Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council
The Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council advises the Cleveland Fed, a part of the US central bank, for the Bank’s employees and the communities they serve in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The council provides strategic guidance and feedback aimed at improving diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity for the Cleveland Fed and the communities it serves.
Joe Faulhaber
President
Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland
Cleveland, OH
Sean Grant
Chief Administrative Officer
Columbus Partnership
Columbus, OH
Abdul Muhammad
Senior Vice President
WesBanco Bank
Lexington, KY
Francisca García-Cobián Richter
Research Assistant Professor
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
Sergio Robles
Assistant Professor of Marketing Instruction
Ohio University
Athens, OH
Daniel Taylor
Executive Vice President
African American Chamber of Commerce Western PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Jack Thomas
President
Central State University
Wilberforce, OH
Jeffery Weaver
Executive Vice President
KeyCorp
Cleveland, OH
Joe Faulhaber
President
Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland
Cleveland, OH
Joseph Faulhaber is president of Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland and has more than 10 years of experience developing, managing, and adapting mission-driven organizations to benefit the diverse communities they serve. He has a community-first mindset with a deep passion for creating systems and infrastructure that give people the opportunity to succeed. At Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland, he helps 25,000+ K–12 students from predominately low- to moderate-income areas prepare for successful futures through classroom-based and after-school programs. Prior to joining Junior Achievement, Mr. Faulhaber was an executive director at Community Counseling Services, where he worked closely with nonprofit leadership teams to create, operate, and execute next-level campaign strategies. He has also held various positions at the Greater Cleveland Partnership.
Why is serving on this council important to you?
Serving on the Fed’s inaugural Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council gives me an opportunity to provide a voice for the tens of thousands of young people Junior Achievement (JA) serves annually. The majority of students JA serves come from low- to moderate-income communities in Greater Cleveland and, as such, experience social and economic barriers when contemplating their futures. My hope is that through my involvement on this council, I can advocate on students’ behalf and raise awareness about the many challenges they face when beginning the journey to their careers.
Sean Grant
Chief Administrative Officer
Columbus Partnership
Columbus, OH
Sean Grant is chief financial officer and chief administrative officer for One Columbus and the Columbus Partnership and the chief financial officer of Smart Columbus. Mr. Grant began his career at KeyBank before moving to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland as a bank examiner and then to a variety of banks across the Midwest and eastern United States. After spending some time in the pharmaceutical sector, he moved to the nonprofit sector, where he is today. He works with entrepreneurs, startups, and community advocates to provide people of color with greater opportunities for economic growth and to ensure that communities have equitable access to multigenerational wealth opportunities to reduce poverty and minimize the racial wealth gap. He has a BA in business management and marketing from Simpson College.
Why is serving on this council important to you?
This council presents the opportunity to join in something transformational. As a man of color, I understand that I have a unique viewpoint and have been provided experiences based on my career path that many others may have not. The ability to use those experiences in a way that will positively impact others is essential to me. Systemic racism permeates every aspect of our lives, society, institutions, and organizations. It's woven into the fabric of this country. Systemic changes could significantly impact the narrative or perception of banks and banking among people of color. Although it will require out-of-the-box thinking to overcome the legacies of bias, discrimination, and exclusion, I'm excited to know this is a real focus for the Federal Reserve. I believe there can be impactful change given the commitment of those in charge to this challenging and sometimes uncomfortable work.
Abdul Muhammad
Senior Vice President
WesBanco Bank
Lexington, KY
Abdul Muhammad is the senior vice president of residential lending in Kentucky and Southern Indiana for WesBanco, Inc. Having joined the Lexington-Fayette County NAACP in 2015, he served as its president for three years, finishing his term on December 31, 2020. He is a past chair of the Equity Council for Fayette County Public Schools and a past member of the High Street YMCA (Central Kentucky) board, where he chaired the fundraising committee. Mr. Muhammad currently serves as the district director for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc in Kentucky and as a board member for both the Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County and Fayette County Local Development Corporation. He has a BS in finance from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.
Name one way an organization can begin improving inclusion for its employees.
One way to accomplish this goal is to be intentional about mentoring and advocating for minorities who seek growth. By helping more minorities navigate the unspoken rules to growth in a company, you can help build confidence and remove unseen roadblocks that may exist. For those who have a seat at the table, they will need to be intentional about advocating for minorities who have put in the work but may not be known by senior leaders who are making leadership decisions.
