Expanding Equity: Industry Champions for Equitable Workplaces
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The Kellogg Foundation’s Expanding Equity (expandingequity.com) network of corporate DEI leaders has doubled in size this year and grown to 200 companies strong. That growth is being driven by the emergence of new industries who are adopting and incorporating DEI as a central component of their business strategy. These trends run counter to the headlines that the private sector is pulling back from DEI when it is actually pressing ahead because it has proven to be good for business, workers and consumers. We will profile two champions in these industries – leading associations of energy companies and credit unions – and dig deeper into the partnership and why and how they’re investing in strategies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion at their organizations. The workplace, as one of the few places where we interact with people who are different from us, holds tremendous potential for building bridges in an increasingly divided society. By focusing on making workplaces more inclusive and equitable, organizations can foster greater empathy, connection, and partnership, while also raising pay, expanding benefits, and increasing opportunities so that all workers can contribute and succeed.
Learning Objectives:
1. Design DEI initiatives that align with your industry’s strengths and challenges
2. Frame DEI work in an effective and inclusive manner
3. Engage people leaders in modeling and leading DEI efforts How to build bridges across identity and ideology
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Cornell Johnson
Cornell focuses on expanding equity and inclusion strategies and policies across The Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) and its member companies. Cornell leads the strategy that positions CEWD to be a world class, benchmark company for sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusion and align these values with the enterprise’s business objectives. Cornell oversees the implementation of initiatives focused on change efforts to ensure the development of more diverse, equitable, and inclusive energy workplaces. CEWD’s commitment to advancing DEI is rooted in the belief that diversity of experience, backgrounds, and perspectives leads to better outcomes for our members, employees, and communities we serve. Cornell is responsible for the creation and implementation of CEWD’s internal and external diversity, equity, and inclusion global strategy and initiatives as well as expanding the Urban Energy Jobs Program, a joint initiative between The National Urban League and CEWD to increase diversity in the industry’s workforce.
Prior to joining CEWD, Cornell was the Head of DEI where he was instrumental in the growth of the DEI programs and initiatives for Centuri Group, Inc. While with Centuri, Cornell successfully launched programs that contributed to a sustainable more inclusive workforce, oversaw ERG initiatives and the DEI Council for the enterprise, and was a member of various councils that focused on industry diversification.
Cornell is also very passionate about philanthropy and grass root relationships. Powered by this passion, he currently serves on the board for KIPP DC, The L.E.A.D. Fund and development committee for The Appellate Project making a difference in the lives of tomorrow’s leaders!
Samira Salem
Samira is passionate about leading and evolving impactful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. She has 25 years of experience in DEI, economic policy, international economic development, and community development. She joined the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) in 2018 as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Economics Department. In 2020 she was promoted to Vice President for DEI. Before joining CUNA, she worked for Forward Community Investments, a CDFI focused on advancing racial equity in the state of Wisconsin. Earlier, Samira worked at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, D.C., as their Senior Trade Analyst for Labor. Before that, she had an eight-year tenure at Washington-based DAI as an international economic development specialist. Samira currently serves on the Summit Credit Union Board of Directors, which works to advance equity in money for women. Samira was awarded the Credit Union Times Luminaries Award for DEI. Samira earned her Ph.D. in Political Economy and Public Policy and her M.A. in Economics from the University of Southern California.
Jonathan Njus
Jonathan Njus is Director for Family Economic Security and Expanding Equity at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan.
As Director for Family Economic Security, Jonathan provides leadership and strategic oversight for the foundation’s investments aimed at building economic security for working families through sustained income and asset accumulation. In this role, he informs and guides initiatives and projects that increase workforce mobility and further family stability for low-income working parents. He is currently leading the Expanding Equity initiative for the foundation, which is focused on supporting private sector companies and leaders in transforming their workplaces to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. He actively guides the integration of family economic security and Expanding Equity into all aspects of the foundation’s national grantmaking strategy and placed-based efforts.
Prior to joining the foundation, Jonathan served as a senior policy advisor for the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC. He was appointed to the Obama Administration to advance the Department of Labor’s initiatives around clean energy, job training and worker safety, and was detailed to the Domestic Policy Council at the White House to work on labor issues.
Jonathan has a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Kalamazoo College, and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. He and his family live in Michigan.
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