2023 Tampa Bay Virtual NDC Certification Program
Faculty
Named “World-Class Peacekeeper” and “Everyday Hero” by the Star Tribune, Hanadi is an inclusion consultant, Speaker and Coach. By sharing her experience as a Muslim, Hanadi’s trainings inspire and equip teams and leaders from different cultures to strategically move towards inclusion. Personal, thoughtful and uplifting, she connects with her audience and wins hearts and minds. As a thought-partner to leaders in business, education and government, Hanadi gives voice to communities of color and inspires workers from all identities to come together around shared our humanity. Her engaging workshops and presentations foster understanding and compassion for religion in the workplace, Islam, unconscious bias, minority empowerment and building cohesive teams. She is a Human Rights Award recipient from the city of Eden Prairie for her efforts in dismantling misconceptions about Islam and building bridges of unity. She has been featured in the Star Tribune for her community building projects and had been published The Washington Times, The Huffington Post, The Star Tribune, MinnPost, The Guthrie Theater, The Minneapolis Institute of Art and more recently Cosmopolitan magazine and Pantsuit Nation book. Hanadi joined the US State Department in 2016 as a speaker on social media and social change, and gave the TEDx talk entitled “A Lebanese approach to eliminate prejudice against Muslims” in 2017. Hanadi’s training sessions and keynotes have been featured at the National SHRM Diversity and Inclusion Conference, Leadership Diversity Alliance, The Forum on workplace Inclusion, The Multicultural Women’s National, EmERGe Conference, Serious Play, The National Diplomacy Summit and many others. Her success attests to her caliber and outspokenness. Before coming to the United States, Hanadi was an award-winning creative and communication specialist working across different media, including print and television in the Middle East.
Leon Fraser brings his versatile experience in the corporate, academic, and certification arenas to help organizations diagnose and resolve persistent team performance and interpersonal challenges. He was formerly Director of Corporate Strategy at Verizon and has taught Corporate Strategy at Rutgers University. He earned the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification and thereby understands the importance of having a company’s HR and diversity initiatives to be fully in concert with a company’s overall strategy. He has taught Managing Workforce Diversity at Rutgers University where he also received the Faculty Leader in Diversity Award. He is a Certified Diversity Professional by the National Diversity Council and teaches in the DiversityFIRST training program. He received the Most Engaged Leader Award from the Tri-State Diversity Council for delivery of diversity programs. He received the Mentor of the Year Award from National Black MBA Association New Jersey Chapter. He has extensive consulting experience through a boutique firm which specializes in helping clients to address management and strategy issues. Not only does he have solid practical experience in consulting, he is the originator of the Management Consulting course at Rutgers, with proven techniques and sage case studies. On an individual basis, he is an Associate Certified Executive Coach per the International Coach Federation and has taught Executive Leadership at the graduate level. In addition to Verizon, Leon has corporate experience in marketing and market research at Newsday and Aetna. He was also vice president of an international start-up and a legislative aide to two Congressional committees in Washington, DC. He earned a BA cum laude from Harvard University and MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Sandy Harvey is the founder and President of Exodus Consulting Group, LLC, which specializes in providing strategic organizational, operational, and human resources consulting services. She has provided strategic development, coaching, diversity, and leadership training for Fortune 500 organizations throughout the US and Canada. Her reach extends across many industries in for-profit and non-profits organization of all sizes, including financial services, nonprofits, higher education, marketing, automotive dealership, to name a few. As a sought-out speaker, executive/leadership coach and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion strategist, who is passionate about bringing innovation and sustainable solutions to individuals and organizations, Sandy has over 25 years of organizational development experience specializing in designing and delivering leadership, diversity, and other strategic training, implementing people enhancement and performance management, and defining strategic human resources and operational initiatives. She has expertly delivered diversity and leadership training and provided strategic plans for employers, of all sizes, across the country, including a week-long leadership academy for a multinational client. With experience in human resources, human behavior, and operations, she has created and redesigned human resources and training departments and is skilled in assessing, acquiring, and implementing HRIS and Learning Management Systems to support organizations. With over 20 years of financial services experience, within both banks and credit unions of all sizes, her expert knowledge of helping teams navigate through mergers & acquisitions has proven to be invaluable in defining and implementing strategic processes. This knowledge extends beyond working with employees and includes her work with board development. She takes goals and initiatives and make them realities by analyzing systems, people, and processes to