2021 GDEIB Expert Panellists

KRISTAL MOORE CLEMONS, Ph.D.

Kristal Moore Clemons, a Chicago native, is a 2003 DePaul University graduate with a BA in Women’s Studies and Political Science. Her MA from Washington State University is in American Studies, her Ph.D. from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is in Education. She holds a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from Duke University. Her research interests include qualitative research; social foundations of education; women’s and gender studies; culture, diversity, and multicultural education; social studies methods; teacher education and development; critical race theory; popular culture/hip hop studies; and U.S. history. Dr. Clemons’ most recent publications include “I’ve got to do something for my people: Black women teachers of the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Schools,” “Service is the rent we pay: A tale of how service learning bridged the gap between theory and practice,” “What the music said: Hip Hop as a transformative educational tool,”  “Here in this place: Write on! of Durham, North Carolina” and “bein’ alive & bein’ a woman & bein’ colored is a metaphysical dilemma: Black female social integration at a predominantly White institution.” In 2007, she co-founded the Children’s Defense Fund Durham Freedom School at North Carolina Central University.  In 2015, she co-founded Young Gifted and Black: Education and Empowerment Institute for Girls at Florida A&M University. Dr. Clemons has served as an assistant professor of history at Tallahassee Community College from 2010-2013. From 2013-2016, Dr. Clemons served as visiting assistant professor of Secondary Education and Foundations and Social Science Education Coordinator at Florida A&M University. With her commitment to the classroom as a site of democratic deliberation, Dr. Clemons is currently an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and Director of the online Ed.D. program at Florida State University.

MARIA CRISTINA (Cris) DA COSTA RODRIGUES DE CARVALHO

Maria Cristina (Cris) da Costa Rodrigues de Carvalho is consultant, mediator, coach and an executive with solid experience in Companies in the Financial, Pension Funds and Technology sectors based in LATAM.  She has a BS in Social Service by PUC/SP and Master Degree in Human Resources Management by FOC/SP. She is a coach trained by the Instituto EcoSocial and by The Inner Game International School of Coaching (Tim Gallwey) - California/USA. Associate Certified Coach (ACC) certified by the ICF, Management Councilor by IBGC, and Organizational Mediator by Trigon Entwicklungsberatung. She started professional life as a Technology Trainee. Transferred to the Human Resources Area, where worked for over 25 years in several processes for organization change in multicultural environments. She led programs for M&A and due-diligence in several Banks and Brazilian Companies focusing on equalization of cultures and Benefits/Compensation, Expatriate, Health, Diversity&Inclusion, Mentoring, Work Life Balance and Human Rights policies.  For several years, she participated as the Coordinator of the Diversity Subcommittee at the Febraban (Brazilian Bank Federation).  She received "Destaque RH" awards in 2007, from "Gestao&RH Magazine" related to the D&I Program. Was a member of the Sustainability Councils of ABN AMRO Real bank and led the Diversity and Social Action Committee at Banco Santander. In that capacity was responsible for implement several Affirmative Actions in the Financial sector. She participated in several international platforms in Europe, The USA and Brazil in Human Resources, D&I themes and diverse cultural environments. She was employer representative in Tripartite Commissions at Febraban, CNF and ILO (International Labour Organization) conferences in Geneva/Switzerland. Has been mentoring and coaching for young executives and diverse audiences in the process for development of competences and career and life transition through her own consulting company and as Partner at InterElo Consultoria.  Experienced in facilitation of group dialogue, being an speaker on diversity, HR issues, work life balance, corporate governance, social investment and conflict mediation. Current Councilor at BPW(Business and Professional Women)-SP. She lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil with her husband, a son and a daughter.

Cristina (Tina) Cruz-Hubbard currently serves as the Chief Diversity Officer for Peace Corps.  Prior to her role as CDO she oversaw the Intercultural Competence, Diversity and Inclusion programming and training efforts for overseas staff of the Peace Corps.  Her portfolio includes developing a global strategy to support intercultural learning and improving the capacity of overseas staff to support the rich diversity of Peace Corps Volunteers in over 60 countries.  She began her D&I career in 1993 at the University of Minnesota and continued on to work in a variety of intercultural and D&I related roles in nonprofit, corporate, education and government settings.  These organizations include Walt Disney World Resort, Columbia University, and the US Embassies in Lima, Peru and Dakar, Senegal.  As a member of a Foreign Service family, she, her husband and four kids relocate internationally every three to four years.  Ms. Cruz-Hubbard finds she “never turns her D&I lens off” as part of an interfaith, intergenerational, multi-ability, multilingual, interracial, intercultural, and globally mobile family.  Informed by the health and educational challenges of her children, she has evolving expertise in influencing health and educational systems to be inclusive of children and families with critical needs.   In addition to being a qualified administrator of several intercultural and global leadership assessment tools, she has a Bachelor of Science degree in business with an emphasis in intercultural communication and is completing a Masters of Education in special education. Her passion is working within organizations to build successful D&I efforts driven by a comprehensive long-term strategy customized and owned by all levels of an organization. 

