American Association for Access, Equity and
Diversity Announces
The 2019 Honorees for its Annual Awards Ceremony
Icons of
equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity in higher education,
disability rights, government and private industry are among the award
recipients at the Association’s 45th National Conference and Annual Meeting in
Indianapolis on June 12th
For Immediate Release: April 15,
2019
Washington, DC, April 15, 2019 - The American Association
for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), an organization of equal opportunity,
diversity and affirmative action professionals, announced its ten award
honorees for 2019. The awards
celebration will be held on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, during the AAAED’s 45th
National Conference and Annual Meeting. Themed Moving Beyond Diversity Towards
Equity and Inclusion, the meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency
Indianapolis. The Hyatt is located at One
South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
The awards program is open to the press.
“We are delighted to honor such outstanding icons of social justice,
diversity and equal opportunity,” said Dr. Richard Anthony Baker, president of
AAAED.
Drum Major for Justice Award
The Drum Major for Justice is the
highest award the association confers. The Award is a special acknowledgement
of the extraordinary contributions that an organization or individual,
including a public servant or one who has held an elective office or appointment
to public service, has made to the cause of access, equity and diversity.
Previous recipients include Rev. Dr. CT Vivian (2018), Dr. Shirley A Jackson
(2017) Rep. G. K. Butterfield (2016), and Representatives August F. Hawkins and
Parren Mitchell (deceased) (2008).
The 2019 AAAED Drum Major for Justice Award Honoree is The
Honorable Gregory W. Porter, State Representative, State of
Indiana. Gregory W. Porter is a member of the 120th Indiana General Assembly.
He is now serving his 13th term for the 96th House District in Indianapolis,
Indiana. He is currently ranking minority member of the Indiana House Ways and
Means Committee, and president of the National Black Caucus of State
Legislators (NBCSL). Mr. Porter also
holds the position of Sr. Vice President of External Affairs for the Health and
Hospital Corporation of Marion County. As Sr. Vice-President of External
Affairs, Porter advises the president on strategies from communicating to and
involving the community at large within the corporation’s goals, facilitates
relationships between the corporation and external stakeholders, and acts in
the capacity of a community liaison. Mr.
Porter has received numerous awards not limited to but including the 2018 Dr.
Mozel Sanders Drum Major for Political and Social Justice, NAACP 2015
Pathfinder Award, Martin Center Distinguished Sickle Cell Champion Award,
Indianapolis Urban League – 2015 Servant Leadership Legacy Award, Prevent Child
Abuse of Indiana Leadership Award, and the Indiana Early Care Education
Legislative Award. He also received the Black
Caucus of State Legislators Award, plus an Eagle Award from the National Black
Caucus of State Legislators.
Arthur A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award
Named for the “Father of Affirmative
Action,” former Assistant Secretary of Labor Arthur A. Fletcher, who
established the Revised Philadelphia Plan requiring goals and timetables in the
construction industry - the precursor for what became “Affirmative Action,” the
Arthur A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a career devoted to
promoting and advocating for affirmative action, EEO and diversity.
The 2019 AAAED Arthur A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree
is Marshall Rose, M.S.W. Marshall Rose has been a member of
the American Association for Affirmative Action, re-named the American
Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), since the early 2000’s.
He served as President of the association from 2014-2016, and previously, was a
member of the AAAED board as Region V Director.
Marshall also served on the board of United for Equality and Affirmative
Action Legal Defense Fund (UEAA-LDF).
Marshall Rose has been an untiring advocate of affirmative action and
equal opportunity throughout his entire career. Marshall held senior
responsibility for monitoring diversity and AA/EEO compliance at Bowling Green
State University and Central Michigan University. He retired from BGSU in January 2011.
Marshall has done numerous presentations and speeches on diversity, affirmative
action, EEO and associated topics. He has also done training for educational,
nonprofit and private industry organizations. Marshall has received a number of
honors in recognition of his community and professional contributions. They
include: Volunteer of the Year from the Toledo Chapter of the Association of
Fund Raising Professionals, Impact Newsmaker Award from the Northwest Ohio
Black Media Association, 2010 Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth Humanitarian Award
from the State-of-the-State Conference, and the 2012 President's Award from the
American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity.
