Desiree U.

Desiree is no stranger to working to advance diversity; early in her career she worked alongside the vice chair of UNESCO, offering program-level insight into the United Nations Millennium Development Goals—especially those related to the advancement of minorities, women and youth.

She also runs a women’s empowerment organization and, with her husband, a non-profit for young athletes.

She’s worked at WCG since 2015, and she’s committed to letting other Black women know they have a place at WCG and supporting their advancement: “I really try to find opportunities to advance the initiative for the career growth, and development of our Black women at WCG.”

There’s also an external component: “How do we get the minority community involved in clinical trials? How do we diversify those trials?” One approach is to reach out to the Black women who are matriarchs of the family, she says. “Our ERG has a great opportunity to advance clinical research within minority communities.”

She has the same passion leading her teams. “I’ve always taken a diversity approach to management. Honestly, I didn’t know that there was any other approach,” she explains. At WCG, she’s empowered to do that. “I was able to connect with people who allowed my best skills to shine.“ Many companies talk about diversity and inclusion,” she says, but WCG is working to make that happen. “It’s good business to bring people to the table who have different perspectives and different resources—you just get more done.”