DIANNE HOFNER SAPHIERE, M.S. 

Dianne Hofner Saphiere is Founder and Director of Cultural Detective, a system for developing intercultural competence, where she leads a team of over 130 experts worldwide. She is an organizational development practitioner who has been active in the field of intercultural and global diversity consulting and training since 1979. Dianne has consulted at the executive levels of Fortune 200 firms; has conducted large-scale research projects; trained trainers; has served as a process consultant in a broad range of negotiations, and as a facilitator of long-term team development efforts And is a professional photographer. She spent twelve years working in Japan, has lived in Spain, and currently lives in Mexico. She speaks Japanese, Spanish and English, holds an M.S. in Organization and Human Resource Development, and a B.A. in International Studies. Dianne has been on the faculty of the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication since 1990, of the Intercultural Development Research Academy in Milan since 2012, and of the Universität de Valencia Masters in International Business program since 2014. In 1994 she received the Interculturalist Award for Achievement from the International Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR International). She is the author of several internationally acclaimed cross-cultural simulations (Ecotonos: A Multicultural Problem-Solving Simulation, Redundancía: A Foreign Language Simulation, among others), a co-author of Communication Highwire: Leveraging the Power of Diverse Communication Styles, and has penned numerous book chapters, encyclopedia entries, published exercises and learning methodologies. Dianne led an international team to translate into Spanish an educational game designed to create empathy for the refugee experience. Entitled “On the Road with Migrants,” it is authored by Caritas France and is available free of charge in several languages: https://www.secours-catholique.org/actualites/en-route-avec-les-migrants-un-jeu-a-telecharger

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/preview?locale=en_US&trk=prof-0-sb-preview-primary-button

TONI WILSON, MBL, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Toni Wilson is the Principal of AquaInternational Leadership Consulting specializing in the design, development and strategic cultural integration of diversity & inclusion. She has over 25 years of experience in human resources and has been consulting to Fortune 100 companies and nationally recognized nonprofit organizations including McKesson, Visa, Inc., UPS, Pacific Gas & Electric, Highmark Health, UC Berkeley, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), San Francisco Ballet, Exploratorium Museum and Dropbox, Inc. Her areas of expertise include executive management of the HR function, organizational values and culture change, strategic diversity management, leadership development, business ethics and organizational effectiveness. She has been an instructor of HR Analytics at University of California at Berkeley Extension and is a part-time instructor at the University of Texas in Austin. Prior to consulting, Ms. Wilson held senior executive and senior management positions in HR, Diversity, Organizational Development and Learning & Development with Syntex Pharmaceuticals, Levi Strauss & Co., The Gap, Inc., and the California State Automobile Association (AAA). Ms. Wilson has worked in over 15 countries focusing on business practices effecting organizational commitment to responsible leadership, diversity, and ethics. She recently collaborated with Dr. Fons Trompenaars and KPMG London in developing a virtual learning program for reconciling cultural differences. She has a Master’s in Business Leadership from Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia, a B.S. degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco, and Senior HR Professional certifications from SHRM (SHRM-SCP) and HRCI (SPHR). She is a former Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute and currently a Doctoral research candidate at Charles Sturt University. Ms. Wilson resides part-time in Queensland, Australia and the U.S.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tonilwilson

MARY-FRANCES WINTERS

Founder and President of The Winters Group, Inc., a 38 global diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firm, Mary-Frances Winters is a passionate advocate for justice and equity; a provocateur not afraid to have the difficult conversations. Mary-Frances has over three decades of experience working with corporate leaders in support of enhancing their understanding of what it is like to be the “other.”

Winters is a master strategist with experience in strategic planning, change management, diversity, organization development, training and facilitation, systems thinking and qualitative and quantitative research methods. She has extensive experience in working with senior leadership teams to drive organizational change.

Mary-Frances Winters has served on national not-for profit, corporate and university boards. She currently serves on the board of trustees of her alma mater, The University of Rochester.  Among her many awards and distinctions, she was named a diversity pioneer by Profiles in Diversity Journal in August 2007 and received the Winds of Change award from the Forum on Workplace Inclusion in 2016. Ms. Winters was also featured in Forbes’ June 2016 publication, which honored some of the DC Metro area’s most powerful women. In November 2019, she was named by Forbes as one of 10 trailblazers in diversity and inclusion. She has served as a torch bearer for the Olympics and has previously been recognized as an Athena Award winner from the Chamber of Commerce for her contributions to women and the community.

She is the author of six books: Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body and Spirit (2020), Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity , Empathy and Belonging Across Difference (2020)  We Can’t Talk about That at Work!: How to Talk about Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics (2017), Only Wet Babies Like Change: Workplace Wisdom for Baby Boomers, Inclusion Starts With “I” and CEO’s Who Get It: Diversity Leadership from the Heart and Soul. Mary-Frances also authored a chapter in the book Diversity at Work: The Practice of Inclusion (2013) and numerous articles.

