The DEI Summit: Diversity Officers & HR Taking Charge: Midwest
The DEI Summit: Diversity Officers & HR Taking Charge
While the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) isn’t new, 2020 was a wake-up call for companies to reexamine their diversity initiatives. Organizations must evolve or risk a shrinking candidate pool, reduced market share, and ultimately, lost profitability.
Come join us for an engaging and interactive discussion on increasing diversity, equity & inclusion in the workforce. You will hear how leading companies are restructuring in order to embed DEI into their DNA, and you will leave with takeaways and actionable strategies to implement within your own organization.
How can HR & DEI professionals create a true culture of inclusion within their companies? What are the strategies and best practices for training that can have long-term impact? How can formal retention and mentorship programs improve diversity hiring and decrease turnover rate? How can companies respond to racial inequality and create social justice reform for the communities they serve?
Please join us as we explore the challenges facing HR & DEI executives and how they have worked towards solving them. This is an opportunity for all of us to exchange ideas and come away with actionable takeaways, as we continue to move the needle forward in order to create lasting change.
Speakers
Shalin Kothari is passionate about social and environmental sustainability. That explains his recent move to the VP, People and DEI Strategy NA role for Schneider Electric, voted the most sustainable company in the world. Shalin has been making contributions to Schneider Electric for over 25 years working in HR and Finance roles in the US and in Singapore.
Highlighting some of the projects Shalin is working on/worked on : bridging the pay equity gap globally over the last 5+ years, developing an inclusive leadership program, creating a comprehensive sustainability offer for Schneider Electric employees and fostering a greater degree of intersectionality among the ERNs.
Shalin holds a BBA with a Finance Major from Loyola and a Masters in Computer Information Systems from Northwestern University.
An experienced leader in financial services with more than 15 years of service, William Jaramillo brings a unique track record of performance and leadership to his role, as the new Vice President and Head of Community Development for Advancing Hispanics & Latinos at JP Morgan Chase & Co. In role, William helps advance the priorities of Hispanic and Latino communities, aligning with the firm’s racial equity commitment to achieve sustainable change and equity.
William’s experience includes leading retail branch teams, home lending and community engagement and opening Chase Community Branches in the New England Market Expansion.
A first-generation Cuban-American, who was born and raised in Maywood, IL, he actively volunteers and teaches financial education with community organizations such as Instituto Del Progreso Latino and sits on the Emerging Leaders Board of Casa Central Chicago. Most recently, he was invited to join the governing Board of Directors for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. William, and his beautiful wife Vanessa, live in Lombard, IL and have 3 amazing little girls
With more than 25 years of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leadership experience, Khan has broad experience with driving organizational change during times of national turmoil around race, gender, and other social issues. Khan’s mission is to engage and inspire people at all levels to promote creative thinking to drive employee engagement, innovation, and profitable growth.
Nitika Rosa is the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for GE Healthcare’s Enterprise Digital Solutions business. In this role, Nitika is responsible for driving the HR agenda strategically across the global commercial, engineering, product management, and services organizations. GE Healthcare is delivering the industry leading Edison Digital Health Platform, PACS (digital imaging) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) orchestrator solutions powered by Cloud, and Analytics.
Nitika joined GE in 2011 and has held several positions at the company. In 2019, Nitika served as the Head of HR, GE Africa, an expansion from her role as Africa Healthcare HR Business Partner. In this role, Nitika led all aspects of human resources for one of GE’s key emerging markets which involved the development of the human capital strategy, enhancing the leadership pipeline, and building in-region HR capability (CoE) in talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, HR operations, learning, and expertise in labor/HR risk management. Prior to joining GE, Nitika has held several human resources leadership roles with increasing responsibility at Toyota, Bauherr Construction Civil, and Consulting at Alcatel.
An experienced CHRO, Nitika has expertise in portfolio moves, mergers and integrations, deployment of culture and talent development strategies. She has played a critical role in developing and deploying localization strategies and is keen on stewarding Inclusion & diversity strategies. As a business partner, she is passionate about being solutions-focused, delivering results in an uncertain and complex environment, value creation & impacting the organization through the implementation of lean principles. She is an avid believer of continuous improvement & learning.
Nitika holds a Master’s degree in business leadership from the University of South Africa and an undergraduate degree in Marketing and Business management from Oxford Brookes. She is currently working on leadership for employee engagement certificate program through UPenn GSE. She resides in Chicago, United States with her husband and their four children.
Stephanie Roseman is vice president, Human Resources People Solutions & Experience, at Allstate Insurance Company. In this role, Stephanie is responsible for the continued development and execution of the employee experience, including the Human Resources’ technology and centralized services strategy. She leads the Workforce Relations, AskHR, Payroll, HR Technology, Employee Experience, and Business Services Operations teams, supporting employees and leaders across Allstate. She is also responsible for HR Operational Risk and, in partnership with Corporate Brand, leading HR communications for the enterprise. In addition, she serves as the HR business partner for Human Resources.
