2021 Washington D.C. Virtual DiversityFIRST™ Certification Program
Faculty
Luzilda Carrillo Arciniega, Ph.D.
Luzilda Carrillo Arciniega, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Diversity Research Institute and the Lead Strategist of the National Diversity Council Index. As the Lead Strategist of the NDC Index, Lucy translates diversity and inclusion best practices into organizational benchmarking tools. Through managing and analyzing organizational data, she helps companies define, clarify, and set goals to establish effective diversity initiatives and inclusive cultures. Since 2015, Lucy has overseen the strategic plan for Diversity Research Institute, including the development and implementation of programs and initiatives, and the marketing campaign and outreach efforts to community partners, academic institutions, and business organizations. As a researcher she has written and edited industry demographic reports, including “Leading While Diverse: The Case for Diversity in Corporate Governance across Multinational Pharma.” Lucy also works as an independent diversity consultant, using her skills as an anthropologist to bring cultural insights into the customer service experience, management leadership strategies, and employee engagement. She has experience consulting with multinational corporations, designing and delivering diversity trainings for senior managers and professional development workshops for university students. She draws insights for consulting from her six-year dissertation research on business cultures and diversity management. Lucy Carrillo received her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Anthropology from the University of California, Irvine. Her doctoral research received numerous awards, including the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Grant and an honorable mention from the National Science Foundation. She is also University of California, Berkeley undergraduate alumni. Currently, she teaches courses on culture and communication at the California State University Long Beach and lives in Los Angeles. She is also editing her dissertation into a book on business expertise, diversity management, and American race relations.
Stan C. Kimer, founder and president of Total Engagement Consulting, is recognized as an internal/external consultant with unique skills in employee development/career mapping, workplace diversity (specialization in GLBT – Gay, Lesbian Bisexual, Transgender), and organization effectiveness/leadership development. Stan formed his own consultancy around these areas in 2010 following a 31-year successful diverse, multi-functional career at IBM. While at IBM as Director of Global Sales Operations for IBM’s consulting practice, Stan served as the executive sponsor overseeing career development for IBM’s 3,000 Sales Operations employees. He has now executed his unique innovative career mapping approach which he launched at IBM, with clients ranging from major corporations to church denominations to professional organizations. During his four years on IBM’s global corporate diversity staff, Stan led IBM into industry leadership in LGBT diversity and established IBM’s procedures for supporting transgender employees and assisting with case management of employees undergoing gender transition while in the workplace. Since forming his own consulting practice, Stan has trained or spoken in over 50 venues reaching over 3,000 professionals. He is a certified Out and Equal Workplace Advocates Building Bridges Trainer and a certified Training Management Corp / Berlitz Cultural Competency Trainer / Practitioner. Within the transgender arena, Stan has provided training to client employee and HR teams and has assisted with case management of gender transitions in the workplace. He is active in leadership roles in dozens of community and civic organizations including as a volunteer instructor on his church denomination’s leadership development faculty. In 2013, the Triangle Business Journal recognized Stan with one of their Leaders in Diversity – Role Model awards. Stan received his MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and BS in management science from Georgia Tech. In his spare time, Stan is training to be a competitive adult figure skater.
Cecilia Orellana-Rojas joined the National Diversity Council (NDC) in 2013 as vice president of strategy and research. In this role, she provides direction for the formulation of the organization’s strategic goals and oversees the consulting services function. In addition, she leads innovative, high quality educational and research initiatives in diversity and inclusion. She is the creator of the DiversityFIRST™ Toolkit, a unique diversity reference portal and research consolidator, and the DiversityFIRST™ Certification Program curriculum, which prepares professionals for successful careers in the D&I space. Cecilia brings 15 years of experience at AT&T, where she started as a manager in diversity marketing. She spent most of her career at the telecommunications giant as associate director and lead consultant of corporate diversity. In this role, she offered support in the formulation and implementation of AT&T’s diversity and inclusion strategy with an emphasis on diversity metrics, communications, and training. As a business partner, she worked with clients to ensure that AT&T’s business practices, processes and procedures supported workforce inclusion. She also provided consulting in all aspects of workforce diversity. Prior to her corporate role, Cecilia worked as a journalist and later taught in academia for more than 10 years in the area of sociology, with emphasis on U.S. race relations, gender, research methods, and Latin America. Cecilia is a passionate advocate for diversity. She was instrumental in the launch of the Texas Diversity Council and served as the first president of the San Antonio Advisory Board. As a founding member of the Texas Hispanic/Latino Summit, she played a leadership role in establishing the mission of the summit as a venue for Latino/a voices within the Texas Leadership and Diversity Conference. She has been recognized numerous times with the Diversity Champion Award and Diversity Leadership Award for her commitment and dedication to diversity business practices. A native of Chile, Cecilia earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota. She resides in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, Henry, and their son, Rodrigo.
