Gwendolyn McCoy
Gwendolyn McCoy (she/her/hers) is a Lead Consultant at Diversity@Workplace Consulting Group. She stands at the forefront of entrepreneurship and diversity and inclusion. She is an HR professional and diversity and inclusion practitioner with expertise in strategy, compliance, program and event design/management, training and development, and branding and communications.
Background
Gwendolyn joined John Hancock/Manulife as the US Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in 2020. During her tenure she built a multiyear strategy with an emphasis on people, culture, business and community. She collaborated across the enterprise to increase representation of different dimensions of diversity, worked with employee resource groups focused on belonging and infusing DEI principles in the company’s business and community initiatives.
Prior to that, she partnered with domestic and international firms as a Senior Consultant with Diversity@Workplace, a consultancy focused on learning solutions, strategy, and process redesign to improve talent acquisition, retention, and engagement.
Before joining D@W, Gwendolyn built and managed enterprise-wide programs at Massachusetts’ largest health insurance carrier. Her signature program, Women@Blue, focused on career development and girl empowerment and has been recognized, along with other D&I programs, as Boston Business Journal’s Best Diversity Initiatives in 2014.
Accomplishments
Gwendolyn sits on panels, delivers learning solutions and facilitates conversations for organizations looking to advance DEI in their firms. She also harnesses passion, expertise, and resources in the community as a member of the Board of The Greater Boston YMCA, the Cornerstone Collaborative, and Encuentro Diaspora Afro (EDA), a non-profit that empowers the Afro-Latino community with an emphasis on middle and high school students. Gwendolyn received the 2015 President’s Award from the Boston Branch of the NAACP for chairing the Branch’s Centennial Celebration.
Gwendolyn is the Founder and Principal of MS Creative Group. Floral design, event design, small business development, and communications are some of the many services offered. Make Scents Floral Design was featured in the United States Postal Service ad campaign Small Business Solutions.
Education
Gwendolyn holds an MBA from Bentley with concentrations in marketing and entrepreneurship. She holds a graduate certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and a designation as a Certified Diversity and Inclusion practitioner through the National Diversity Council. She is a graduate of the Fellows Program of The Partnership Inc.