Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

James Bettles

James Bettles grew up in the Klamath Tribes area in southern Oregon.  Coming out at the age of 17, he went on to pursue his B.S. at Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, where he was active in Native American Students at Cornell, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and Out in the World, an LGBT student organization. As an Executive Data Scientist at IBM, Mr. Bettles has led solution designs for companies facing complex operational problems. James has enabled many people in the data science field and is as energized by what he sees as our collective responsibility to make the world more efficient, mitigate climate change, and bolster economic growth. 

Sheri Betts

Sheri Betts is currently in Organization Development at Grifols, a Barcelona based pharmaceutical firm. In that role, she does Executive Coaching and works with leaders and teams to improve individual and organizational effectiveness. She has held leadership positions with Fortune 100 corporations (Xerox, Pepsi, Avon) and as Executive Director of nonprofits (INROADS/Los Angeles and Mission of Love Charities). Sheri’s bachelor’s degree is in Accounting from Washington University in St. Louis and has an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management in Organizational Behavior and Marketing.

Heather Caruso

Heather Caruso is a faculty member and assistant dean at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, with a passion for helping people to grow, inspire and work effectively together. Layering rigorous academic training on top of practical experience, Heather’s interests ultimately ground themselves in leadership priorities: facilitating equity and inclusion; collaboration in diverse teams; managing identity, power and influence; and strategies for optimal choice, judgment and decision making. After pursuing these interests in over a decade of teaching, research administration and scholarship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Heather moved to UCLA Anderson to enrich and expand her work.

Terri Cooper

Terri Cooper is currently Deloitte’s Vice Chair of External Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) where she focuses on fostering Deloitte’s external brand and helping to drive market facing efforts. As chief inclusion officer, Terri drove Deloitte’s strategy to recruit, develop, and advance a diverse workforce and foster an inclusive environment. She advanced inclusive leadership at all levels and established inclusion as a core leadership capability. Terri holds a Joint Honors Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry and Pharmacology and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of London, UK.

Devon Dickau

Devon Dickau co-leads the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting practice at Deloitte Consulting. In this role, he conducts research and advises Fortune 500 organizations and large nonprofits on DEI strategy and navigating disruption. At Anderson, Devon received the UCLA Charles E. Harless Graduate Student Leadership Award, in part for his work to start Anderson’s first-ever (and still going) LGBTQ Awareness Week. Devon is a double Bruin, earning his B.A. in American Literature & Culture from UCLA in 2007 and M.B.A. in 2015. Devon also earned an M.Ed. in Technology, Innovation & Education from Harvard where his research focused on how media and technology empower social change.

J J Espinoza

JJ Espinoza was born in Nicaragua during the Civil War and raised in South East Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA. JJ earned his BS in Mathematics/BA in Economics from UCLA before completing his MS in Economics from CSUF with a focus on international finance and econometrics. After graduation he spent over a decade in the fields of econometrics, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence at the world’s largest entertainment and technology companies (e.g. Disney, Facebook, NBCUniversal, Amazon). JJ is a life-long learner having recently completed executive education courses at Harvard Business School and Johns Hopkins University in the fields of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Barbara Furlow-Smiles

Barbara Furlow-Smiles is the Global Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Asia Pacific/Latin America at Nike. She has an extensive and strategic background in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion/Employee Resource Group management with over 10+ years of experience. In her previous role as Head of Internal Community/Lead Diversity Strategist at Facebook she led the global internal community efforts for all regions in: EMEA, APAC, LATAM and NORAM and served as the Creator and Director of the annual Juneteenth global programming, reaching over 75,000 employees and over 150,000 people externally. Barbara has a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Baruch College.

Obed Guzman

Obed Guzman is a first generation Mexican-American raised in Los Angeles, California. His professional experience is in client services and currently holds a position as a Sr. Financial Analyst at AECOM.

Phil Irvine

Phil Irvine is Vice President of Audience Intelligence at RPA—a full service independent advertising agency based in LA. He manages a team that is responsible for supporting audience insights, development, and activation to inform media planning and budgeting for clients in the automotive, quick service restaurants, home goods, and utilities industries. Phil also serves as Vice-Chair of RPA’s Policy and Action committee which is tasked with the development and implementation of policies, initiatives, and programs to enhance the branding and employee experience at the agency.

Leondra James

Leondra R. James is the Director of Data Analysis, Digital Intelligence at Wpromote, a digital marketing agency, where she oversees a marketing science team comprised of data analysts, BI Engineers, and data scientists. She is also a part time PhD student, studying Information Technology with a focus in Predictive Analytics at University of the Cumberlands. Leondra earned a Bachelor's in Music and Business from Otterbein University. She also has a Master's in Entertainment Industry Management from Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College of Information Systems, an MBA with a focus in Data and Decisions from Quantic School of Business and Technology, and a Professional Certificate in Data Science from Harvard University.

