Husch Blackwell is pleased to announce that it has hired Amanda Garcia-Williams as its first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer (CDO). Garcia-Williams is based in Lansing, Michigan, and will join The Link, the firm’s virtual office.
As CDO, Garcia-Williams will lead the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts for lawyers and staff, including implementation of strategy, best practices, programs, initiatives, and training.
“Our firm developed and implemented last year a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategic plan in order to provide more structure and oversight to our DE&I efforts,” said Paul Eberle, Husch Blackwell’s Chief Executive. “Part of what the plan called for was a C-level professional to coordinate integration of the DE&I strategic plan throughout the firm’s business strategy. We are excited to have Amanda on board and feel that her DE&I experience, as well as her background as a lawyer in private practice, will help us reach our DE&I goals.”
Prior to coming to Husch Blackwell, Garcia-Williams served as Associate Vice President and Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Talent Acquisition at Jackson National Life, a subsidiary of Prudential PLC. She also served as the Institutional Equity Coordinator in Michigan State University’s Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives. Garcia-Williams is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and worked as an associate for five years at Lansing-based Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith.
“Husch Blackwell has demonstrated a strong commitment to DE&I through the adoption of its strategic plan, and it was important to me to know that DE&I has the full support of the firm’s leadership,” said Garcia-Williams. “Together with leaders throughout the firm, I look forward to creating work environments where employees can bring their best selves to work and know that they have a path for career development and advancement.”