Beyond the Ban: Staying Grounded Amid Uncertainty
Date: Tue January 13
Workshop: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Post-Holiday Networking: 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: CBIZ 68 South Service Road, Melville NY 11747
Format: In-person interactive workshop
Join us on January 13 for an interactive workshop focused on helping fundraisers continue diversity efforts in a time of great uncertainty. The program will address navigating challenges, building inclusive practices despite restrictions, raising awareness, reducing bias, fostering inclusion, and transforming workplace culture through interactive learning.
Speakers Retha Fernandez and Evita Marrow create a safe space for fundraisers to speak candidly about their own experiences and challenges, offering solutions and understanding to move fundraisers forward.
Post-Holiday Networking
We hope you'll stay after the program for a post-holiday networking event. Light refreshments will be served.
Speakers:
Evita Marrow, MA, PHR
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategist
Evita is a dedicated public servant whose career spans public service, telecommunications, and public transit, grounded in a lifelong commitment to equity, community empowerment, and inclusion.
Transitioning into public transit, Evita now plays a key leadership role in ensuring civil rights compliance and advancing inclusive practices within one of the nation’s largest transit systems. Her work includes overseeing Title VI and VII efforts, promoting equitable access to services, and advocating for vulnerable communities. Evita's career reflects a holistic approach to leadership—blending operational acumen, policy insight, and a deep commitment to social justice across multiple industries.
Formerly, Evita served as the inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Manager for Suffolk County Government where she focused on developing and implementing initiatives that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. She believes that promoting DEI&B is essential for the advancement of all communities.
Retha Fernandez, SHRM-SCP
National Grid Ventures & Community Offshore Wind
Strategic Engagement Manager
With professional and personal passions aligned, Retha Fernandez serves as the Strategic Engagement Manager for National Grid Ventures and Community Offshore Wind. In this role, Retha supports the creation of workforce and economic development strategies to deliver on the mission of local clean energy for all. Retha formerly served as the inaugural Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Suffolk County, New York where she led the development and implementation of the County’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, including leading the development of the County’s first strategic plan for talent recruitment.
Prior to joining the County, Retha was the inaugural Project Director of the State of Black Long Island (SOBLI) Equity Council, a project convened by the Urban League of Long Island to develop an equity agenda to improve the quality of life in Black communities on Long Island. She has over two decades of private sector experience in technology strategy development and relationship management, serving in executive leadership roles.
Retha has received several citations and recognitions from organizations across New York State, including the publications, City & State NY and Long Island Business News; and serves on several advisory committees for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She serves as a Long Island Trustee of The Energeia Partnership, a think tank of regional leaders committed to the sustainability of Long Island and as the Board Chair of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization with the mission to break the cycle of poverty and inequity through education, job training, and employment. Her deep commitment to community service, youth development, and advocacy is demonstrated through her full engagement as a member with leadership roles in several Long Island community-based organizations.
Retha holds a Bachelor of Science degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Organizational Management from St. Joseph’s University and is a Chopra Center Certified Meditation Instructor. She is devoted to her personal practice as she believes meditation and generating feelings of love and compassion for ourselves and others are the way to affect social change. "Live well, be well" is her mantra! Retha resides in Babylon with her husband of 19 years and their teenage son, Taylor, a college freshman at Howard University.
Post-Holiday Networking
We hope you'll stay after the program for a post-holiday networking event. Light refreshments will be served.