruiting Lead at Pinwheel

Arianna drove Pinwheel's entire DEI hiring initiative, championing diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the company. In her role, she ensured that 70% of candidate outreach targeted underrepresented minorities. Her effort was evident in the impressive results achieved, such as the company's reaching out to nearly 7,000 underrepresented groups in the second quarter of 2022. Arianna also drove the PinwheelHERS – the company's employee resource group for women – Sourceathon, bringing in a company attendance of 10% with 107 solid prospects.

8. Bernard C. Coleman III, Chief Diversity & Engagement Officer at Gusto

Bernard has spent his career using his voice for good, opening doors for others and creating a path toward greater inclusion and belonging. From his work in politics to his work in Tech, Bernard constantly strives to create opportunities that foster awareness and reduce barriers for people who have historically been excluded. Working at Gusto, an HR tech company that employs more than 2,400 people, his career has been defined by firsts. He is leading the company's first diversity, equity, and inclusion effort called RISE, which stands for representation, inclusion, social impact, and equity. His work with RISE has been instrumental in creating awareness, understanding, and growth that encourages an inviting and representative culture.

9. Bernita Dillard, Global Head of DEI Recruiting Enablement at DoorDash

Bernita has dedicated her entire career to DEIB – she started out creating programs for marginalized talent. Her path led her to Tech, landing at Google and Facebook as a member of their DEIB teams, and she has now moved to DoorDash where she leads DEIB recruiting enablement. Throughout her career, she has designed and implemented innovative diversity and inclusion talent acquisition strategies and high-impact programs in partnership with executive leadership teams. She has introduced data analytics to evaluate the root causes of diversity and inclusion challenges, identifying areas for improvement and providing actionable insights to stakeholders. Above all, she is a powerhouse who is passionate about her mission and all of the work she does.

10. Bethany Saint Clair, Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Programs at OpenText

In 2020, OpenText didn't have a DEIB department. By the end of 2021, thanks to Bethany, that was remedied, with the company boasting a team, budget, and real goals. She has opened doors for others and created a path towards inclusion, starting employee affinity groups and a mentoring program for underrepresented employees. Bethany helped plan, lead and facilitate a BLM listening tour that led to the creation of the DEIB department at OpenText and led to her promotion to be its first leader. She helped write and create a Leading a Diverse Workforce course for managers, bringing in additional training. Ultimately, her team rewrote key company policies and adjusted processes to remove systemic barriers to equity and inclusion. She convinced OpenText to increase its benefits for women and employees in the LGBTQ+ community.

11. Brittany Ramsey, Director of University Relations & Partnerships, L’Oréal

In her role as the Director of University Relations and Partnerships at L'Oréal, Brittany is a champion of DEI. She leads campus activations, DEI partnerships and builds and maintains HBCU relations. Brittany is an advocate for hiring early talent from underrepresented backgrounds and uses her platform to provide mentorship, career coaching, and resume reviews for the #HireBlack Community. Brittany also started her own coaching business as a side hustle, BWell Mindset Coaching, where she helps millennial professionals build the skills to feel confident in their career journey.

12. Brittany Rush, Director of DEIA for Equitas Academy Charter Schools

After working as a school principal, Brittany joined Equitas Academy as the first-ever Director of DEIA. She managed to adapt her leadership skills, guiding the organization through some of its inaugural diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility-based professional development sessions. She has risen to the occasion and the challenge in many ways, leading learning cohorts for teachers and showing them how to teach history and speak about American slavery and Black culture in a way that deepens scholars' mindsets around inclusion and empathy. She continually seeks feedback to determine which DEIA efforts are most effective in delivering a profound and sustained impact on becoming a truly anti-racist organization.

13. Britteny Soto, Director of Talent Acquisition, JEDI & Enablement at Encamp

Britteny leads Encamp's Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion efforts with a human-first approach, educating through awareness of intersectionality to stoke empathy. Using the programming to connect with the core beliefs of the company, Britteny spearheaded the holiday calendar update to include Juneteenth and replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. To further evolve culture at a one-to-one level, she launched the Conscious Coffee Series to educate employees on JEDI topics. Areas of conversation have included the LGBTQ+ community, environmental, racial justice, and Black women at work. She also implemented a Pride Month campaign.

14. Carole Smith, Director of Marketing and Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council at Aquent

As the Director of Marketing and Chair of the DEI Council at Aquent, Carole has made a major contribution towards building a more diverse workplace for Aquent and its clients. She led these action groups in researching ways to build a more inclusive workplace, with a focus on changing infrastructure and adding goal-driven programs (part of her work led to launching inaugural ERGs to improve workplace inclusivity). Additionally, Carole spearheaded Aquent's social activism through fundraising campaigns, bringing in more than $175,000 in contributions, including more than $66,0000 for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, more than $64,000 for CARE.org's Ukraine relief fund and more than $40,000 to other social justice organizations. 

15. Caroline Celis, Senior Director of Global Business Development at G2

Caroline created a diverse pool of entry-level sales employees – her focus increased gender diversity to 50% while also amplifying the Latinx and Black representation. This step sets up the organization for improving DEIB for the long term, as so much of the organization's hiring is done internally. She co-leads the Latinx and Allies employee resource group and was instrumental in securing funding to send Latinas to represent G2 at prominent Tech events. In addition, she volunteers with the nonprofit organization re:work in an effort to connect with and bring in more candidates from underrepresented groups.

‍16. Caroline Escalante, CEO & Founder of Escalante Media Group

Caroline Escalante has over 17 years of experience building and leading high-performing Global Talent and People teams and Organizations with a focus and lens on Culture and DEI at both large (Google) and small to midsize (Headspace) companies. Her expertise lies in creating infrastructure for scale to support mass growth with increasing organizational complexity. She possesses a depth of knowledge in the Tech Diversity space and now owns and runs a successful consulting business aimed at helping companies employ strategic Talent and People operations amid rapid growth.

17. Cece Owens, People Ops Partner at Drip

Cece helped organize and create a DEI team at Drip, a group that builds community through a quarterly book club and discussions throughout the year that honor all holidays and events. Through the creation of the #allthingsdei Slack channel, employees are now able to hold conversations, share resources, and expand to help Drip improve as a company. This year, Cece has taken on a position of leadership, helping organize a volunteer day where all 100 of Drip's employees give back to a community in Minneapolis. She also founded Drippin-in-Melanin, an affinity group that sparked three additional groups within the company.

18. Celeste Hippolyte, Access Innovation Manager at Epic Games

Celeste has a strong life mission to make pathways to opportunities easier than the ones she encountered on her own journey. This is particularly applicable when it comes to removing barriers for people who are part of an underrepresented group. Celeste has a reputation for being consistently fearless when it comes to innovating. Celeste has a passion for extensive skills in developing university recruiting and program strategies with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She develops programs that open doors for students at every company she has been a part of, from Epic Games to Lyft and Google.

