Designation.One
Working towards more diversity on boards

and for organizations embracing inclusive board practices.

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ABOUT US

Designation.one connects companies, public and charitable organisations embracing inclusivity with talent from underrepresented groups wanting to serve on the board of directors, trustees, or governors.

Our mission is driven by the belief in a future where leadership levels reflect our societies, to allow talent to advance and provide opportunities to make positive contributions through good governance.

Join us in this effort!

 

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Meet Our Team

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Melanie Whittaker

(Co-Founder)

Melanie Whittaker
(Co-Founder)
Melanie is a senior executive with extensive international experience in the private and public sector. She has a proven track record with over two decades identifying and selecting interdisciplinary and diverse leadership talent. She is a trusted advisor to leaders from the grassroots level to the halls of power and experiences in  cultivating and building
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Wade A. Hinton

(Co-Founder)

Wade A. Hinton
(Co-Founder)
Wade A. Hinton is a senior leader with extensive experience in the private and public sector in law, policy, diversity & inclusion, and external relations. Highly skilled in risk management and governance procedures and policies and a proven track record managing complex litigation and transactions. Previous roles include the office of General Counsel/City Attorney for
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Gudula Goscomb

(Operations Director)

Gudula Goscomb
(Operations Director)
Gudula is an experienced Director of Operations and Finance with a demonstrated history of working in the legal, publishing, consulting and recruiting industry. She has been an integral member of senior management teams and is highly skilled in business operations, contract negotiation, change management, project management, HR, finance and IT projects. She provides effective and sound
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Advisory Board

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Kristen Hess

Kristen Hess
Kristen M. Hess, AIA is an architect, business owner, international fellow, and community organizer. Driven by her passion for sustainable design and an advocacy-centered approach to working with clients, Kristen started HH Architecture in 2005. Since then, her business has grown to nearly 50 employees, designing major landmark projects like the Steve Troxler Agricultural Sciences
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Hollis Meminger

Hollis Meminger
Hollis Meminger is a renowned cinematographer with numerous film and television credits such as: The Blacklist (NBC), Narcos (Netflix) and Younger (TV Land), for which he was Emmy nominated. He is currently working on a sequel to the Academy Award Nominated film, Streetwise. He is a passionate documentarian, focusing on projects which feature marginalized communities.
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Reena Ranger

Reena Ranger
Reena is an experienced political leader with a successful career having been elected most recently to Hertfordshire County Council, where she serves as Deputy Executive Member for Highways and Transport and previously was the Deputy Executive Member for Public Health and Community Safety. She has been one of the elected District Councillors for Moor Park & Eastbury for the last decade. She
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Kerry M. Thompson

Kerry M. Thompson
Kerry M. Thompson is the Founder & Executive Director for Silent Rhythms, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to achieving inclusion in the arts while conversely using the arts to promote inclusion in society. She is a renowned dance instructor and has performed worldwide including in Paris and Havana. She has been featured in Boston Globe,
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Emine Bozkurt

Emine Bozkurt
Ms. Bozkurt is the Chair of the EU High Level Group on Gender Equality in Sport. This highlevel group will make proposals for future actions to the Commission, the member states and the sport movement in the field of Gender Equality in sport. Topics related to girls and women’s participation in sport, female coaches, women’s
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Cordell Carter

Cordell Carter
Internationally recognized for cross-sector successes in philanthropy, education, and technology; Cordell is currently managing principal of Expectant Advisory, anequity-focused consulting collaborative, and the executive director of the Aspen Institute Socrates Program, a global education forum. Before his current roles, Cordell held leadership roles with the TechTown Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Business Roundtable, National
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Dean Fealk

Dean Fealk
Dean Fealk is an award-winning international attorney, WSJ bestselling author and civic leader bridging sectors to partner alongside business, government, and NGOs to promote international security, democracy, and shared prosperity. As Northern California co-managing partner of global law firm DLA Piper, he advises multinational companies on key strategic and legal issues related to growing their
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Partners

Interested in partnering with us?

If you are interested in partnering with us, there are several opportunities to do so from using our dashboard to working with us directly to identifying and training board talent as well as establishing best board practices.

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Inclusive boards lead

Designation.One is pleased to partner with like-minded organizations that share our vision of board rooms leaders reflecting the societies they operate in. Research proves again and again that more inclusive boards lead to greater innovation and decision-making leading towards sustainable growth.

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QUIZ

Designation.one's focus is to help organizations succeed in diversifying their boards and embrace reflective & inclusive leadership at board level, and a comittment to good governance.

Individual

No matter what stage in your career you are at, we believe in your potential to bring your individual skills to shine on an inclusive board.

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Organization

No matter the stage of your board, we believe there is always an opportunity to make your board more diverse and inclusive.

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1 We aim to break down the exclusivity and barriers to board service by building pipelines of potential and current diverse and inclusive board members, trustees, and governors through the development of an open web-based matching tool.
2 We assist diverse talent in making connections and career choices to include board service with increasing responsibility. We create pathways from entrance into board service with foundations and non-profits to for-profit boards.
3 We provide guidance on diversity and inclusion practices into board statutes, and in the development of open, skills-based recruitment, as well as state of the art board practices.

Philosophy

Steering Diverse Talents to Inclusive Boards

Designation.one’s aim is to steer diverse talent from underrepresented groups to accelerate their leadership potentials. After working closely with the companies and organizations, both private and philanthropic, we observed, that organizations continue to be set up from homogenous groups, particularly at the board level. We believe there is an opportunity to support organizations in embracing more diverse board and inclusive practices. To achieve our desire for boardrooms to reflect the full diversity of our societies, we have created Designation.one to assist in the recruitment and advancement…

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Corporate Social Responsibility

<p>Designation.One is proud to partner with Southall Black Sisters, a London-based charity providing information, advice, advocacy, practical help, counselling, and support to women and children experiencing domestic and sexual violence, including sex trafficking, dowry abuse, and forced marriage. Southall Black Sisters also supports friends and relatives attempting to assist a woman or child experiencing violence and abuse. Southall Black Sisters focuses on Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnics. A percentage of every membership will go directly to Southall Black Sisters to support their work with the most vulnerable of our societies</p>
Find Out More //southallblacksisters.org.uk

FAQ's

Designation.One is a platform connecting companies, charities and foundations embracing inclusivity with talent from underrepresented groups wanting to serve on the board of directors/trustees, or governors.

Companies, non-profits, foundations and public sector bodies can register on the platform and post their board vacancies with a description of the expertise sought in board members. Individuals can register and post their profiles, expertise, and resumes and search the dashboard for open board vacancies.

As an individual, you can sign up for regular notifications based on your expertise or interest and will receive them into your inbox. You can also research our dashboard for vacancies.
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