Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer

Never has the role of the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer been more important.

Participate in interactive instructional approaches to develop strategies and learn skills essential to enhance or create a lasting, high-impact global human capital structure and ensure meaningful investment from all stakeholders in your company or organization.   

Solid global human capital management, a sense of belonging, and deliberate corporate design is important to the internal well-being and external reputation of companies and organizations as they seek to navigate existing challenges and to prepare for new ones. In partnership with a broad array of industry, government, and educational leaders in this field, the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer program offers hands-on opportunities to create high-functioning programs or evaluate existing ones, develop additional approaches and structures, and measure progress through the lens of all stakeholders with an eye toward anticipating rather than reacting to changes in this area. Finally, this program assists participants in growing both a culture of belonging and continued positive business outcomes.

Who Should Attend?

The ideal candidate has...

  • Experience as an organizational leader with a track record of leading human capital principles in the workplace culture or interest in becoming a global human capital management leader.
  • A collaborative approach to leadership.
  • Exceptional problem-solving skills with the maturity to work with stakeholders at all levels and disciplines.
  • Solid communications skills.
  • An undergraduate degree or equivalent experience.

Sample Schedule

  • In-Person Opening Oct. 24 - 26, 2023
  • Online Sessions Nov. 1 - Dec. 13, 2023
  • Mid-Program In-Person Session Jan. 9 - 10, 2024
  • Online Sessions Jan. 17 - Feb. 28, 2024
  • In-Person Closing March 6 -7, 2024

Program Topics

  • Human Capital Analytics and Processes 30%
  • Building Business Acumen 20%
  • Culture and Leadership 20%
  • Strategic Thinking 15%
  • Transforming the Organization 15%

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to: 

  • Act in a human capital leadership role at the executive level or for assisting and advising such an individual.
  • Clearly communicate their company or organization’s inclusive vision and expectations.
  • Bring together all stakeholders into an effective program that will enhance leadership credibility, employee belonging, and performance.
  • Add significant value to users of the company or organization’s products and services.
  • Understand effective strategies and structures to maintain growth in DEI and to anticipate and manage emerging challenges.

Badge of Certification

This program is delivered as a non-degree, executive certificate. Attendees have the opportunity to add a badge credential from Credly for successful completion of the program to their resume for organizational recognition (internal and external) and to indicate the accomplishment of obtaining a George Mason University credential.

Program Information

Next Cohort: October 23, 2024 – March 7, 2025
Delivery: Hybrid; online sessions and in-person sessions at Mason Square (formerly the Arlington Campus)
Cost: $8,500

Personal Consultation

Contact us to schedule an advising session:
Email ❭
(703) 993-6725 ❭

Curriculum

The curriculum is composed of the three core competencies areas that were identified by DEI leaders and academics as necessary for the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officers of the Future:

Transformational Organization Leadership (Fulfills ECQ 1 & ECQ 2)

Leading Change 

People often dislike uncertainty at work and often fear or avoid change altogether. One of the most important roles of leadership then is to manage change and cope with uncertainty in your teams and organizations. This session explores the challenges and opportunities involved in change management, especially the areas of employee resistance, how to overcome it, and how to champion results. This session is a joint session with other C-Suite participants. 

Faculty:  

  • Dr. Tori Grady, Associate Professor of Management, Costello College of Business, George Mason University 

Being a Leader in the C-Suite 

This session builds your capacity to engage in the successful practices of leadership as a member of the C-Suite. The emphasis is on your way of being as a leader (the observer you are) and enhancing your capacity to declare commitments to future possibilities and engage others in sharing and fulfilling those commitments. The Session discusses the importance of context in confronting managerial challenges and creating opportunities. Explores the role of leadership in shaping conversations that create empowering contexts for organizational actions. 

Faculty:  

  • Dr. Greg Unruh, Arison Chair in Values Leadership, Associate Professor, College of Humanities and Social Science, George Mason University. 

Relational-Based Leadership 

It is up to leaders to create an environment in which individuals find meaning and motivation, perform, thrive, and are resilient. This comes not just from money or prestige, but because of the positive relationships they hold at work. This session allows individuals to appreciate how leaders can improve by taking a relational view towards others in the organization. To lead is to speak directly to the workforce, to understand their concerns, pinch points, frustrations, and pain. Taking a relational view goes beyond your individual relationship with each employee; it encompasses understanding the network of employee relationships. 

Faculty:  

  • Dr. Kevin Rockmann, Professor of Management, Costello College of Business, George Mason University. 

Creating a Positive Corporate Culture 

Introduces the construct of emotional culture and demonstrates the importance of cultivating a positive emotional culture for employees, teams, divisions, and organizations. Distinguishing among the key emotions impacting culture and describing how individuals and organizations can achieve enhanced employee health and wellbeing. Provide evidence-based techniques that managers can integrate into their daily work practices to increase personal and professional success. 

