The Future and Sustainability of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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An expert panel will discuss DEI strategies' cultivation, development, and evolution and how to ensure sustainability in talent recruitment, retention methods, and employee engagement. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are rigorously intertwined but are they sustainable? Why have diversity initiatives failed to solve inclusion? Each panelist will share their organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion journey and the strategies they recommend for success and sustainability.
LaQuenta Jacobs
LaQuenta Jacobs, serves as the Global Vice President of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity at Kimberly Clark, providing cultural leadership that cultivate K-C’s equity strategy. Her focus includes the important work of diversity and inclusion and partnering with internal and external stakeholders to unleash the power of the company’s workforce.
Prior to joining K-C, she served as XPO’s Chief Diversity Officer, providing cultural leadership and advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She initially joined XPO as head of human resources for the company’s last mile business unit. In prior roles, LaQuenta led organizational development initiatives for global public companies, including Delta Airlines, The Home Depot, Turner Broadcasting and Georgia-Pacific.
LaQuenta is a passionate business leader with deep experience in cultural transformation. In addition to providing HR business partnership and strategic guidance for diversity, equity, and inclusion, she has worked across a variety of HR disciplines, including talent acquisition, talent development, organizational design, compensation, change management and employee relations, this experience has shaped her passion for helping organizations cultivate cultures of equitable access for all.
Alicia Petross
Alicia, a member of the Human Resources Leadership Team since 2015, leads the development and execution of Hershey’s Pathways Framework delivering diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. She partners with key internal and external leaders to develop more innovation and robustness in Hershey’s global climate and inclusion programming. Externally, Alicia expands Hershey’s partnership framework and represents the company in key industry commitments, including Paradigm for Parity, CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, the National Organization on Disability Look Closer Campaign, and Financial Literacy For All.
Alicia has more than 15 years of progressive human resources experience. She joined Hershey from the Target Corporation, where she played a key role in advancing and executing inclusion and engagement strategy and led the company’s ascension to the Top 20 in Diversity Inc.’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity rankings. Prior to joining Target, Alicia held various jobs including Store Team Leader at the Dayton Hudson Corporation – where she was the first African American woman to hold this position. In 2022, The Hershey Company was named #6 on Diversity Inc.’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. Hershey recently earned the #1 ranking on Forbes World’s Most Female Friendly Companies. Alicia was named on Diversity Woman Media’s inaugural Elite100 Black Women leaders list in 2021.
Pedro Jaime Torres-Díaz
Pedro Jaime Torres-Díaz is the office managing principal of the Miami, Florida, office and a principal in the San Juan, Puerto Rico, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He is also a past president of the Hispanic National Bar Association. His practice concentrates on employment discrimination and wage and hour counseling and litigation exclusively on behalf of employers, both in Florida and Puerto Rico.
Pedro has extensive trial experience before both federal and local courts and administrative forums in Puerto Rico and Florida. He has also successfully defended employers in all types of administrative hearings before local and federal agencies. Before joining Jackson Lewis, he was a partner in the Labor and Employment Law Department of a leading law firm in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he resided and practiced law for eight years.
Throughout his practice in Puerto Rico, Pedro was a frequent and featured speaker on many subjects in the labor and employment law field, in seminars for clients and for organizations such as the Society for Human Resource Management and the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce. Since arriving in Miami, he has continued to participate as speaker on many topics related to workplace law, both for clients and other organizations in Florida and elsewhere. Pedro has also written articles on legal developments in Puerto Rico, one of which was published in the American Bar Association's The International Employment Lawyer.
During his undergraduate studies, he completed an internship in European Business in the Ecòle Europèenne des Affaires in Paris, France. After completion of his undergraduate studies, Pedro worked as a fiscal analyst in the corporate headquarters of McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, Missouri. After his graduation from law school, he clerked for Honorable Aida M. Delgado-Colón, United States Magistrate-Judge (now Chief United States District Judge), at the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Pedro is fluent in Spanish and English, and conversant in French.
Jim Link, SHRM-SCP
Jim Link is the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Society for Human Resource Management. With more than 315,000 members around the world, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world and the leading voice for matters related to workers and the workplace.
Jim’s career includes roles of increasing responsibility across a variety of industries and companies including General Electric, the Pillsbury Company, Porsche Cars, and Randstad. In his most recent role as CHRO for Randstad North America, he led a global team of 150 HR professionals who were instrumental in transforming the company into an award-winning, inclusive, and sustainable global leader.
Jim has served as a volunteer leader in several organizations including the SHRM Foundation Board, the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank Human Capital Advisory Board, and the Human Resources Leadership Forum.
Jim holds undergraduate and master’s degree from Murray State University. Born and raised on a working family farm in western Kentucky, he currently resides in Atlanta and Alexandria, VA.
Jim is an adjunct instructor in the Executive MBA program at the University of Poznan (Poland) School of Economics and Business and the University of Liège (Belgium) Asia-Pacific campus in Taipei, Taiwan.