CATHERINE WONG

Catherine Wong joined the Lynch School of Education at Boston College in 2007. As Director of Urban Outreach Initiatives, Catherine oversees the Donovan Urban Teaching Scholars’ Program, an intensive one year master’s degree cohort program in teacher preparation for urban schools, the College Bound Program, a pre collegiate youth centered out of school time program that uses scientific inquiry to address social and environmental justice issues, as well as facilitates a series of cross university, school and community collaborations.  Catherine leads teams of faculty, college students, community activists, K-12th grade students and their families to build innovative partnerships addressing urban issues in their schools and communities. Catherine is a cross-cultural consultant bringing together interdisciplinary teams to enhance their capacity to lead from a culturally competent, social justice and equity stance. Highlighted consultancies have included; academic director, Teacher Education Institute-University of the Middle East Project, visiting professor, School of Education-Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Domestic Violence Unit-Massachusetts Department of Social Services, WGBH-PBS Television, and the Human and Civil Rights Division-National Education Association.  Prior, Catherine was a public school counselor and director, School Counseling Program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Catherine earned her graduate degree in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Cross Cultural Counseling from Boston University. Catherine was raised on the island of Oah’u, Hawai'i and grew up with the dramatic storytelling of her great grandmothers and extended family. Their stories of bringing disparate groups together despite prejudice and stereotypes instilled in her the desire to become a cultural bridge builder.

RITA WUEBBELER

Rita Wuebbeler, President & Founder, Interglobe Cross-Cultural Business Services, Inc., consults, facilitates and coaches in the areas of Cultural Competence Building, Global Team Effectiveness, Mindful Leadership and Diversity and Inclusion. She works with leaders of global organizations and global virtual teams to help them reach their highest performance potential. She conducts cultural awareness programs for groups and individuals to support them in building their cultural competence, and she coaches global executives to maximize their leadership skills. Rita founded her company Interglobe Cross-Cultural Business Services, Inc. in 1990 and works with clients in North and South America, Europe and Asia including BMW North America, Commerzbank, Evonik Industries, Kraiburg TPE, Porsche, Purdue Pharma, RandomHouse, RKW-Group, Siemens, Solvay Advanced Polymers, and UCB. Rita is a Certified Integral Coach and holds a PCC designation from the International Coach Federation. She is a Senior Facilitator with Personal Leadership Seminars, a Qualified Administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), and a certified administrator of the DISC Profile. She is the co-author of Cultural Detective: Germany as well as Cultural Detective: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, an on-line educational tool analyzing cultural core values based on critical incidents. She has contributed to a number of collections of intercultural training activities including Building Cultural Competence. Innovative Activities and Models (Berardo/Deardorff, eds). A native German with a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics from Mainz University, Rita holds two passports (US/German) and is bi-cultural and bi-lingual. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritawuebbeler

URSULA WYNHOVEN

Ursula Wynhoven is an international lawyer with 24 years’ experience. She joined the ITU in September 2017 as its Representative to the UN, NY. The ITU is the UN’s specialized agency for information and communication technologies with the mission to connect the world and bridge digital divides. She works on issues like ICTs for sustainable development and digital inclusion, including EQUALS: the global partnership for gender equality in the digital age. Previously, Ursula spent 14 years with the UN Global Compact, the UN’s corporate sustainability initiative, where her last position was Chief, Social Sustainability, Governance & Legal and member of the Executive Committee. Ursula led the UN Global Compact’s platforms and workstreams on human rights and decent work, gender equality, poverty and inequality, peace, anti-corruption and the rule of law. Ursula also led legal affairs and oversaw policy development and implementation of the UN Global Compact’s integrity measures. Ursula began working with the Global Compact in 2002 and as one of the earliest staff members played an active role in helping to grow the initiative to more than 13,000 signatories in more than 160 countries with a full roster of workstreams advancing virtually all aspects of corporate sustainability. Ursula’s tenure with the Global Compact also included a six month loan as Senior Advisor, Business and Human Rights to the UN’s Human Rights Office.

Prior to joining the UN, Ursula worked in law firms and government human rights agencies in Australia and the US and for the OECD on the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ursula-wynhoven/59/2a9/5488

NADIA YOUNES

Nadia Younes is the Diversity Advisor for The International Monetary Fund and is charged with further integrating cross-cultural competency, equity and fairness into the core business practices, policies and systems worldwide.  Passionate about influencing positive changes that bring about better business performance while serving the greater good for both employees and communities, Nadia has led D&I efforts across many sectors for the last 20 years. Prior to joining The International Monetary Fund, Nadia led D&I efforts in the mining, financial, consumer product, biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. She has also taught conflict prevention and management and cross-cultural communication in universities and in the public sector.  These sessions have included training doctors and nurses in culturally competent healthcare and working with policemen, gang units and military personnel on culturally competent conflict prevention. Nadia sits on the board of several D&I think tanks and has been an active volunteer in many community programs working with women, immigrants, at-risk youth, elderly, interfaith and GLBT groups.  Born in Canada to an American mother and Egyptian father and raised as a  ”Canyptian” in a multicultural  family spanning continents, cultures and religions, she has a personal drive and mission toward improving global, organizational and interpersonal relations across cultures.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nyounes

RENÉE YUENGLING