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.

Erika is Citi’s Head of Talent Management and Engagement, responsible for developing global diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and driving Citi’s agenda on talent planning, succession planning and leadership development.

Prior to joining Citi, Erika was Chief Diversity Officer at Goldman Sachs from 2018 to 2021 and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Bloomberg from 2015 to 2018. Prior to this, she led executive and diversity hiring efforts at Bank of America and Lehman Brothers. Erika’s background includes a range of banking and finance roles, including Head of Business Development for Black Entertainment Television, Senior Associate in High Yield Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley and Senior Policy Analyst for Domestic Finance for the United States Department of the Treasury. She began her career as an Analyst in Public Finance at Lehman Brothers.

Erika is Vice Chair of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and serves on the Boards of Columbia Business School and the Riverside Hawks. Erika earned a BS in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Shardé Marchewski is the Global Head of Purpose & Inclusion at Wayfair. She owns Wayfair’s DEI and Social Impact initiatives and ensures that Wayfair is an inclusive organization that is driving positive impact in the community. Sharde has been at Wayfair for 6 years and began her career at the company in Category Management.

Prior to Wayfair, Shardé had a career in Investment Banking covering the Consumer Retail industry. Shardé has a B.A. in Economics from Spelman College and an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management. She lives in Boston with her husband and three kids.

Karmin Bailey is the Supplier Diversity Manager for Southwest Gas. Karmin brings over 23 years of experience in various finance, procurement, compliance, and supplier diversity roles.

Recognized as an Outstanding Diversity Champion by Columbus Business First in 2020, Karmin strives to think beyond compliance and achieve measurable results in supplier diversity programs.

Karmin currently serves on the Board of Directors for Pacific Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council. Karmin has also served on the Global Board of Directors and the Diversity & Inclusion subcommittee for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

Karmin is a graduate of The Ohio State University with dual degrees in Accounting and Finance, and is a Certified Management Accountant, Certified Public Finance Officer, and Contract Compliance Administrator.

Courtney Moore currently serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) and Chief of Staff to the CHRO and for Southwest Gas. In his role as Chief of Staff, he leads the development and implementation of the HR strategic vision, acting as a liaison between the HR leadership team, C-suite officers and board of directors. As Director of DE&I, he is responsible for positively positioning Southwest Gas within the natural gas and utility industries by driving inclusion, equity, and community impact throughout the business.

Courtney’s professional acumen is a unique compendium of data analytics, continuous improvement and change management. He attributes his ability to align, strategize and execute across myriad
functional areas to his experience leading business units within the utility, gaming and service sectors. In his role, Courtney leverages his analytical background to demonstrate the remunerative outcomes generated by strategically engaging employees, customers and the community. As such, he focuses on aligning Southwest’s DE&I priorities: equity within the employee life cycle, professional development and succession planning and equitable economic and workforce development with the programmatic efforts of its diversity partners.

Courtney recognizes the value of service and his duty to the community and believes in a hands-on approach to community reinvestment. He has served on the board of directors for Democracy Prep Charter School, The Uplift Foundation of Nevada; including officer roles as president, Kelly-Parker Foundation, vice president, Disability:IN, Las Vegas Chapter and treasurer, The Ogden Family
Foundation. He was also selected to Former Nevada Governor, Steve Sisolak’s, Commission on Mentorship and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Citizen’s Review Board.

Courtney holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Temple University and a Master of Business Administration from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He also studied Hospitality Management and
Strategic Human Resources Engagement at Cornell University.

Zoe Burrow is Director of Partner Development at Seramount. In her role, she partners with organizations to develop and implement creative solutions that enhance employee experience, engagement, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Before joining Seramount, Zoe spent most of her career in the healthcare industry, including 4.5 years at the Advisory Board, where she specialized in delivering strategy, operations, and HR research solutions to large hospitals and health systems.

Zoe holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Richmond. She lives in Richmond, VA, with her husband and enjoys reading, running, and discovering new restaurants.

Markese Redding is a Partner Development Representative on Seramount’s DEI Research Partnership team, where he supports DEI leaders in the hospitality, law, and manufacturing sectors.
Markese earned both a BA and an MBA from Loyola University Maryland, where he was a dedicated Division I basketball player. His commitment to social justice began during college, where he was a founding member of Student Athletes for Social Justice and served as a member of the Patriot League Social Justice Coalition and Black Student Association (BSA).
Now residing in New York City, Markese spends his free time coaching high school basketball and empowering underprivileged youth.

Meet Parker McMullen Bushman, CEO and Founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies, Co-founder of Inclusive Guide, and Social Media Diva KWEEN WERK. Listed by Outside Magazine as one of the the 20 Most Influential People in the Outdoor Industry Parker is a dynamic speaker that engages organizations in new thinking around what it means to be a diversity change-agent and create dynamic organizational change. Parker’s background in the non-profit leadership, conservation, environmental education and outdoor recreation fields spans over 24+ years. Parker has a passion for equity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Her interest in justice, accessibility, and equity issue,s developed from her personal experiences facing the unequal representation of people of color in environmental organizations and green spaces.

Parker tackles these complex issues by addressing them through head on activism and education. Parker brings a unique background to this work having served in top leadership for Marine Science, Natural Resources, Environmental Educational, and Cultural Interpretive Facilities. Parker has served as the Vice President for Community Engagement, Education and Inclusion at Butterfly Pavilion, an Invertebrate Zoo located in Westminster, CO. She was the Director of Extension for the City and County of Denver. She also served as the Director of Education for the Marine Science Consortium, a research and education center located on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Parker has a Master of Natural Resources from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, with a focus in Interpretation and Environmental Education. She leads several committees that focus on diversity in environmental fields and is a presenter and trainer on diversity issues. She sits on the board of Environmental Learning for Kids, Metro Denver Nature Alliance, and The Next 100 Coalition.