Words by Smiley Team
To successfully embed corporate social responsibility (CSR) into your business strategy, it’s vital to choose the right people to lead it. This is something the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) knows well, demonstrated by their recent engagement of experienced CSR manager Belinda Stubblefield.
Joining the philanthropic organisation as their head of diversity, equity and inclusion, Stubblefield will lead their mission to advance social equality. Her previous experience includes working for Year Up, a national nonprofit focused on improving opportunities for young adults. She held senior leadership roles at the organisation, most recently as managing director of strategic partnerships and previously as chief diversity officer. She was also involved in diversity programmes at Nestlé and Delta Air Lines.
Following her appointment, she said: “CZI’s mission is big and bold. Its priorities are aligned with key areas that I believe in and I want to help drive the positive impact CZI will have in the world. That is incredibly exciting and motivating.”
Brought up by parents who both worked in education, Stubblefield has always believed in the power of equal access to education in order to uplift people and build a better future.
She added: “Expanding access to opportunity is also core to who I am and the work I’ve been leading at Year Up for the past eight years. Year Up is really a social justice organization at heart, built around the idea that access to opportunity and meaningful support can be transformative for young adults and truly life-changing.”
Founded by Dr Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, CZI employs technology for social good, tackling global issues from disease, to exclusion from education, to problems in the criminal justice system. For more information, visit www.chanzuckerberg.com.
Others can drive equality on a smaller scale, by ensuring inclusivity among their staff members, from the interview stage, through training opportunities, to daily work processes. Companies with the means can also help by supporting charities working towards racial and social equality in their communities.
As Stubblefield explained, “When an organization really lives its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, it brings greater success — and it becomes a competitive advantage of the organization. That is what I know based on my experience and a great deal of research supports this, as well.”
