Col. Jenise Carroll | Keynote Speaker

Deputy Director – Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of the U.S. Air Force

Col Jenise M. Carroll is the Deputy Director, Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of the U.S. Air Force. In this role, Col Carroll advises the Secretary of the Air Force on the Department of the Air Force’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs, policies, and initiatives impacting approximately 697,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian Airmen and Guardians worldwide. Additionally, she is responsible for advancing the Department of the Air Force’s diversity and inclusion mission to attract, recruit, develop and retain a high-quality, diverse total force, ensuring a culture of inclusion.

Colonel Carroll received her commission from the United States Air Force Officer Training School in January 1996. She has served at base, joint, major command, and staff levels. Her wing-level assignments include tours as a Flight Commander, Squadron Commander, Executive Officer, Group Commander, and Wing Commander. Her staff and joint tours include the Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Personnel Center, Air Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, United States Transportation Command, and United States Central Command. Her deployments include Operations CONSTANT VIGIL, NOBLE EAGLE, IRAQI FREEDOM, and INHERENT RESOLVE. Before her current position, she served as the Commander 75th Air Base Wing and Installation Commander at Hill Air Force Base, UT.

Presenting

Leading Diverse Teams to Success

Based on her 3L Philosophy (Listen, Learn and Lead), in this session, Colonel Carroll will share techniques and processes that have allowed her to Lead Diverse Teams to Success. As a leader, it is important to listen to gain understanding, learn processes to adapt to change and lead with the passion that drives success. This is no easy task; challenges are inevitable when leading teas from multiple generations with various backgrounds because of the current state of rapid change.

Colee Pyne, Ph.D.

Professor – Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, University of Utah

Colee Pyne is a member of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy in the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. Professor Pyne earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Utah State University and her Juris Doctorate at Brigham Young University.
Professor Pyne has over 18 years of legal experience. She served as a judicial clerk for the Utah Court of Appeals before joining the firm of Parsons Behle & Latimer as a business litigation associate. After working in private practice for several years, Professor Pyne took a position as in-house counsel to National Benefit Services, a third-party administrator for retirement and health plans. She managed employment law compliance, contract negotiations, property disputes, and legal compliance matters. She works full-time at the University of Utah as a faculty member, teaching employment law and business law classes.

Presenting

Diversify Within the Law

Companies implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives must also follow relevant employment laws. Well-intended actions can lead to costly and timely lawsuits. Employees are often tasked with diversifying their workforce, drafting employee procedures, handling employee complaints, and hiring or terminating other employees without the correct legal toolbox. Basic knowledge of laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, restrictive covenants, and employee versus independent contractor status can exponentially reduce the legal risk for both the employee and the employer.

Carlos Buskey, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor – School of Business Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management, Howard University

Dr. Carlos Buskey is an assistant professor in the School of Business Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management at Howard University in Washington, DC. Howard University is one of the largest research Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States.

Dr. Buskey holds a doctorate in computer sciences from Pace University in Westchester, NY, a graduate degree from Bowie State University in management information systems, and an undergraduate degree from Virginia State University in information systems and decision sciences. Dr. Buskey’s research interests are diversity in technology, social capital, the impact of cyber security readiness in minority firms, and diversity in STEM.

Dr. Buskey’s current research projects are focused on the effects of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) on enterprise systems in corporations. He has also assisted businesses with creating equity policies and worked with school systems to integrate DE&I training to improve student experiences. Dr. Buskey spent more than 22 years as a business and technology consultant before joining the Howard University School of Business.

Presenting

Diversity Flower

Today’s organizations host a workforce of individuals from different races, cultures, religions, backgrounds, and orientations. To foster understanding in the workforce, the Diversity Flower team exercise promotes understanding of ethnicity, religion, orientations, culture, and other essential characteristics that support inclusion in the workforce.

The Diversity Flower exercise has two parts: understanding your team members and working together to create a product that meets everyone’s needs. In addition, this exercise will bring diverse groups together to talk about personal characteristics that may not be physically apparent (e.g. race, religion, orientation).

Each team member will be assigned petals on a flower for this exercise. On the petals, the individual will write words that make them unique. When each petal is complete, the goal is to find what each team member has in common. They will then discuss a mobile app that will meet the entire team’s needs based on characteristics. Finally, each team will share its unique application with the other groups.