19. Cheryl Row, Senior/Lead Talent Acquisition Consultant at Philips Healthcare

Cheryl has played a massive role in advancing DEIB within Philips Healthcare. She continually advocates for underrepresented groups and individuals, no matter what the job category is. She is a tireless leader, focused on sourcing talent from underrepresented communities. She has leveraged smaller offices within Philips for growth, allowing the company's hybrid work model to extend to mini-hubs in DEIB pool areas. A tireless advocate and accountability partner, she reminds leaders in recurring hiring and resource meetings that everyone at the company has an obligation to foster and advance DEIB efforts.

20. Chess Avant-Garde, Head of Global Responsibility at LiveRamp

Watching this Black, Afro-Latiné, Queer, Jewish leader deliver programming and foster belonging and inclusion every day inspires so many LiveRamp employees to commit themselves to diversity and inclusion. Since coming to LiveRamp, Chess has gone from Global DIB Program Manager to Social Impact Lead, to Head of Global Responsibility. Currently, Chess is building out LiveRamp.org, the company's "data for good" initiative that leverages data that would typically be used for corporations to connect with customers to help nonprofits and minority-owned businesses advance their social missions. A rising star, Chess doubled company philanthropic contributions in one calendar year. Chess has also worked internally to ensure that women and underrepresented minorities have pay equity, removing bias from the company's promotion and bonus lifecycle and establishing the organization's first commitments.

21. Chloe Benson, Global Inclusion, Diversity & Belonging Specialist at Marsh McLennan

As a Global Inclusion, Diversity, & Belonging Specialist at Marsh McLennan and former Diversity Recruitment Program Manager of Early Careers Pre-identification Programs, Chloe is a rising DEIB advocate who was integral in shaping, launching and supporting a transformative social justice leadership development program for Black MBA/Master's Professionals. The exemplary program sets the bar for driving Black equity within professional services. Marsh McLennan's RISE MBA/Master's Fellowship Program is a four-year commitment, developed in partnership with Fisk University and the National Black MBA Association through the Executive Committee's commitment to hire more Black Professionals into leadership roles at every level of the organization. Not only does the RISE program remove barriers for Black colleagues, but it also sets each Fellow up for a unique experience to create their own career pathway forward into their future as a leader at Marsh McLennan and beyond. The first cohort culminated in May 2022, and following the program's completion, 60% of Fellows were hired full-time. 

22. Chris Lyons, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz

Chris Lyons has been a champion for the black community by bridging gaps between black entertainers, athletes, and more to the venture community - as well as connecting black venture, Tech, and finance leaders together. His focus has been to create win-win opportunities across the cultural influencer and startup ecosystem while also bringing more Black talent into Tech. Leveraging his relationship-developing talents, Chris recognized the growing importance of cultural influencers in the technology startup world and launched Silicon Valley's first influencer network in 2016. The aim of the CLF Network is to connect Black professionals to the technology industry, expanding broader representation than the traditional, insular, Silicon Valley network. The intention is to reach people from a wider set of universities and a more diverse range of career paths—including those looking to change careers or those who haven't yet worked at a large corporation.

23. Cori Scales, Campus Relations Manager at Lockheed Martin

As a Campus Relations Manager, Cori Scales is dedicated to increasing diversity recruitment efforts across Lockheed Martin. Before moving into this position, Cori was a Diversity Engagement and Programs Lead. Throughout her tenure at Lockheed Martin, Cori has demonstrated her commitment to DEIB work, including executing diversity hiring initiatives, identifying and combating bias in recruiting,  and managing projects that have a direct impact on the organization.

‍24. Cornell Verdeja-Woodson, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging at Headspace

Cornell Verdeja-Woodson is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Headspace where he is responsible for the development of the company’s global diversity, equity, and belonging strategy. Cornell’s career in diversity and inclusion was not something he fathomed during his search to find his purpose in the world. Through lived experiences, he realized his true calling was to work with people to make this world better for those who will come after. He is passionate about establishing relationships and collaborating to facilitate cross cultural dialogue and establish more inclusive environments. Prior to holding this role, he was the Global Head of DEI at Looker and then a Diversity Business Partner at Google.

25. Courtney Henrich, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Manager at Cribl

Courtney Henrich is the DEI Manager for data company Cribl. Her colleagues say she has had an outsized impact on building out the DEI program at the company, from promoting underrepresented groups to educating about and marking important historical milestones like Juneteeth and planning for Pride celebrations. She is a bold advocate for DEIB initiatives at Cribl and actively listens and uses her emotional IQ to steer individuals to the natural, unavoidable conclusion that there are strengths in our differences when all voices are heard. Courtney has been a champion of DEIB throughout her career. Before working at Cribl, Courtney worked as a technical recruiter and DEI lead at Animoto, a cloud-based video creation company. And previous to that, she was a well-respected DEI consultant and recruiter at Yardstick Management.

26. Crystal Brown, Executive Communications Manager at Cisco

Crystal Brown has committed her life to focus on inclusion and representation. For more than a decade, she has zoned in on storytelling in multinational and industry-leading organizations, working to help them recognize talent, foster connections, and build understanding. She aims to be intentional and strategic with how she shows up to support diversity, equity, and inclusion-related initiatives. Throughout the years, she has advocated for greater diversity in company and industry-wide nominations. She has also focused on mentoring women from teens to early career, partnering with DEI leaders to help them educate and mobilize. Through her work, she has promoted inclusive language, and she writes articles both within and outside of the companies she works for.

27. Dana Ross, Software Engineer Manager at Grindr ‍

Since December 2021, Dana Ross has worked at Grindr, leading the web team. She makes an effort to find candidates who are aligned with the company's values and those who truly buy into the mission of Grindr. Her values-driven commitment makes her a trusted mentor and insightful leader, known for opening advancement doors for others, creating a path towards inclusion, and breaking down barriers for people who belong to underrepresented communities. She recognized that the boot camp program was a career pathway for queer coders, uncovering a source of strong values-aligned talent. It is an example of how, above all, her approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion is rooted in positive intention and empowerment.

‍28. Daniel Botero, Founder of Mastering College to Career Academy

Daniel Botero has dedicated himself to showing 1st generation, minority, and international college students the path to their dream job through his company and podcast, “Mastering College to Career.” Through his mentorship programs, Daniel has helped thousands of his students land jobs with top companies such as Google, Amazon, Disney, Deloitte, Lockheed Martin, and hundreds more. As a speaker who has addressed students from over 100 Universities and reached thousands of young people, Daniel is thrilled to be living his dream by helping others to achieve theirs.

‍29. David Baboolall, Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company

David Baboolall is an Associate Partner based in the New York Office of McKinsey & Company. They are a leader in McKinsey’s Private Equity and Principal Investors (PEPI) Practice, and advise PE sponsors and portfolio companies on strategy and M&A, predominantly serving the industrials sector, with a focus on exit support and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) transformation. They co-lead McKinsey’s DE&I service line for the PEPI industry globally, co-leads McKinsey’s global Anti-Racism and Inclusion efforts, and is one of the core founders of McKinsey’s Black Investor Professional Forum. David has led numerous engagements across the investment lifecycle, including industry and target scans, diligences, and exit support.

