James Burroughs, senior vice president, government and community relations, chief equity and inclusion officer at Children’s Minnesota, has been named a 2022 Notable Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Executive by Twin Cities Business!
This award recognizes James for his critical role in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion at Children’s Minnesota, and being a front-runner for DEI in the community. Since James joined Children’s Minnesota in 2019, he has led and developed a strategic plan to advance DEI; established an equity and inclusion internship program designed to provide a more racially diverse employee pipeline; enhanced and align the organization’s six employee resource groups (ERGs); designed a revised approach to safety, security and policing at Children’s Minnesota; and led an organizational commitment to transparency in the development of disaggregated racial data reporting for hiring, retention and supplier diversity.
Thanks to James’ strategic leadership, Children’s Minnesota has become a more diverse workplace; the organization’s executive leadership diversity increased from zero to 33%, and overall staff diversity increased from 19% to 24%, with a goal to reach 34% people of color representation among staff by 2024.
James is an experienced and devoted DEI leader not only at Children’s Minnesota, but also in the community. James was a founding member of the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity Steering Committee, and serves on the board of directors for local nonprofit organizations, AchieveMpls and the American Red Cross Twin Cities chapter, and serves on the advisory board for Youthprise.
“I am honored to receive this award for my efforts at Children’s Minnesota and the greater community,” said James. “I am proud that Children’s Minnesota is advancing in the direction of creating and sustaining a more diverse, equitable and inclusive work culture. Having this culture in place also improves the overall experience for our patients and families to feel valued, respected and supported.”
James will be recognized in the June/July print issue of Twin Cities Business and online at tcbmag.com.
See the announcement and full list of 2022 Notable DEI Executives on the Twin Cities Business website.