Faculty:  

  • Mandy O’Neill, Associate Professor of Management, Costello College of Business, George Mason University. 

Innovative Business and Operational Acumen (Fulfills ECQ 3 & ECQ 4)

Building Business Acumen for the C-Suite 

Provides an overview to the principles and practices of business acumen; what separates C-Suite Executives who excel from those who do not; and how to successfully engage with other members of the C-Suite by applying the principles to everyday conversations and interactions. This session is a joint session with other C-Suite participants. 

Faculty:  

  • Dr. Tom Davies, Executive-in-Residence, Costello College of Business, George Mason University 

Value Creation and Customer/Stakeholder Equity 

In this session, participants will learn how executives make decision to create, communicate, capture, and deliver value to their customers or stakeholders. Successfully developing and deploying a critical value-based strategy that focuses on maximizing customer/stakeholder value and need satisfaction is essential for organizational performance and mission successful. 

Faculty:  

  • Dr. Brett W. Josephson, Associate Professor of Marketing, Costello College of Business, George Mason University. 

Business & Sustainability 

Historically, social expectations of businesses have been limited to the creation of wealth for shareholders and the simultaneous creation of jobs and economic development in their communities. Now, however, the last two decades has seen societal expectations shift toward creation social and environmental value in addition to economic returns. This course provides participants with frameworks and strategies they can use to align their business value creation with emerging social and environmental expectations.  

Faculty:  

  • Dr. Greg Unruh, Arison Chair in Values Leadership, Associate Professor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences. 

Innovation 

This session strengthens the participant’s innovation acumen by acquainting them with the latest thinking on innovation and exposing them to proven strategies and best practices to transforming promising ideas into actionable innovations that move their organizations forward. 

Faculty:  

  • Dr. Tom Davies, Executive-in-Residence, Costello College of Business, George Mason University 

Strategic Thinking, Value Proposition Models and Mission Fulfillment 

This session provides analytical tools to focus on value creation in an organization through the concept of business model innovation and its links to strategic management and strategic thinking. This session is a joint session with other C-Suite participants. 

Faculty:  

  • Dr. Mahesh Joshi, Associate Professor of Management, Costello College of Business, George Mason University 

Developing and Executing a Strategic Plan 

In this session, participants will gain an understanding of what is strategy. Identify links between organizations and types of strategy as well as how resources and assets link to different business models and mission objectives. 

Faculty: 

  • Dr. Mahesh Joshi, Associate Professor of Management, Costello College of Business, George Mason University. 

Mastery of the DE&I Ecosystem (Fulfills ECQ 5)

Community Involvement

In this topic, we will discuss the value of listening to our communities. We will also explore how to elevate the funds of knowledge that exist within our communities, empathize with their needs, and learn how to co-create possibilities with these diverse and dynamic communities. This topic will ask participants to identify conscious and unconscious biases that create positive and negative impacts (either intended or unintended)  on the services, operations, policies, practices of their community relationships. 

Faculty:

  • Cathy Harrell, Consultant and Operations ProfessionalConsultant and Operations Professional, DreamVision Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultants, LLC 

Measuring Diversity

The purpose of this topic is to engage participants in lively discussion around leading practices in measuring diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), while exploring practical tools to support measurement along with the business case for DEI systems within a variety of organizations.

Faculty:

  • Chuck Barber, Chief Diversity Officer, National Science Foundation
  • Mark Livingston, Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education, US Department of the Navy

Anticipating Change

This topic will focus on strategies for developing an enduring DE&I framework with controls to monitor sources to anticipate change.  This topic will also highlight best practices for maintaining strategic focus through effective communications, stakeholder management, governance, and various other strategies.

Faculty:

  • Chuck Barber, Chief Diversity Officer, National Science Foundation
  • Mark Livingston, Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education, US Department of the Navy

Stakeholder Management

The purpose of this topic is to introduce participants to best practices for managing DEI with both internal and external stakeholders. Managing internal and external stakeholders creates a more significant impact on DEI efforts and strategies.

Faculty:

  • Chuck Barber, Chief Diversity Officer, National Science Foundation
  • Mark Livingston, Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education, US Department of the Navy

Barriers to Effectiveness: Mindsets and Biases

The purpose of this topic is to increase awareness among participants of assumptions, biases and mindsets, assist them in identifying them in the workplace, and understand the impacts they have on their organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda.

Faculty

  • Anne Lauer, George Mason University, Costello College of Business, Dean's Teaching Faculty Fellow

The Tone From the Top: Internal Engagement

The purpose of this topic is to introduce participants to best practices for managing DEI internally.  Strategy, key outcomes, measures of effectiveness and the DEI operational concept are critical to providing leadership vision and tone from the top.

