Next Practices for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Bill Hicks joined the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in February 2019, as the Associate Education Director. As Associate Education Director, Bill is responsible for coordinating, and delivering anti-bias education programs and trainings to K-12 schools and communities which allow participants to explore identity and diversity, and examine and challenge bias within self, others, and systems to ultimately create welcoming and inclusive environments. He also manages ADL’s No Place for Hate initiative which is a student led K-12 school framework for creating an equitable school climate. Prior to joining ADL, Bill spent 16 ½ years with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Bill is a member of the Illinois Diversity Council and an advocate for LGBTQ+ issues.

After being laid off from his first job in 2010, Adam Solarz started as an internal comms specialist at Nielsen. He now leads global internal and client communications for NielsenIQ, the world's first and best consumer intelligence company.

Isis Simpson-Mersha is a conference producer and reporter at Ragan Communications where she writes content for Ragan.com and PR Daily.com. She also produces conferences (live and virtual), workshops, boot camps and webinars with strategic content. Before joining the Ragan team, Simpson-Mersha worked for MLive as a digital and newspaper journalist, reporting on communities and businesses and other topics in mid-Michigan. She also worked as a radio news producer and host at NPR member station, WCMU Public Radio during her time at Central Michigan University.

Crystal Andrews Banks is the Global Head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Kraft Heinz. As a proven cultural transformation change agent with over ten years of experience, she furthers Kraft Heinz’s DEI&B efforts by identifying and formulating viable solutions to drive innovation. She drives the organization’s DEI&B strategy, serves as the enterprise DEI&B consultant, and provides oversight for a myriad of diversity initiatives.  Crystal’s background includes stints in Marketing and Internal Communications which assist in her big picture ideology and creative approaches. She studied at St. John’s University and received her MA in Sociology and BS in Communication with a business minor while a member of the Women’s Basketball Team. A sought after thought leader and speaker, she was recognized by Essence Magazine as a revolutionary beauty industry executive and selected as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She also serves a Board Member of Girls in the Game and Strategic Planning Committee member for Together We Grow. Previously, Crystal worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, KPMG, Baxalta, Johnson Controls and Ulta Beauty where she added value to develop and strengthen their DEI&B agendas.