Stephanie brings strong business acumen, balanced risk analysis skills and a strong aptitude for collaborative partnership to her role. She is a strategic and critical thinker who balances systems thinking with practical solutions. She is known for her customer- and employee-centered approach, which has helped her build partnerships across the company and industry. As a trusted leader within Allstate, she’s led efforts to create data-driven solutions for workforce planning needs.
Since joining Allstate in 2019 as director, Workforce Relations, Stephanie has made significant contributions, including playing a critical role in the integration of Esurance and National General into the Allstate framework. She’s also helped lead HR’s Organizational Capabilities and Design initiatives to support the company’s transformation. She was a driving force in Allstate’s response to COVID-19 through policies and programs, case management and tracking, and the Return to Office playbook.
Prior to Allstate, Stephanie led Employee and Labor Relations and Talent Acquisition at Stepan Co. She spent much of her career at Ford Motor Company, with leadership roles in Labor Relations, as the HR business partner for Ford’s Global Strategy business and as an Organizational Development and Culture Change lead.
Stephanie earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and her Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin. She and her husband, Seth, have two boys, Rafi (15) and Micah (12), and a COVID puppy, Mayhem.
Nashunda is the Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for JLL. She is responsible for driving the company’s DEI strategy, identifying comprehensive actions that help JLL provide environments where all employees feel they belong, creating a company culture of which employees can be proud, and enabling higher performing teams.
Since joining JLL in 2015, Nashunda has served as an IT business partner for our Work Dynamics and Markets businesses, helping to implement strategies, programs and solutions.
Additionally, she has been deeply involved in JLL’s DEI initiatives, having led the Empower–Black Professionals Network in the United States and founded and led JLLT’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Prior to joining JLL, Nashunda worked as a technology manager at Allstate, which included leading the Allstate Center for Assistive Technology, which ensured all employees have access to diverse accommodations to ensure an ideal work environment. Her passion for culture and leadership enabled her to conduct workshops for the Emerging Leader Program as well as be part of a transformative culture at Allstate.
Nashunda holds a degree in Information Systems from Howard University and is a certified SCRUM Master. She is based in Chicago, has three children and enjoys reading in her spare time.
Tyronne is the Global Vice President of Diversity Equity & Inclusion for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, a global hospitality company with widely recognized, industry leading brands and a tradition of innovation developed over its more than 60-year history.
At Hyatt, Corporation Stoudemire Collaborates with senior leadership team to implement culture, talent, and marketplace strategies that leverage diversity and inclusion globally growing the enterprise wide across brand portfolio. As such, his team and internal corporate stakeholders implement diversity initiatives that include Resource Groups, mentoring programs for high potential women and people of color, a communications and public relations strategy to drive internal engagement and external brand recognition, and enhanced brand marketing effort to further focus on multicultural and LGBT audiences. He is the Co-Chair, of Hyatt’s Global Diversity Equity and Inclusion Counsel (GDEIC
Change Agent. Diversity Leader. Innovator. Ally.
Robye Scott is the Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer in the Office of the Treasurer of the City of Chicago. She oversees the advancement of financial equity and awareness for the people and small and mid-sized businesses in Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods in partnership with global financial services firms, corporations, educational institutions and community organizations. In addition, she manages key programs designed to financially empower Chicagoans.
Previously, Robye served as Manager for Workforce Strategic Initiatives for World Business Chicago, where she united public and private sector employers in key industry growth sectors with educational partners as well as community and faith-based organizations to eliminate employment barriers, provide comprehensive training, and promote targeted talent recruitment and retention best practices through the creation of inclusive workforce strategies. Robye believes that sustainable and effective talent pipelines open career pathways, with return on investments such as livable wages for individuals historically disadvantaged in employment opportunities who often live in disinvested communities. She is intentional about moving the needle to employment equity and economic inclusion. During her tenure, she procured almost 750 technical resources for youth services programs through corporate partnerships, identified dozens of internship opportunities, and collaborated with groups to co-host industry sector and city-wide career fairs. Robye developed the infrastructure for a cybersecurity career pathways program with key stakeholders focusing on hiring the unemployed/underemployed low-to-middle-income individuals, helping them secure certifications to become cybersecurity analysts.
In 2016, Robye was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Human Resources & Workforce Development for the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) for both O’Hare and Midway International Airports, overseeing over 1,500 employees, 11 functional groups, and 14 unions. Robye led a staff of 16 Human Resources and Workforce Development individuals and successfully led the development of talent growth pipeline programs for the department’s airport industry partners. She partnered with contractors to hire and sponsor internships and pre-apprenticeships, especially for returning citizens, women, people of color, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from low socio-economic neighborhoods, increasing year-over-year participation by more than 200 percent. Robye previously served as the EEO Officer for a Fortune 100 defense contractor.
