2023 NAWBO Philadelphia Business Leader Symposium

Collaborative Perspectives: Embracing our Differences through DEIB

Presented by Ariesha Geier, Collective Roots, LLC

Participants will work through collaborative exercises and discussion prompts to gain a deeper understanding of DEIB and it’s importance in inspiring their individual style of leadership, and increasing their capacity to be more impactful in their work.

Admired for servicing the community at large in people-driven, corporate, and non-profit settings, Ariesha is a trusted crisis management expert with a remarkable history of designing highly efficient assessment reporting systems, implementing improvement strategies, intervening in crises with prepared action plans, and optimizing staff performance. She has guided youth-driven organizations to resourcefully provide counseling and support to young adults that previously dropped out of school, as well as served in the human services field as a Psychotherapist. Ariesha quickly developed a reputation for developing systems that serve the needs of students or individuals and that benefited their growth of social or academic development.

Ariesha’s career evolved after she identified her passion for helping children and families navigate through crises. For over 10 years, she facilitated parenting education classes, designed curriculum assessments, and evaluations, and conducted individual and family psychotherapy sessions with youth, adults, and couples. Ariesha served as the Director of Case Management at the Youthbuild Charter School in Philadelphia, PA. She also supported a regional Philadelphia community as an Interventionist by implementing crisis stabilization plans for individuals in crisis. Ariesha is the Founder and Director of Collective Roots, an organization that is dedicated to helping businesses deploy diverse service strategies that are culturally sensitive and equitable to all communities.

Lesley Mallow Wendell is a recognized leadership development expert and executive coach. She founded Rosewood Consulting Group in 2001 to help organizations and leaders create strategies for success. Lesley provides executive coaching, organizational effectiveness, and leadership development programs to a variety of organizations in the private and nonprofit sectors. Her work with entrepreneurs has increased their ability to motivate their teams and improve overall performance and productivity. Lesley tailors her approach to meet the multi-faceted needs of her clients. She provides 360-degree feedback and coaching to senior leaders, and facilitates peer roundtable, board development, leadership and strategic and scenario planning initiatives for organizations in both the for- and nonprofit sectors. In addition to her experience working with entrepreneurs and their companies, she was a chapter chair for the Women Presidents’ Organization for over a decade, facilitating monthly roundtables for multi-million-dollar businesses owned and led by women.

She co-authored When Leaders Leave: A New Perspective on Leadership Transition, which provides a roadmap for nonprofits to effectively manage leadership transitions. A frequently quoted leadership and career development expert in local and national business publications, Lesley has appeared on local and national radio and TV. In 2015, she authored a chapter on leadership transformation for Results! - Impactful Solutions to Drive Business, a Jean Oursler business anthology. Lesley earned an M.S. in Human Resource Management from Widener University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kimberly M. Bennett is an associate in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She works to provide high-level immigration services for companies seeking increased global mobility for their employees, including assistance with nonimmigrant and immigrant visa petitions. She also advises on employer compliance and assists employers with drafting and implementing formal immigration policies.

Kimberly has exercised her versatility in immigration matters, working with Fortune 500 companies and start-up businesses in technology, finance, manufacturing, fashion and healthcare.

While attending the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, Kimberly was a two-time recipient of the Peggy Browning Fund, a fellowship program for students interested in Employment and Labor Law. She was also a two-time recipient of the Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship, a program instituted by the U.S. Department of Education. During her fellowship, she learned the lesser-taught language of Portuguese.

Ucheonye Maple is the owner of Aghaeze-Maple Enterprises, a leadership and entrepreneurship training company. During her 22 year career in engineering, she has worked at fortunate 100 hundred companies where she led and managed product development from concept to operations. She is a leader with a proven track record of empowering, motivating, and transforming the lives of STEM professionals. She is a professional speaker, coach, and mentor in the STEM and business community.

She has worked with executive committees on identifying, coordinating, and implementing DEIB initiatives. She has also worked on determining the resources necessary to guide leaders to advance the DEIB strategy and assessing current policies and practices and recommend changes to mitigate bias and/or inequities.

Uche received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Prairie View A&M University, MBA from University of Phoenix and her M.S. in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She is also a graduate from the Leadership Essentials Program at Loyola University.

Dr. Aronté Bennett is the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and an Associate Professor of Marketing in Villanova University’s School of Business. She approaches the task of cultivating a more inclusive community through collaborative conversations, endeavoring to serve as an agent of positive agitation. She currently serves as a DEI liaison to the Center for Marketing and Consumer Insights, sits on Villanova University’s Campus DEI committee and is a member of the Society of Consumer Psychology’s Community Building Initiative. Calling upon professional experience and academic expertise, she strives to advance initiatives that promote a more inclusive community.

Dr. Bennett received her BS and MBA from Florida A&M University and her Ph.D. from New York University. Her research focuses on marketplace access and vulnerable consumers. She recently served as the President of The Junior League of Philadelphia, Inc, a nonprofit organization with more than 300 active members, dedicated to the development of women and community improvement. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Fund for the Water Works, an organization dedicated to instilling an appreciation for the connections between daily life and the natural environment on the site of Fairmount Water Works, the nation’s first urban water supply system.

Mary Ellen has over 30 years of professional experience providing strategic human resources leadership to a variety of businesses, including professional services organizations, software development, clinical laboratory, retail, and legal services organizations. She is regarded as an expert in the areas of leadership, talent acquisition, employee relations, talent development, talent retention, change management, and company culture enhancement. The development of others has been the driving theme and focus throughout her career.

Mary Ellen is an advocate for communication access for the deaf and hard of hearing community and is a leader on the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council as well as its women’s network, RISE (Retaining, Investing in, Supporting, and Empowering the Women of Kreischer Miller).

Mary Ellen joined Kreischer Miller in 1999. Prior to working for Kreischer Miller, Mary Ellen was the Vice President of Human Resources at a mid-sized software development company headquartered in Fort Washington, PA, where her responsibilities included talent acquisition, talent development, and talent retention as well as providing executive leadership for the organization. Throughout her career, she also held several human resources leadership positions for both regional privately-held businesses and national publicly-traded organizations. Mary Ellen is an active member of the Deaf Hearing Communication Center in Swarthmore, PA and an adjunct professor for Eastern University teaching courses in the MBA and Leadership Degree programs.