Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: BenefitsPRO LUMINARIES 2022 Honorees
The BenefitsPRO LUMINARIES honorees are being recognized for the dynamic and inclusive ways they are driving the benefits and health care industries forward.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion have not always been top concerns in our industry, but all of that has changed. While there’s still along way to to go, the benefits world has made enormous strides in this area in recent years, fueled by the efforts and intention of industry professionals and organizations.
The 2022 LUMINARIES honorees in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion stepped outside of their roles to grow their companies in this area. These individuals and companies are being recognized for the dynamic and inclusive ways they are driving the benefits and health care industries. Each was selected by a distinguished and diverse team of industry leaders with input from our editorial team.
We hope you enjoy getting to know this year’s honorees!
Individual
Leslie Ferguson
As the DEI movement became a top issue for businesses after the death of George Floyd, a number of benefits professionals stepped up to lead progress in this area, including Leslie Ferguson, who had been in the benefits business for 18 years prior to becoming a co-founder and chair of Buck’s Black Leadership Council.
Ferguson led the effort to help Buck’s clients develop and execute a comprehensive total rewards and engagement strategy to deliver diverse, equitable, and inclusive programs to employees supporting organizational and cultural objectives as well as employee needs.
“In the span of two years, Buck established a full DEI community and by pushing the envelope and holding leaders accountable for meeting DEI goals and metrics, Leslie is creating a more equitable and inclusive environment,” Buck officials say about her efforts.
In addition, Ferguson is working with other Buck officials to provide consulting to clients around equitable and inclusive benefits. https://buck.com/
Tony Lee
Tony Lee has a long history of success as the founder of the nation’s largest minority-owned brokerage firm. Other efforts include directing the California Healthcare Exchange contract, designing California’s largest and longest running charter school insurance trust (CharterLIFE), and establishing a private health exchange for well-known California Schools JPA (CharterSafe).
In 2018, Alera Group acquired Dickerson, and Lee played an integral role in the transition. Since joining Alera, Tony has been asked to speak at conferences regarding DEI and has been responsible for outreach to communities as well as designing innovative insurance programs.
Dickerson has become a national leader of the DEI movement in the insurance industry. Lee is a frequent contributor to industry conferences and collaborations. He has also embraced a mentoring role at Dickerson, running a new mentorship program for high school and college-age students. The program started out with 27 students, and has grown to 157 active participants. https://dickersonbenefitsconsulting.aleragroup.com/
Dawn Worthington
Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, Dawn Worthington began a new initiative called the NACDS IDEA Team (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness). She invited staff members from minority populations to join the team, which then put on several events to help staff members learn about DEI issues. In addition, the team started important conversations about ways to be more aware of unconscious biases in the workplace. Two years later, officials say the IDEA team is playing a significant role in the trade association.
Worthington has also been instrumental in switching NACDS to a new financial benefits platform that provides resources from Fidelity’s NetBenefit website, which will give employees a range of counseling, planning and investing tools.
Company officials praised Worthington for the work she did to provide needed services to employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. As employees dealt with anxiety and isolation, Worthington added additional mental health and mindfulness benefits for staff members. https://www.nacds.org/
Organization
Edelman Financial Engines
The “We Aspire Financial Planner Development Program” has exceeded expectations, promoting nine members of under-represented groups to new positions, with the expectation that the emergence of new leadership from these groups will lead to a more diverse pipeline of employees in the future.
The company has increased representation from under-represented groups by more than 19% among investment advisors, more than 12% in directors and higher roles, and by 10% among client service associates.
“Our target is that at least 50% of each cohort includes participants from under-represented groups, but this is not a quota,” the company says in describing the program. “We design the marketing and interview process to be as inclusive as possible. These intentional steps to mitigate bias in the process have resulted in a diverse cohort.” https://www.edelmanfinancialengines.com/
Pittsburgh Business Group on Health
The health disparities in the Pittsburgh region have been documented, including in a City of Pittsburgh commission that found Black residents, particularly women, could get better health care by simply moving to a similar city. PBGH officials noted that the inequality between Black and white maternal mortality rates is greater in Pittsburgh than in 84% of similar cities.
In a partnership with the Highmark Foundation, PBGH created a series of six free, public webinars in 2021 and 2022 to help educate and mobilize action among minority communities in the area of maternal health. The webinars drew more than 500 attendees from across the community.
In addition, PBGH has implemented a comprehensive anti-racism training program that is available to all Pittsburgh employers. https://pbghpa.org/