Faculty:

  • Chuck Barber, Chief Diversity Officer, National Science Foundation
  • Mark Livingston, Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education, US Department of the Navy

"Chief diversity officers have responsibility for guiding efforts to conceptualize, define, assess, nurture, and cultivate diversity as an institutional and educational resource...[they] define their mission as providing point and coordinating leadership for diversity issues institution-wide."

What Is a Chief Diversity Officer?, Diversity Officer Magazine

Meet Your Instructors

  • School of Business Community Partner | Anne K. Altman

    Co-founder and CEO, Everyone Matters Inc. 

    Anne Altman is the former general manager of IBM Corporation's U.S Federal Government and Industries sector and the co-founder and CEO of Everyone Matters Inc.
  • Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Department of the Navy

    Dr. Charles Barber assumed the duties as Director of the Department of the Navy’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in September 2021. In this role, he is responsible for the integration and implementation of strategic DE&I initiatives into Department of Navy culture, policies, programs and core functions.
  • Lisa Estrada

    Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, LifePoint Health

    Lisa Estrada is Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at LifePoint Health.
  • George Mason University Costello College of Business Faculty Christine Landoll

    Director of Business Engagement
    Additional Roles: Instructor, Business Foundations; Professor of Practice

    Christine Landoll is the director of business engagement and an instructor within the Business Foundations Area in the Costello College of Business at George Mason University.
  • Assistant Deputy, Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education

    Dr. Mark Livingston assumed the duties as Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education (ADCNO MPT&E) in May 2020. In this role, he serves as the civilian executive advisor to the Chief of Naval Personnel.
  • George Mason University Costello College of Business Faculty Saruabh Mishra

    Professor, Marketing

    Saurabh Mishra is a professor within the Marketing Area in the Costello College of Business at George Mason University.
  • Stephanie Platz-Vieno

    Principal, Human Capital Strategies LLC

    Stephanie Platz-Vieno, PhD started Human Capital Strategies, LLC to help companies deliver innovative talent solutions with a sure vision

Related Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

Are faculty from George Mason University?

A combination of Mason faculty, adjuncts, and subject matter experts teach in the program. 

How was the curriculum created and courses chosen?

Mason Business faculty with the support of an advisory council of c-suite professionals developed the program curricula. Topics and outcomes are reviewed and revised yearly based on feedback and emerging industry best practices.

Is this program eligible under the GI Bill?

Not at this time. 

Are there any discounts to attend the program?

Preferred pricing for government employees is $7,650. A promotional code will be provided to those accepted into the program. Please call (703) 993-8275 if you are a Mason employee or would like to discuss a group rate.   

What does the cost of the program include?

The $8,500 program cost includes all materials, activities, catering, receptions, and a certificate of completion. 

How do I register and pay for the program?

Follow this registration link to register for the program. You will receive an emailed response with directions on payment.

How much time will participants need to devote to the program?

Participants should expect to spend seven full days at the George Mason University Mason Square Campus as well as participating in 5-6 online topics delivered in two-week increments. For each two-week topic there will be approximately 8-10 hours of learning including readings, videos, presentations, live session, discuss boards, and deliverables.

How are the courses conducted?

Over the course of five months, there are seven in-person days and five two-week online topics.

In-person days include morning and afternoon learning sessions, catering, and a reception.

Online topics include a combination of asynchronous components such as discussion boards, presentations, videos, and assignments, as well as live synchronous sessions. Expect one to three scheduled live sessions for each online topic. These generally start between 7 and 8 p.m. eastern time. Live sessions are recorded and posted the next day. 

Zoom is used for live online sessions. A tutorial is provided to participants in .pdf format, and an optional live tutorial session is offered as well. All registered participants are given access to Blackboard approximately two weeks prior to the start of the program. 

Do I get university credit for this program? Will I be graded?

This is a non-credit executive education program so you will not earn university credit. However, CEUs (continuing education units) authorized by George Mason University are available upon request. At least two weeks prior to the start of the program, please send your request to execdev@gmu.edu. You will be asked to provide additional personal information in order to have your CEUs properly recorded.   

Participants will not be graded, but In order to receive a certificate of completion, participants will need to complete a minimum of 80 percent of the work assigned (including assignments, deliverables, discussion boards, and live sessions). At the end of each topic, faculty are asked to provide a summary of participant’s engagement. 

How many participants are enrolled?

The maximum number of participants for a single cohort is 20. 

What are some common student personas/backgrounds/job titles?

Most participants have at least six years of management experience and are at the Director level or above. Approximately half of the participants have been from the public/non-profit sector and half from the private sector. The average age of participants is 45. 

Is there an application deadline?

No. Participants are admitted on a rolling basis up to the start of the program or until the cohort is full.