Al Sullivan is the president and owner of Inspirus Consulting Inc. A firm specializing in system wide Organization Development, Diversity, and Sustainable Change. His approach integrates both theory and practical tools from the Applied Behavioral Sciences. His primary goal is to help client systems engage everyone to do their best work. His firm worked with a 4000-employee hospital to assess, design, and implement updated and strategic Diversity, Inclusion, and Culture training. He used the “Train the Trainer” model to provide the hospital with the capacity to train, update, and evaluate the program with sustained impact over time. Al helped the Information Technology division at global pharmaceutical organization win the “Attraction, Development, & Retention” Diversity award by designing and implementing initiatives which significantly increased senior female and minority leaders. Al has experience designing, delivering, and evaluating training intended to improve awareness and collaboration in multicultural organizations. He attends to the various levels of system when training and consulting (e.g. individual, team, organization, and community). His continuous improvement focus helps to connect training design to strategic organization objectives. Additional areas of expertise include applying strategies in areas such as Talent Management, Employee Engagement, Executive Coaching, Strategic Human Resources Management and Organization Development. Al is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources Al is also trained in a number of Organization Development tools and approaches such as Use of Self, Organization Analysis / Design, Action Research, Group Facilitation, Multicultural Organization Development, and Change Management, & Process Consulting.
Speaker
Bleuzette Marshall, Ph.D.
Bleuzette Marshall is the Vice President for Equity, Inclusion and Community Impact at the University of Cincinnati. In this role, she manages the offices of Equal Opportunity & Access, Title IX and Diversity & Inclusion; implements the University’s Diversity Plan; co-chairs the President’s Diversity Council; provides strategic leadership for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of diverse talent (students, faculty, and staff); assists with supplier diversity efforts; serves as a resource to benchmark trends and promote best practices; and builds partnerships in the broader community. She administers the university’s diversity incentive grant process to award colleges and units with funds to enhance innovative practices to build a more inclusive university. In addition, she created and is the convener of a chief diversity officers’ roundtable with corporations, community organizations, colleges, health systems, and legal firms to serve as a resource and think tank to advance diversity and inclusion efforts within the region. Previously, she was the Senior Director of Development for Provost & Student Affairs at the UC Foundation. Under her leadership, $20 million was raised for university-wide scholarships and programs, and she developed the Onyx & Ruby Society – an affinity based giving program for African American alumni. She has worked diligently to design and implement programs to promote diversity and aid in the retention of students. She co-created the Brothers And Sisters Excelling (BASE) Mentoring Program, organized the Tyehimba Graduation Celebration, facilitated a series of workshops on the freshman year experience, and served as the co-chair of the university-wide diversity conference. She was also an adjunct instructor for a diversity course at Miami University (Oxford). In addition, Bleuzette has served as an advisor to several student organizations including Latinos en Accion, Cincinnati Women in Excellence & Spirit Together (CWEST), and the Senior Class Officers. Currently, she is the advisor for Sigma Phi women’s honorary. Bleuzette is an alumna of the University of Cincinnati and its prestigious Darwin T. Turner Scholars Program. She earned a B.A. in Psychology, a M.Ed. in Educational Foundations, and a Ph.D. in Educational Studies. She is also the founding president of the UC African American Alumni Affiliate (4A). During her tenure, an All-Class Reunion was implemented in conjunction with Homecoming that reconnected eight decades of graduates. Within the community, she was the project manager for the Greater Cincinnati International Hall of Fame and an educational consultant to White Hat Management. Currently, she serves on the boards of the Public Media Connect and Project ArtReach. She is also a member of the Cincinnati Chapter of The Links, Incorporated; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; the Greater Cincinnati Hispanic Scholarship Fund Celebración Steering Committee; and St. James A.M.E. Church – Covington. Bleuzette has been recognized with the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission’s Champion for Connecting Cultures & Communities Award, the King Legacy Award, the National Diversity Council’s Glass Ceiling Award, and the Cincinnatus Association’s 2016 Donald & Marian Spencer Spirit of America Award.
Mary Mbiya has been with Flagstar Bank since 2012 serving in various management positions. She has over 20 years of experience in financial services. Since 2017, she has led the charge for the bank’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. In this role, she is responsible for the development and implementation of Flagstar’s strategic objectives and priorities relating to diversity, equity and inclusion. She has also led the charge in creating DEI metrics which are reported to the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council on a quarterly basis. Mbiya is also a resource to the nine employee resource groups at Flagstar. Mbiya is active in the community and serves on the boards of the McLaren Oakland Hospital and is on its Finance Committee, the Michigan Diversity Council, the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership Oakland, Dutton Farm and Next Steps4Seniors Foundation. Additionally, she serves on the Inclusion Advisory Committee for the Mayor of the City of Rochester Hills. In addition Mbiya serves on the Council for Supplier Diversity Professionals, where she serves on the membership committee. She has received numerous recognitions for her contributions to the community. She was named honoree for the Women of Excellence Award by the Michigan Chronicle, and received the Leader of Leaders Award from Leadership Oakland. She also was named Board Member of the Year by the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce, and a finalist in the Keystones Women in Housing Leadership Awards by the Five Star Institute, in recognition of her leadership in developing diverse workplace cultures. Mbiya was also named as one of the 2019 Diversity Business Leader award recipients by Corp! Magazine and recognized by Dutton Farm as the 2019 Philanthropic Advocate of the Year. Earlier this year Mbiya was awarded with the 2021 Diversity Champion Award Recipient by the Troy Chamber of Commerce. Mbiya volunteers in different capacities within the community and has volunteered as a facilitator of the financial focus classes for the Rochester Area Neighborhood House, helping local low-income families achieve self-sufficiency through financial literacy. She holds an MBA in finance from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom.