Equity@Work: Unlocking opportunities
As we navigate our way through unprecedented times, organizations and individuals are rethinking their position on policies and processes that unfairly impact access to work opportunities. Join us for a conversation with executive leaders who are challenging their organizations and partners to make the bold changes necessary to create a more inclusive environment by removing barriers that prevented too many from having the opportunity to thrive in the workplace.
Barriers in focus include: 1) hiring workers with criminal histories, 2) the 4-year degree bias that disproportionately impacts people of color, and 3) outdated regulations and corporate policies.
Jocelyn Lincoln – Chief Talent Officer at Kelly will moderate a direct and action driven discussion with:
- Karen S. Carter, Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer, The Dow Chemical Company
- Chok Ooi, Co-Founder and CEO, Kenzie Academy
- Dr. Danette Howard, Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President at Lumina Foundation
- Peter Quigley, President & CEO, Kelly
Learning Objectives:
This session is presented in partnership with Kelly and the SHRM Foundation.
- Increase awareness of key barriers that are preventing equitable access to opportunity in the workplace, and the actions of leading organizations to remove those barriers.
- Heighten understanding about which communities are being denied equitable access to opportunities because of these barriers.
- Walk away with specific actions you can take to change internal policies and processes within your organization.
- Understand the economic and social impact of these barriers.
Karen S. Carter
Karen S. Carter serves as Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer for Dow. As Chief Human Resources Officer, Carter is responsible for developing and implementing human resources policies and practices to support the company’s global workforce, which includes talent, recruiting, compensation, benefits, and employee experience.
As Dow’s first Chief Inclusion Officer, she guides and directs the Company’s efforts to create a more inclusive environment and diverse workforce while integrating inclusion as a key driver for business success.
Carter has more than 25 years of experience with Dow. Before assuming her current responsibilities, Carter held the role of North America commercial vice president, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics (P&SP). While serving in that role, Carter was a member of the global business leadership team and was responsible for the overall profit & loss of P&SP’s North America region.
Carter has held a variety of global business positions throughout her career, including global business director and global marketing director for Dow P&SP, and has also held roles within Building and Construction, Polyethylene, Engineering Thermoplastics, Fabricated Products and Information Technology Equipment and Consumer Electronics.
Carter is on the board of directors for the Great Lakes Bay Region Boys and Girls Clubs of America. She is also a previous member of the Dow Kakoh Kabushiki Kaisha board of directors, a joint venture between Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited and The Dow Chemical Company, and previously served as board chair of the Adoption Option, Inc. board of directors. Carter is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and is on the Catalyst Board of Advisors.
Carter has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Howard University and a master’s degree in international business from DePaul University. Carter has been published in the Journal of the American Health Information Management Association and featured in Chemical Week, the Huffington Post, MORE Magazine, and the Disrupt Yourself Podcast and The Future of Work Podcast. In 2014, Carter was named to the prestigious Forty Women to Watch Over 40 list for her innovative leadership contributions. In 2018, she was named to Black Enterprise’s Top Executives in Diversity list and received Northwood University’s Distinguished Women Award. In 2019, Carter was named to Black Enterprise’s Most Powerful Women in Corporate America list, and most recently was recognized as one of the 100 Ethnic Minority Executives on the EMpower Ethnic Minority Role Model Lists supported by Yahoo Finance.
Chok Ooi
Chok Ooi is the CEO of Kenzie Academy, an online synchronous school that trains software engineers & UX designers for rewarding, in-demand jobs. Kenzie's one-year, project-based training programs are a new alternative to traditional colleges and short-term coding bootcamps.
Chok is also Chairman of Agility.io, an Andela for Southeast Asia that trains and places developers on projects with US-based tech firms such as Google, NerdWallet and Meetup.com. Prior to this, Chok built trading systems for top investment banks including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America. Chok also worked for Silicon Valley startup Loopt and was previously CTO of AZAP Mobile and Head of Web and Mobile Solutions at Selerity.
Dr. Danette Howard
Danette Gerald Howard, Ph.D. is senior vice president & chief policy officer at Lumina Foundation, the nation’s largest private foundation focused solely on increasing student access and success in postsecondary education. Howard oversees several of Lumina’s key strategies to increase Americans’ attainment of high-quality postsecondary degrees and credentials, including strategic work in both state and federal policy. She also leads the Foundation’s efforts to mobilize and engage employers, metropolitan areas, higher education institutions and other key actors with a stake in postsecondary attainment.
Prior to joining Lumina, Howard served as Secretary of Higher Education in Maryland, leading the state’s postsecondary education coordinating agency, the Maryland Higher Education Commission. As secretary she oversaw Maryland’s statewide financial aid program, approved new academic programs and institutions seeking to operate in the state, and advised the governor and legislators on higher education policies and initiatives.
A nationally regarded analyst and thought leader, Howard previously served as director of research and policy analysis at the Maryland Higher Education Commission. She also held positions as the assistant director of higher education policy at the Education Trust in Washington, D.C., as a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, and as a student affairs administrator and admissions counselor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Howard earned her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Howard University. She also received her master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her Ph.D. in higher education policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2015, she was honored for her outstanding success and national distinction in the fields of education and policy with Howard University's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.
