DEI In Action Series

In 2021, we initiated the virtual DEI in Action Series to highlight leaders of all different backgrounds that are elevating DEI awareness around the globe in their own unique ways across industries. The series was a HUGE success, garnering 700+ viewers from all over the world! We host five-yearly events to celebrate Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month.

Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories: Voices of Success

March 31st, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST

Despite improving professional advancements for women, many of their successful stories remain untold. Women’s History Month was created to recognize women and provide an opportunity to celebrate their unique roles in society. Each year, we recognize the powerful voices of women by spotlighting phenomenal women leaders with triumphant stories of achievement to share with the world.

Speakers

Aileen K.
Alexander

Chief Executive Officer

Diversified Search Group

Delecia
Krevet

Vice President of HR

Reddit

Niki
Allen

Chief IT & Operations Officer, VP Infrastructure & Ops for IT & Data Analytics

Boeing

Master of Ceremonies

Slma
Shelbayah

Chief Communications Officer

Yardstick Management

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Aileen K. Alexander

Chief Executive Officer

Diversified Search Group

Aileen K. Alexander is the Chief Executive Officer of Diversified Search Group, the largest woman-founded executive search firm in the world. Her responsibilities include oversight and management of the company. She previously served as Vice Chair, leading the firm’s Global Corporate Practice. Aileen is a Global Board Member of AltoPartners, a leading international alliance of executive search firms, with Diversified Search Group as the exclusive U.S. partner.

Based in Philadelphia, Alexander is a recognized leader in the executive search and talent management industry, having led C-suite and Board level searches from large, global corporations to high growth entrepreneurial companies. She leverages her expertise in technology, cybersecurity, risk management, leadership, and succession planning to enable clients to achieve their purpose and strategic priorities. Alexander is committed to ensuring client service that is creative, nimble, responsive, always centered on people first and building diverse teams that drive innovation, growth, and inclusive cultures.

Prior to joining Diversified Search Group, Alexander was a Managing Partner at Korn Ferry where she co-launched and co-led the firm’s Global Cybersecurity Practice. She had leadership responsibilities for Philadelphia and was also a member of the Technology Officers and Aerospace and Defense practices. She entered the industry with Heidrick & Struggles, in their Washington, DC office.

Before embarking on her career in executive search, Aileen worked in international security and defense policy at the Department of Defense and U.S. House of Representatives. She is also a military veteran, having served as a Captain in the U.S. Army.

Aileen is a member of the CEO Council of Growth at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and also a member of the University City Science Center Board of Directors. Additionally, she sits on the Board of her alma mater, Villa Joseph Marie High School in Holland, PA.

Delecia Krevet​

Vice President of HR

Reddit

Delecia Krevet​ joined Reddit, Inc. as the VP of HR Business Partnerships in August 2022. She leads a team of HRBPs and is an enabler to the business driving strategic global people initiatives. Prior to Reddit, she was a HR Director with Amazon leading the Global Legal and Global Corporate Affairs HR teams. Delecia is a 25+ year HR veteran who has spent the majority of her career with Silicon Valley tech titans having also held senior human resources roles with Google and Apple. She also possesses diverse industry experience. She previously was the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. Prior to her time in transit, she spent five years working with Raytheon, one of the largest multinational aerospace and defense contractors. Delecia holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco. She’s a native Texan who currently resides in the San Francisco Bay area.

Niki Allen

Chief IT & Operations Officer, VP Infrastructure & Ops for IT & Data Analytics

Boeing

Niki is currently Chief IT & Operations Officer and Vice President of infrastructure & operations for Boeing IT & data analytics. In her role, Niki is responsible for the global technology strategy, roadmap, infrastructure and operations to generate more than sixty billion dollars of revenue annually. Niki is also responsible for delivering workplace solutions to nearly two hundred thousand employees and partners across seventy countries worldwide.

