The Building an Equity and Inclusion Culture Public Policy Roundtable will be moderated by Ernest Hooper and the panelists are Lori Y. Baggett, B. Lee Green, Dr. Michelle Madden, Machelle Maner, Angeles Valenciano.
Ernest Hooper currently serves as the Regional Communications Director for the American Cancer Society. He previously spent 27 years as a columnist, bureau chief and writer at the Tampa Bay Times. He also hosts the WEDU-PBS public affairs program That's All I'm Saying, regularly writes for St. Pete Life magazine and is co-leader of the Poynter Institute's Write Field program, a writing intensive for middle school and high school boys.
Lori Baggett represents companies in many aspects of labor and employment law, with a particular expertise in workplace safety and health (OSHA) issues. She is one of a handful of Florida lawyers with OSHA 30 certification. She represents clients dealing with fatal and catastrophic accidents and helps them resolve OSHA citations and whistleblower complaints. She also advises and counsels employers on workplace legal compliance issues, conducts internal compliance investigations, and defends employment-related claims. Her clients represent numerous industries, including construction, propane and natural gas equipment and systems, and retail. Lori’s experience defending companies in disputes with current or former employees includes federal and state lawsuits claiming discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to pay minimum or overtime wages, violations of the FMLA, and violations of noncompete restrictive covenants.
B. Lee Green, PhD, is the vice president of Diversity, Public Relations and Strategic Communications for Moffitt Cancer Center. He is also a professor in the Health Outcomes and Behavior Program at Moffitt. As VP for Diversity, Dr. Green is responsible for ensuring that Moffitt is responsive and actively creating a culture of diversity and inclusion as it strives to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. This includes addressing issues such as awareness and education of cancer prevention and control, community outreach activities, cultural competency, equity and inclusion issues, development of strong partnerships with community organizations and support for other key initiatives. In 2016, Moffitt was ranked among DiversityInc’s Top 10 Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations for fostering diversity and inclusion.
Dr. Michelle Madden currently serves as the Campus Diversity Officer. In this role, Dr. Madden uses quantitative, qualitative, and interpersonally collected data to plan, guide, and advise the Regional Chancellor and other campus leaders on diversity, equity, inclusion matters. With USFSP’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and the USF Principles of Community as guides, Dr. Madden collaborates with senior leaders across the university to further equity, diversity, and inclusion goals to operationalize our core pillar of Inclusive Community. Intersecting with all areas of the institution, including Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Human Resources, Dr. Madden implements and monitors strategic initiatives designed to educate and ensure fair and equitable treatment of students, faculty and staff.
Machelle Maner is currently Vice President, Community Development for Wells Fargo. As Sr. Community Development Officer, she covers Southwest Florida (a ten county area). Wells Fargo’s Community Development Group and Ms. Maner are focused on the strategic development of public/private partnerships, the identification of programs available to expand lending opportunities for affordable housing and small businesses and identifying community development opportunities. In addition, Ms. Maner is responsible for investments in non-profit organizations that focus on housing, small business, and economic revitalization. She has been in banking and the financial services industry for more than 25 years with most of that time being in the Tampa Bay area community. Since 1994, Ms. Maner has specialized in Community programs with an emphasis on establishing community, housing and business partnerships in Southwest Florida.
Angeles Valenciano serves as chief executive officer of the National Diversity Council (NDC), becoming the first female CEO of this major nonprofit. In this role, she advances the NDC’s mission of fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She also focuses on strengthening partnerships with businesses, academia and the community at large. Ms. Valenciano is a seasoned strategist with more than 20 years of experience in human resources, primarily focused on diversity, organizational change, and development. She was previously president of the Healthcare Diversity Council and executive vice president of the NDC. In the latter role, she oversaw the growth of several national markets, including California, Colorado and Arizona. In addition, she served as vice president of business development for the Texas Diversity Council (TXDC), one of the NDC state councils.