A blue-ribbon Advisory Board will oversee the selection criteria for each year's Diverse Magazine Top 50 Companies for Equality and Diversity. The distinguished panel members represent a wide-breath of experience in all aspects of Equality and Diversity Management, both practical and theoretical.
Garth Dallas:
Garth has over 17 years corporate, agency and entrepreneurial experience in Global Diversity Management, Business Development, Marketing and International Business Relations with clients in the public and private sectors. He heads up Global Diversity Partners a diversity management consulting company that promotes the social and business benefits of global diversity and inclusion.
He is the founder of the Diverse Magazine Top 50 is also editor of the award winning Diverse Magazine.
He is a highly experienced Diversity Professional, being involved in advising on diversity strategy, particularly as it impacts the attraction, recruitment, assessment and general people and organisational development process. He has designed and delivered a number of presentations and training courses on diversity, and the scope of diversity for managers, up-skilling them on understanding the relationship between diversity and equality opportunities legislation, diversity best practice, and importantly diversity as core strategy for effective business in the 21st century global marketplace.
He is experienced in integrating Supplier Diversity and Sustainability considerations into a formal sourcing process. This involves strategic sourcing, contract negotiations, cost modelling, supplier diversity expertise and sustainable sourcing discipline.
Garth also holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and an LLM in International Law.
Hilary Burrage:
Hilary Burrage (www.hilaryburrage.com) is a freelance consultant, writer and teacher with wide experience in equality, diversity, regeneration, knowledge ecology and economy, sustainability and the delivery of social policy. Hilary holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and is a qualified teacher. Previously a college Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care, Hilary is now a board director, researcher and speaker. An activist with national experience of business, government, green issues and public service, Hilary has worked in many contexts, from Liverpool via London to Prague. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Hilary has sought throughout her life to promote fairness, diversity and equality for all. She has developed strategies and policies to this end for a range of organisations across sectors, ranging from education and health to sustainable communities and regeneration. Hilary believes strongly in engagement and debate as a way to encourage mutual understanding and support between people with different experiences (www.amillionsmallconversations.co.uk) and continues to pursue diversity and equality through her publications and weblogs.
Hilary Burrage is founding Executive Chair of the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation (which celebrates the life and legacy of Britain’s greatest black classical composer). She is also a long-time member of the gender-equality organisation, the Fawcett Society. With direct experience of disability and an increasing concern for issues connected with (youth and older) age, Hilary has for many years had an interest in all areas of diversity as they relate to the process of policy-making: she is, for instance, a consistent commentator on the narrow field from which conference speakers and policy makers, whose work has so much impact on so many people’s lives, is often drawn. It is her firm belief that greater equity and diversity within major organisations is not only intrinsically important, but will also benefit us all.
Ken Reid:
Ken Reid is the former owner, publisher and CEO of the highly acclaimed American publication Metro-Atlanta Black Pages, which he founded in 1978.
Ken has a passion for economic development in the African American Community and spent 25 years building and branding the Atlanta Black Pages into the largest circulated African American publication in Metro-Atlanta.
Ken also instituted the Annual Black Pages Awards Program to recognise the achievements of African-American businesses and has sponsored many prominently acclaimed keynote speakers at this event, including Nationally noted Author, Dr. Dennis P. Kimbro, Author of Think and Grow Rich a Black Choice; Mayor Maynard Jackson; Fulton County Commissioner Marty King III; America’s longest running nationally syndicated TV talk show host Tony Brown, Tony Brown’s Journal; Nationally syndicated radio host, Bob Law, Nightalk; Fulton County Chairman, Michael Lomax; State Senator, Tyrone Brooks, Mayor Bill Campbell and numerous others.
Ken is the recipient of the Outstanding Service Award from the US Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency; the Advertising & Marketing Award from the National Association of Media Women; the Leadership Award from the National Association of Black Pages; Outstanding Leadership Award from the Minnesota Black Pages; and named in Who's Who in Executives and Professionals. He was also named as one of Atlanta's Most Influential Businessmen in the Atlanta Business Journal, 1996 Edition. Internationally, he has been recognized by the North London Business Development Agency and the U.K. Black Links where he received the Pioneer Award and the Trailblazer Award, respectively. He has been also recognized and featured in the Voice newspaper, the UK’s largest circulated black weekly newspaper.
Karen Choudhary:
Karen has extensive experience across the voluntary and public sectors locally, regionally and nationally, including roles with the Department of Health, NHS and the University of Liverpool where she has promoted equality, diversity, inclusion and social justice.
As Chief Executive of Liverpool One Parent Families Trust she was able to advise the government on the policy needs of lone parents and their children.
Karen is currently working as a freelance consultant advising both the Education sector and Fire and Rescue Service on all issues relating to equality and diversity including strategy, policy and training.
Additionally Karen is studying for a degree in social work where she is able to combine her expertise to explore and research issues of discrimination and to establish innovative programmes of positive action.
Jagtar Singh:
Jagtar has been working in the public services for over 35 years. He is currently a non-executive director with Luton and Dunstable hospital and works as an Equality & Diversity consultant to a number of organisations via his consultancy practice JSA Ltd. JSA delivers training in all accept of Equality, Diversity and inclusion and in particular managing diversity in the workplace, Equality Impact Analysis/ assessment, demystifying Equality & Diversity for managers and boards, cultural competence and training the trainer sessions.
He worked with the Fire Service for many years, rising to the rank of Deputy Chief Fire Officer and then as interim Chief Fire officer / Chief Executive. Whilst serving in the Fire Service Jagtar was the first Asian officer appointed to many ranks. Jagtar has helped to develop and establish a number of minority support groups in the Fire Service and was commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government to develop a business case for diversity in the Fire and Rescue Service in 2006. He was the most senior Asian officer in the Service when he retired in 2006 and is still often asked to speak on behalf the service on Equality and Diversity issue.
In January 2003 Jagtar received the Public Servant of the Year Award at the Asian Achievement awards ceremony in Birmingham. In June 2003 he was awarded, in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List, an OBE for his work on equality and diversity in the Fire Service. He has organised and planned many national conferences and has spoken at national and international events.
His other interests include being a season ticket-holder of Birmingham City Football Club and playing cricket for a local cricket team, when time allows.