Prior to this role, Niki spent a year in retail serving as the divisional CIO and SVP of Technology at Kohls Corporation. During her tenure she led the architectural design, application development, deployment, integration and reliability engineering for Enterprise marketing and merchandising technologies. Niki also owned the Enterprise data & analytics capability include strategy, platform, and visualization capabilities.

Before her pivot to retail, Niki spent nearly 20 years leading information technology and product management at The Boeing Company. Notably, she led the digital technology transformation to modernize the end-to-end digital experience and enable the digital thread across the full product lifecycle. In addition, Niki created the first product centric environments within IT, delivering agile software development at scale for the Enterprise. Since beginning her Boeing career in 2001, Niki has she worked as a technical program leader across several marquee programs and customer segments to include the United States Department of Defense, Homeland Security, United States Intelligence agencies, and Foreign Military Defense ministries.

As a servant leader, Niki is the Executive Advisory Board Member at SIU Carbondale where she recently helped launch an advanced analytics degree specialization as part of the SIUC College of Business. She most recently co-founding the DC chapter of Chief, an organization aimed at developing strong female talent. She is also a strong promoter of diversity and inclusion and participates in several external technical organizations such as TMCF, NSBE and the Women’s Leadership forum. Her focus on STEM and community outreach consists of development and recruitment sponsorship for Black Engineer of the Year, National Society of Black Engineers, Grace Hopper and Women of Color in Technology. In 2021 efforts in STEM were nationally recognized by Blacks in Technology, Inc as she was named Top 100 in Technology. Niki is also an active member of the prestigious Executive Leadership Council where she also serves as a member of the IT Advisory Committee. She holds an Executive MBA from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University.

Slma Shelbayah, M.A.

Chief Communications Officer

Yardstick Management

Slma Shelbayah is a Marketing, Communications, and Diversity Leader, Consultant, Adjunct Professor, and award-winning former CNN Broadcast Journalist. In 2015, she won the CNN Diversity Ovation Award for her commitment to inclusion in news coverage. She is passionate about diversity, human uniqueness, and unraveling taboo traditions and is dedicated to promoting the voices of under-represented individuals. Her background includes more than 17 years of experience as a journalist, communication, and public relations expert in the media industry, including roles as a reporter, show host, editor, writer, voice-over artist, and producer.

Serving as the Chief Communications Officer at Yardstick Management, Slma oversees the internal and external communications, strategy alignment, marketing, public relations, branding, and communication project management solutions for clients. She spearheaded a communications department leading a creative team responsible for rebranding the company both internally and externally.

Slma is also an Adjunct Professor of Business, Media, and Communications for Clayton State University and has previously taught at Brenau University, Herzing University, and Georgia State University. She teaches courses on public speaking, interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, speech, and business communication.

Her prior positions include serving as Director of Corporate Public Relations for Savannah College of Art and Design and a 7-year tenure at CNN serving in the capacity of Producer, Assignment Editor, and Writer working across different departments including, CNN International, CNN Digital Newsource, and CNN Homepage.

Slma was inducted and graduated from LEAD Atlanta’s distinguished and highly selective leadership program, LEAD Atlanta, for the class of 2018. She holds a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in Sociology and an M.A. in Linguistics with a focus on cross-cultural linguistics of Spanish and Arabic, both degrees from Georgia State University. She also obtained a certificate from Oxford University, U.K., during which students were selected from 30 countries across the world to pursue a seminar on global media policy: technology and new themes in media regulations.

Dedicating her time to community service that focuses on media, diversity, and inclusion, Slma previously sat on the Advisory Board for the Harvard Debate Diversity Project inaugural class, an initiative that provides selected high school students with debate training and an opportunity to spend a summer at Harvard College developing their speaking skills. Her life-long involvement with youth is also witnessed through mentoring as she is a board member of UBeyond Mentorship, a non-profit mentoring organization for young youth and professionals. Shelbayah also enjoys giving back to the media industry to further the impact on diversity, culture, and faith, and was previously on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters.