NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) will celebrate its community’s achievements in the face of the global pandemic and honor leading business and community leaders at its Annual Celebration on May 12 at the Rooftop at Edison Ballroom in New York City. LEDA is the preeminent national nonprofit organization dedicated to diversifying the national leadership pipeline. LEDA supports a community of exceptional young leaders (Scholars, Career Fellows, and alumni) from under-resourced backgrounds gain admission to this country’s most selective colleges and positions students for leadership roles and professional success.
Ilana Goldman, LEDA’s Interim Executive Director said: “Tonight is a celebration of the resilience, determination, and grit of the LEDA community. Throughout every hurdle of this pandemic year, they never slowed in their efforts to attain an excellent education, build community, and focus on their professional goals: this is what leadership looks like.”
Nearly 86% of LEDA Scholars have attended the most selective U.S. colleges. LEDA Scholar and Career Fellow graduates have pursued careers in academia, joined nonprofits, and have become engineers, teachers, doctors, and lawyers in the pursuit of helping others.
Dr. Garland Castañeda, LEDA Scholar and inaugural 2021 LEDA Alumni Honoree shares: "I am consistently amazed by what my fellow LEDA Scholars have accomplished. Scientists, politicians, volunteers, entrepreneurs, activists – they are all lifting up those around them."
The organization announced today that it will honor four leaders who share LEDA’s values as part of its Annual Celebration on May 12, 2022: Rick C. Wade, Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Pamela Codo-Lotti, Global Chief Operating Officer, Activism Defense and Shareholder Advisory at Goldman Sachs; John W. Rogers Jr., Founder, Chairman, Co-CEO & Chief Investment Officer of Ariel Investments; and Brittany Hardy, LEDA’s 2022 Alumni Honoree who serves as a Senior Policy Specialist at Google.
2022 Annual Celebration Honorees
Pamela Codo-Lotti: Pam is the Global Chief Operating Officer of Activism and Shareholder Advisory at Goldman Sachs, and the leading Head of Cross Markets Activism & Shareholder Advisory. She advises on a range of complex shareholder matters and serves as co-chair of the Investment Banking Division Council for Advancement of Racial Equity at Goldman Sachs. Additionally, Pam serves as a steering committee member for One Million Black Women, Goldman Sachs’ $10 billion commitment in investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic support to help narrow opportunity gaps and positively impact the lives of at least one million Black women over the next decade.
Pam also serves on the National Governing Board of the Jeremiah Program, helping transform families from poverty to prosperity two generations at a time. Pam graduated from ESSEC Business School in France and earned an MBA from Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.
John W. Rogers Jr: John founded Ariel Investments in 1983, and today it is a global value-based asset management firm. Rogers is known for his patient investment philosophy, and he has been highlighted alongside legendary investors Warren Buffett, Sir John Templeton, and Ben Graham in the distinguished book: The World’s 99 Greatest Investors by Magnus Angenfelt. He is a member of the board of directors of McDonald’s, NIKE, The New York Times Company, and Ryan Specialty Group Holdings. Additionally, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. Rogers received an AB in economics from Princeton University, where he was also captain of the varsity basketball team.
Rick C. Wade: Rick is Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He develops programs to help the Chamber create new business relationships and partnerships across diverse audiences. He provides counsel on policy issues and leads special projects to include the Equality of Opportunity Initiative which advances private and public sector solutions to help close America’s race-based opportunity gaps in education, employment, entrepreneurship, criminal justice, health, and wealth. Previously, he was President of The Wade Group and served as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke; Senior Adviser to Obama for America; and a member of the Cabinet of South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges. He worked as an executive at Hoffman-La Roche and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Rick received his B.S. from the University of South Carolina and an M.P.A. from Harvard University. He was awarded honorary doctorates from Benedict College and South Carolina State University.
Brittany Hardy: Brittany is a LEDA Cohort 5 Scholar who is passionate about public service. Brittany recently joined Google as a Senior Policy Specialist supporting the Global Policy and Standards Knowledge & Insights team, focusing on the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa regions. She works to provide subject matter insights on cultures to develop more effective, enforceable, culturally aware, and inclusive policies. Prior to Google, Brittany served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State in Brazil, Mexico, and Washington, D.C. in both consular and public diplomacy roles. Brittany graduated from Princeton University where she received her bachelor's degree in Religion and minored in African American Studies and Spanish. She received her Master in Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California in 2016.
About LEDA
Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) empowers a community of exceptional young leaders from under-resourced backgrounds by supporting their higher education and professional success in order to create a more inclusive and equitable country. LEDA’s vision is an inclusive and equitable America where leadership reflects, celebrates, and supports diverse perspectives. To learn more, visit the website.
