The Simmons Leadership Conference will be held on March 23, 2021. Save the date!
Learn MoreThe International Simmons Leadership Conference is heading to London, UK on November 15-16, 2021.
Learn MoreInformative, energizing and empowering, the Simmons Leadership Conference is the nation's leading one-day professional development event for women.
View the ProgramFrom candid keynotes to lively panel discussions, our speakers will inspire you to pursue your own path to principled leadership.
Learn About SpeakersLong recognized as the pre-eminent authority on women's leadership, the Simmons Leadership Conference is coming to London, UK in November 2021.
View the ProgramThis year's program features exceptional internationally-renowned speakers.
Learn about SpeakersFrom global Fortune 500 corporations to agile start-ups, our sponsors are innovators who recruit and develop talented women leaders.
View AllConsistently top-rated by sponsors, speakers and attendees alike, the Simmons Leadership Conference is without a doubt the most respected one-day event for business and professional women in the nation.
Get InvolvedWith the recent formation of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, Simmons has made an investment in ensuring that equity in leadership is a reality in our lifetime.
Learn MoreMembers of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership Strategic Advisory Board share the deep desire to foster equity, inclusion and gender parity in organizational leadership in our lifetime.
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Darlene R. Slaughter is a visionary with a passion to remove barriers and provide equal opportunities for all. As the Chief People Officer for March of Dimes, Darlene is leading a culture of engagement, innovation, accountability, trust, diversity and inclusion, and oversees talent management and development, recruitment, HR policy and D&I initiatives.
Prior to joining March of Dimes, Darlene served as the Chief Diversity Officer for United Way Worldwide. Her efforts expedited and advanced diversity and inclusion strategies, partnerships and initiatives throughout United Way’s footprint.
Proceeding her accomplishments at United Way Worldwide, she served as the Principal Consultant and Chair of Linkage Institute for Leading Diversity and Inclusion where she trained corporate leaders on developing and leading D&I initiatives in the workplace. Before Linkage, she led an integrated strategy to utilize and support the talents at Fannie Mae and designed the first Executive Diversity Council as its Chief Diversity Officer.
Darlene’s work in diversity and inclusion has been recognized in various ways. She has received many awards and honors, including SAVOY’s 2012 Top 100 Influential Women in Corporate America, Profiles in Diversity Journal’s list of Women Worth Watching, Black Enterprises’ Top Executives in Diversity, and Heart & Soul’s Women of Substance in Finance and graced the cover of Inclusion Magazine.
Darlene holds a M.S. in Human Resource Management and Organizational Development from American University and a B.S. in Elementary Education from Howard University.