Career Week: Identity in the Workplace

With more than 15 years of experience in leadership and organization development, Patricia Bory helps build healthy leaders, teams, and systems. Specializing in workforce equity, she uses sophisticated diversity and inclusion (D&I) practices to support organizations in building inclusive, result-driven cultures. Patricia serves in the Obama Administration, most currently as a Senior Advisor for the Department of Labor in the areas of disability and workforce inclusion. Prior to that Patricia spent a decade as an executive leader and professional facilitator in the public and nonprofit sectors, and taught leadership and social movements as an adjunct professor at American University. As a life-long learner herself, Patricia carries an on-going commitment to examining racial, gender, and LGBT identity development—with a particular focus on how cultural identity awareness can positively impact organizational success. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in organization development from American University. She lives in the Washington D.C. area with her 2-year-old daughter Amaya Joan.

Robert Raben is the President and Founder of the Raben Group, and works to drive public policy in a humane and progressive direction; to bring diversity and equity to the boardrooms and think tanks and corporations of America; to create a fair judiciary and influence legislation to broaden civil rights, reform our criminal justice system, and improve education for all our children. And that’s just for starters.

The truth is, Robert does it all – sometimes by orchestrating big, sweeping victories; sometimes by taking small incremental steps. He is a leader with the intellect, capacity, and courage to make things happen. He serves his clients by helping them to identify what they need and how to achieve it in a complex environment where policy and politics are always in play, where legislation is susceptible to a thousand influences, and the media are hungry for new twists to their stories. Robert knows the Washington landscape and expertly navigates it with his clients to attract allies, defuse crises, anticipate challenges, effect change, and ultimately, achieve their goals.

Robert insightfully articulates the big picture and drills down to identify its crucial parts. He wants his clients to develop their strategies before talking about tactics. Whether consulting with Google or the Fisheries Survival Fund in New Bedford, whether advising the Center for Reproductive Rights or the Black Church Center, he is unfailingly honest, direct, focused, and educated about every nuance of his clients’ reality -- and the challenges they face as they go forward. He is as effective at working with conservative faith leaders as he is working with LGBT activists. He knows that unlikely coalitions and partners are often the answer to policy paralysis.

Robert’s aggressively bipartisan approach was honed during an impressive legislative career that began on Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) staff and culminated in House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde’s (R-IL) endorsement of his appointment as Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs. While at the Department of Justice, Robert drove Attorney General Janet Reno’s legislative initiatives and handled the political challenges of Congressional oversight of the Department.

Robert founded The Raben Group in 2002. He is a graduate of the Wharton School and New York University Law School. 

Hilary B. Rosen is a well-known strategist who navigates the intersection of communications, media and politics. She brings a wealth of experience to clients needing high-octane assistance in a variety of public affairs challenges such as creating and executing large-scale campaigns, publicity and reputation management and crisis communications.

Hilary’s experience and understanding of the media and public affairs is broad and nuanced. As the former chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, she understands the importance of PR from the client side. As the former political director and editor-at-large of HuffingtonPost.com and current on-air contributor at CNN, and a Sunday show regular, she navigates the media from the perspective of a thought leader. Hilary appreciates the power public opinion has over political discourse, an appreciation she also gained from her experience working for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne.

Hilary is a behind-the-scenes go-to media consultant on progressive and LGBT issues. When DOMA and Proposition 8 headed to the Supreme Court, the Respect for Marriage Coalition turned to Hilary. She led the Coalition’s communication efforts ahead of the Court’s favorable decisions and was recognized by Out Magazine, which placed Hilary on their 2013 Out100 list and the SKDK team won several awards for their work.

Hilary’s ability to lead issue campaigns in Washington led to a profile in the book “Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power” by The Wall Street Journal reporters John Harwood and Gerald Seib.

Throughout her career, Hilary has regularly been featured on power lists in a variety of sectors, including The New York Post’s Ladies Who Launch Entertainment Trends, Entertainment Weekly’s Annual Power List, The Hollywood Reporter’s Power 50 Women and The Washington Post’s Power 20. She is the founder of Business Forward and Rock the Vote and currently serves on several nonprofit boards including the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
 

Brian Ruggiero joined NYU Stern School of Business in July as a Director in the Office of Career Development. Brian leads a team that partners with employers across industries on their campus talent strategies and provides students with the access and education they need to be successful in their job search.

Prior to NYU, Brian was with American Express for twelve years in successive roles within HR and Marketing. Most recently, he served as the Vice President of Global Campus Recruitment at American Express where he led a global team of 22 people to create and deliver campus recruiting programs for multiple lines of business. He helped lead the transformation of the company's campus strategy across school selection, employer branding, diversity, and assessment initiatives. Under his leadership, American Express expanded into new campus talent segments in engineering, digital marketing and design.

Brian began his career as Associate Education Director of Trinity Repertory Company, a regional theater in Providence, RI, bringing arts education to underserved communities across Southeastern New England.  

Trudy Steinfeld is the Associate Vice-President and Executive Director of the New York University Wasserman Center for Career Development and oversees over 30 full-time and 25 part-time staff. Trudy has extensive experience in the field of career development, experiential education and recruiting, and is considered a national expert on the job market and employment trend. She has been a frequent media contributor to: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, New York Daily News, New York Post, Crain’s, NBC, CBS, ABC, MTV, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, NPR, CBS Radio, The Newshour with Jim Leher and several international television and print news outlets. Trudy was a featured career expert on the cable show "The Job Hunt" as well as the CBS Morning Show. Trudy is a visiting instructor at the NACE Management Leadership Institute and a facilitator at the highly acclaimed Career Services Institute (CSI).

Currently, Trudy is a contributor to Forbes.com. In her column, Career Warrior, she comments on important strategies for college students and graduates seeking career advice. She is also the co-editor and a contributor to Leadership in Career Services: Voices from the Field, a collection of individual voices and perspectives of experienced college and university career services leaders and corporate recruiting professionals. Additionally, Trudy has been a presenter and keynote speaker at over 100 national meetings and conferences including National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) annual meetings, Universum, Women for Hire, and the Global Work and Integrated Learning Conference held in Durban, South Africa. She continues to chair and serve on several key committees, task forces and major conferences for NACE, and advises on several national conferences such as the first ever Global Recruiting Symposium.

Trudy is also a recipient of both NASPA and multiple NACE Excellence awards. Trudy earned her Bachelor’s degree in American Studies and Education from Ramapo College and holds a Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Science at New York University. She has also completed extensive coursework in Counseling Psychology from the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Outside of her professional life, Trudy is passionate about coffee, her dog Norm, and the NY Mets.