The theme for Women’s History Month this year, as determined by the National Women’s History Alliance, is “Women who advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion.” This is why we reached out to interview Serilda Summers-McGee, MBA, M.Ed, the founder and CEO of Workplace Change, which is at the forefront of embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion within human resources services. We could not think of a better individual to shed insight and inspiration on this topic, and so to honor Women’s History Month, Co-CEO and Managing Principal Reegan Rae, CPWA®, sat down with Serilda to hear her story and learn about her work.

Serilda fell in love with human resources as a graduate student, realizing it was “the nexus between helping people realize their dreams while engaging with what is usually the most expensive asset of any organization.” Her HR career spanned non-profit, government, and corporate organizations of all sizes before she broke out on her own to found Workplace Change in 2016, switching over to run it full time in 2019. Her Workplace Change team has experienced the incredible rollercoaster of the Me Too movement, COVID, George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, the social justice reckoning, the rise of DEI in the workplace, and the post-pandemic return to work process, a remarkable landscape in which to help companies navigate their workforces and build high-functioning teams. The firm worked with more than 100 organizations in 2023 alone, and continues to grow rapidly as they bring their unique skill and approach to human resources.

Serilda’s underlying philosophy when it comes to helping organizations figure out how to approach diversity, equity, and inclusion? “Just be fair to me,” she says. The heart of creating harmony and teamwork is to be transparent and fair to people, and many of her efforts to build policy and make space for conversations comes back to that principle. “Every single person,” she says, “should be treated with dignity and respect.” She explains how those principles translate into policy and culture building.

This conversation is for everyone: HR professionals, business leaders, DEI changemakers, employees, and students of human nature. Serilda offers insight on many of the challenges facing employers and leaders, and the struggles of employees and teams. Her advice is thoughtful and practical, and offered with humor and a deep understanding of human nature.

We are pleased to share this podcast interview; listen above or on YouTube here or SoundCloud here.