NSHSS Participates in World Diversity Leadership Summit

Santi Wong
NSHSS Student Council/National Scholar Award Recipient
Fordham University 2010

NSHSS members gathered at the United Nations in New York City this summer to participate in the World Diversity Leadership Conference among 400 senior global executives from over 150 of the world’s leading corporations.

What better place to hold such a unique conference than in the United Nations, where diversity lies at its cosmopolitan core. The members also met for part of the conference in the prestigious Harvard Club. The two-day conference covered controversial and pressing issues that are in the corporate world and employment laws. This included, but not limited to, gender differences, sexual orientation, race, socio-economic backgrounds, personality differences, and religious issues among employees in the work force. The workshops, presented by leaders of non-profit organizations and corporate executives, covered a large spectrum of topics that need to be addressed. The discussion panelists engaged in an active and authentic dialogue with the attendees to bring about a resolution to these issues. Carla Maxwell Ray participated in a panel discussion on the topic “As leadership opportunities increasingly open up for women and people from diverse backgrounds, what role should educational institutions play in preparing young people for these roles and the challenges that await them?”

Besides the great lectures we heard from the keynote speaker, Marc Haydel Morial, President of the National Urban League, and other renowned talents, the members of NSHSS took away with them an understanding of the challenges that we face in a diverse society. The summit was also a great way for NSHSS members to network with corporate executives and with each other. The overwhelming response to this Summit was that it was very helpful, insightful, and most importantly, fun. We encourage all NSHSS members to take advantage of events like this one as a networking tool, as a learning experience, and as a way to expand one’s horizons to become scholars for life.

Launched in 2004, the World Diversity Leadership Summit is an important gathering of senior corporate, government and non-governmental organization (NGO) officials, focused on the complex challenges and opportunities related to global diversity management with five primary objectives:

1. To become the leading gathering of global diversity policy makers, experts and practitioners
2. To serve as a central source of global diversity strategy, best practices and application
3. To establish a global diversity collaboration network of policy makers, experts and practitioners
4. To explore cutting-edge global diversity research topics
5. To establish global diversity management as a core academic vocation

“I want to first thank you for having NSHSS students attend the summit. It was a great occasion to meet fellow scholars. It is great to know that the future of the NSHSS, academia, and the world is live and well.” — NSHSS member Damarcus Alexander, member of the National Urban League's Black Executive Program and sophomore at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

“I just wanted to thank you greatly for giving me the opportunity to attend this year's World Diversity Leadership Summit at the United Nations and the Harvard Club. The information I heard there was encouraging and the remarks made by some of the CEOs and business executives was enlightening. It has always been my conviction that the process of globalization is a unifying benefit to the whole world in a variety of ways whether they may be social, political, economic, etc. I learned a multitude of things at the WDLS, and the people there set a fine example for young men such as myself. Many of them represent the quintessence of the American dream and American ideals.” — Brandon Raghobir, Christ the King Regional High School 2010, South Richmond Hill, New York