Closing General Session featuring Inclusion Innovators
Next Practices for an Inclusive Workforce
New success stories are emerging from companies that are boldly moving from best practices in D&I to “next practices” for true inclusion. Beyond refining hiring processes, bold leaders are embracing an ethos of inclusion, where minority groups aren’t just represented but empowered.
In this panel discussion, inclusion innovators will discuss what it takes to shift to a culture of inclusion and how trailblazers across the U.S. are shaping the future. Through their experiences, glean insights and actionable solutions that can help you tackle challenges and harness untapped opportunities. Take away practical tools you can use today in your work to build, expand and elevate an inclusive workforce.
Natasha Miller Williams
Natasha leads Nielsen’s global diversity & inclusion strategy. She has held roles of increasing responsibility in Client Service, Global Operations, Product Leadership, Human Resources, and Diversity & Inclusion.
Natasha has parlayed her love of mentorship and writing into commentary on career planning and guidance. She is a contributing writer for several career and lifestyle magazines. Natasha sits on the editorial board for Training Industry Magazine and the board of directors for the Village of Oak Lawn’s Chamber of Commerce.
Natasha graduated from Northern Illinois University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. She has an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the Jack Welch Management Institute. Natasha lives in the Chicago area with her husband and their sons.
Barbee Myers Oakes, Ph.D.
Barbee Myers Oakes, Ph.D. has more than 30 years of experience in higher education. She was appointed the Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in September 2017. Previously, Oakes was the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer and Assistant Provost for Diversity and Inclusion at Wake Forest University from 2009-2017 where she was the architect of the university’s first strategic plan for diversity and inclusion. From 1995-2009 Oakes was the director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Wake Forest. Under her leadership, Wake Forest was awarded a Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award by Insight into Diversity in 2012. In 2012 Oakes was also named by Diverse Issues in Higher Education Magazine as one of “25 Women Making A Difference” in higher education. Oakes earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees from Wake Forest. Upon completion of her PhD in Exercise Science and Nutrition from the University in Tennessee, Knoxville, she became the first Black woman with a doctoral degree in the American College of Sports Medicine. Oakes held faculty appointments at Wake Forest, Arizona State University, and Penn State University from 1985-1995 and is the co-author of seven textbooks.
Miguel Joey Aviles
Miguel is the Chief Belonging Officer of MJA & CO, a Minority-owned consulting firm helping leaders leverage DEI as a catalyst to improve recruitment, engagement, and retention. Recognized as a LinkedIn's Top Voice in Racial Equity, Top 15 Champion of Diversity by Diversity Global Magazine, a Top 100 Executive by Diversity MBA Magazine, and featured as an Inclusion Innovator by SHRM.
Miguel served as the first civilian Chief of D&I in the history of the US Coast Guard. He started his career as diversity recruiter and for over a decade held several leadership positions in 3 major Federal Departments. Miguel is a TEDx speaker, featured at the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and Telemundo.
You can learn more about him by visiting www.migueljoeyaviles.com
Corie Pauling
A leader at TIAA for 13 years and also a native Detroiter, Corie Pauling became the organization’s Senior Vice President, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer in July 2018. Corie was instrumental in the launch of the D&I function at TIAA over ten years ago and served as a primary legal and business advisor and thought leader in this area since that time. In her prior role, Corie held the position of Senior Director, Associate General Counsel in the Employment, Benefits & Labor Law Group, in which she provided counseling, training, risk assessment and other support to TIAA’s executives, its prior CDIOs and other Human Resources leaders and also business managers on a broad range of workforce issues, and she also managed employment litigation nationally. In the D&I space, she has extensive experience in strategy development, board interface, equal employment opportunity best practices, policy development, training/learning, metrics, data analysis and reporting, external partnerships and sourcing, pay equity, global workforce compliance, talent acquisition, workforce development, employee resource groups, culture surveys, federal contractor compliance and workplace investigations. She also now leads the enterprise’s nationwide and award-winning Corporate Social Responsibility function, which last year led over 650 community service projects through 15,000 employee volunteers. Having partnered with nearly every area in the TIAA organization over her tenure, Corie also led the Culture Action Team for TIAA’s Advocacy & Oversight area from 2016 through 2018.
A former shareholder with the international employment law firm Littler Mendelson, P.C. and also Ferguson Stein Chambers in Charlotte, Corie’s experience includes counseling financial services institutions and other Fortune 500 companies as well as representing individual employees in employment and civil rights litigation. She has significant trial and appellate experience on civil rights matters. Having presented before the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the Practicing Law Institute, the Society of Human Resources Management and other organizations, Corie frequently speaks at programs on emerging employment law, diversity and inclusion developments.
An engaged civic leader and also a competitive 11-time marathoner, Corie was incredibly honored to be named on the list of 2019 Black Enterprise Most Powerful Women in Corporate Diversity and also to be recognized as a TIAA Working Mother of the Year in conjunction with the national magazine Working Mother and recipient of the Young Civic Leader Award by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. She is a graduate of Charlotte’s groundbreaking Leadership Development Institute. Corie has also served on the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) and as chairperson of the NCBA’s 500-attorney Labor and Employment Law Section. Among other leadership posts, she also served as a committee chair of the Board of Directors for the Levine Museum of the New South, a member of Charlotte’s Arts & Science Council Advisory Committee and a co-chair of the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. As also an avid “late bloomer” runner, she is thrilled to have run the Boston Marathon for the first time in 2018 and is training now to qualify for the 2020 running.
Sean T. Sullivan, SHRM-SCP
Sean Sullivan serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer and is responsible for providing human resources leadership, vision and service delivery for SHRM, the world's largest HR professional society.
Sullivan has over 25 years of experience in human resources strategy and operations. He has built his career across multiple industries, including health care, defense, technology, IT, and manufacturing, applying his expertise to help grow and support diverse business models.
Prior to SHRM, he was Vice President, Human Resources for Tufts Medical Center, an internationally respected academic medical center in downtown Boston. He was responsible for all aspects of human capital practices and labor relations in support of the healthcare, research, and teaching mission of the oldest permanent medical facility in the country. Under his leadership, Tufts Medical Center launched innovative initiatives in workforce development and diversity and inclusion while strengthening strategic partnerships with community-based organizations and enhancing equity in patient access to healthcare.
Sullivan has held senior leadership positions for technology firms in the defense and intelligence industries, including senior vice president for human resources with Leidos, a global IT and technology firm. He led due diligence and integration efforts for international mergers and acquisitions. He helped establish the Leidos Relief Foundation and served as its first president. He played a key role in the re-design of the human resources function for SAIC when it was spun off from Leidos in 2013. Earlier in his career, Sullivan took on roles of increasing responsibility at Northrop Grumman and TRW, including the support of global business units in systems integration and manufacturing.
With a passion for workforce development, he has been a guest speaker at the Close It Summit, the Colloquium on Global Diversity, the Work Rebooted Conference and other forums. He has been a member of Innovate+Educate's Innovative Business Hiring Council and the Healthcare HR Leadership Forum. He holds an MPA from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, from which he also earned his undergraduate degree in political science.
This speaker is a member of the SHRM Speakers Bureau.