CDOC Spring Summit: Leading New Frontiers in Inclusion: Activating Culture, Talent and Innovation for Impact  

Subha V. Barry is a C-suite leader and an advisor who brings a unique perspective on the alignment of corporate culture to talent strategy and business results. As a transformational change agent, she has a proven record of identifying and accelerating new business creation, driving sales, and increasing profitability.

Subha is president of Seramount where she drives the firm’s vision, strategy, and business development. Subha joined Working Mother Media (WMM) in 2015 and during her tenure she dramatically improved margins, expanded its portfolio through growth in high-value consulting and learning and development, exponentially grew their client roster, and recruited talented executive leaders to amplify subject matter and functional expertise. In 2021, Subha oversaw the brand’s transformation from WMM to Seramount, a leading strategic professional services and research firm dedicated to building high-performing, inclusive workplaces. Today, Seramount works with 450+ organizations globally, including half of the Fortune 500, to help our partners navigate today’s talent and DEI landscape.

Previously, Subha was senior vice president and chief diversity officer at Freddie Mac, where she served on the firm’s management committee and led their foundation. Prior to her time at Freddie Mac, Subha spent 20+ years at Merrill Lynch as managing director and their first global head of diversity & inclusion where she built their D&I strategy, infrastructure and execution plans from the ground up. She also created a highly successful Multicultural Business Development Group to focus their wealth management business on diverse and multicultural communities bringing in over $8 billion in new assets and $50+ million in annual revenues in just three years. She began her career at the firm as a financial advisor where she was a top 100 advisor among 16,000 in the firm.

Subha is a former adjunct professor at Columbia University’s SIPA, and currently serves on the Boards of SHRM Foundation, Rice 360, Rutgers Cancer Center and the Rutgers Institute of Women’s Leadership. She is also a Board Advisor at PE-owned Snowden Lane Partners. In the past, Subha has served on a variety of Boards as Board Chair, Head of Nominating & Governance, Finance, and HR and DEI Committees.
A native of India, Subha holds a BA from Bombay University and an MBA and MS in Accounting from Rice University. She enjoys golfing, reading poetry and rallying for social change. She has two grown children and lives in Naples, Florida and New Hope, PA with her husband.

As Vice President, Corporate Citizenship & Inclusion, Matt Blakely leads RGA’s global philanthropic, volunteerism, inclusion, and sustainability efforts, advancing initiatives that directly contribute to RGA’s business strategy by fostering inclusive workplaces, strengthening communities, and promoting long-term environmental responsibility.

Since joining RGA in 2020 as Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability, Matt and his team have developed and executed enterprise strategies that have enhanced the RGA’s corporate citizenship. As of 2024, more than 60% of RGA employees participate in volunteerism, philanthropy, inclusion, or sustainability efforts.

Matt has over 30 years of experience working with private foundations and corporations in social responsibility, sustainability, and inclusion roles.

He serves on the executive advisory committee of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and on the board of directors of Focus St. Louis, a leadership-development nonprofit. He is also an emeritus board member for both Project Exploration and the Chicago History Museum.

Joe Infantino is Senior Director of Research at Seramount, part of EAB. In this role, he supports Chief Human Resource Officers with their most pressing issues through stakeholder education, as well as decision and implementation support. Before joining Seramount, Joe oversaw EAB’s research on enrollment growth strategy for higher education. Over 10+ years, he led research initiatives on various topics, including strategic planning, athletics, and maturity modeling.

Joe has a degree from Syracuse University. He is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

As a talent insights expert, Stephanie guides the firm’s thought leadership by leading research on workforce risk, the future of work, and organizational performance. Her work brings together strategic vision, a commitment to inclusion, and a keen understanding of how storytelling can drive organizational change.

Before joining Seramount, Stephanie spent more than a decade in higher education, most recently as an Associate Professor of English and Gender Studies at Carnegie Mellon University. There, she directed the undergraduate studies program, led DEI initiatives, mentored students, and taught courses in feminist and disability studies. She is the author of two award-winning books on sexual violence and has published widely on organizational equity, gender, and labor. Stephanie holds a BA in English Education from the University of Illinois and an MA in English Literature and a PhD in Writing & Rhetoric from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Stephanie lives in Madison, WI, with her husband and two children. Outside of work, she can be found hiking through the woods, planning her family’s next road trip adventure, or reading her latest book-club pick.

