News & UpdatesDr. Karen A. Stout, president and CEO of Achieving the Dream (ATD) announced today that Jia Osiel, who has spent more than 20 years in Human Resources (HR) leadership positions advancing equity and inclusion for major corporations and institutions, will become ATD’s Chief Talent and Equity Officer, effective October 31, 2022.
In her role, Osiel will design strategies to strengthen ATD’s capacity to build and grow the organization’s dynamic teams of staff, experts, consultants and coaches so that ATD can meet new demands in the field and become an even greater catalyst for college and community transformation.
“Jia will support ATD in becoming a more equitable, inclusive and high performing non-profit modeling the expectations we hold for our colleges,” says Dr. Karen A. Stout, president and CEO of ATD. “Her early focus will be on strategic leadership development and career pathing across the organization, especially with our middle leaders, as well as leading the shaping and implementation of ATD’s own racial equity, diversity and inclusion plan.”
“Every field needs equitable people-centered strategies, policies, and practices to build a diverse workforce with a wide range of knowledge and skills for serving the diverse communities we live in, and to make HR and Talent Development a key part of organizational core competencies.” Osiel says. “I am excited about making a difference in the education field through leveraging my extensive leadership skills and experience across various industries to help Achieving the Dream build its organizational capacity for serving the nation’s most reform-minded community colleges. Education and lifelong learning have opened up doors for me, taken me to places unimaginable, enriched my life experience, and empowered me to grow continuously to make this world a better place.”
Most recently, Jia was the Senior Director, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, People and Culture at BP where she led the development of BP’s global diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy “Aim 14: Greater Equity” to support its growth and business transformation to be more equitable and link DEI to its sustainability and environmental, social, governance efforts. She has also served as the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Exelon Corporation, the Culture and Talent Lead at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and for more than 10 years in various leadership roles in Global Training, Learning & Development and Diversity & Inclusion at McDonald’s Corporation.
Aside from her professional accomplishments, Osiel also has a strong passion for community engagement and enjoys giving back through her volunteer work with non-profit organizations focused on diversity and for youth-serving groups and public schools. She has recently been recognized as a DEI Champion Awardee by National Diversity Council at its 2021 National Diversity & Leadership Conference.
Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, Osiel is a native speaker of Taiwanese and Mandarin Chinese, and holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Providence University in Taiwan as well as a number of professional certifications including as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from HRCI, a Professional Agile Leadership (PAL) Certificate from Scrum, an Advanced Project Strategy Certification from the University of Chicago, and a Strategic Management Certificate from the Balanced Scorecard Institute.