‍30. Deanna Singh, Managing Partner at Uplifting Impact & Founder of Flying Elephant 

Deanna Singh is an expert social entrepreneur, and she is so committed to making the world a better place that she will build or break systems to create positive change. She is an accomplished author, educator, business leader, and social justice champion who speaks to over 50,000 people annually! Deanna is the Founder and Chief Change Agent of Flying Elephant, an umbrella organization for four social ventures. Through their work in the spheres of DEI, healthcare, children's literature, and leadership, these four varied companies are united in their mission to shift power to marginalized communities. Deanna’s current projects include serving as lead instructor for the Professional Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offered through University of Wisconsin’s Center for Professional and Executive Development and publishing two new books: Actions Speak Louder (Penguin Random House; release Spring 2022) and a new book for American Girl (release June 2021).

31. Dena Upton, Chief People Officer at Drift

Dena Upton is the Chief People Officer at Drift, responsible for the company’s talent development, operations, recruitment, and retention strategy. She has led skyrocketing growth, more than doubling the company in size in 2018, 2019, 2020. Dena is passionate about creating fair and equitable workplaces and has made it her mission to ensure that as a digital-first company, Drift is offers an equitable foundation for all employees. Her hard work pays off, under Dena’s leadership, her prior companies have been recognized for outstanding culture and talent management.

32. Derek Valentine, Director of Belonging, Diversity & Equity at UKG

Derek has been a DEIB champion for years. While working as a sales manager, he personally mentors underrepresented students, making referrals to colleagues, opening professional doors, and connecting them with opportunities and other DEIB advocates. His motto is that there is always "strength in numbers," a powerful perspective that sets a precedent for success. While working at Secureworks, a subsidiary of Dell, he saw an opportunity to share his knowledge and support the larger Black community. He took the initiative to bring all members of the Dell subsidiaries together in starting the Atlanta chapter of the Black Networking Alliance. The ERG has thrived and has set the bar for others in terms of activities, events, training opportunities, resources, and partnerships.

33. DeShaun N. Wise Porter, VP, Global Head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Engagement at Hilton

DeShaun uses her role and voice to promote inclusion across the employee experience at Hilton, from initial recruitment strategies to nurturing and developing talent across the company globally. She embraces, elevates, and advocates the experiences of the marginalized and works tirelessly to help build safe and inclusive environments where individuals, teams, and the company as a whole thrive. In part due to her efforts, Hilton has been recognized as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion in the US by Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities. The company has also been inducted into DiversityInc's Hall of Fame and was named #1 for Top Companies for Employee Resource Groups and ESG. It has also been named the Best Place to Work for the LGBTQ+ workforce by the Human Rights Campaign.

34. Desiree Morton, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Magoosh

Desiree has fundamentally changed how Magoosh has approached Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. One of her most notable accomplishments was advocating for the company's underrepresented employees during a substantial employee reduction last year. The reduction started with a voluntary resignation that was open to all employees, but Desiree anticipated how the communication and information would be perceived by employees from underrepresented groups. By taking that into consideration, she helped the company shape its communication differently. Due to her guidance and consultation, the company was able to maintain its diversity during the process. And, over the next year, the number of employees from underrepresented groups in management was on the rise. In addition to her job at Magoosh, Desiree is the co-founder of Visibli, a service that provides scalable coaching and executive-level resources for underrepresented employees.

35. Dominique West, Manager at Datadog

Dominique is an experienced Security leader who specializes in cloud and cybersecurity, digital transformations, and risk across various industries. She is the founder of Security in Color, a platform that aims to educate, empower and provide accessible cybersecurity resources to everyone., and she is the Chief of Membership for The Women's Society of Cyberjutsu nonprofit. She uses her platform to provide knowledge and resources to other underrepresented groups, with a specific passion for helping and uplifting other Black women in Tech.

36. Dr. Erin L. Thomas, VP, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Upwork

Erin L. Thomas, PhD, is responsible for leading Upwork's mission to create economic opportunities, so people have better lives. She does this by driving the diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy, implementation, and coaching. With a strong commitment to making the company a place where people bring their whole selves to work, she puts dignity, purpose, community, and fairness at the center of every working moment. Dr. Thomas has led multiple initiatives around the hiring, advancement, retention, and development of talent from underrepresented groups, and she champions the imperative connection between wellness and employee wellbeing and successful diversity and inclusion strategies. One of those initiatives is GlowUP, Upwork's enrichment program for and by leaders of color, designed and developed in collaboration with Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. In 2020, Dr. Thomas was named to Fortune's 40 under 40 list as one of the most influential people in Technology.

37. ‍Dr. Vijay Pendakur, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at VMware

Dr. Vijay Pendakur serves as the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at VMWare, a global leader in cloud computing, with 38,000 employees across 62 countries. Prior to this appointment, he served as the inaugural Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Zynga, Inc. Before his leadership in technology, Vijay served in leadership roles at universities across the country, with a consistent focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

‍38. Emil Yeargin, Vice President of Talent at Gusto

Emil shows up to work every day with an unwavering commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and he does it in a way that deliberately aligns with the company's mission and values. Emil works closely with leadership from every company organization – this ensures that together Gusto is cultivating and advancing a holistic talent strategy that keeps RISE – Representation, Inclusion, Social impact and Equity – a priority. He worked with the Gusto team to create a value-based interview experience, focusing on building inclusive applications and job posts and eliminating bias in the hiring process. 

39. Emily Cardner, Head of People at Viam

Emily Cardner is the Head of People at Viam. Prior to her role at Viam, she was the Senior Manager of Campus and Recruiting Programs at MongoDB where she was responsible for their Global Intern and New Grad Programs. She is passionate about building new programs, helping students navigate the jump from academia to industry, and increasing diversity and inclusion efforts within Tech. Emily uses her position to open doors and provide opportunities to talent who may have historically been overlooked. She currently strives to create a respectful and diverse environment through inclusive hiring and equitable sourcing.

40. Erika Scotti Martinez, Senior University Recruiter at Databricks

Before joining Databricks, Erika was a tireless DEIB advocate at LinkedIn in her role as a Campus Recruiter, leading the company's diversity partnerships. Through this role, she strengthened the partnership with MLT – Management Leadership for Tomorrow – and helped them build and develop a Silicon Valley Tech Trek with many different tech companies. She also spearheaded LinkedIn's first school engagement in Puerto Rico, achieving coveted buy-in from executive leadership. Then with a focus on Mexico, Erika identified and hired multiple interns from schools there, a first for her team at the time. In this process, she conducted interviews in Spanish to make her candidates feel comfortable. As a first-generation immigrant student herself, Erika pushes others to think differently about hiring talent and shake up how things were done in the past. Her focus continues to be on opening doors for underrepresented students every day.

41. Evan Washington, Senior Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager at Mozilla

Evan Washington served in the United States Air Force for nearly a decade, and upon completing his service, he knew he wanted to dedicate his career to shattering systemic oppression. Before working at Mozilla, Evan was the Head of DEIB at Curology where he was instrumental in giving life to the company's employee resource groups at scale. He took part in designing and launching the first ever D&I strategy and DEIB Journey report. A true DEIB practitioner, he also developed powerful programs that celebrated identity and created moments of belonging for all.