Francisca García-Cobián Richter
Research Assistant Professor
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
Francisca García-Cobián Richter is a research assistant professor at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Prior to joining CWRU, she was a research economist in the Community Development Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Her research focuses on understanding social processes and policies that influence the wellbeing of marginalized groups in society. Recent projects involve estimating the effects of lead poisoning on education and developmental outcomes, the evaluation of interventions around child welfare and homelessness, and other impact analyses in the areas of neighborhood quality, housing instability, and health. She holds an MS in statistics and a PhD in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University.
What does fostering equity and inclusion look like in your own life?
As a social scientist, I have the responsibility to learn and teach about the role of social sciences and policy in shaping and combating racism. For instance, I developed a class that brought together the work of historians and a graphic toolkit by a computer scientist to explore the flawed arguments made by social scientists and statisticians in the early 1900s that linked race to crime. The class also covered the work of Black scholars and activists whose counterarguments hinged on data, logic, and expert knowledge. I am leading the development of classes at our school to prepare students to navigate and influence this new era of technology and data-driven solutions, with an emphasis on ethical guidelines to address disparate treatment based on race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration, and other statuses.
Sergio Robles
Assistant Professor of Marketing Instruction
Ohio University
Athens, OH
Sergio Enrique Robles is an assistant professor of marketing instruction at Ohio University, and he is actively involved in the Cleveland community. He is an alumni board member at Esperanza, Inc., a member of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, and a mentor with Global Cleveland. He holds an MA in international relations from Kyung Hee University and a PhD in business administration from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
What does fostering equity and inclusion look like in your own life?
Fostering equity and inclusion in my own life often involves incorporating young people into a professional network. Networking is crucial to success after college, especially for first-generation and minority students. I have benefited from networking throughout my life, and I actively incorporate my own students into my network to help them succeed.
Daniel Taylor
Executive Vice President
African American Chamber of Commerce Western PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Daniel Taylor is the executive vice president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania. Prior to his time at the chamber, he worked at PNC Bank for 17 years, most recently as a senior vice president and regional manager. Mr. Taylor currently serves on the board of George Junior Republic. He is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh Inc. and the FBI Citizens Academy. He has a BA in sociology from Knox College and holds a secondary teaching certificate.
Why is serving on this council important to you?
I always want to make a difference in the community. I also believe it is better to be in the right room than to be the smartest person in the room. This council is the right room at the right time.
Jack Thomas
President
Central State University
Wilberforce, OH
Jack Thomas is president of Central State University, where he worked with the university’s board of trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community stakeholders to develop the next university strategic plan under the mantra “Innovation is in our DNA.” He has spent more than 20 years serving in various capacities at several institutions of higher education and is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in higher education administration. He serves on the boards of the Marguerite Casey Foundation and the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education; the board of trustees of Stillman College; the American Council on Education Council of Fellows; and the NCAA Presidential Forum. He has been recognized by Minority Access, Inc. for his work helping to provide meaningful and transformative opportunities for racial minorities through mentorship and access at various universities.
Name one way an organization can begin improving inclusion for its employees.
The most effective way an organization can begin to improve inclusion for its employees is to listen—with the goal of understanding as opposed to responding. After really listening, engage employees at all levels in the development of strategies to improve inclusion. Now more than ever, employees desire to work for organizations that share and reflect their own core values. What better way to demonstrate an organization’s commitment to continuous improvement than to allow employees to help build and shape the culture?
Jeffery Weaver
Executive Vice President
KeyCorp
Cleveland, OH
Jeffery J. Weaver is an executive vice president at KeyCorp, where he is responsible for the ongoing risk assessment of the qualitative processes used to quantify, measure, and control risk across the enterprise and emerging risk assessment including climate change risk. He leads the Finance Committee of the board of directors of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center; is a member of the board of trustees of the Community Service Society of New York; serves on the Executive Committees of University Circle, Inc. and the Musical Art Association; and is a life member of the Cornell University Council. As a member of the Executive Leadership Council, an international Black corporate leader group, Mr. Weaver has been frequently recognized as one of the Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America by Savoy. He holds a BA in economics and government and an MBA in finance from Cornell University.
Name one way an organization can begin improving inclusion for its employees.
Diversity without inclusion is just an illusion. Inclusive organizations embrace the diversity of their teams and encourage staffers to bring their best selves to work, and celebrate the wide variety of cultural differences, personal attributes, and ethnic backgrounds of those who are different from them. A senior leader who joins or serves as a sponsor of an employee affinity group with which they have a little or no familiarity can serve as an inspiring practitioner of inclusive leadership.