We've come a long way with diversity - or have we?

From the board room to staffing to volunteers in your organization, diversity matters.

Join us on September 19 when our speaker is Retha Fernandez, the first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Suffolk County.  

Retha Fernandez is the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Suffolk County, a new role created to promote diversity and inclusion in the Suffolk County workforce in coordination with the County Personnel Officer and the County Executive. Retha leads the development and implementation of Suffolk County’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. She is responsible for improving diversity and inclusion in County hiring and personnel practices, as well as identifying, evaluating, and making recommendations to improve work teams across the County.

Prior to her position with Suffolk County, Retha served as the Project Director of the State of Black Long Island (SOBLI) Equity Council, a project convened by the Urban League of Long Island, where she was responsible for the project delivery of the Council’s equity agenda and campaigns. Before that, she devoted fifteen years in the prestige beauty industry leading regional teams and overseeing technology strategy development and execution as an Information Technology Executive. While at Estee Lauder Companies, Inc., one of her key roles was serving as an Inclusion & Diversity Trainer for North America Employees.

Retha is also a Certified Meditation Instructor and has a daily meditation practice. She serves on Newsday's nextLI Community Advisory Council, the Unified Long Island Bi-County Anti-Bias Task Force led by both Nassau and Suffolk County Executives, a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Suffolk County, and is the Chapter Vice President of the Suffolk County Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She also continues to serve on the State of Black Long Island Equity Council. Retha holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from St. Joseph’s College.