Dr. Morris has been in corporate business settings for 30 years and has a passion and commitment for all things ‘Human Capital’. She is currently Milliman’s Chief Sustainability and Inclusion Officer. Lately, she has been discussing the importance of a growth mindset at Milliman and how to have difficult conversations on controversial topics.

Prior to her current role, Christal served as the Senior Vice President of DEI at Peloton, Vice President of Diversity for a global manufacturing organization, and a VP of Human Resources for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She also served as Global Head of Inclusion, Diversity and Talent for Willis Towers Watson.

Christal has a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership, a master’s in organizational management and a Bachelor degree in Sociology.

Originally from San Diego California, she has a love for travel and has visited 49 of 50 US states, as well as over 70 countries.

Elton possesses more than 25 years of professional services experience, with most of it spent in managing organizational transformations as a diversity and inclusion (D&I) leader.

He combines his expertise in D&I with innovative solutions to yield outcomes that align with a client’s business and people objectives. Elton works with business leaders to operationalize and leverage D&I as a tool that supports growth, promotes firmwide collaboration, and achieves competitive advantage in the marketplace. He is often consulted on challenging topics affecting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of diverse professionals by organizations of all sizes and at different points of maturation.

Elton has an MBA in finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and he is often a featured speaker and panelist at leadership, diversity, and inclusion conferences.

Scott E Page is the John Seely Brown Distinguished University Professor of Complexity, Management, and Social Science at the University of Michigan, an external faculty member of The Santa Fe Institute, and an external fellow at the Brookings Institute. Professor Page studies collective intelligence, the role of diversity in markets, organizations, and democracies, and institutional design and culture. He has written five books and more than one hundred academic articles. He has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, and is an elected fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.

Ripa Rashid (she/her) is the Managing Director of Seramount’s Chief Diversity Officer Collaborative and a member of Seramount’s leadership team.  In this role, she oversees the CDOC research agenda, driving innovation, and collaborates with Seramount’s partners to foster inclusive cultures and systems where all talent can thrive and business outcomes are maximized. Ripa is a senior executive with over 20 years of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and has held C-suite roles across talent, DEI, and culture, with deep expertise in the media and financial services sectors. Most recently, she served as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) at Consumer Reports and previously held leadership roles at Cowen (a Wall Street investment bank acquired by TD Bank), Time Warner, and MetLife.

In 2018, Ripa co-founded and co-led Seramount’s consulting division, advising Fortune 500 companies and professional services firms on innovative DEI practices to shape inclusive, high-performing cultures. Earlier, she served as Co-President of the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI, now CoQual), a renowned think tank in the DEI space, and founded Hewlett Consulting Partners, CTI’s advisory arm. Her early career includes global consulting roles at Booz & Company (now Strategy&), PwC, and Mitchell Madison Group, where she advised financial services and media clients on strategic growth, risk management, and operational excellence.

Ripa is an adjunct professor of management at NYU Stern School of Business, where she teaches an MBA course on inclusive leadership. She is the author of three books on DEI: Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets: Why Women are the Solution (Harvard Business Review, 2011), Growing Global Executives (Rarebird, 2015), and Disrupt Bias, Drive Value (Rarebird, 2017). Her thought leadership also extends to over two dozen articles and insights papers featured in publications like Harvard Business Review and Strategy & Business.

A sought-after speaker and panelist, Ripa has addressed audiences at the UN, OECD, International Women’s Forum, Diversity Woman, ADCOLOR, ASCEND, and the National Diversity Council, among others. She has been invited by companies such as Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Aetna, Infosys, and Standard Chartered Bank to share her expertise on DEI.

Ripa holds an AB cum laude in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Harvard University, an MA in Cultural Anthropology from NYU, and an MBA in Finance and Management from INSEAD. She has been named one of the “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business” by the Asian American Business Development Council Ripa is an active member of the Harvard and INSEAD alumni communities, the INSEAD Global Women in Business Club, and the South Asian Executive Women’s Network. She serves on the Board of One To World, a nonprofit dedicated to global education, and advises Monumental Me, a professional development platform. Ripa has lived and worked in over a dozen countries and currently resides in New York City with her husband and their two sons.

