The Stanford DEI Playbook, presented by Lori Nishiura Mackenzie

In many companies, DEI has taken on a life of its own, sparking debates about whether it is a worthwhile investment. Yet, when done well, decisions are more thoughtful, errors are avoided, and people processes are effective. Perhaps the real question is whether DEI is needed, but instead, "How can DEI help organizations motivate change and achieve their objectives?" In this conversation, we'll examine some of the empirical evidence of DEI as a model of change and share a tool designed to help boards curate a culture to be more effective.

Presenter: Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, Co-Founder Stanford VMware Women's Leadership Innovation Summit

Lori Nishiura Mackenzie is a speaker, researcher and change agent in diversity, equity and inclusion. She is co-founder of the Stanford VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab, which creates impact research to understand the barriers to women’s advancement in order to build more inclusive workplaces. She is working with the California Partners Project, a non-profit co-founded by California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, to create tools for boards to recruit to increase diversity and foster inclusive cultures. Lori has been recognized as a 2022 LinkedIn Top Voice in Gender Equity, a BBC’s 100 Women in 2017, and in the award-winning documentary, bias, which premiered in 2018. Her work has been published in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Inc., Fast Company and the Lily. In 2020, Lori was awarded the CEDAW* Human Rights Award, Education, from the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. Lori brings 20 years of marketing strategy and business management experience at companies including Procter & Gamble, Apple, eBay and PayPal. She is a board member of the Alliance for Girls and the Center for Institutional Courage, and an advisor to August Public. Lori has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.