42. Harid Puentes, Co-Founder, President & CEO of San Diego Squared

Harid is the co-founder and executive director of San Diego Squared, a nonprofit focused on increasing diversity in STEM careers through mentoring, scholarships, and other programming. Driven by the idea that no community has a monopoly on incredible talent, Harid works to help business leaders discover that great talent that's been waiting in underserved communities for a very long time. The organization he leads is known as a group of thoughtful, committed citizens with a staff of only ten people that are making an enormous impact.

43. Janessa Mondestin, Director of Employee Experience at Mission North

Janessa Mondestin designed the DEI strategy at Mission North. One of her notable, big projects was creating a scholarship for underrepresented women studying undergraduate communications, marketing, or public relations – a program to alleviate the financial barrier to graduation. Tethered to the scholarship program was a fellowship for on-the-job training and real work experience – which removed the obstacle of limited work experience or internships. She also developed a management sponsorship track for underrepresented and highly excluded persons, and also brought visibility to the company about neurodiversity, and expanded corporate social responsibility efforts.

44. Janice Omadeke, Founder & CEO of The Mentor Method

Janice Omadeke is the Founder & CEO of The Mentor Method, a software solution that helps companies build mentorship programs at scale to support their internal DEIB efforts. Janice is the 94th Black woman to ever raise more than $1M for a venture backed startup and is a top DEIB leader in Austin, TX, where she founded the Mosaic Awards Awards (now known as SXSW Innovation Awards) which acknowledge and celebrate exemplary leadership in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace with a clear, positive impact.

‍45. Jarvis Sam, Chief DEI Officer at Nike

Jarvis Sam is the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Nike Inc. and was recently named Forbes 30 Under 30 in Sports class of 2021. In his current role, he oversees a team of people focused on driving diverse representation, inclusive leader and social justice education, professional development and the ecosystem of promoting and creating a culture of belonging inside and outside of Nike. Prior to Nike, Sam worked as the Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Snap, Inc. (parent company of Snapchat), where he was accountable for building the company’s first ever DEI strategy, establishing the first five employee resource groups and rolling out the initial iteration of the global unconscious bias awareness and implicit association training all whilst driving key technology recruiting approaches to scale the company 6x through IPO.

46. Jehron Petty, CEO & Founder of ColorStack

Jehron does inspiring work with ColorStack, a community-building Tech nonprofit with a mission to increase the number of Black and Latinx Computer Science graduates that go on to launch rewarding technical careers. He has created a sense of kinship for so many Latinx and Black folks early in their career and helped to facilitate transformative opportunities with some of the best employers in the world. Before founding ColorStack, Jehron worked at Google as an engineering practicum intern and an associate project management intern.

47. Jen Casimiro, Senior Talent Director, Head of Talent Department of DEI at IDEO

Jen has been a driving force in evolving IDEO's awareness and understanding of DEIB and how it can inform the company's cross-disciplinary work. With drive and focus, she has built an inclusive leadership model, established an organization-wide manager training, and helped with the development of IDEO's first talent pipeline program for designers of color. In addition, she created a bias check process during the employee promotion cycle and developed leadership programs specifically for BIPOC employees. Jen makes an effort to consistently name inequitable and harmful practices as they come up, and she developed a guided facilitation process to use during moments of tension on projects.

‍48. Jennifer Tardy, CEO of Jennifer Tardy Consulting

Jennifer is the founder and CEO of her own consulting firm, Jennifer Tardy Consulting, LLC. She is passionate about creating a space where innovative diversity, inclusion and equity are the pillars that support job seekers in their career planning and recruiters (and employers) in creating a talent pipeline for their organizations. Tardy helps high performing recruiters (+ HR professionals) learn step-by-step how to responsibly integrate diversity recruiting so they can ultimately increase workplace representation of women, people of color, veterans, people with disabilities and people who identify as LGBTQ+. Her mission is to forge successful career opportunities at the intersection of employers and underrepresented job seekers.

49. Joahanna Thomas, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Epidemic Sound

Joahanna Garcia-Thomas heads the efforts in improving Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Epidemic Sound. She is leading initiatives like the first-ever Diversity Summit with the goal of prioritizing DEI efforts across several continents. Previously, she worked in  HR at Avalanche Studios New York & the Head of People for Glow Up Games. She has 15 years of HR experience in HR in Tech in the Philippines, Singapore and the USA. She’s a Gay Gaming Professional honoree for her DEI work in the gaming industry. She’s an IEEE officer for the working group, Disruptive Behavior in Online Gaming. She’s a member of the Society for Human Resource Management/SHRM & a SHRM- Certified Professional and a Society for Diversity Certified Practitioner.

50. Jodie Taylor, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Compass Real Estate

Jodie created and leads Compass Real Estate's annual DEI Summer Internship Program, focusing on recruiting Black, Latinx, and Indigenous college students into the product and engineering department. The interns are offered full-time conversions to come back and work for Compass in the Tech department, an initiative that is currently the biggest pipeline for entry level talent from underrepresented backgrounds. She also built an employee sponsorship program to recognize, retain, and promote underrepresented employees. The participants are paired with senior-level leaders in their department and emerge into a curriculum together that focuses on professional development, visibility, and advancement. Program metrics reflect a high rate of retention and promotion amongst the participants.

51. John Graham Jr., VP, Employer Brand, Diversity & Culture at Shaker Recruitment Marketing

John disrupts the status quo and creates equitable and inclusive workplaces. His work improves the lived experiences of marginalized employee populations. He has engaged audiences worldwide on diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and on the future of work and the power of personal branding. In doing so, John has helped CEOs navigate diversity strategies, executives develop a more authentic voice on social media, students land their first jobs, and seasoned professionals rebrand themselves for their career journeys. He wrote a book, "Plantation Theory: The Black Professional's Struggle Between Freedom and Security," which highlights the realities that Black professionals in corporate America face and explores the role and responsibility of those with power and privilege.

‍52. John Hardy, Director of Inclusive Cultures, Inclusion & Diversity at Best Buy

John is the Director of Experiential Learning on the Inclusive Cultures team, within the larger Inclusion & Diversity organization at Best Buy. John has helped Best Buy launch their pledge to support and invest in BIPOC and diverse businesses by 2025. He has spent 15+ years learning from, partnering with, and advising thousands of executives, facilitators and emerging leaders around the nation on the art and science of the evolving practice we call 'inclusive leadership', both culturally and strategically, through immersive learning experiences and collaborative initiatives.

53. Julia Gueron, Manager of the Education Partner Program at HubSpot

Julia is a prime example of someone who takes action to advance DEIB within her organization and for customers. HubSpot's Education Partner Program launched in September 2016 to provide college and university professors with everything they need to teach leading marketing, sales, entrepreneurship, and communications skills. Recognizing that access to learning is just one part of a multi-faceted issue, Julia worked to incorporate micro-internships into the program. Through this experience, students apply the skills they learn in the program by working directly with HubSpot customers on paid, professional, short-term projects. Julia understands that we're accountable today for the workplace of tomorrow. And for early-career recruiting programs to be inclusive, accessible, and provide equitable paths to professional roles, it's about looking at small ways to make significant impacts.

