Member Conference: ERGs as a Talent (Retention) Strategy

Refugio (Ref) Atilano is a native Chicagoan and has been with AbbVie for almost 4 years and is the Director of Cultural Competency in the Office of Health Literacy.
He is also the Global Chair for AHORA, the AbbVie Latino ERG, sits on the R&D Diversity Council, and is a recognized DEI leader.
Ref is passionate about leadership development – he mentors many of our AbbVie colleagues, invests in and develops leadership programs for AHORA, and is also author of The Latino Leadership Playbook.
Ref is an influencer for the global Latino community and uses his network to help drive the collective leadership development of the Latino community.

Anthony is entering his 13th year with the leading vertical transportation company worldwide, Otis Elevator. He is the founder and chair for New Talent Network which launched in fall of 2018. NTN exists to create a seamless transition for new talent joining Otis by offering an improved new hire experience, internal networking, and continued career development.
Anthony joined Otis as a Business Development Manager in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He transitioned into a Service Sales Account Manager role in 2014 and became Sr. Service Sales Account Manager in 2015 where he managed key accounts such as Amway Hotels and Steelcase. He was promoted to Branch Sales Manager in late 2016. He was assigned his most recent role as Regional Sales Manager, Repair nearly 2 years ago and now covers 6 states, 64 account managers, and 9 larger branch offices.

He has a bachelor’s in general management from Michigan State University, and an MBA from Grand Valley State University.

Paula Mobley is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager at ADUSA Distribution & ADUSA Transportation, where she has championed transformative DEI initiatives since July 2023. With a robust background as a Talent Program Manager, Paula has seamlessly transitioned her expertise to foster an inclusive workplace. Her strategic vision has galvanized C-suite leaders and BRGs, driving impactful change. Paula’s commitment to DEI is underpinned by her passion for early talent and her proactive engagement with Seramount to inspire the next generation of leaders. Her dynamic approach and passion for equity make her a pivotal force in cultivating a diverse and inclusive organizational culture.

William Rolack Sr. is Kroll’s Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, based in New York. He has over 20 years of experience leading diversity and inclusion strategies, human capital management and mobility management. William works closely with the Kroll leadership team and other stakeholders to develop strategic programs aimed at accelerating inclusion and diversity in the workplace and the commercial impact those programs have on high performing teams that drive economic value, innovation and business integration. Prior William led the Global DEI strategies at Workforce Logiq, and for Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Office of the Commissioner. Currently, he serves on the board of Abilities Inc., and the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources as the Immediate-past National President. He has been featured in the Black Enterprise Business Report, News 12 Long Island, HRO Today, CIO.com and Long Island Business News. William has been named Savoy Magazine’s 2023 Most Influential Executives and received the NAAAHR Trailblazer Award in 2021. William earned his BS degree from SC State University and his MBA from Long Island University.

Sarah Crump, SHRM-SCP is a director and membership relationship advisor at Seramount. Sarah joined Seramount after serving over 12 years at Freddie Mac within their Human Resources division. There, as a manager in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department, she was responsible for building partnerships across Freddie Mac’s business divisions to actively educate and motivate employees on the benefits of an inclusive culture. Driven by her passion for neurodiversity inclusion, she also played a pivotal role in launching the Neurodiversity at Work Program, a program designed to hire and support neurodivergent employees.

Sarah holds a BA in English from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a Senior Certified Professional through Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Megan Pierouchakos is a senior director and membership relationship advisor at Seramount. In her role at Seramount, Megan advises Fortune 100 & 500 companies on their talent and DEI initiatives. Prior to Seramount, Megan spent 15 years in corporate roles as a Talent & DEI practitioner spanning the entire talent lifecycle. Most recently, she was Vice President of Human Resources at the American Bankers Association (ABA) where she set the strategic direction for learning and development, talent management, and succession planning. Prior to that, Megan was the Workforce Diversity Manager in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Freddie Mac.

She was recently a part-time adjunct faculty member with the Georgetown HRM program, served a two-year term on the Georgetown HRM Advisory Board, and was a strategic plan task force member with the Centre for Global Inclusion. Megan holds a SPHR certification from HRCI and a Prosci ADKAR Change Management Certification.

Megan received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College with a dual major in International Relations and Spanish and has a graduate degree from Georgetown University in HR Management. She resides in Northern Virginia with her family and actively volunteers with the Girl Scouts of America and other youth organizations her children participate in.

Bridgette Scales is Managing Director on 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.

Nichelle Wash is an Associate Director on the Advisory team at Seramount. She is a results-focused DEI leader who specializes in supporting key areas of DEI strategy. She has been the chair of DEI councils and quasi-government boards, building support for the senior leadership team to integrate DEI throughout their lines of business. This work resulted in culture and change management for employees across the enterprise that was focused on sustainability and scale. She has also overseen diversity recruitment and outreach efforts for organizations, providing real solutions to attract and retain employees with a focus on diverse hiring strategies. Nichelle is a sought-after facilitator who has delivered workshops around DEI for over a decade. She was recently recognized as Woman of the Year for her role in designing and delivering DEI education; hosting a precollege camp to increase the number of girls interested in coding and entrepreneurship; and she sourced projects to address homelessness and support pathways to housing security across her home state of Indiana.

Nichelle is an alumna of Indiana University Bloomington, where she started her career in health care and biomedical research before pivoting to a career in higher education. In her self-healing time, Nichelle enjoys listening to audiobooks, playing basketball, dancing to live music, and traveling.

Kamina Young is a Senior Director on the Advisory team at Seramount. Kamina leads the Employee Resource Group (ERG) advisory offerings, providing advice and resources to organizations executing ERG strategies. She joined Seramount after serving more than 10 years at Wells Fargo. There, as part of the Enterprise Recognition team, she designed and executed the company’s nonmonetary rewards and recognition strategy and programs. In her prior role at the bank, Kamina was a diversity, equity, and inclusion leader, managing the enterprise Employee Resource Group program and providing strategic thought leadership and consulting for other corporate DE&I initiatives.

She also spent 16 years at MetLife in various technical and management roles in Information Technology.
Kamina holds a BS in Computer Science from Stony Brook University and an MBA in Management from Adelphi University, and she is a proud INROADS alumna. She lives in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area and likes to leave it every now and then—some of her interests include kayaking, exploring wineries, skiing, and traveling.