Construction DEI Talks Aby Combs, Jorge Quezada, Stephanie Roldan

Greg Jenkins joins the podcast to discuss the importance of having a strong DEI practice in the construction industry.

On a recent Linkedin post VP of Field D&I at Northwestern Mutual, Ron Adams shared his 5 D Model for DEI practitioners. We invited Ron to the podcast to go share his thoughts on the practice and his model.

Ron is the Vice President of Field Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) at Northwestern Mutual where he leads a team of diversity practitioners responsible for the creation and execution of D&I strategies for the organization's career distribution system. In this role, Ron co‐leads the Northwestern Mutual D&I
Corporate Committee and serves on the Field Experience Talent Management Leadership Team focused on developing and delivering core components of the overall field talent strategy to ensure the industry‐leading Northwestern Mutual career distribution system is strong and vibrant.

Ron joined Northwestern Mutual in January 2015 after a 26‐year military career where he served in many roles, including the Wisconsin National Guard’s diversity officer, equal employment manager, human resources branch chief, and public affairs officer, and completed two successful commands. He retired from the Army Reserves as a field grade officer in August 2020.

In this episode, we are joined by Co-leads - (Diversity and Inclusion in Construction and Engineering), Ashley Ruiz, and Richard Hinton.

Ashley serves as the national Director of Corporate Social Impact at McKinstry – a national leader in designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining high-performing buildings. Ashley is responsible for all corporate initiatives focused on social and environmental responsibility. Ashley oversees community partnerships and philanthropic giving; diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy and programs; and sustainability and carbon reduction initiatives for McKinstry.

Richard is the Director of People Strategies for Shawmut Design and Construction’s New York Metro region, Richard is responsible for working with the business and People Strategies Team in the development and implementation of talent strategies and tactics that drive strategic goals for the company.

Both share their personal stories and the impact they are making in the construction industry!

Brynn Huneke & Henry Nutt III, representing the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) share their thoughts about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the construction industry. Plus they walk us through AGC's Culture of Care program.

Co-host Jorge Quezada and Granite SVP Brian Dowd have a conversation on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the construction industry.