54. Julian Sanjivan, Co-President of InterPride

Julian is a leader of the future. They are dedicated to social justice, fighting on the front lines for refugee rights. As an asylum seeker themselves, Julian has worked in the community and Pride movement for years. They represent a vital and important group often overlooked in our communities – those who come here as refugees fleeing desperate circumstances. Julian is a bold, transformational leader who has brought InterPride to the front lines of the global Pride movement with a new strategic plan that is more inclusive and welcoming for less advanced countries in the global South and East. They lead with honesty, integrity, and community duty above all else.

55. Julie Sowash, Executive Director of Disability Solutions

Julie is redefining the way American companies conceptualize diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging by bringing the disability perspective to the forefront. Often left out of DEIB conversations, disability is the only dimension of diversity that one can join at any time, and Julie has built her career around a commitment to enacting meaningful change for this community. Julie's skills for exploration, analysis, and synthesis of data make her a transformative contributor to all of Disability Solutions' partnerships. Under Julie's leadership, Disability Solutions has worked with numerous Fortune 1000 brands, including PepsiCo, Frito Lay, Synchrony, Bristol Myers Squibb, and CenterPoint Energy, to help them attract, hire, and retain disabled talent.

56. Kari Miller-Ortiz, Director of People and Culture at MoveUnited

Kari is a three-time paralympic gold and silver medalist, disabled army veteran who leads the adaptive sports organization's DEI initiatives and programs both internally and externally and uses her voice to continue advocating for the inclusion of military veterans and individuals with disabilities. In her current role, she promotes an inclusive sports environment that serves diverse stakeholders by focusing on the intersection of disability with other diverse populations, especially among BIPOC communities. As a decorated, retired US Army sergeant, she also began working for the US Paralympic Military program and was responsible for establishing the program for newly injured service members at Walter Reed, Bethesda Naval, and Fort Belvoir. Additionally, she created and ran similar activities for the US Air Force wounded ill and injured program.

‍57. Kathrine Zick, University Recruiting and Relations Lead at Aptiv

Kathrine is the University Recruiting and Relations Lead at Aptiv and works to attract, recruit and retain top early career talent for US programs. Kathrine works to influence business hiring decisions to increase women and underrepresented minorities in all US early in career talent programs at Aptiv. She also aided Aptiv in launching a full-time, paid software apprenticeship program in Troy, Michigan to make training for high-demand skills more accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds who may lack a college degree. 

58. Kathy Goss, DEI & Talent Practice Leader, Technology at Chicago Trading Company

Before undertaking her current role, Kathy worked at LinkedIn, where she built a world-class, recognizable DEIB recruiting strategy that fundamentally changed the face of the company. From partnerships to talent show recruiting events, she built a bar-setting comprehensive approach. Before working at LinkedIn, she was a diversity and inclusion manager at Accenture, where she led diversity and inclusion learning and development and all employee resource group programs. She also focused on increasing representation of underrepresented groups through talent management tracking and support using talent analytics. During her time at the company, she helped build Accenture's first online mentor matching tool.

‍59. Kellie Wagner, Founder of DEI Collective

Kellie Wagner is the founder of DEI Collective, a consultancy on a mission to help source and retain talent from underrepresented groups  by building inclusive and equitable workplaces. Originally pursuing a career in writing, Kellie fell in love with the NYC Tech scene, worked at Meetup, and has built out the community at DoSomething.org. Her work at DEI Collective ensures that companies are creating sustainable, measurable changes in their cultures to address diversity through training, events, and innovation. Kellie is extremely active in the tech ecosystem and involved with a number of organizations focused on fostering diversity and inclusion.

‍60. Kim Diaz, Director of Talent & Outreach at Pixar

Kim Diaz is the Head of Talent Acquisition at Pixar. In this role she manages talent outreach, University Programs and the Talent Partner (HRBP) function. Kim is vocal about her support of DEI initiatives and is on the membership committee for Women In Animation - Bay Chapter with a mission to empower women in animation and reach a gender balance of 50/50 by 2025. She’s committed to fostering equitable hiring best practices and eliminating bias from recruiting.

‍61. Kristen Edwards, Human Resources Human Resources at GCM Grosvenor

Kristen Edwards is an HR representative that currently works for GCM Grosvenor. Kristen also works as a Leadership Speaker and Success Coach for her own brand, Kristen Edwards Co. Here, she works as a HR & DEI Consultant for non-profits and SMBs, Workshop Facilitator for executive leadership, and the host of the Amplify Ambition podcast her speaking engagements, podcast, and coaching programs guide women to understand life-changing tools and profoundly influence others. She is featured in Thrive Global, Yahoo Business, and Authority Magazine.

‍62. Lambert Odeh, Global Brand Strategy Manager at Snap Inc.

Lambert Odeh currently works as the Global Brand Strategy Manager at Snap Inc. and is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion professional currently in the Tech space. Lambert moved into DEI full time after resonating with Employee Resource Group leadership, creating DEI talent management initiatives, and diversity recruiting in his previous roles. He is passionate about assisting companies on strategy and implementation of programs that improve the employee experience setting all employees up for success while helping organizations reach their internal and external DEI goals.

63. Lawrence Kane, Senior Leader, Strategic Sourcing Functional Excellence at Boeing

Committed to making sure Boeing "walks the walk" when it comes to diversity and inclusion, Lawrence has spearheaded many DEIB initiatives aimed at giving underrepresented individuals the ability to compete and succeed. Lawrence mentors and coaches members of underrepresented and minority communities around the world directly as well as through the Global Mentorship Initiative, JumpStart mentoring program. He provides pro bono consulting to people in the oSTEM – out in science, technology, engineering, and math – community and has made donations to this and other LGBTQ+ organizations.He leverages Advisory Board positions with Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) and the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) to help assure scholarships and other resources for individuals in underrepresented communities. He has worked to remove systemic bias in recruitment practices by harnessing technology to eliminate bias in pre-interview screening, provided specialized interviewer training, and created structured interview guides to avoid rater errors.

‍64. Lisa M. Ong, President & Founder of Wishing Out Loud LLC

Lisa M. Ong is an award-winning executive coach, diversity & inclusion speaker, diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and belonging strategy consultant. Before launching Wishing Out Loud LLC, which is her DEI & Belonging Consultant group, she was a national diversity director in PwC’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, an HR director, and a financial audit senior manager. She received a 2022 Leaders in Diversity Award from The Dallas Business Journal. D CEO Magazine named her to The Dallas 500 in their 2021 and 2020 directories as "one of the most powerful business leaders in DFW" in the “Consultants” and "Corporate Diversity Officer" categories.

65. Maggie Roque, Director of Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, & Equity at Zapier

As a result of Maggie's leadership, Zapier now has year-by-year goals with supporting initiatives — including how the company will measure success for each of its DIEB pillars: people, product, and the public good. Maggie has refined the company's DIEB strategy in alignment with the company's mission, values, and business strategy. The work she is doing helps ensure all employees at the company, especially its leaders, are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and resources to make it a consistent and standard way of operating. She has also provided mentorship to the company's employee resource groups, which include BIPOC of Zapier, Women of Zapier, and Prizm (LGBTQIA+). Maggie also assists Zapier in responding to global and regional crises, recently helping to secure a $1.3M donation for Ukrainian humanitarian aid beneficiaries.