Robye is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, where she got her first true experience of inclusion at the age of 10 when she and her sisters were among the first African-American students to integrate the previously segregated public schools as a result of a lawsuit challenging racial segregation. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and a master’s from Northwestern University and serves on the boards of American Urban Campus and Community Assistance Programs. She adores spending time with her children and grandchildren.
The perspectives shared by J.Darnell Jones are his own and not given on behalf of Hines Interests.
J Darnell Jones is an internationally-recognized diversity scholar and advocate. He is a retired navy officer and lawyer, currently serving as Hines’ Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI).
His career experience in DEI officially began when assigned as Women & Minority Affairs Liaison at the Pentagon in 2000. He would go on to serve in other career-defining roles such as:
•European Command (EUCOM) Assistant Director of Evaluations, where he led military teams and consultants to create success metrics for joint military exercises;
•Navy Assistant Director of Equal Opportunity, where he drafted diversity policy and served on a team of military leaders in the fight for the successful removal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation which allowed LGBTQ service members to serve out and proudly;
•Southwest Region Diversity/Community STEM Outreach Leader, where he worked to implement robotics programs in underserved communities alongside other military, government, and corporate leaders to ensure diverse employment pipeline availability for STEM careers;
•Corporate and International D&I Leader at Boeing, where he supported strategic diversity initiatives; and,
•Started his own diversity and social justice advocacy consulting firm in 2012.
As a member of the Hines’ ESG “Social” strategy team, Darnell is currently helping to steer DEI accountability efforts as part of the Firm’s commitment to DEI and communities where they operate.
Darnell comes from a large family and humble beginnings and believes there are equitable solutions for all people to thrive. He has one daughter in college and enjoys learning and outdoor activities.
A social entrepreneur who describes himself as a “lawpreneur”, which he describes as, “one who engages in working adroitly in both disciplines of law and business”. Robert seeks to utilize his experience of over 25 years in law, business management and dispute resolution both domestically and internationally to transform organizations, communities and individuals.
Robert is the Chief Economic Inclusion Officer and General Counsel for the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago. In this capacity he is responsible for the management of the organizations Economic Empowerment Institute. The Economic Empowerment Institute includes the Financial Inclusion Institute, the Innovation and Technology Institute, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), StreetWise and the Workforce Development Department.
Mr. Johnson is also the Managing Partner of the Solomon Group LLC, a Social Enterprise management consulting firm that provides business management, leadership development and access to capital for minority and women entrepreneurs. In addition, Robert is also a Partner in the Chicago office of the law firm of Taylor English Duma LLP. His law practice focuses on corporate law, social enterprise law, minority and women startup ventures, cannabis, diversity and inclusion issues and fractional General Counsel services.
Kari is currently a Client Human Resource Business Partner for Paychex, where she supports clients across the Midwest. She serves as a Culture Champion and Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador for HRBPs and works on several corporate strategy projects for DEI initiatives. Additionally, Kari regularly consults with local small businesses starting up their HR departments, offering mentoring and policy advice. Prior to her work at Paychex, she served as the Director of International Operations for the Global Leadership Network, providing leadership training to individuals in over 100 countries. She has over 10 years of experience in Human Resources and 20 years of experience with project management. She has worked in the higher education and nonprofit sectors in the U.S. and the U.K., leading multiple global teams. She is passionate about superhero work – that is, helping businesses create great culture by building DEI strategies. When she is not fighting HR crimes, Kari serves on the orientation committee at Chicago SHRM and works as a volunteer for the Global Leadership Summit.
Her educational accomplishments include a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Amberton University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois. She recently completed a certificate from the University of South Florida and is working on a certificate from Cornell on Diversity and Inclusion for HR, and she holds SHRM-CP and PMP certifications.
Kari resides in Schaumburg, Illinois and spends much of her time actively supporting her four school-aged daughters. She spends whatever free time she has traveling and loves spending time with her extended family in the United Kingdom.
Jyl Feliciano is the Global Head and Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at Highspot and brings a background in preparing companies for the Future of Work within human resources, operational engineering, education, and organizational inclusion coaching. Jyl has 15 years of experience in re-energizing and elevating D&I operating models by developing equitable sourcing, selection, and retention strategies with a focus on coaching leaders to lead with an inclusive lens and adopt innovative tactics rooted in marketplace data analytics to successfully integrate equity and inclusion into each phase of the employee life-cycle. Jyl has successfully led Global Inclusion Programs across the finance, technology, and consumer products industries by challenging leaders to move beyond dialogue and into action around issues of diversity, power, privilege, and leadership.