IAB Inclusive Leadership Series

Arthur Woods is a social entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ leader, working at the intersection of equity, inclusion, and technology. He was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and 40 Under 40 by BEQ. He is the author of the national best-selling book, Hiring for Diversity; he is a global keynote speaker, having delivered 3 TEDx talks; and has contributed to Harvard Business Review, FastCompany and Forbes.

He is the Co-Founder of Mathison, a venture-backed technology platform that is the first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Operating system, giving employers a single place to manage their diversity analytics, recruiting and training. He is the creator of the first Equal Hiring Index to assess and benchmark inclusive hiring practices. Arthur came from Google where he led operations for YouTube’s Education division and oversaw YouTube for Schools. Arthur previously co-founded Imperative, leading social learning platform; Out in Tech, the largest global LGBTQ technology community; and Social Impact 360, a collegiate social enterprise education program.

Arthur studied at Georgetown University, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and HBS online. He is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, GCT Entrepreneur in Residence, a New York Venture Fellow, SAP.io Foundries Fellow and sits on the Advisory Boards of LIFT and Second Day.

Frederica Peterson is a diversity and leadership consultant, coach, teacher, award-winning author and is the founder of her own leadership consultancy established in 2015. She has worked with some of the top organizations in the country; CNN, Facebook, Honeywell, NASA, United States Homeland Security, National Basketball Association, Audible and many more.

As an impactful key leader at Verizon Wireless and KPMG she has received numerous industry awards and commendations that reflected the passion and dedication she brought to her work developing leaders and leading high performing teams. Described by her clients as passionate, charismatic, intuitive and result focused, she leverages her expertise to help others sharpen their skills and increase their leadership effectiveness. She is a faculty member of the American Management Association and holds a master’s degree in Organizational Behavior from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a Professional Certification in Executive Coaching from the Institute for Professional Coaching Excellence.

As a member of the Executive Learning Council of New Jersey she was honored as a 2015 New Jersey Assembly Resolution Honoree for International Coaching Week, where she was recognized for her contributions to the coaching field. Frederica believes, “the heart of every organization is the effectiveness of their leaders; when leaders are strong teams are strong.”

Micah Wonjoon Kessel is a researcher in empathy, bias, and design, having dedicated his life to changing how people can empathize across their differences. With nearly 20 years of experience in immersive design and experience with companies like Disney and Google, he has created a DEI and empathy experience that is a paradigm shift in organizational ability to create a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Most executives know empathy is a foundation of their culture, yet they lack the tools to retain and help their teams thrive. Through experiential learning, Micah and his team bring often unengaging concepts and didactic training into vibrant reality, through a comprehensible and effective DEI & Empathy building experience. After the Empathable program, 98% of companies report an improvement in their ability to apply DEI learning, and a deeper sense of team connection and belonging.