Bios
Paige Bingham
Paige Bingham leads the Boston Scientific—Close the Gap initiative to address healthcare disparities by engaging with local communities, collaborating with healthcare providers, and connecting with organizations in our shared action to fight for health equity.
Previously, Paige was at Allina Health leading a team focused on improving care coordination for patients with heart failure, cancer and Alzheimer’s. This LifeCourse program received the Circle of Life Award from the American Hospital Association and a regional Emmy™ for “The Language of Health.”
Paige’s background in driving transformational change with leading healthcare and consulting organizations is evident in her previous leadership positions at Medtronic, General Mills, and Deloitte. Paige has also served on the board of WomenHeart, YWCA of Minneapolis and Twin Cities RISE.
Paige has an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a CPA (currently inactive), and a BA from Claremont McKenna College.
Devin Carsdale
Devin Carsdale is the Sustainability Manager of Bristol Myer Squibb’s Strategic Sourcing & Procurement organization where he translates companywide sustainability initiatives into procurement specific goals and objectives. He manages the framework for how categories and suppliers participate in sustainability related initiatives and establishes functional targets in collaboration with Business Partnering and Category Strategy teams to ensure sustainability is embedded into categories strategy and procurement ways of working. Devin was a Sustainability Compliance Auditor within IKEA Purchasing Services where he led sustainability activities, securing EHS&S norms were in place, as part of the global purchasing and supply chain objectives. He received a Corporate Sustainability Certificate from NYU in the Spring of 2019. Previously, Devin worked at the American Council on Renewable Energy and the China Environment Forum and is published in clean energy development and sustainability.
Kathleen Castore
Kathleen Castore, MA is a professional Supplier Diversity Leader. She is a consultant for various companies and non-profits including DA4S, as well as a former board member. Having over a decade of experience as the Head of Supplier Diversity at a large pharma, she was responsible for the overall strategy to increase opportunities in North America to ensure a good source of supply/ services while developing mutually profitable business relationships with small and diverse owned businesses. Kathleen is a constant advocate for supplier development, mentoring and the utilization of small and diverse businesses and considers economic inclusion along with sustainable growth the key driver for success.
Cyrus Golestan
Cyrus Golestan (he/him) is an Iranian Texan transgender advocate, DEI educator and photographer. He is a lead trainer at GET Phluid and serves as a program director at New York Transgender Advocacy Group (NYTAG). Cyrus has spoken about transgender inclusion topics at the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, BBC Persian, and New York Times OUT, among other platforms. Cyrus was named one of 40 Under 40 LGBTQ Leaders by Business Equality Network Magazine and a 2020 Notable LGBTQ Leader by Crain’s New York Business. Cyrus is the founder of Other Is A Myth, an NGLCC certified apparel company creating designs to destigmatize difference and amplify allyship.
Arrastene (EJ) Henry II
Arrastene (EJ) Henry is the Head of US Inclusion & Diversity at AstraZeneca, leading the development, delivery and management of AstraZeneca’s Inclusion & Diversity strategy. EJ works closely with AstraZeneca’s US leadership to steer the implementation of that strategy into tangible programs that develop a diverse workforce, foster an inclusive culture and help achieve AstraZeneca’s 2025 racial equity ambition.
Prior to this role, EJ held leadership positions in Diversity & Inclusion and Learning and Development at AstraZeneca, building effective programs and increasing accountability and organizational value. EJ’s efforts have been instrumental in talent retention and development, and in external recognition of AstraZeneca’s leadership in Diversity.
Before joining AstraZeneca in 2017, EJ was pivotal in partnering to develop the Diversity & Inclusion Strategy at Campbell Soup.
EJ holds a Master of Science in Interactive Instructional Technology from Bloomsburg University and an Executive MBA from Temple Fox School of Business and is a Certified Diversity and Inclusion practitioner by Cornell University.
Regina Heyward
Regina O. Heyward is the Head of Supplier Diversity for MassMutual. In this role, Heyward builds upon the company’s ongoing practices and firmly establish an innovative supplier diversity strategy that aligns with MassMutual’s core values and work with the company’s suppliers to ensure their continued investment in diversity, equality, and inclusion within their businesses.
Heyward most recently served as Senior Vice President and Head of Supplier Diversity at Wells Fargo & Company where she was responsible for a $1 billion-plus portfolio of diverse business relationships. She has worked globally in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
Heyward is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and currently serves on the boards of directors for Disability:IN (Vice-Chair), the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Audit Committee Chair), and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). She is a member of the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Nominating Committee and serves as an advisor to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance.
She was featured in DiversityPlus Magazine as one of the “Top 25 Women in Power Impacting Diversity.” A native of Thomasville, Georgia, Heyward is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of North Carolina A&T State University and earned her J.D. from North Carolina Central School of Law.
