09/03/2024
11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET
*approximate length: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Presenter: Charles Kellom, Sr. Director of DEI
Join IREM’s Senior Director for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion for an introduction to some key DEI terminology. We’ll cover DEI itself, and delve into words like privilege, oppression, identity, and intersectionality. If you’re looking for an easy introduction to DEI, this is a great place to start!
Learning Objectives:
- Explain at least three of the key DEI terms listed in the description
- Identify how at least one term plays out in their own lives, communities, and/or workplaces
Charles C.M. Kellom is an expert in diversity, equity, and inclusion organizational change, originally from Cincinnati, OH. For almost 20 years, he has developed and led diversity and social justice initiatives to transform cultures, and further equity for people on the margins of our society.
Before joining IREM as the Senior Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Charles was an Inclusion Strategist at Tangible Development, a boutique consulting firm based in Albany, NY. Charles worked with clients from all sectors of the professional world, including financial institutions, healthcare organizations, a biosciences firm, non-profit arts organizations, and governmental institutions, to engage employees in organizational change through a DEI lens, and measure the climate of inclusion within their organizational culture.
Charles also had a long career leading DEI work in higher education. Most notably, he served as the Assistant Dean for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) at Ohio Wesleyan University. In this role, he leads the department in strategic goals, program assessment, and advocacy for students of color, LGBTQIA students, low-income students, and/or first-generation college students. Before that, he was the Director for Multicultural Student Affairs at Northwestern University, ranked the 9th best national university by US News & World Report. There he oversaw a staff of 12 and helped develop institution-wide initiatives removing barriers for students to thrive and succeed. He’s also lead diversity initiatives at George Mason University in the DC area, and at the University of Dayton.
Kellom earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and his Master of Arts degree in English, both from the University of Dayton. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., a lover of anything creative or artistic, and enjoys time at home with his two sons.