DEVEX PRO LIVE

Devex Leader Roundtable:

The Head of DEI Edition

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April 6, 2023

12 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. BST)

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About the event

You can access the event's recording here.

Each month, for Pro members, Devex hosts virtual roundtable discussions with three-four leaders to explore how their work is evolving and key issues and trends. Conversations focus on how the business of development is changing through the lens of key leadership positions. We'll dig into how issues such as localization, funding shifts, new technology, future of work, increasing humanitarian need, and climate disruption are all changing how an organization needs to adapt and how people in these key leadership roles are changing the way they do business. We ask how they are approaching shifts in the sector, trends they see, and what they predict for the future. We also ask for advice for people looking to follow in their footsteps and invite our audience to submit questions.

In this session, we will bring together heads of diversity, equity, and inclusion to discuss topics such as:

Progress made on DEI efforts in the broader global development community.
Looking at DEI through a global and local lens.
How decolonization of aid and localization are driving or being driven by DEI efforts.
Roadblocks and challenges organizations and leaders face along with opportunities.
How backlash on DEI efforts in some governments and spaces are affecting their work.
Prioritizing DEI efforts with limited resources.

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The Speakers

Moderator

Kate Warren

Executive Vice President

Devex

Kate Warren is Executive Vice President and resident talent and careers guru at Devex. With 15 years of global development recruitment experience advising international NGOs, consulting firms, and donor agencies, she has a finger on the pulse of hiring trends across the industry and insider knowledge on what it takes to break in.

Lena Bheeroo

Engagement and equity manager

Bond UK

Lena Bheeroo is the head of anti-racism and decolonizing sector work at Bond, where she collaborates with members, global partners, initiatives, and movements. She co-authored the Bond report “Racism, Power and Truth: Experience of People of Colour in International Development” and leads the organization's convening through webinars and events covering a range of topics, including mental health, funding, decolonizing, and policy areas such as the SDGs and the future of aid. Bheeroo has experience leading events at the Charity Finance Group, delivering programs with partners in several countries, working on human rights issues in Palestine, and collaborating with the British Council. She has a Masters in Nationalism and Politics from the University of Edinburgh.

Tracey L. France

Chief diversity officer

Millennium Challenge Corporation

Tracey France is the chief diversity officer, or CDO, at the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity Division. Her work focuses on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, in the agency's workforce and creating an inclusive workplace culture. With over 25 years of federal service, France has a wealth of experience and expertise in cultivating and sustaining an inclusive work environment. She has worked for various federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Coast Guard, where she developed frameworks and strategies for implementing DEI. France is a certified diversity & inclusion game changer and holds a Diversity & Inclusion Professionals Certificate from Cornell University's International Labor Relations School. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Howard University and is a native of Queens, New York.

Bobby Jefferson

Global head of diversity, equity, engagement, and inclusion

DAI

Bobby Jefferson is DAI’s first global head of diversity, equity, engagement, and inclusion. He has a background in global development, having previously served as vice president and chief technology officer for DAI Global Health and as vice president and director of the Center for Development Informatics at Palladium. Jefferson has been actively involved in promoting DEI initiatives, serving on the Racial and Social Justice Initiative Steering Committee and chairing the DEI Committee for the Society for International Development, United States chapter. He is also co-chair of the Council of International Development Companies' DEI Committee and participates in the equity, diversity, and inclusion working group for British Expertise International.

Francesca Molinaro

Diversity, inclusion & belonging lead

Asian Development Bank

Francesca is a diversity and inclusion leader and HR professional with nearly 20 years of professional experience designing and implementing strategic D&I, leadership and organizational development, and change management initiatives. She has a proven track record designing and implementing strategic diversity and inclusion initiatives and embedding them in core people and business processes. Prior to her role at ADB, Molinaro was the first person to serve in this role at Chemonics, and she led the organization’s D&I corporate strategy. Molinaro has also served as the D&I adviser for the Inter-American Development Bank. She has master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and George Washington University, and a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University.

Office Cat

Mouse Catcher

Quarantine land

And both of these, if one would tell the truth, were foreordained unto the holy place, where greatest Peter’s follower hath his seat. While on this quest, for which thou giv’st him praise, he heard the things which of his victory the causes were, and of the Papal Robe. The Chosen Vessel went there afterward, to bring thence confirmation in the faith, through which one enters on salvation’s path. But why should I go there, or who concedes it? I ’m not Aeneas, nor yet Paul am I; me worthy of this, nor I nor others deem. If, therefore, I consent to come, I fear lest foolish be my coming; thou art wise, and canst much better judge than I can talk.”

Fadzi Whande

Chief of diversity, equity and inclusion section

UNHCR

Fadzi Whande is a multi-award-winning Global Diversity and Inclusion Strategist, Social Justice Advocate, and keynote speaker who has worked with government agencies, organizations, academic institutions, businesses, and faith-based institutions seeking to advance and integrate DEI principles into organizational practices. She is presently the Chief of Section, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the United Nations Refugee Agency. Fadzi is a passionate and inspiring global leader with a proven track record in successfully designing and implementing large scale DEI strategies and plans. Fadzi holds an Executive MBA from the University of Western Australia and is currently completing an Executive Msc in Behaviorial Science at the London School of Economics.

Interviewer

Kate Warren

EVP and Executive Editor

Devex

Kate Warren brings two decades of global development and digital media experience, covering and shaping the important conversations driving the Sustainable Development Goals. In her role as EVP and Executive Editor, Kate leads Devex’s special coverage including news events, Devex Pro, and other editorial initiatives tied to key moments on the global development calendar. Kate is a frequent speaker and author on human capital, leadership, skills development and trends in the social impact and global development space as well as LGBTQ youth rights.