March of Dimes, the leading nonprofit fighting for the health of moms and babies, today announced the appointment of Darlene Slaughter as Chief People Officer, responsible for leading all Human Resources functions and implementing strategies that support the organization’s overall business objectives.
Slaughter, an experienced Human Resources practitioner and frequent speaker on diversity and inclusion (D&I) topics, will work with organizational leaders to forecast talent needs and gaps, as well as spearhead staff training and career development. Slaughter will also be responsible for creating an organization wide strategy for integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout March of Dimes.
“Darlene’s expertise in human resources management, coupled with her knowledge and passion for creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce, will be a tremendous asset to our team,” said March of Dimes President Stacey D. Stewart. “We couldn’t be happier to welcome her to the organization.”
Prior to March of Dimes, Slaughter was Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at United Way Worldwide, the world’s largest privately-funded nonprofit, where she worked with local United Ways and communities to advance D&I initiatives. Slaughter held the same title at Fannie Mae, where over the course of her 20-year career she helped develop and support a diverse and inclusive workforce, provide strategic direction on workforce redesign and organizational change, and represented the organization’s diversity and inclusion initiatives at public events. She also worked at Linkage, a leadership development firm, where she chaired the Institute for Leading Diversity and Inclusion.
Throughout her career, Slaughter has received awards and recognition for her work from a variety of sources including Inclusion Magazine, which featured her on their Fall 2018 cover, Savoy’s “2012 Top Influential Women in Corporate America,” profiles in Diversity Journal’s list of “Women Worth Watching,” Black Enterprises’ “Top Executives in Diversity and Heart and Soul’s “Women of Substance in Finance.”
“It’s an honor to join March of Dimes and support its vital mission for moms and babies by attracting and retaining the best talent, and helping shape the organizational culture,” Slaughter said. “This is an exciting time for me, and I am looking forward to working with partner organizations to elevate the public discourse on D&I issues in the nonprofit sector.”