Cesar
Estrada Chavez Award
The award is named for Cesar Estrada
Chavez, an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, along with
Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later the
United Farm Workers union, UFW) in 1962.
The Cesar Estrada Chavez Award recognizes an individual who has
demonstrated leadership in support of workers' rights and humanitarian issues.
The 2019 AAAED Cesar Estrada Chavez Award Honoree is Dr. Tomás
D. Morales, President, California State University, San Bernardino. Dr. Tomás D. Morales was selected as
the president of California State University, San Bernardino in May 2012. He is
the university's fourth president since it opened in 1965. His commitment to student success has led to
various innovatory summer bridge and orientation programs for area students. In addition, he has spearheaded the first
truly bi-county initiative to address education and career preparedness
beginning with K-12 through baccalaureate degree attainment. This effort
resulted in a successful $5 million California Governor’s Innovation Award. Previously,
Dr. Morales was president of the College of Staten Island, The City University
of New York (CUNY), since 2007.
Rosa Parks Award
Named for the civil rights icon who
refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus and
sparked not only the Montgomery Bus Boycott but the ultimate end of racial
segregation of public facilities, the Rosa Parks Award recognizes an individual
who serves as a role model and leader for others through his or her personal
achievements, excellence in a chosen field; commitment to human, civil rights and
social issues and contributions to the betterment of society.
The 2019 AAAED Rosa Parks Award Honoree is Dr. Johnnetta Betsch
Cole.
Johnnetta Betsch Cole is a Principal Consultant with Cook
Ross, Inc., a consulting firm located in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. Before assuming her current position, she
served for eight years as the Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of
African Art. When she retired from the
museum on March 31, 2017, Dr. Cole was given the title of Director Emerita.
After holding teaching and administrative positions at several colleges and
universities, Dr. Cole served as the president of both historically Black
colleges for women in the United States--Spelman and Bennett Colleges-- a
distinction she alone holds. She has
authored or edited several books and numerous articles for scholarly and
general audiences. Dr. Cole was the first African American to serve as the
chair of the board of United Way of America.
She formerly served on several corporate boards. She currently serves on the board of Martha’s
Table in Washington, DC. From 2015 to 2016, Dr. Cole was the president of the
Association of Art Museum Directors. Dr.
Cole has received numerous awards and is the recipient of 68 honorary degrees.
Edward M. Kennedy Community Service Award
Named for the former Senator from
the State of Massachusetts who was a lifetime champion of civil rights,
disability rights and other issues on behalf of disadvantaged persons, the
award is presented to an individual or organization demonstrating outstanding
community service.
The 2019 AAAED Edward M. Kennedy Community Service Award Honorees
are:
Deb Dagit, President, Deb Dagit Diversity, LLC, Washington, NJ –
National Award Honoree: Deb Dagit started her own business in 2013 to deliver
the consulting services and products she wished were available when she was a
Chief Diversity Officer. She focuses on offering practical, just-in-time
resources, tools and support for diversity practitioners. As Merck’s CDO for 11 years, Deb was responsible
for global equal opportunity, employee relations, recruiting and staffing, and
diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, the company was recognized for
its exemplary work in diversity and inclusion by DiversityInc and Working
Mother magazines, the Families and Work Institute, and the Human Rights
Campaign. Merck also received the Department of Defense Freedom Award
(veterans) and the Department of Labor New Freedom Award (people with
disabilities) during her tenure. She
played a key role in the passage of the American with Disabilities Act through
her lobbying efforts in both California and Washington, D.C. She also testified in July 2011 before the
U.S. Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee regarding best
practices for improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
BOSMA Enterprises, Navigating Blindness, Indianapolis, IN –
Local Award Honoree
With roots that reach back to 1915, Bosma Enterprises has
decades of experience in helping Hoosiers with vision loss achieve
independence. Bosma’s rehabilitation program helps nearly 800 people each year.
“As we plan for the future, we’re looking forward to assisting even more of
Indiana’s almost 160,000 people who are blind or visually impaired.” Through its rehabilitation services and its
job training and employment programs, Bosma teaches people experiencing vision
loss how to successfully navigate their lives and jobs. In doing so, it is
helping its clients grow their abilities and confidence — a journey that its trainers
call “progressing from tears to cheers.
