2022 DLA and SHRM Diversity Awards
2022 Award Nominations are now closed.
Youth Inclusion Leader • Diversity Leader • Inclusive Workplace
DLA is celebrating its 21st Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony “Brave Conversations: Turning Stumbling Blocks Into Stepping Stones” as a Hybrid Virtual and Live Conference on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, October 12th – 14th 2022. This year’s DLA award winners will be announced LIVE on Wednesday evening.
Diversity Leadership Alliance (DLA) is the premier Diversity Education organization in Arizona. DLA provides thought provoking diversity training, leadership guidance and continued support to help cultivate an inclusive community.
DLA’s Vision: Be an inclusive community where each person is equally respected and empowered.
DLA’s Mission: To guide leaders in the transformation of culture to build an inclusive community where each person is equally respected and empowered.
DLA and the Arizona Society of Human Resource Management are working collaboratively on this year’s awards celebration and are now accepting nominations for Diversity Leaders and Inclusive Workplaces in the Large, small and Non-profit Categories:
Diversity Leader: An individual who serves as a Diversity, Inclusion and Equity role model within their respective Arizona communities, corporation, or organization. This year’s Diversity Leader Categories include Diversity Leader and Diversity Youth Leader (Under 30).
Inclusive Workplace: A corporation or organization that recognizes and values Diversity and creates an inclusive work environment for their employees and are engaged in Arizona’s diverse communities. This year’s workplace categories and sizes include: Small (up to 250 employees in AZ), Medium (between 251-999 employees in AZ), Large (1,000+ employees in AZ) and Non-Profit Organizations associated with AZ.
Diversity Leader and Inclusive Workplace nominations open on June 16, 2022 and are accepted through August 26, 2022!
Thank you for considering nominating a Diversity Leader and/or Inclusive Workplace (small, medium, large or non-profit organization) in our wonderful state of Arizona!
View the 2022 Award Winners Email DLA Awards Committee

Leader and Youth Leader Awards
Nomination Requirements
- Nominees need to be associated with an organization in Arizona.
- Nominees cannot win an award if they have won in the past three years, so more leaders can be recognized.
- Nominee accomplishments/support must be for work done in the past two-years.
- Information presented will be the main source of information to determine award, no personal knowledge of the committee will be supplemented.
- Any word limits presented will be strictly adhered to. Reviewers will not be presented with information past the word limit.
- Self-Nominations are accepted.

Non-Profit and Other Organization
Nomination Requirements
- Nominee needs to be associated with Arizona.
- Nominees cannot win an award if they have won in the past three years, so more organizations can be recognized.
- Nominee accomplishments/support must be for work done in the past two-years.
- Information presented will be the main source of information to determine award, no personal knowledge of the committee will be supplemented.
- Any word limits presented will be strictly adhered to. Reviewers will not be presented with information past the word limit.
2022 Award Winners
Congrats to all of our nominees and winners!
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Christine French Lifetime Service – Individual
Lee Barnett
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Christine French Lifetime Service – Individual
Phil Pangrazio
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Christine French Lifetime Service – Organization
Mayo Clinic
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Christine French Lifetime Service – Organization
Cox Communications
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Equity Trail Blazer Award
Thinkzilla
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Equity Trail Blazer Award
Casual Astronaut
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2022 Diversity Leader of the Year
Kristin Rodney
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2022 Diversity Leader of the Year
Felina Cordova Marks
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2022 Diversity Leader of the Year
Donald Northfelt, MD
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Congratulations to our nominated 2022 Diversity Leaders of the Year:
Jennifer Sanchez
Niki Tapia
Sam Castro
Zachary RomoThanks to the following for nominating our award winners and nominees:
Farhia Omar
Dr. Teshia Soloman
Mayra Vasquez
Adrianna Tusek Erickson
Banita Bevineau
Jeff Buda
Michelle Dew

Meet the Awards Committee Chairs

Lorena Castro
Awards Committee Chair
Dr. Brent Scholar
Awards Committee Chair
As we have all been continuing to experience our own journeys in 2022 we did our best to make this year an in-person ceremony. Unfortunately, we needed to go above what we wanted and do what was best for our overall community. Thank you for being part of our third virtual award ceremony.
This year we were overjoyed as the nominees came rolling in, and we saw the amazing work that continues to happen in our community around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
Without continuing the Uncomfortable Conversations in our lives, nothing will change.
Our 2022 Nominees have demonstrated that even in the toughest of times there is always time to serve others and to make our world a more inclusive place to live, where everyone feels they belong.
We would like to thank all of the DLA/AZ SHRM Award Committee members for their hard work and dedication to ensure the show went on. Thank you everyone for your continued work in Diversity and Inclusion.
2022 Awards Committee
Lorena Castro
Co-Chair
AZSHRM
Dr. Brent Scholar
Co-Chair
Scholar Consulting, LLC
Arizona State University
Rowdy Duncan
Communication Professor
Phoenix College
Sonja Talley
SHRM-SCP/SPHR
CORE HR Solutions, LLC
Leila Zaghloul-Daly
APS
Barry Stratford
DLA Board Member
Associate Attorney
Perkins Coie Law Firm
Jacqueline Starks, CDE
Transformation Evangelist
Jacque of All Tradez
DEIE
Maricopa Community College District
Guadalupe Martinez
Diversity Leadership Awards – Youth Winner 2021