Throughout her career, Regina has been known for developing high impact supplier diversity programs and leading strategic supply chain initiatives in North America, Asia, Latin America and Europe. Prior to her current role, she served as the director of enterprise supplier management for Capital One, a role in which she led the supplier diversity team and was responsible for corporate real estate category sourcing. Prior to that role, Regina served as the director of global supply chain compliance at MeadWestvaco, where she implemented a supplier diversity program and was responsible for global supplier risk management.
Regina, a native of Thomasville, Georgia, is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of North Carolina A&T State University and earned her J.D. from North Carolina Central School of Law.
Matthew Lobach
Matthew Lobach is the Senior Director of Sustainability at Hersha Hospitality Trust, an owner and operator of high-quality hotels in urban gateway markets and regional resort destinations. Matthew is responsible for the development and implementation of EarthView®, Hersha’s proprietary sustainability program, in addition to leading the Company’s philanthropic Giving Committee. Matthew is certified a LEED Green Associate by the USGBC, and is a member of NAREIT’s Real Estate Sustainability Executive Committee, the Real-Estate Roundtable’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee, and the United Way Young Leaders of Philadelphia.
Prior to joining Hersha, Mr. Lobach was an Associate with Bayer Corporation, working across their North American business units to plan and implement their sustainability strategy. Matthew is also a co‐founder of New Leaf Initiative, a non‐profit based in Central Pennsylvania that works with students and young professionals through project‐based learning of sustainability and social entrepreneurship. He received a B.S. in Actuarial Science from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.S. in Sustainability from the Blekinge Institute of Technology located in Karlskrona, Sweden. Matthew is currently pursuing an Executive MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.
EarthView, a four-time winner of NAREIT’s Leader in the Light award, is a program developed and implemented by the Hersha Group that is dedicated to fully integrated environmental and community policies that aim to make sustainable hospitality a genuine reality. EarthView delivers environmental and conservation programs that positively impact a hotel operation’s bottom line while simultaneously improving the well-being of guests, employees, communities, and the planet. To learn more about EarthView’s triple bottom line approach to hospitality, visit Hersha.com/EarthView/.
Rohit Mahajan
Rohit is an experienced entrepreneur and leader with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and software industry. He has been providing innovative Data and Analytics solutions and products to clients in Digital Health, Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, Automotive, Manufacturing and other industry segments .
He is skilled in business and IT strategy, M&A, Sales & Marketing and Global Delivery. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering, is a Wharton School Fellow and a graduate from the Harvard Business School.
He has completed executive education programs in AI in Business and Healthcare from MIT Sloan, MIT CSAIL and Harvard School of Public Health. He is completing the Global Healthcare Leaders Program from Harvard Medical School.
Adam Moore
Adam Moore is the Senior Manager for CVS Health, and is responsible for growing the spend of CVS with diverse suppliers. He is considerably active in the supplier diversity space as it relates to technology and contingent labor. Adam is often sought as a speaker and moderator on the topic of supplier diversity. Also he has written for blogs on the topic of supplier diversity, as well as co-hosting a podcast, Breaking Barriers, Building a Hirer Ground. Additionally, he is considered an expert in emerging technologies, Big Data analytics, and information technology sourcing and staffing. Along with his deep industry knowledge, Adam holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Brenau University and a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from North Georgia College.
Adam serves on several boards that promote and develop diverse suppliers. Adam is currently serving as the Co-Treasure for the GMSDC and Co-Chair for the USPAACC-SE, as well the GHCC Board. Adam is also active in serving the BDR, and acts as a liaison to the USPAAC and the NVBDC. Adam has a great passion for mentoring and works with the Georgia Mentor Protégée Connection (GMPC) and the GWBC mentoring program. In these programs he has developed several diverse firms so that they have more than doubled their gross revenue and have experienced growth into new markets. Additionally, Adam serves as a site visit volunteer for the National Veteran Owned Business Association (NaVOBA). In this capacity he works with the certification team with NaVOBA and performs the onsite visits needed to complete an applicant’s certification application. The site visit is the capstone part of the certification process and Adam has helped numerous Georgia Veteran business obtain their NaVOBA certifications.
PIT IMPROV CREW
The PIT is dedicated to the instruction, performance, and development of original comedy. The PIT strives to entertain and educate the community about the comedic arts in a safe and nurturing environment.
Shrikant Ramachandran
Shrikant Ramachandran is Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Boston Scientific, a multi-billion dollar Medical Device company.
Shri has extensive global IT experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, which includes time living and working in Asia, Australasia, Europe and the United States. He has also held roles of increasing responsibility at top multinational corporations in industries from finance and information services consulting to semiconductor manufacturing.
Shri serves on the SLU Board of Advisors for the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program, on the Board of Advisors for the Cybersecurity program at Websters University, Honorary Advisors Gateway to Innovation Conference, Governing body chair for the Evanta CIO chapter for greater St. louis, HMG Strategy CIO summit advisory Board and a frequent presenter at many conferences including Evanta CIO conferences, Global Investors conference NY, National Inclusion & Diversity conference and University conferences.
Shri holds a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from India, a Master’s degree in engineering from New Zealand, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Penn State University’s Smeal School of Business, USA.
