2024 Inclusive Leadership
Impact Awards
Judges
We are honored to present the esteemed judges for our
2024 SME Inclusive Leadership Impact Awards
Meet The Judges
Nancy Di Dia
Di Dia Diversity Consulting Group
Nancy J. Di Dia is a PCC certified executive and life coach with over 35 years of corporate and C-suite leadership, leading and developing talent across the globe in Fortune 100 businesses. Her extensive career spans multiple industries, including Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing, Retail Banking, Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Information Technology. As a seasoned leader, Nancy excels in guiding executives and organizations to reach their full potential.
Nancy’s corporate expertise is complemented by her focus on facilitating solutions and insights for her clients. She is a certified diversity and inclusion executive and previously served as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for a global pharmaceutical firm. Additionally, Nancy is an active Board Member with the Connecticut Governor’s Prevention Partnership, working to prevent underage substance use and to build strategic alliances to foster a strong future workforce in Connecticut.
A key area of Nancy's work involves helping leaders harness their talents across the divides of gender, generations, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, geography, and culture. With over 25 years of executive coaching experience, Nancy’s clients range from the C-suite to middle management. She is renowned for her authenticity and her diverse, global experiences, making her a sought-after coach and trusted advisor.
Nancy holds several board positions at both the national and local levels throughout the northeastern United States.
Djuana C. Beamon
Chief Diversity & Corporate Social Responsibility Officer
Empower
Djuana is a seasoned diversity and inclusion practitioner and thought leader with more than 20 years of
experience in various business capacities. She has served as a DE&I professional in several industries
and sectors, including Fortune 5 and Fortune 100 companies, building and implementing strategies to
create inclusive environments that strengthens business and encourages a workplace of respect while embracing our unique differences and celebrating our collective similarities.
Djuana received her MBA, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Management, from the
University of New Haven and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Albertus
Magnus College. She received her Certificate in Diversity Management and Cornell Certified Diversity
Professional/Advanced Practitioner (CCDP/AP) certification from Cornell University School of Industrial
and Labor Relations.
Djuana currently serves as a board member for the National Center for Race Amity and the University of
New Haven Alumni Board of Directors, and as an advisory board member for the Quinnipiac University’s M&T Center for Women & Business. She has previously served as a Board Trustee and Chair of the
Governance Committee for the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford, CT as well as the Director, Diversity & Inclusion for the Connecticut Society of Human Resources Management (CT SHRM) State HR Council, and as a board member for Our Piece of the Pie.
Djuana resides in Middletown, CT with her significant other, daughter, and two dogs. She loves to travel,
garden and spend time with family and friends.
Brian Klecatsky
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) leader
Brian Klecatsky (he/him/his) is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) leader and corporate professional who has worked across a variety of industries including Fashion/Retail, Hospitality, Health Insurance, Consumer Goods, Financial Services, Biotech and Telecommunications. Early in his career he was a brand marketer at Kraft Foods, MasterCard International and Pepperidge Farm. Seventeen years ago, he launched an LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group while leading Brand Equity & Design at Pepperidge Farm/Campbell Soup Company which launched his Diversity & Inclusion leadership journey.
By partnering with executives, human resources and associates in organizations like Wyndham Worldwide, Aetna, Ascena Retail Group, Samsung Electronics America and SpringWorks Therapeutics, Brian spearheads enterprise D&I strategy from assessment to program implementation. Brian is a seasoned collaborator with a keen interest in leadership commitment and change management who has designed culture shaping programs in support of women and underrepresented groups while increasing engagement through the lens of Diversity & Inclusion best practices.
Brian has worked extensively with Executive Leadership teams, Diversity & Inclusion Councils and Employee Resource Groups to advance D&I efforts in three domains: Workforce, Workplace and Marketplace. He speaks on a range of topics focused on how inclusive behaviors drive results to inclusive language, microaggressions and intent vs. impact. Other topics include civility in the workplace and the role Allies play in DEI initiatives. As a certified facilitator he leads learning experiences centered on Unconscious Bias, Inclusive Leadership and Allyship at Work. Brian serves as a mentor in a formal Mentor Circle Program for LGBTQ+ associates and as an Executive Coach.
Brian has a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership, Certificates in Diversity & Inclusion Management from Cornell University School of Industrial Labor Relations as well as USF Muma College of Business. In the summer of 2022, he attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business LGBTQ+ Executive Leadership program.
Carmen E. Hughes
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
City of Stamford, CT
Carmen E. Hughes is the City of Stamford’s first Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). She often refers to her office as the “Office of I.D.E.A.S.” Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Strategies for Stamford. In this capacity Carmen ensures the City is being responsive to the needs of the employees and residents of Stamford in equitable and inclusive ways that had not be prioritized in the past.
Before joining the City of Stamford in April of 2022, Carmen was CEO of Edelweise LLC, a diversity consulting, career coaching, and talent development firm she founded in 2015. As an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credentialed by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), a Cornell Certified Diversity Professional, an adjunct diversity instructor for Cornell University and a former Wall Street executive, Carmen has a proven track record with leadership development, DEI and Leadership training, esecutive coaching, and implementing effective DEI strategies with measurable success.
Prior to her tapping into her entrepreneurial dreams and launching Edelweise Consulting, Carmen had a highly successful 20-year career at JPMorganChase. She started in operations, transitioned to being one of the top generators of revenue for her team in fixed income Sales, and continued to rise the ranks as a senior director in Human Resources.
Carmen graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University’s School of Business. She has been a Stamford resident since 2011 and serves on the following non-for-profit and school boards: Children’s Learning Center, Sacred Heart Greenwich, and United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut. In her free time, she loves to travel with her husband and three kids, play golf, and is an avid runner. To date, Carmen has completed three marathons and many half marathons.
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Joe Santana
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Futurist
Joseph Santana is a Futurist helping to shape the future of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). He is also a sought-after keynote speaker, author, and the Chairman of the CDO PowerCircle, where he's at the forefront of helping Chief Diversity Officer in highly respected organizations to prepare to address the emerging challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. He is also the host of the ERG PowerTalk podcast, a program where he develops and motivates ERG leaders to
prepare them to meet today’s increasing demands. To date, the ERG PowerTalk podcast has given over a quarter of a million US dollars worth of education and inspiration to ERG leaders free of charge.
Joe is also a member of the Forbes Business Council and the Fast Company Executive Board and
a frequent contributor of articles to both organization's magazines. These articles, written for senior business leaders, aim to help CEOs and investors understand why their support of DEI is vital to their current and future success. His expertise in the post-normal evolution of DEI has also been covered in interviews with media outlets such as ABC, PIX, Fox, Ticker News, and
The Black List, a streaming business interview show. His two most recent DEI books,"The New
DEI and ERG Frontier" and "SuperCharge Your ERGs,"are available on Amazon, offering
invaluable guidance to those ready to embark on the journey toward 21st-century DEI-fueled success.