2022 Diversity & Inclusion award winner: HSI Career Collaborative

The HSI Career Collaborative is a consortium of 14 majority-minority HSIs nationwide. It provides career opportunities for all students and alumni. Local participating universities include UTSA, TAMUSA and UIW. HSIs enroll an estimated two-thirds of today’s 3.8 million Hispanic college students. They also enroll more African Americans students than all historically Black colleges and universities combined, more Native American students than all tribal colleges and universities together, and over 40% of all Asian Americans enrolled in college today.

Executive Committee: Jessica Lane Wilson, Mario Vela, Kamara Jackson, Nicole Rodriguez and Brian O’Bruba

What’s been the biggest challenge your organization has faced in implementing diversity and inclusion policies?

Developing sustainable change in organizations recruiting diverse talent.

What do diversity and inclusion look like at your organization? What does it mean to leadership and employees?

Our leadership and event teams come from super-HSI universities. Not only do we represent diversity in location — Texas, California, New York, Illinois — but also in thought. These diverse experiences lend to a holistic organization that drives sustainable increases in organizations across the country recruiting diverse talent.

Please give an example of ways your organization has worked to become more diverse and inclusive.

We hosted our second annual HSI Career Collaborative Employer Summit in August where close to 400 recruiters and hiring managers learned to recruit at HSIs across the country. During the summit, we placed the voice of our students at the center of the sessions.

Please explain your organization’s decision to make diversity and inclusion a priority.

For the HSI Career Collaborative, the focus has always been on increasing the recruiting opportunities for our students and alumni across the country. We want to imbibe a culture within companies and employers to embrace DEI with a focus on HSI schools.