Dr. Chris Reddick
A medical scientist by training, Chris has spent over twenty years working in the health care industry to address the global challenges to health equity and access to quality health care.
Chris has been with Takeda Pharmaceuticals since 2007 and is currently the Vice President and Head of Health Equity Capacity Building, with responsibility for leading initiatives within Takeda’s Center for Health Equity and Patient Affairs focused on addressing health inequities in communities globally. Since 2016, Chris has also served as the executive sponsor for Takeda’s Black Leadership Council (BLC).
Chris is the co-founder and chief strategist of Healthcare Partners for Access (HPA), a non-profit organization that connects healthcare companies, public health organizations, non-profits and academic institutions to help strengthen healthcare systems in underserved communities around the world.
David Ricciardi
David Ricciardi is the President & CEO / Founder of Proximo. He founded Proximo, an information services company, in 1997, to help clients with data strategy, data warehousing and integration, and predictive analytics and business intelligence.
David began his career as a software engineer at what is now J.P. Morgan Chase. This was followed by several years as a consultant in the financial industry, including as an employee of DRT Systems, the technology subsidiary of Deloitte & Touche. Prior to founding Proximo, David acquired international experience developing customer and marketing databases in the automotive industry. He holds a B.S. in computer science and a minor in mathematics from Hofstra University.
Nefertiri Sickout
Nefertiri Sickout is the Chief Diversity Officer for the City of Philadelphia. In this role, she leads the City’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which includes the Office of LGBT Affairs and the Office for People with Disabilities. The Office is pushing forward a dual strategy—in partnership across City departments—to center a racial equity framework and advance equitable workforce and community outcomes. Under the City’s workforce equity strategy, departments are creating annual plans to achieve greater representation of—and participation by—employees of color and other historically marginalized and under-represented groups in the City’s workforce. Under the City’s operational equity strategy, City departments are working to complete a racial equity assessment and action plan, setting forth more intentional efforts to produce greater racially equitable impact related to each agency’s budget, core services or programs, procurement and community engagement.
Nefertiri joined the Mayor’s Office in August 2016, serving initially as an Assistant Diversity and Inclusion Officer, and later as a Deputy Diversity and Inclusion Officer, before becoming Acting Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Prior to joining the Mayor’s Office, Nefertiri worked at Pepper Hamilton LLP from 2010 to 2016, where she practiced law for eight years as a commercial litigation associate, handling complex contract litigation matters involving business and partnership disputes.
Nefertiri began her career in community-based advocacy around issues that affect the well-being of vulnerable families and children, including child welfare, early childhood education, adolescent health, and parenting education programs. She holds several degrees, including: a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Clark Atlanta University; a Master of Arts in infant special education from George Washington University; Master of Arts in developmental psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University; and a law degree from Villanova University School of Law.
Eric Sigel
Eric has devoted his career to building informatics, IT and data science capabilities in small molecule therapeutic focused biotechs. His background includes building X-Chem’s DNA-Encoded library (DEL) scientific computing infrastructure from the the ground-up. His work pioneering the application of machine learning in the DEL space led to the spin-off of ZebiAI where he headed the data science team. Eric now consults in small molecule informatics, DEL and DEL-Machine Learning and has recently launched Citadel Discovery, a public benefit corporation, as co-founder and CEO to drive its mission to democratize access to the data needed to realize the full impact of AI in drug discovery.
Arun Skaria
Arun Skaria joined Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in 2021 as the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility/ESG. Prior to joining Alnylam, Arun spent over 7 years working across government affairs, policy, and corporate responsibility functions at Gilead Sciences. Arun also has over a decade of experience in various senior public health roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he was a nationally recognized expert on HIV and HCV program integration and policy. Arun received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Health from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.
Raul Suarez-Rodriguez
Raul Suarez-Rodriguez currently serves as the Director, Economic Inclusion and Supplier Diversity at Merck. In this role, Raul is responsible to drive diverse supplier inclusion, innovation and economic growth through lens of the company mission by partnering with internal business leaders and external advocacy groups to grow mutual value, and create a lasting impact on the business and communities where we live and work.
Most recently, Raul was Supplier Diversity Manager for CVS Health, where he led CVS Health Supplier Diversity Program to Best In Class by being inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable and winning several top awards including National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Corporation of the Year for Innovation, DiversityInc Top Companies (No.10) for Supplier Diversity, and Americas Top Corporation for Women Business Enterprises.
Raul is recognized for his creative and innovative thinking and transformation efforts in Supplier Diversity. Most recently, he was recognized as the Supply Chain Advocate of the Year by Disability: IN for his work around Disability Owned Business Enterprises where he serves as the Procurement Council Co-Chair. Also, the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) recognized Raul as Advocate of the Year and Shining Star. Raul co-led the Retail Industry Group (RIG) driving change and strategy while advocating for diverse businesses to become strategic partners in the global economy for major retail companies. Raul serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Diversity Alliance for Science.
Raul holds a Master in Business Administration with a concentration in Leadership, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Nova Southeastern University.