Roosevelt Thomas Champion of Diversity Award
This award was named after the late
R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., known for developing and implementing innovative
concepts and strategies for maximizing organizational and individual potential
through Diversity Management. The award
is therefore given to an organization or corporation for outstanding
achievements in promoting diversity in the workforce.
The 2019 AAAED Honorees of the Roosevelt Thomas Champion of
Diversity Award are: Cummins Inc., Columbus, IN;
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation
of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and
service a broad portfolio of power solutions. Cummins ranked 12th on the
DiversityInc. List of the top 50 Companies for Diversity. This is out of 1800
companies that competed for the honor. Every company that participates receives
a free report card, assessing its performance versus all competitors overall
and in four key areas of diversity management:
• Talent
Pipeline: workforce breakdown, recruitment, diameter of existing talent,
structures
• Talent
Development: employee resource groups, mentoring, philanthropy, movement,
fairness
• Leadership
Accountability: responsible for results, personal communications, and
visibility
• Supplier Diversity: spend with
companies owned by people from underrepresented groups,
accountability, support
Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN: Eli Lilly & Company ranked #6 on the DiversityInc list
in 2018. According to DiversityInc: “Eli
Lilly moved up 10 spots last year and continues the strong momentum this year,
moving into the Top 10. The company has
twice as many Blacks in the top two levels of management than the national
average for U.S. companies.” It also
ranks highly on other DiversityInc specialty lists including: (No. 4) Employee
Resource Groups; (No. 5) People with Disabilities and (No. 8) Supplier
Diversity.
Emerging Leader Award
This award is given to an individual
who is becoming a leader on the national stage and who has demonstrated
excellence in his/her workplace and/or community. This is the first year that the award will
be conferred.
The 2019 AAAED Emerging Leader Award Honorees are:
Taylor Dumpson, candidate for Juris Doctor and Public Service
Scholar -National Award Honoree: Taylor
Dumpson is a candidate for the Juris Doctor and is a Public Service
Scholar. In spring 2017, while pursuing
her Bachelor of Arts degree in Law and Society at American University in the
Nation’s Capital, Ms. Dumpson became the first black woman to serve as president
of the Student Government in the University’s 124-year history. In the wake of
her ground-breaking election, she was the target of a racially-motivated hate
crime on her first day in office, followed by cyber-harassment by members of
white supremacist groups. Since then, and in an effort to raise awareness about
the physical, emotional and mental health impacts of hate crimes, Ms. Dumpson
has given a TEDx Talk, testified before Congress, and been featured in
interviews with various print, television and radio broadcast media such as
CNN, NBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, WTOP, and WAMU. Ms.
Dumpson’s personal story is featured along with the narratives of other
survivors of hate crimes in a newly released book, “American Hate: Survivors
Speak Out,” edited by Arjun Singh Sethi. Ms. Dumpson is a 2018 recipient of the
Lawyers’ Committee’s Frank R. Parker Client Award, for her “unwavering courage
and commitment to standing up against racial and gender-based hatred and
promoting diversity and inclusion for all.”
Karina Garduno, Indiana University Purdue University of Indiana
– Local Award Honoree: Karina Garduno joined the IUPUI (Indiana University
Purdue University of Indiana) Multicultural Center in June 2015. As the
Assistant Director for Multicultural Programming, Karina works in several areas
within the Multicultural Center including: multicultural programmatic efforts,
developing retention efforts and outreach for diverse student populations,
administration of the JAGversity Peer Educators program, accountability for
affiliated student organizations, and support and advising in the MC. Karina
also works with University College to promote the success of first-year
students at IUPUI.
Founded
in 1974 as the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), AAAED is a
national not-for-profit association of professionals working in the areas of
equal opportunity, compliance and diversity. AAAED has 44 years of leadership
in providing professional training to members, enabling them to be more
successful and productive in their careers. It also promotes understanding and
advocacy of affirmative action and other equal opportunity laws to enhance the
tenets of access, inclusion and equality in employment, economic and
educational opportunities.
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American
Association for Access, Equity and Diversity
1701
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 200 * Washington, D.C. 20006
www.aaaed.org