66. Meacie Fairfax, Associate Director, Equity Research at EAB Global

Meacie helped EAB Global launch its first equity initiative, Moon Shot for Equity. Through her work, she amplifies voices and folks who are doing work to uplift and support Black Brown Native low-income student-parents and many more. She pushes and supports student leaders' development in becoming equity-minded. In addition, she represents the issues of all LGBTQIA+ low-income women. She also serves on ERGs and is the former chair for HealthyMinds.

67. Mel Smith, Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Genworth

Mel has displayed a commitment to creating a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture both inside the organization and in the communities it serves. In addition, he volunteers on multiple nonprofit boards and provides services and resources to Historically Black Colleges in his area – including helping with job prep, resume writing, and career advice. Mel leads the diversity and inclusion pillar of his local Society for Human Resource chapter, where he facilitates sessions on diversity and inclusion, bringing in guest speakers, directing panels, and initiating engaging activities. Mel has created 14 employee resource groups that are voluntary, employee-led groups that aim to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace.

‍68. Michael D. Hines, Vice President of Inclusion & Diversity at Starbucks

Michael Hines is the Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity at Starbucks, where he is dedicated to bringing deep subject matter expertise leading the I&D centers of excellence around compliance, analytics, policy, learning & development. He develops the frameworks, tools and processes to ensure that diversity goals are woven into Starbucks' business decisions. Michael works to identify new programs and initiatives to bolster diversity within the company, and measures the impact of diversity strategies and programs. He is on a mission to address and drive change on systemic and broader organizational issues.

69. Michael Ogunsanya, CEO of MindStand Technologies

Michael lives and breathes diversity, equity, and inclusion. His SaaS company was founded on these principles, and diversity, equity, inclusion, psychological safety, and belonging are evident in every decision he makes. This is evident both internally with his team and in the big-picture vision of creating a better, safer business environment for all employees. In the community, he worked on the Baltimore Tracks steering committee to help tech companies develop strategies to increase opportunities for people of color in Baltimore. His compassion and empathy shine through in all of the DEIB work that he does.

70. Minh Vu, Social Impact, Programs and Partnerships at Indeed

Born to refugee parents in West Texas and raised in Central Texas, Minh Vu has a wonderful career centered around social impact in Austin, Texas, and surrounding areas. At an early age, he quickly learned how to navigate white and heteronormative spaces while finding refuge in television and art. His passion for storytelling and giving back fueled his education and career path. In turn, he's become a resourceful and empathetic communicator and storyteller with years of experience driving complex, diverse and inclusive projects from ideation to execution with minimal guidance. Minh Vu also has a podcast that elevates the voices and stories of Asian Americans living in Austin, Texas, while exploring what it means to come into one's own identity.

71. Mita Mallick, Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta

Mita Mallick is a corporate change maker with a track record of transforming businesses. She gives innovative ideas a voice and serves customers and communities with purpose. Currently, she leads inclusion, equity, and impact at Carta. She was formerly the Head of Inclusion and Cross Cultural Marketing at Unilever. She is a LinkedIn Top Voice and a contributor for Entrepreneur, Harvard Business Review, Adweek, and Fast Company. She is also the co-host of the recently launched The Brown Table Talk Podcast, part of the LinkedIn Podcast Network. On the Brown Table Talk, Mita and Dee Marshall share stories and tips on how to help Women of Color win at work and offer advice for allies on how they can show up.

‍72. Monique Cielo, Director of Software Engineering, Customer Group at Teamshares

Monique is a Latina leader in technology at Teamshares. She has led employee resource groups and helped design events aimed at fostering inclusivity within the tech industry. Monique uses her voice for good to speak up for women, the Latinx community, and mental health. She has been called “a champion of diversity and inclusion” by former team coworkers and inspired others to create processes at scale to support the organization. She has appeared as a speaker at events like Tech Intersections and taught at the General Assembly.

73. Nancy Cambron Perez, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager at Teladoc Health

Nancy Cambron Perez is a scholar-practitioner, HR thought leader, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion champion. She is driven to create diversity recruitment and retention strategies, partnering with Talent Acquisition and Learning and Development teams, and reimagining the employee experience. Nancy's focus areas include designing and refreshing Teladoc Health's Business Resource Groups operating model and framework and helping to develop the DE&I corporate strategy to support a culture of inclusion and belonging. Through her work, Nancy has opened doors for others as she creates a path towards inclusion and breaks down and removes barriers for underrepresented communities.

74. Natalie Edwards, Global Chief Diversity Officer at National Grid

Before joining National Grid in 2021, Natalie served as Global Executive Director of Inclusion & Diversity for The Estée Lauder Companies, where she led inclusion strategy and operations for the company's 45,000 employees and more than 25 prestige cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and hair care brands in the 150 countries their products are sold. Natalie is described as an impact-oriented, community-building inclusion leader that is the combination of "smarts, passion, inclusion education, and executive presence – but also the strategic management required to put things in action." She holds a double-major MBA from The Wharton School, where she made the Top MBA list globally, and she is credited with fast-tracking the school's diversity strategy.

‍75. Natalie Egan, CEO & Founder of Translator Inc.

Natalie J. Egan is the CEO & Founder of Translator, Inc. Natalie Egan is an openly transgender, B2B software entrepreneur and a recognized thought leader living her life at the intersection of technology and Diversity & Inclusion. Today, she is the CEO & Founder of Translator, Inc., where she and her team are on a mission to scale empathy and equality through technology. Translator offers Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Training and Analytics Software for corporations, schools, and nonprofits.

76. Nicole Sanchez, Founder and CEO of Vaya Consulting

Nicole is professionally recognized as an adept DEIB practitioner who does an excellent job helping underrepresented employees feel seen and heard. She is able to quickly and effectively shift gears to bring leadership teams on journeys of change that are needed for particular organizations.Nicole has served as a leading expert on diversity, equity, and inclusion and organizational culture. As Founder & CEO of Vaya, Nicole transforms workplace culture for VC firms, Fortune 500 corporations, pre-IPO tech startups, Film/TV production, and nonprofits. She has served as a lecturer on workplace diversity at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and consults and speaks globally, advising executives on best practices.

77. Nicole Taylor, Director of Community and Engagement at Mursion

Nicole is a DEIB expert at Mursion while also doing outstanding freelance work, helping other organizations resolve issues. Her purpose is to continuously open doors for others and make sure everyone feels included, which in turn moves entire organizations forward. She specializes in creating safe spaces for sensitive discussions to take place and will call out any injustice that is happening in an organization. Nicole has proven to fuel change beyond the US borders. She sparked the realization by a European hotel chain that their decisions occurred within an echo chamber (an awareness concept she frequently uses to emphasize the importance of diversity) and inspired the company to choose a path toward greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

78. Nicolette Nigos-Loredo, Team Lead, Campus Recruiting at Datadog

Nicolette is a successful recruiter who is now moving into a management role where she'll be able to extend her knowledge and passion for DEIB. Personally committed to expanding opportunities to all, she mentors underrepresented students on her own time to help underserved communities. Nicolette is constantly making sure the company is doing its best to break down barriers and create pathways, calling out hindering practices. 

