Black History Month spotlight: 5 DEI leaders to follow

Black History Month is about more than just acknowledging the history and struggles of Black Americans throughout the years – it’s also a time to amplify Black voices, hear their experiences and create strides toward equity. 

Although the HR space is filled with influencers of all kinds, some are more connected to diversity and inclusion efforts and are using their platform to move the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) space forward.

Here are a few HR pros to keep an eye on for this month and beyond.

Influencer spotlight

Andrea Long 

Experience: Andrea is a Diversity & Inclusion thought leader. She is the founder and CEO of Andrea Long Consulting and previously worked for companies such as Lyft, DoorDash, Twilio and UpStart. 

Impact: At Lyft, Andrea was responsible for leading efforts for the Employee Resource Group (ERG) UpLyft Forward for Black Lyft employees. She worked with HR to coordinate mental health benefits for all employees and partnered with Black Girls Code.

Jackye Clayton 

Experience: Jackye is the VP of Talent Acquisition and DEIB at Textio. Previously, she was a DEIB strategist at SeekOut. 

Impact: Jackye is an acclaimed thought leader and speaker on topics such as recruiting and DEI. She’s also received numerous accolades including one of the 15 Women in HR Tech to Follow by VidCruiter and is on the Top 100 list of Human Resources Influencers by Human Resource Executive Magazine.

Joey Price

Experience: Joey is the CEO of JumpStartHR. He’s also a part of the Forbes Human Resouces Council and an advisory board member at UKG and Arena Analytics.

Impact: JumpstartHR helps small businesses and start-ups grow through cutting-edge HR consulting services. In addition to going from HR assistant to CEO, Joey is the host and executive producer of his podcast “While We Were Working.”

Madison Butler 

Experience: Madison is the founder and CEO of Blue Haired Unicorn LLC and the Chief People Officer at GRAV.

Impact: In addition to Blue Haired Unicorn and GRAV, Madison founded the Black Speakers Collection, which features 1,700 Black speakers in over 70 disciplines. Her work is focused on creating equitable spaces and psychological safety.

Tara Turk-Haynes 

Experience: Tara is the Vice President of DEI and Talent Management of Leaf Group. She is also a founding member of Hacking HR’s Experts Council. 

Impact: Tara oversees the Leaf Group’s DEI initiatives and hiring. She is also a DEI Council Chair at Grahams Holding.