Bridgette Scales is Managing Director of DBP and Seramount’s Advisory team. She is a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert with experience in sales and human resources. Bridgette joined Seramount from American Airlines in 2020, where she was the human resources business partner for customer experience. There, Bridgette was responsible for collaborating on people policies, talent management, career development, succession planning, departmental training initiatives, and aligning employee strategies with American Airline business goals.

Prior to her time at American Airlines, Bridgette spent 27 years at Proctor & Gamble. During her tenure at P&G, she was instrumental in developing and implementing strategies, programs, and processes across a complex and matrix organization. As a DEI practice leader for North America, Bridgette guided and counseled senior leaders on the integration of strategies that included awareness, cultural competency, leadership development, accountability and employee engagement. This led to better processes in the identification of high-potential employees, reduction in attrition rates of minorities, and increased DEI scores on the corporate employee survey.

Bridgette currently serves on the Global Advisory Board for the Women’s Leadership Forum within the P&G alumni network. She also sits on the She Runs It Foundation board’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

She has a BA from the University of Oklahoma, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a Senior HR Professional certification from HRCI.

Cory Schneider (he/him) is Director of Advisory at Seramount, bringing extensive experience to leaders, and organizations to build more human-centered, equitable, and high-performing cultures. With over 15 years of experience spanning talent, culture, inclusion and leadership advisory and strategy, Cory is known for translating complex behavioral science and organizational dynamics into practical, scalable strategies for change.
Cory has partnered with Fortune 500s, high-growth startups, global nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations across industries including healthcare, finance, consumer goods, technology, and education. His work spans systemic and personal levels, from redesigning equitable talent strategies and embedding inclusion into performance systems, to coaching executives through complex transitions. He has led DEI strategy, architected leadership development frameworks, and facilitated culture change grounded in behavioral science, emotional intelligence, and adult learning theory.
Cory holds a Master’s in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in LGBTQ+ Studies from Antioch University Los Angeles and a Bachelor’s in Corporate Communication from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Certified Senior Professional in HR (SPHR) and Certified Diversity Executive (CDE), and a sought-after speaker on topics including inclusive leadership, belonging, and the intersection of mental health and organizational effectiveness.
Cory resides in Los Angeles with his husband, Randy, and their dog, Luna. Outside of work, you can find him hiking, gardening, facilitating LGBTQ+ workshops for youth, or exploring California’s coast and wine country.

Jon Veasey-Deters is an Associate Director on the Insights team at Seramount. In his role, Jon supports Chief Diversity Officer Collaborative members with custom research on current topics such as the Science of Influence, Gen Z talent in the workplace, Generative AI’s role in the talent lifecycle, and Employee Inclusion Metrics. Prior to this role, Jon worked on the short-term K-12 research team at EAB. Jon graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary with a Masters of Theological Studies and the University of Virginia with a BA in Political Science. He currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia and in his free time enjoys cooking, pursuing his sommelier certification, and traveling.

Dr. Shyama Venkateswar is the Senior Director, Learning Solutions, at Seramount. She heads up the development and design of tailored corporate strategies to tackle complex workplace culture and talent challenges and serves as an Advisor to Seramount’s partners representing a variety of industries. She has more than 20 years of experience in applying research for improved outcomes in organizations and public policy.

Shyama was previously the Director of the Public Policy Program and a faculty member at Hunter College, City University of New York. There, she led the expansion and governance of the program, crafted innovative curriculum, and played an instrumental role in implementing campus-wide initiatives for student and faculty success.

Shyama has wide experience in speaking to a variety of audiences – corporate, academic, nonprofit, and government – within and outside the U.S. She has written opinion pieces on a range of global policy issues and has been interviewed for her expertise by print and broadcast media.

She is a graduate of Smith College and received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

Chicago’s inaugural Poet Laureate and American Poet Laureate Fellow, interdisciplinary artist avery r. young is also a co-director of The Floating Museum. Also a Walder’s Foundation Platform awardee, his art practice spans film, curation, to written and performance works featured in national and international exhibitions, theater, festivals and anthologies. He has scored Lise Haller Baggeson’s Hatorgrade Retrograde: The Musical, scoring Red Clay Dance’s Rest.Restore.Nourinsh.Move.Heal, and produced two albums, booker t soltreyne: a race rekkid and tubman. The latter is the soundtrack to his volume of poetry titled, neckbone: visual verses [Northerwestern].