79. Nyamusi Lee (Musi Lee), Vice President at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

As the global leader of Autism At Work at JPMorgan Chase, Musi Lee is responsible for creating and executing strategies to develop a talent pipeline for individuals on the Autism spectrum through establishing partnerships with regional Autism organizations, research institutes, and universities. Her additional responsibilities include establishing partnerships with regional autism organizations, universities, and research institutes; ensuring best practices for the training of managers, recruiters and colleagues to support autistic colleagues. For her tireless advocacy, Musi Lee was recognized in The 2022 Top 50 Women Leaders of Dallas.

‍80. Olayinka Olorisade, Senior Talent Scout, Inclusive University Programs at Uber

Olayinka is a D&I recruiter focusing on inclusive recruiting on the University Recruiting team at Uber. Her role is dynamic and multi-layered, in that she not only supports University DEI programs, but she also works as the recruiter managing the interview process and candidate experience. Olayinka represented Uber at the just concluded #NACE22 conference where she co-presented on the topic: “Igniting Inclusive and Equitable Employer Practices Through Student Leader and Employer Relationships”. In recognition of her excellent work at Uber, Olayinka received the Above & Beyond Award for exemplifying Uber Values and having an outstanding impact on Uber’s DEI initiatives. 

81. Paria Rajai, CEO at ModelExpand

Paria Rajai has been a DEIB thought leader for over a decade. She began her career advocating for women with Yahoo's Business and Human Rights Division; a department focused on the intersection of Tech and human rights. From there, she was an executive at Hackbright Academy, the first engineering school for women, helping women get trained and placed at companies such as Slack, Amazon, and Yelp. Since then, she started ModelExpand, a DEI talent solutions firm that has worked with companies such as Lyft, Levi's, and Twitch to help leadership and talent teams build more inclusive hiring practices. In one instance, she led an initiative that helped double the percentage of Black representation within six months. She has been selected for five consecutive years as the State Department's TechWomen program mentor and has led a Women in Leadership Series and Culture and Diversity Series for over three years.

82. Patrick Sutton, Head of People at MainStreet

Earlier this year, Patrick launched his signature program, "DEI More Than A Buzzword," an initiative that provided employees with an experience highlighting neurodiversity and DEIB topics. The goal is to provide programs and forums monthly in the workplace to remove performative-based events for a moment and create experiences that will mature continuously in the workplace. Patrick is using his voice beyond the workplace with the launch of his award-winning digital series, SCALES – a series that provides multi-layered stories with a multicultural cast. Patrick's intent was to create content that is highly inclusive and provides representation across all mediums, highlighting that even in the indie world, building inclusive spaces are important. He has elevated his voice as a People Leader in Tech, driving change and long-term conversations for equitable opportunities for all. Patrick is also a recipient of the Emory Rollins School of Health Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award for his programs for children.

83. Rachel Sutton, Campus and Diversity Hiring Programs Manager at Carter's

Rachel assumed a new role for Carter’s as their Manager of Campus and Diversity hiring earlier this year. In this role, she manages the campus recruiting programs at Carter's, leading an increased focus on diversity at the early career talent level. Under her leadership, the company's 2021 and 2022 college diversity numbers have increased over previous years. She also serves on the company's Diversity Advisory Council, a multi-dimensional group of employees from various functional areas who have been selected to support the company's inclusion strategy.

84. Raghu Gollamudi, CEO of Included

Raghu is CEO and co-founder of Included, a diversity, equity, and inclusion tech solution that uses AI to operationalize DEI strategy & tactics and create a more equitable society. He is a technologist with a vision for creating a future where companies design their recruiting, retention, and promotion strategies by centering on the experiences of historically underrepresented employees. By building this solution, Raghu is helping open doors for others and is transforming workplaces to be more equitable for hundreds of thousands of candidates and employees. He believes that when teams represent different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, they build better products and create a more engaging and dynamic company culture. Raghu is personally and professionally committed to the DEIB journey, and he is intentional about creating a company where everyone is included.

85. Sanjala Chitnis, Director of DEI and Talent at Klaviyo

Since Sanjala joined the team at Klaviyo, the company has increased women of color in leadership by 18 percent. Klaviyo continues to increase Black and Latinx representation across the company through hosted events like #BlackInTech, designed to help candidates ace the technical assessment. Before working at Klaviyo, Sanjala worked as a Global DEI and Recruiting Programs Manager at Palantir Technologies. Her earlier experience includes working on diversity recruiting and programs in the engineering department at Facebook.

‍86. Saqi Mehta, Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at GoodRx

Saqi was the former VP, Talent Acquisition + Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Divvy Homes and recently joined the team at GoodRx as their Senior Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She’s passionate about uplifting intersectionality & communities and has over 15 years experience within D&I. Saqi is a dedicated mentor to women looking to launch careers in Tech or those looking to make a career transition. She also serves as a startup adviser, consulting on recruiting & diversity best practices and has spoken at conferences & events such as Harvard WeCode, AthenaHacks, PennApps, MetroHacks, NSBE, SHPE, WIT, WICS, and OSTEM. 

87. Scott McGregor, Senior Manager of People and Communities at Cisco

Scott has been lifting up HBCUs at Cisco for the past eight years, which began with his grassroots efforts driving on his own dime to meet with professors and deans several years ago. He has started programs to hire early career talent from HBCUs into Cisco, and he now is the lead at Cisco for the social justice initiative that supports the legacy and sustainability of these universities. He helped craft Cisco's Social Justice action (Action 8) around sustaining the legacy of HBCUs in addition to leading its implementation with the overall donation over valued at $150M.

88. Sean Cervera, Senior Director, Head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at SimpleHealth

Sean Cervera has worked in DEIB for more than a decade. From being an advisor to startups and executives to building strategies to shatter systemic oppression, Sean leads with his heart while being rooted in a strategic roadmap aimed at causing industry-wide change. Sean has created Global Inclusion Recruiting strategies at LinkedIn, Facebook, Uber, and SpaceX that mitigate bias, prevent tokenism and educate leaders on true, active allyship. At Curology and SimpleHealth, Sean has designed a powerful roadmap aimed at creating moments of belonging for all and architecting an inclusive and equitable culture that considers all aspects of intersectional identities. He also worked to establish a Curology HBCU scholarship program for Black & Brown PA and NP students to address the lack of representation across medicine. 

89. Seema Yedavalli, Senior Manager of Early & Emerging Talent at Mattel Inc.

Seema displays a commitment to DEIB in everything she does. When recruiting for Mattel's internship program, she amplified the focus on diversity. Last year, to support emerging Black talent, she created Mattel's FLIP (Future Leaders Innovating Play) Leadership Program. FLIP is a multi-day immersive experience that will introduce Black college students to life at Mattel, as well as provide knowledge and training that will kick off their careers. FLIP students are prioritized for the company's summer internship program, putting them directly into the organization's talent pipeline and making jobs at Mattel more accessible to young Black talent. Seema pushes for equitable pay and treatment among participants in Mattel's programs, improving intern compensation policies.

