Successful Kean Alum Works for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

By Harmony Sanchez | Published March 24, 2022

A Kean alumnae who has reached the pinnacle of success in the corporate world returned to campus in February to discuss her lifelong work for fairness and equity in the workplace, currently as managing director and head of global diversity at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with a $9.5 trillion portfolio.

Michelle Gadsden-Williams was the third and final speaker in the new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Facilitator Certification Program, which was created by Dr. Christopher Lynch, to give students a start as diversity practitioners.

“It’s certainly my privilege to be back at Kean University where I graduated many years ago, but it’s also a place that allowed me to better understand who I was as an individual and also predetermined what I would become years later,” said Gadsden-Williams, who earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Kean and later was awarded an honorary doctorate.

In her lecture, Gadsden-Williams said company leaders should have the courage to act, the conviction to lead, and the courage to change. She said her work is about helping organizations achieve their goals while including DEI.

 “By creating workplaces and cultures and environments that are fair, equitable and conducive for every single individual to realize their ambition, but also to realize the business objectives for that organization,” she said.

Gadsden-Williams also touched on microaggressions during her lecture. She described her time working in Basel, Switzerland from 2006-2016, where many made assumptions about who she was — either mistaking her for a junior employee or the hired help based on her race.

The experience only motivated Gadsden-Williams to immerse herself more into the culture.

“I used my difference as a teachable moment.” Said Gasden-Williams. “I took German lessons every Friday in my office for one year, and I was able to present and communicate with my colleagues and my boss in Swiss-German, and they appreciated that.”

Gadsden-Williams emphasized the use of cultural competence when traveling to new places or visiting new countries. She reminisced back on her own travels, and recalled times when cultural competence could have aided her in more effective communication with the locals.

“That’s what cultural competency means, it’s really just understanding the local norms and adjusting your own behavior to meet those norms so that you don’t disrespect someone unintentionally” Said Gadsden-Williams.

According to Gadsden-Williams, if we’re not doing research or attempting to practice cultural competency before visiting a new place, we can’t be successful in making a true effort to be progressive in DEI.

Dr. Lynch proposed the facilitator program as part of President Lamont Repollet’s mission to incorporate DEI into Kean‘s culture.

“We’re living in a time where politically, socially, interpersonally, people seem nervous about talking to people who are different from them, and we’re all different from each other,” said Dr. Lynch, who retired in December after 27 years as a professor in the School of  Communication, Media & Journalism. “Together we build community, and it should be the goal of every communication student, professor, and staff member, to learn how to have a difficult conversation.”

The DEI Facilitator Program allows participants to receive a certification by attending lectures centered around topics involving DEI.

“In the workplace, there are so many possible divisions and upheavals. Yet if a communicator can come in and acknowledge people’s differences and allow for that expression, yet still keep the conversation going, we have the power to change our own little worlds.” Dr.Lynch said.

Many students from various communication courses at Kean, like the Communication and Listening Class, have been attending the lectures as well. The program concludes with a workshop for students where they will receive their DEI Facilitator Certification from the school of CMJ at Kean.

Frankie McCormack, a senior majoring in Communication Studies, introduced Williams to the audience. McCormick aspires to become a police officer after graduation, and has been attending the DEI Certification Program in hopes of promoting diversity in the law enforcement field.

“I want to be the generation that changes things,”  McCormick said. “and not have such a negative name attached to being a cop. At the end of the day, the job is supposed to be there to help people.”

Shante, a junior who is a History-Pre Law Major, attended as a requirement for her Communication & Law class.

“It’s important to be able to communicate with different people. I think that’s one reason why our legal system and Justice system continue to fail us.” She said, “This country wasn’t made to suit everyone. So I think being able to learn how to communicate with people who have different backgrounds, or who are diverse, will benefit me in helping my clients and defending them to the best of my ability.”

At the end of her Lecture, Gadsden-Williams answered the questions of participants, offering advice on handling microaggressions, navigating the corporate world, and how to educate others who aren’t being diverse.

“One of the things that my father always said is that we are not here on this earth to occupy space. We are here to make a difference and it’s up to each of us to determine what that difference is” said Williams. “And for me, that difference is social justice and DEI.”

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