New Jersey’s First Annual Conference on Diversity & Inclusion

Join Kompass North America’s partner, Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber, on Thursday September 24th at 9am to 2pm ET for the First Annual  NJ Conference on Diversity and Inclusion. Prepare to explore ideas and experiences and challenge your current thinking.  Better position you & your organization to address real workplace concerns and drive greater belonging to create a more inclusive work environment.

This virtual event will feature two keynote speakers, a general session, and two breakout sessions. Tickets are $99 for members and $125 for non members. Be sure to register today!

Interested in learning about being a sponsor? Sponsorship Information Here

Debby Irving brings to racial justice the perspective of working as a community organizer and classroom teacher for 25 years without understanding racism as a systemic issue or her own whiteness as an obstacle to grappling with it. As general manager of Boston’s Dance Umbrella and First Night, and later as a classroom teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she struggled to make sense of tensions she could feel but not explain in racially mixed settings. In 2009, a graduate school course, Racial and Cultural Identities, gave her the answers she’d been looking for and launched her on a journey of discovery. Debby now devotes herself to working with white people exploring the impact white skin can have on perception, problem-solving, and engaging in racial justice work. A graduate of the Winsor School in Boston, she holds a BA from Kenyon College and an MBA from Simmons College. Her book, Waking Up White, tells the story of how she went from well-meaning to well-doing and how she unpacked her own long-held beliefs about colorblindness, being a good person, and wanting to help people of color. She reveals how each of these well-intentioned mindsets actually perpetuated her ill-conceived ideas.

Dr. Randal Pinkett has established himself as an entrepreneur, speaker, author and scholar, and as a leading voice for his generation in business and technology.  He is the founder, chairman and CEO of his fifth venture, BCT Partners, a multimillion-dollar research, consulting, training, technology, and analytics firm headquartered in Newark, NJ.

Dr. Pinkett has received numerous awards for business and technology excellence including the Information Technology Senior Management Forum’s Beacon Award, the National Society of Black Engineers’ Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the National Urban League’s Business Excellence Award.  He has been featured on nationally televised programs such as The Today Show, Fox Business News, MSNBC, and CNN. In 2009, he was named to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine’s official shortlist as a potential running mate for Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.

Dr. Pinkett is the author of Campus CEO: The Student Entrepreneur’s Guide to Launching a Multimillion-Dollar Business and No-Money Down CEO: How to Start Your Dream Business with Little or No Cash and co-author of Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness, which was named one of “The Best Books of 2010.”  He holds five degrees including: a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University; a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Oxford in England; a M.S. in Electrical Engineering, an MBA, and a Ph.D. from MIT.  Most notably, he was the first and only African-American to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship at Rutgers University; he was inducted to the Academic All-America Hall of Fame, he was a former high jumper, long jumper, sprinter and captain of the men’s track and field team; and he was the winner of NBC’s hit reality television show, “The Apprentice.”

Born in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey, Dr. Pinkett is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and the First Baptist Church in Somerset, NJ, where he resides with his family, including a daughter and two sons.  Dr. Pinkett firmly believes that “for those to whom much is given, much is expected,” so throughout his endeavors, he places great emphasis on his desire to give back to the community.

Avery Ince MD PhD is a Vice President in Medical Affairs at Janssen North America, a pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to this, he served as the US Scientific & Medical Affairs Strategy Head at Janssen North America and, before that, was the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Janssen China.

Before joining industry, Dr. Ince completed Internal Medicine residency and Endocrine fellowship training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and held a faculty position with clinical and research responsibilities at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ince earned his M.D. as well as a Ph.D. in Cell Biology, both at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Brown University. Dr. Ince, his wife and their teenage daughters have recently returned to the US after living in China for 9 years, and currently reside in Princeton, NJ.

Amita Mehta inspires people to be authentic doers and unapologetic dreamers. She is a passionate and dynamic business strategist with more than two decades of financial services experience with premier brands including Fulton Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Prudential Financial.

She developed a track record as a trailblazer and a bold and trusted advisor to C-Suite executive management. Her distinct perspectives as a refugee, a lesbian, and a resourceful self-starter intersect with her business acumen, resulting in a relatable and inspirational storyteller and coach who helps individuals discover their passions and embrace their truths. Follow her on Instagram @amitamehta11.

Vanessa Nazario was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Trenton, NJ. She has worked in the field of Community Development for over 20 years. Her career began at MECHA, a Hispanic based nonprofit organization providing home ownership training and counseling to low-to-moderate income families. In 1996, she joined PNC Bank where she worked in several roles within the Community Development Banking Department. In early 2017, she transition into a new role with RWJ University Hospital, which is part of RWJ Barnabas Health System, as Director of Diversity and Inclusion where she is responsible for diversity and inclusion and healthcare equity initiatives; she also oversees the Business Resource Groups.

Vanessa received her MBA from Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ and also has Masters in Science degree from Southern New Hampshire University. She completed a Non Profit Management Certificate from Seton Hall University and is certified as a Diversity Executive (CDE) from the Institute for Diversity Certification. She is currently working on a Doctorate in Business Administration from California Southern University.

Paula Gutierrez drives RWJUH Somerset’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy as Director, Diversity and Inclusion. She has over 10 years of healthcare experience which includes work at NJ Sharing Network – an organization responsible for the allocation of organs and tissues for transplant. Her experience also includes work at NY Presbyterian/Weill Cornell as the Transplant Administrator for the Liver and Kidney/Pancreas Transplant division.

A native of Englewood, New Jersey, Paula attended the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, NJ. She went on to graduate from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Seton Hall University with a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration. In 2017, she received the Early Careerist Award from the NJ Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

Paula has knowledge in the design and implementation of programs and strategies that foster diversity, equity and inclusion; such as mitigating unconscious bias in hiring and promotion, mentoring, employee resource groups, diversity target setting and other inclusion practices. She has also been instrumental in the expansion of the Babs Siperstein PROUD Center, NJ’s first LGBTQ+ primary health care center affiliated with a major healthcare system. In August 2019, she was appointed as Director of the Babs Siperstein PROUD Center where she provides day-to-day operational oversight and programmatic growth.

Paula is as a Civil Rights Commissioner for Bloomfield Township, NJ, serves as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University’s School of Health and Medical Sciences and sits on the board of directors of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) NJ Chapter. Her hobbies include mentoring and coaching emerging leaders, travel and hiking with her dog.

We hope to see you all at this great event! Thank you to Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber for putting it together.