Peter Quigley
Peter Quigley was named president and chief executive officer of Kelly Services (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB) in October 2019. Kelly is a global provider of workforce solutions, always thinking about what’s next in the story of work, connecting talented people to companies in need of their skills and designing talent strategies that help businesses embrace the value of all workers and workstyles.
It’s a dynamic environment, and Peter’s diverse professional background provides a valuable vantage point. In his 17 years with Kelly, he has held executive leadership positions across operations, global sales, and account management; has served as the company’s general counsel; has overseen a full breadth of corporate functions; has been a chief architect of the company’s strategy; and has played a pivotal role in executing its mergers and acquisitions, including a joint venture in APAC and the expansion of Kelly’s education practice in the U.S. His experiences—and his time spent with both clients and independent contractors—have made Peter a passionate advocate for speed, innovation, and adaptability in an industry that faces constant disruption.
He leverages his industry knowledge and global expertise on multiple fronts. After serving as vice-chair of the thought leadership task force for the American Staffing Association (ASA) and as a member of the association’s legislative committee, Peter now serves on ASA’s board of directors. He previously served as Kelly’s representative on the board of directors of Persol Holdings, a leading Japanese staffing and solutions company publicly traded on the Nikkei stock exchange. He is a past board member of PersolKelly, a joint venture that provides staffing in 11 geographies in APAC. A known leader in the workforce solutions ecosystem, Peter has been recognized as a “Staffing 100” leader by Staffing Industry Analysts for four consecutive years (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).
Peter started his Kelly career in 2002 within the law department and was promoted three years later to associate general counsel. A proven strategist, in 2007 he was appointed to lead the account management and then the business development functions in Kelly’s large-client portfolio, where he drove innovation and focus by aligning Kelly’s expertise in distinct industry verticals. He went on to serve as general counsel and chief administrative officer, responsible for Law, Corporate Communications, Facilities, Global Business (Shared) Services, Global Service, Human Resources, IT, Legal, and Risk Management. Most recently, Peter held the role of executive vice president, serving as president of Global Staffing and general manager responsible for aligning Kelly corporate functions to the company’s growth strategies.
Prior to joining Kelly, Peter held a variety of roles at Lucent Technologies and AT&T Corporation. Earlier in his career, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. He earned a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the National Law Center at George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the District of Columbia Bar. He is also a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber Executive Committee for 2020-2021.
Jocelyn Lincoln
Jocelyn Lincoln is chief talent officer for Kelly®, a global provider of workforce solutions, always thinking about what's next in the story of work, connecting talented people to companies in need of their skills and designing talent strategies that help businesses embrace the value of all workers and workstyles.
Jocelyn’s role as chief talent officer is focused exclusively on external temporary talent. She sees each temporary employee as a “customer” who brings unique experiences, goals and expectations to their career journey. Her goal is to connect talented people to world-class organizations and ensure they have the best “customer experience” possible. To achieve this, she is responsible for designing systems and processes that simplify, personalize and transform how Kelly connects with temporary workers at every step of a fast-paced digital strategy – from online storefronts to onboarding, career development, performance management, benefit packages and more.
Jocelyn also continues to lead the global business planning and experience team in her role as vice president of global business planning. She oversees a team that manages experience design; recruitment marketing; demand generation; translation of customer insights into marketing messaging; and product, cross-channel and account-based marketing.
A proven leader in developing talent and marketing strategy, Jocelyn has taken on increasingly responsible positions during her tenure at Kelly, all with a focus on talent and connecting people to the right opportunities. With her deep industry expertise and a proven passion for the temporary workforce, she has spent two decades leading numerous marketing and candidate-focused teams at Kelly.
From the time she joined Kelly in the late 1990s, Jocelyn quickly advanced to head of marketing for Kelly’s largest operating segment, leading teams responsible for candidate and client-facing programs, product development, employer brand strategy, and social advocacy. She went on to lead Kelly's sourcing and recruiting strategy for the Americas region; assumed ownership of the candidate experience; and managed the company’s online recruitment partnerships. Prior to joining Kelly, Jocelyn served in strategic marketing roles in the banking and energy industries.
She is a highly respected leader and sought-after expert both inside and outside of Kelly. She frequently presents to Kelly’s Fortune 100 clients and at leading industry events, advising on future talent trends, supply and demand dynamics, and emerging workstyle preferences. She is a founding member of Kelly’s Leadership in Action business resource group, dedicated to developing current and future leaders in the global marketplace. Jocelyn is also a member of CALIBR, an affiliate of the Executive Leadership Council, and a member of the mentoring committee for Pretty Brown Girls, a fast-growing nonprofit focused on the well-being of girls of color.
Jocelyn earned a master’s degree in marketing from the University of Detroit-Mercy and a bachelor’s degree in advertising from Michigan State University.