Liz Jenkins

Liz Jenkins is the COO of Hello Sunshine, a media brand and content company founded by Reese Witherspoon and dedicated to female authorship and storytelling across all platforms. During her time at Hello Sunshine, she has been responsible for establishing and overseeing finance, business affairs, physical production and operations as well as facilitating the growth of the company’s business, including their Scripted, Unscripted, and Kids & Animation studios and Reese’s Book Club — all of which put women or girls at the center of each narrative. Liz received her M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and her B.A. from Stanford University.

Laurel Joe

Laurel Joe is a co-founder of BlueSphere Partners, a sustainability consultancy born in response to the climate crisis. Prior to BlueSphere, Laurel served as Executive Director Global Brand Marketing at The Walt Disney Company and VP Brand Marketing at Paramount Pictures where she had a transformative moment working on An Inconvenient Truth. At BlueSphere, Laurel combines her climate activism and years of marketing & communications expertise to help businesses answer the call to act for the social good and help create a more sustainable future. Laurel is a double Bruin, holding an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School and a BA in Communications Studies from UCLA

Jessica Kimball

Jessica Kimball is a Diversity and Inclusion leader who is professionally driven by two key passions: empowering others to become their best selves and elevating platforms for those who come from underrepresented backgrounds. Currently, Jessica is starting a Diversity & Inclusion platform that amplifies diverse voices - from experts to everyday voices sharing their own lived experiences across D&I topics such as battling imposter syndrome to addressing our own unconscious biases. Jessica holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, and while at UCLA Anderson, Jessica started the first VP of Diversity & Inclusion role on the student government board.

Terry Kramer

Since beginning his career at Harris Corporation and Booz Allen Hamilton, Terry Kramer has held executive roles at AirTouch, PacTel and Vodafone globally. No stranger to the field of academia, Kramer jumped at the opportunity to work at UCLA Anderson, as it provided “a chance to engage with the next generation of leaders.” An adjunct professor at UCLA Anderson since 2013, Kramer is a full-time faculty member and the Faculty Director of the Easton Technology Management Center. Terry is a graduate of UCLA (B.A., ’82) and Harvard Business School.

Obed Guzman

Obed Guzman is a first generation Mexican-American raised in Los Angeles, California. His professional experience is in client services and currently holds a position as a Sr. Financial Analyst at AECOM.

Danielle Robbins

Danielle Robins leads the Digital Analytics team at Capital Group where her team is focused on optimizing enablement, reporting and deep analysis to support digital product management and media globally. She is also the new co-program manager for the Data Analytics Rotational Training (DART) program, which trains early career analytics professionals. Danielle holds a PhD in Biomathematics from North Carolina State University, a MA in Mathematics from Arizona State University and a BS in Mathematics from University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she was a Meyerhoff Scholar and track athlete.

Sana Rahim

Sana Rahim is a Senior HR Business Partner and People Programs Lead at brightwheel. Sana designs work environments where employees are happy and able to do their best work. She has deep expertise in diversity & inclusion, talent management and employee engagement. Sana believes work should be engaging, joyous and inclusive for ALL employees. She holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BA from Northwestern University.

Gina Sanchez

Gina Sanchez is the Chief Executive Officer of Chantico Global and serves as the lead consultant to key clients. Chantico Global was spun out of Roubini Global Economics in 2013 and currently collaborates with Oxford Economics, the world's largest independent macroeconomics consultancy. Gina also serves as a Trustee of the Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association (LACERA) and as an Advisory Board Member to the UCLA Masters of Financial Engineering Program. She holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University and a master's in international policy studies from Stanford University.

Joyce Truong

Joyce Truong is on the Capital Markets and Investments team at Landed, a fintech startup on a mission to address wealth inequality. Through its Landed Homeownership Impact Fund, Landed co-invests in the down payments of essential professionals (like teachers), with the hopes of making home ownership more affordable in expensive markets and preventing folks from being priced out of the communities they serve. Prior to Landed, Joyce was an Associate Director at Turner Impact Capital, one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing social impact investment firms. Joyce also had stints in investment banking at Barclays and venture capital at Fifth Wall while at UCLA Anderson. Joyce earned an M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson (2018) and a B.A. and M.S. from Stanford University. 

Shawna Sopp

Shawna Sopp graduated the UCLA EMBA program in 2019. With 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Shawna leads the Digital Development Communications team at Cedars-Sinai. As a working mother attending school full-time, Shawna found tools to address her imposter syndrome and now mentors others in imposter syndrome, leadership, and career growth.

Veronica Vasquez

Veronica Vasquez is a Senior Product Manager at Capital Group with responsibilities for its retail separately managed account products. She also serves as a member of Capital Group’s North America

Client Group DE&I Steering Committee. She has 15 years of financial services industry experience and has been with Capital Group for seven years. Prior to joining Capital, Veronica managed Bank of America’s home loan sales relationship deepening program, designing growth strategies for banking center associates. Veronica holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.