The Art and Strategy of DEI Storytelling

As the firm’s Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Amanda supports the development of an inclusive culture so that attorneys and staff are best equipped to meet client needs.

The granddaughter of migrant workers, Amanda has a lifelong passion for diversity and inclusion. Her enthusiasm for civil rights matters led her to begin her legal career in labor and employment, helping clients create more inclusive environments. She soon joined Michigan State University’s Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, where she led Title IX investigations and delivered educational programs across the campus on inclusion, anti-harassment and implicit bias. Amanda later took a role with Jackson National Life Insurance, serving in the General Counsel’s office while simultaneously building the company’s first diversity and inclusion working group and developing an initial diversity and inclusion strategy.

Amanda is especially passionate about the diversity, equity and inclusion work she does today at Husch Blackwell: law firms, she believes, are uniquely positioned to affect their communities for good and to encourage the spread of best practices. Law firms have the opportunity to connect clients with talented teams of diverse individuals. Many Husch Blackwell clients already identify diversity as an important issue, and Amanda loves supporting a diverse pipeline of talented professionals who can assist with their legal needs.

However, Amanda sees her most significant role as ensuring that the firm acts on its goals of equity and inclusion. Diversity is a matter of representation, of working to recruit and retain a diverse group of professionals. Inclusion, on the other hand, means creating a culture where individuals of all backgrounds feel that they belong and are valued. At Husch Blackwell, we don’t merely hire diverse professionals; we make it a high priority to support the equitable and inclusive environment that will allow our diverse teams to function at their best. An important part of our commitment to employee engagement, Amanda ensures that diverse team members have a supportive environment where they can thrive.

At the end of the day, Amanda’s efforts support the firm’s clients as well: attorneys and staff who perform at their best deliver excellent client service.

Nicole Johnson is a Senior Director on the Advisory team at Seramount. She is a seasoned executive who brings over 30 years of a unique blend of corporate and nonprofit experience in finance, multicultural marketing, and DEI. Her strategic, customer-centered, mission-driven, and bottom-line-focused approach allows her to develop and implement strategies that help companies reach untapped markets, deliver culturally appropriate messages, increase inclusive behaviors in their leaders, and positively impact the company’s revenue stream.

Her most recent role was as the Senior Director of DEI at the American Red Cross, where she supported efforts related to Employee Resource Groups, Leadership Development, and Community Engagement. Nicole has built diversity departments for both ARAMARK and Wyndham Worldwide and is proud to see that both are thriving and award-winning. As a result, she has acquired critical knowledge and experience on how to build a diversity department from the ground up. Nicole has also led multicultural marketing efforts for Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T and the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Feeling compelled to share her lessons learned with her fellow DEI practitioners, she launched a boutique consulting firm and was soon dubbed “The Newbie Navigator” as she guided new leaders on their journey to establishing this critical function in their organizations as well as avoiding the pitfalls.

Nicole has a passion for giving and has served on various boards and advisory committees, including the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance, Dress for Success, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Barnes Foundation, the American Red Cross, and others. She has been a featured speaker at numerous conferences, including Odyssey Network Business Retreat, Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, The Pennsylvania Diversity Council, and The Forum on Workplace Diversity, to name a few. She’s also shared her knowledge as a visiting professor at Temple University and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Nicole has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Rutgers University. She is an avid furniture up-cycler, will gladly loom knit you a hat in your favorite color, and is an advocate for everyone to grow their own food. Her first real job and real love is her role as a proud mother and life coach to her two children, Social Justice Advocate Sierra and Lacrosse All-American Bryce.