— Lisette Morales, Project Manager, Baker Industries

• Lisette Morales joined Baker Industries while on parole. At Baker, she applied her professional skills in logistics and operations from her prior career and today manages Baker’s production operations across two large, light industrial locations. She serves as a mentor and role model to dozens of individuals on their journey to reenter the workplace.
• Lisette will explain how employers seeking new sources of talent can find excellent employees in populations typically discounted and on the “sidelines” of the regular workforce – those challenged by parole or probation; substance use disorder; disability and homelessness; as well as strategies for developing their full potential.

— Christi Powell, Women & Minority Owned Business Enterprise Market Manager, 84 Lumber Build the Way Program

• As 84 Lumber’s WMBE Market Manager, Christi Powell is working to make a difference in the lives of women and minorities in non-traditional careers.
• Christi will discuss the company’s new “Build the Way” initiative that supports small business, women-owned and minority businesses within other industries, and discuss how business sectors can benefit from intentionally developing new and diverse initiatives.

— Kathleen McGraw – Managing Director, Corporate Communications & Community Relations, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts
— Matt Romero, Director of Rooms, the Hotel Hershey
— Taylor Rowles, Senior Manager, Market Integration, Corporate and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts

• Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company is committed to fostering a stronger internal culture of advocacy and inclusion to help team members share their voices and collectively effect change. As part of this effort, the company has launched a multi-ethnic resource group committed to growing it’s inclusive culture by hosting educational events, fostering compassionate conversations, and championing the development of talented individuals from diverse heritages.
• A panel of MERGE employee representatives will discuss how this effort is helping to create a true culture of inclusion among diverse employees working across Hershey’s various properties; and help attendees learn how to incorporate this culture in to their own workforce. MERGE is one of six employee resource groups at HE&R, and stands for Multi-Ethnic Resource Group For Everyone.

— Sara Oliver Carter, Chief Diversity Officer, Duquesne Light Company

• Duquesne Light launched their first unconscious bias training for leadership and employees in 2018.
• As the Chief Diversity Officer with Duquesne Light, Sara Oliver Carter is committed to finding new ways to attract diverse talent to careers in the energy industry. Sarah will discuss the positive impact this and other DEI initiatives have had on helping the company retain top talent and attract the next generation of talent.