90. Sheri Crosby Wheeler, Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Fossil Group, Inc.

Sheri is truly walking the walk when it comes to DEIB work. She is a tireless champion who uses her voice for good. In her own words: "I refuse to be just a DEI figurehead, basking in the glow of a title and accolades, but instead, I am a changemaker seeking impactful and meaningful change for those around me.” A sought-after speaker and DEIB guide, Sheri encourages CEOs to practice "real good DEI, not feel-good DEI." Her work is highly praised, and she is recognized as an influential business leader, most recently being named to D Magazine's Dallas 500 list. Sheri makes time to open doors for those in her community including offering mentorship, guidance and networking opportunities to emerging talent.

91. Sophia Dozier, Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rapid7

Sophia is a determined DEIB leader both at work and in her personal life. Within her first few months as the Director of DEI at Rapid7, she not only created five employee-focused DEI groups across the company, but she has also inspired hundreds of individuals from across the organization to lead and participate in crafting the future of these groups. Sophia is a selfless leader who advocates on behalf of every unrepresented community and is dedicated to creating opportunities for others to share their voice. She challenges others to rethink their assumptions and preconceived notions while always being open to sharing knowledge and different perspectives.

‍92. Stefanie Fackrell, DEIB Lead & HR Business Partner at Samsung Research America

As the DEIB Lead & HR Business Partner for Samsung Research America, Stefanie leads all internal DEIB's initiatives/strategy, creating/innovating and changing company culture from the bottom up. She has also worked as Sr. Manager in University Programs, where she implemented DEIB strategies in University programs. She is also a facilitator at #IamRemarkable, which is an initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to speak openly about their accomplishments in the workplace and beyond, thereby breaking modesty norms and glass ceilings.

93. Susan Long-Walsh, Founder of Susan Long Walsh & Associates

Susan Long-Walsh is a truth-teller, DEI leader, and advocate for inclusive workplaces, having shaped DEI initiatives for more than 30 years at Future 50 companies and organizations, including Microsoft, T-Mobile, Starbucks, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Susan was the first Black recruiter at Starbucks, Microsoft, and the Gates Foundation, increasing the hiring of historically and underrepresented talent from diverse backgrounds in key professional services roles. Susan understands that for business and economies to thrive, workplaces must include people with diverse perspectives, talents, and lived experiences. Susan is a trailblazer who continues to elevate the voice and perspectives of those who too often go unseen and is unapologetically committed to creating more inclusive workspaces where all talent can thrive.

‍94. Tara Turk-Haynes, Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Talent Management at Leaf Group

Tara Turk-Haynes is VP of DEI and Talent Management at Leaf Group where she oversees Leaf Group’s diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as hiring efforts. She joined Leaf Group in 2016 as Director, People, where she led the company’s employee engagement, talent acquisition and learning and development programs. She is a first generation graduate from Eugene Lang College The New School where she studied Social, Cultural and Urban Studies and Sarah Lawrence College where she studied theatre. Her work has appeared in Tamara Winfrey Harris’s “Dear Black Girl” - a letter to young Black girls from Black Women along with Tarana Burke and others. She has also been featured in Lars Schmidt’s “Redefining HR” book as well his podcast.

‍95. Tim Sackett, President of HRU Technical Resources

Tim Sackett is one of the few HR pros who has been on both sides of the desk. With over 15 years of experience in talent acquisition, Tim has worked as a staffing director on the corporate side with companies like Applebee’s International, ShopKo Stores, Inc., and Sparrow Health System. Tim is an active HR blogger and conference presenter. Tim coaches organizations and HR leaders on best practices for hiring more equitably. He truly believes that the most important role of HR in any organization is to increase the talent to change our organizations for the better.

96. Torin Ellis, Founder of The Torin Ellis Brand

Torin Ellis is a well-known diversity strategist, published author of Rip the Resume, former Host of Career Mix on SiriusXM, and podcaster of Crazy and The King. Torin leads a nimble boutique with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging strategy through the lens of recruiting. Through his coaching and consulting, Torin ensures that teams effectively attract, nurture, and retain the most dynamic talent necessary to not only meet but transcend business vision. He is a fearless truth-teller, unafraid to use his voice for good.

‍97. Travis Robinson, Global Head of DEI and Social Impact at Airtable

Travis Robinson is a people and brand evangelist, specializing in curating connections and experiences for diversity, equity, and belonging. Travis currently serves as Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Spotify. He has also served in similar roles in diversity & inclusion and human capital at other industry-leading, multinational brands such as: J.P. Morgan, Federal Reserve System, and W Hotels. In his community and economic impact work, he is involved in advocacy and change work for equity with underrepresented communities. He is an Advisory Board Member for Diversity and Inclusion We The Project, an accredited Investor with The Gaingels Network, and is Co-founder and CEO of Zeal Culture, The 12th Avenue Agency, and Belonging.

‍98. Trinidad Hermida, Senior Diversity and Inclusion Consultant at Unity

With 10 years of experience working in Diversity and Inclusion with big tech companies such as Dell, Niantic & Unity, Trinidad is passionate about increasing representation and opportunities for Black professionals in the gaming industry. She was awarded with the Social and Economic Initiative Award issued by the Black in Gaming Foundation, where they recognized the achievements of top Black executives, creators, and developers who have made a significant impact in the video gaming industry. The Black in Gaming (BIG) Foundation is a volunteer community dedicated to cultivating, supporting, and promoting Black professionals in the video game industry. Trinidad worked on Black Developers Initiative with Niantic, which is a program established to support, mentor and finance Black game development teams for the purpose of building real-world AR games.

‍99. William Chichester, Director of Enterprise Campus Talent Acquisition at Target

William currently heads up university recruiting efforts for one of America’s leading retailers, Target Corporation. As Director of Enterprise Campus Talent Acquisition, he leads a matrixed team of recruiters responsible for end-to-end hiring of exceptional college students and oversees firm wide early career talent programs and initiatives for the Minneapolis-based, Fortune 50 company. Active in the community, William serves on the advisory board of the Darden School of Business and several non-profit and university boards committed to college and career readiness, financial literacy, and diversity, equity & inclusion. He was also selected to be an inaugural member of the BAM HR Leadership Council to set the strategic vision and groundwork for the brand new affiliate group within Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) for 100+ human resources professionals globally.

100. Zariah Cameron, Equity-Centered UX Strategist at Ally Financial

Zariah Cameron is the first Equity-Centered UX Strategist at Ally Financial. She created this role when uncovering a need for ensuring that the digital products and experiences, as well as the design practice, should be more equitable. In six short months of working at Ally, she has initiated a practice for achieving equitable designs through awareness and implementation. She has piloted hands-on training and workshops on equity design, focusing on what it means to build inclusion and equity in teams and research. She was instrumental in the soon-to-be-launched application site for Ally's outreach competition for HBCU students, "Moguls in the Making." She is currently working on inclusive design principles that will be followed across the entire UX organization.

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We applaud the dedication of our winners and congratulate them on this well-deserved honor. And we are so grateful that they raise the bar for all of us to walk the walk! Thank you!

Over the next several weeks, we will continue celebrating them in our content and are planning a webinar that will feature a panel of winners. This learning event will be an opportunity to share ideas and successes. Sign up for our newsletter to follow along.