DEI Business Solutions

University of Southern California is home to a dynamic research and organizational improvement center that helps professionals in corporations, educational institutions, and other contexts strategically develop and achieve equity goals, better understand and correct climate problems, avoid and recover from diversity-related crises, and foster sustainable cultures of inclusion and respect. Evidence, as well as scalable and adaptable models of success, inform our rigorous approach.

The USC Race and Equity Center and USC Marshall School of Business launched a portfolio focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in 2019. Extensive prior experience developing high-quality learning opportunities for professionals across a multitude of industries, as well as deep expertise on assessing climates of inclusion for women, employees of color, LGBTQIA employees, employees with disabilities, and other marginalized groups, uniquely poises us to offer an array of useful resources, services, and experiences focused on DEI in businesses, firms, government agencies, and an expansive array of other organizational contexts.

Team Bios

Wilmon A. Christian III, EdD

Director, Workplace Equity
wilmonac​​@rossier.usc.edu

  • Organizational Equity
  • Workplace Environments and Climates
  • Employee Experience Research

LaNita Gregory Campbell, PhD

Director, DEI Organizational Strategy
lanitagr​@usc.edu

  • Racial Justice and Gender Advocacy
  • Leadership and Development
  • Health Equity

Brandi Junious, MEd, LBBP

Director of Corporate Partnerships
junious​​@rossier.usc.edu

  • DEI Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention
  • HR and Executive Coaching
  • Employee Wellness and Organizational Culture

A.J. Mada, MBA

Equity Coaching Academy Director
amada​​@usc.edu

  • Racial Equity Coaching
  • Training and Development
  • Public Transportation Advocate
Richard Nassar

Richard Nassar, MBA

Chief Strategy Officer
RNassar​​​@rossier.usc.edu

  • Pay Equity Expert
  • Equity Advising and Consulting
  • Organizational Strategy and Development

Recent Clients & Partners

2U
Time
Ziffren Brittenham LLP Attorneys At Law
attn:
Alliant
Apollo
GOLIN
Citi
Finlays
Pasadena Tournament of Roses
Hero Digital
Nike
ReSourcePro
PayScale
R1
SAS
Sheeo
Sun Life
T-Mobile
Twitch
Wondery

DEI eLearning Series

Over 100,000 employees educated on DEI topics globally 

APPROACH

We offer companies, firms, and agencies live, high-quality virtual professional learning experiences on a range of topics pertaining to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.  These virtual sessions are evidence-based and taught by leading DEI experts from the USC Race and Equity Center and throughout the field. Each session is highly engaging and includes practical strategies for employees at all levels in the organization.  

LIST OF TOPICS

Addressing Homophobia and Heterosexism

Advancing Women to Senior Leadership Roles

Communicating Commitment to DEI

Eliminating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Evolving with Client/Customer Demographics

Facilitating Difficult Conversations about DEI

Hiring and Strategically Diversifying the Workplace

Making Workplace Environments Trans Inclusive

Managing Intergenerational Tensions

Meeting the Needs of Employees with Disabilities

Navigating Partisanship Diversity and Political Polarization

Recognizing and Reducing Implicit Bias

Recovering from Diversity-Related Crises

Resolving Racial Tensions at Work

Retaining and Advancing Employees of Color

Supporting Employee Networks/Resource Groups

Companies and firms can choose from this list, or we can create sessions on other equity, diversity, and inclusion topics.

Strategic DEI Advising

20 highly trained coaches from diverse industries with over 200 years of combined experience in DEI working as Equity Coaches for senior leaders 

APPROACH

We provide executives and managers with effective, responsive, respectful, collaborative, creative, and evidence-based strategies to improve and advance equity, diversity, and inclusion within their organizations. Our confidential advising focuses on:

  •       Helping leaders address current realities and stressful challenges around DEI
  •       Developing comprehensive and sustainable DEI strategies as well as measuring their progress
  •       Avoiding, strategically addressing, and recovering from DEI-related crises and events
  •       Reducing risk and harm while maximizing opportunities for learning and organizational integrity

Workplace Climate Assessments

Over 1 million participants included in our Center’s climate research to improve belonging and inclusion for diverse groups.

APPROACH

We offer both qualitative and quantitative workplace climate assessments to help organizations assess, understand, and address employees’ encounters with sexism and sexual harassment, racism, ageism, sizeism, religious and disability discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, and other experiences that undermine equity and inclusion in the workplace.

QUALITATIVE CLIMATE ASSESSMENT

Teams from our center will conduct virtual, confidential focus group interviews with diverse groups of employees across all levels of the organization. Depending on the size of the organization, we will either interview all employees willing to participate or we will interview a sample of the population. We will subsequently furnish a report that includes our findings and numerous practical recommendations.

QUANTITATIVE CLIMATE ASSESSMENT

We also offer a quantitative climate assessment developed by our Center’s survey research team. Through this survey, employees will answer pre-developed questions designed to assess their experience in the workplace given the unique contexts in which they work. We will present the final data using interactive dashboards and provide numerous practical recommendations.

Pay Equity Solutions
Powered by PayScale

Assessing and improving employee compensation through pay equity audits with clients across a range of industries, including local and state governments

APPROACH

In partnership with PayScale, we help employers conduct proactive and self-driven pay equity audits to determine whether any pay disparities exist within their organizations.  Where pay gaps are identified among employees with comparable responsibilities and skills, we examine whether those differences can be explained by legitimate business justifications and not attributed to protected class characteristics such as gender and/or race, among others. Finally, we provide practical recommendations and strategies to remediate any pay disparities identified.

AUDITS

Based on your organization’s needs, the following audits may be conducted in tandem or a la carte:

Foundational

Focus on data collection and statistical analysis using trusted PayScale compensation technology and market data to detect disparities

Remedial

Focus on short- and long-term remediation planning to eliminate or reduce detected pay disparities

Causal

Focus on identifying root causes of detected disparities by assessing internal systems and processes that may be contributing factors

Contact Us

Use this form to reach the following department contact:

deibs@usc.edu

    protected by reCAPTCHA PrivacyTerms