provide efficient and sustainable solutions. As Sandy has navigated her career, she has served in senior leadership and executive roles in various industries. In the early 2000s, Sandy was a diversity training consultant for Coca-Cola and provided training for employees in Michigan and northern Ohio. In addition, as a Master Facilitator, she provided leadership training for Raytheon Professional Services and provided additional services for Raytheon's clients. She is certified by Myers &Briggs, American Management Association (AMA) in Situational Leadership, AchieveGlobal, Franklin Covey, Development Dimensions, Intl, and J. Howard & Associates. A native Texan, Sandy has a BA in Business and MBA in Organizational Management from Texas Wesleyan University, and a MA in Evangelism & Church Planting from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. Sandy began serving as a board member for the Michigan Diversity Council in 2011 and chaired the council's annual Women in Leadership Symposium. Since leaving the Board in 2018, she currently serves as a Consultant and Faculty Member for the National Diversity Council (NDC) and completed a week-long training in June 2019 to become a NDC Certified Diversity Professional. In May 2016, Sandy was recognized by Corp! Magazine as a Most Valuable Professional, as a Most Valuable Entrepreneur in 2018, and a Diversity Business Leader in 2019. IN 2020, she was an HR Inspire Award recipient from HU Unite! Sandy is an ordained minister and a pastor at Serenity Christian Church in Hazel Park, where she provides leadership development training, and Marketing & Media expertise. She is President of Serenity Community Outreach and is a New/Transformational Coach for new Pastors throughout the country. She serves as a Board Member for Leadership Oakland and is an Advisor for OurOffice, Inc. Sandy resides in a Detroit suburb with her husband, John Harvey, senior pastor, and founder of Serenity Christian Church.
Cecilia Orellana-Rojas serves as the chief of learning and consulting for the National Diversity Council. In this role, she oversees the execution of the organization’s strategic goals to generate new revenue streams. She leads the consulting function as well as innovative, high-quality educational and research initiatives in diversity and inclusion. She is the creator of the NDC Certification Program curriculum, which prepares professionals for successful careers in the DEIB space. She is also the developer of the NDC Toolkit, a unique diversity reference portal and research consolidator. 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, implementation and direction of AT&T’s diversity and inclusion strategy including metrics, communications, and training. She also provided consulting in all aspects of workforce diversity. Prior to her corporate role, she 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, Latin America, and research methods. Cecilia is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. 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. Cecilia has served on the Emeritus Board of Directors for the Masters Leadership Program of Greater San Antonio and as an external member of the Workforce and Diversity Committee for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). In addition, she has served on the Immigration and Refugees Action Team for the City of San Antonio’s Faith-Based Initiative. A native of Chile, Cecilia earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with 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.
Linda Valdez Thompson
Linda Valdez Thompson is the Former Executive Vice President of Administration and Diversity at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Linda provided strategic leadership for the Human Resources, Procurement and Materials Management, Risk Management, Business Diversity and Development, and Corporate Communications & Marketing functions. Linda established employee engagement initiatives to ensure the workforce is productive, healthy, diverse, and inclusive. These initiatives include employee resource groups, mentoring networks, learning and development opportunities, and a Total Rewards strategy. She also championed the Airport’s Wellness program with an on-site fitness facility and medical clinic. Additionally, Linda established an award-winning supplier diversity program. During her professional career, Linda has acquired more than 20 years of managerial and executive experience for such Fortune 500 companies as Levi Strauss, Hasbro, and Baxter Health Care. Her responsibilities have included multi-site, domestic and international locations. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Midwestern State University and a Masters in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. Linda is a Certified Senior Human Resources Professional (SPHR), a Certified Compensation Professional, a Certified Benefit Professional, and a Certified Global Remuneration Professional. She is a Certified Corporate Citizenship Professional through Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship; and is a Certified Diversity Professional/Advanced Practitioner from Cornell University. Furthermore, Linda is an alumni of the prestigious National Hispana Leadership Institute. Linda has received several distinctions, including being named Woman of the Year by Hispanic Business Magazine, recognized as one of the top Latinas of influence by Latino Leaders Magazine, and named an Ultimate Latina by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She’s also been the recipient of the Dallas Business Journal Minority Business Award - Corporate Executive of the Year, the HR Diversity Excellence Award by the Society of Human Resources Management.
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