Policy Leader

ILR's Laura Hertzog will play a leading role in a U.S. Department of State program this week that brings together 100 top diversity leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Hertzog, director of diversity and inclusion programs with ILR's Manhattan-based Human Capital Development group, will conduct a working group on diversity and inclusion in U.S. foreign policy. The program takes place Thursday in Washington, D.C.

"As a result of this session, we will come up with some sort of training module that diversity professionals in the foreign service can use," Hertzog said. "Nothing like this exists now."

Participants in the program will include U.S. government leaders from the White House and the Department of State, along with chief diversity officers from the nation's top corporations, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations.

Hertzog says that a goal of this strategy session, the first-ever of its kind on diversity, inclusion and U.S. foreign policy, is to take the understanding of diversity beyond just the need to "learn other languages or how not to offend others."

"We want people to get a broader understanding of diversity and inclusion, why good practice in these areas is so beneficial, and how we can use this knowledge to come to a quicker understanding of how to best work together."

The International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals, of which Hertzog is a founding member, and the Society of Human Resource Management are also event partners.

It's an honor to be involved in the program, Hertzog said.

"I think this shows that there is a great deal of respect for ILR. The State Department asked us to be the academic entity responsible for developing the training module. This is considered one of the major outcomes of this effort."