Sign up to get updates from us
This was the first interview I conducted for The Rutledge Perspective a couple of years ago now. Dina Clark embodies what it means to be living and working in your passion. And not just because you like it but because it is fundamental to who you are....
This was the first interview I conducted for The Rutledge Perspective a couple of years ago now. Dina Clark embodies what it means to be living and working in your passion. And not just because you like it but because it is fundamental to who you are. Be prepared for her story, because the beginning of her journey has an event that is quite unbelievable, yet in our current environment, not necessarily surprising. You will leave inspired and ready to listen to what’s in your spirit and take action to move into your purpose.
About Dina Clark: In August 2015, Dina Clark began her role with Covestro LLC as the Head of Diversity & Inclusion at their North American headquarters based in Pittsburgh. In this role, Dina spearheads the development and implementation of diversity strategies and initiatives for Covestro across the United States, and in collaboration with Covestro’s office in Mexico. This includes leading efforts to engage employees across the business as well as establish and manage the company’s diversity councils and employee resource groups. Dina is also working in partnership with the company president and leadership team to align Covestro’s diversity and inclusion goals with the business goals, which includes working in conjunction with the procurement department on Supplier Diversity. Dina also serves on Covestro’s global diversity and inclusion council, as well as the global core team, currently based in Leverkusen, Germany. Prior to her role with Covestro, Dina served as the Senior Director of Equity & Advocacy with the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh, where she ran the YWCA’s Center for Race and Gender Equity, which works to support the YWCA’s focus on eliminating racism and empowering women through racial justice, community engagement and advocacy efforts. Prior to this position, she Show Notes Summary served as the first Executive Director of the Western Pennsylvania Diversity Initiative (WPDI), a not-for-profit economic development membership organization dedicated to promoting regional economic growth by providing resources to employers in the Greater Pittsburgh region to attract, hire, and retain employees from a variety of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Dina also served as Regional Education Project Director for the Anti-Defamation League, which serves Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia. Based in Pittsburgh, she worked to provide educational resources and anti-bias training for school administrators, teachers and students, as well as colleges and universities, community based organizations and corporations across all four states. Dina’s interest areas in diversity, equity and inclusion are complimented by her strong training background. Specifically she addresses such topics as equity, anti-bias education, diversity and inclusion strategy, employee and community engagement, and leadership development, and has been dedicated to this work for over 20 years. She has conducted several presentations nationwide including workshops for Family Communications Inc/Producers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Vassar College, University of Michigan, Magnet Schools of New York, New York State Department of Health, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In addition to training, in 2006 Dina was selected for a fellowship with the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. and was named as one of Pittsburgh’s 40 under 40 leaders by Pittsburgh Magazine. In 2009, she was also named one of 50 recipients of the "Women of Excellence" award, from the Pittsburgh Courier, and in 2015 recipient of the Allegheny County Bar Association Homer S. Brown Spirit Award and in 2017 she was featured in the Women & Business section of Pittsburgh Magazine for the work she does in developing and strengthening D & I strategy. In 2018 Dina also was recognized at the City & State PA’s inaugural award ceremony, Above and Beyond: Honoring Women of Public and Civic Mind in Philadelphia. Dina is very involved in the Pittsburgh community. She is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh Inc (Class XXIII), and she currently serves on several boards and advisory committees. In addition, Dina has also worked as a professional tester for housing discrimination for the Fair Housing Partnership of Pittsburgh and as a diversity/anti-bias trainer for the Anti Defamation League. In 2012, she was selected as a participant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Citizen’s Academy, Class XIII and served as a board member of the FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association for six years. Dina has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology/Child & Family Studies from Syracuse University, a Master’s Degree from Duquesne University, with a focus on global leadership and she is currently working on her Doctorate in Education at Point Park University, with a focus on leadership and administration, and in 2019 Dina completed The Advanced Leadership Initiative, Executive Leadership Academy at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.
About Laurel:
Laurel Rutledge’s human-centered approach, empathy, and understanding of individual needs make her a top-notch personal advisor and women’s leadership coach.
Her care and compassion have made her an indispensable guide for countless women navigating the next phases of their lives and careers. Add to that her intimate knowledge of the HR landscape, and it becomes clear why her HR clients have had such transformative experiences. Just as Rutledge has helped countless others get out of their rut and off of the ledge, so too can she help you.
After receiving her MBA, Laurel moved from accounting and consulting to human resources, driven by a desire to do good in a business environment. It quickly became apparent that the switch had been a good choice — she flourished professionally and became happier, satisfied with the difference she could make through her work.
After a 30-year career, she left the corporate world, but her passion for HR and helping others has only grown. Now, she works one-on-one with clients, leveraging her experience in leadership and personal development to help them get the most of out their lives and careers.
From her beginnings as a consultant at Deloitte to her time as VP of HR at Covestro, Laurel has seen more sides of the business world than most. She’s achieved technical mastery of HR, with a deep knowledge of the rules and regulations that must be followed.
She’s also a people person, perceptive and outgoing, with a sixth sense for helping others to see the difference between what they want and what they need. The culmination of this is in her personal philosophy: “lead with your heart, act with your head.”
Find out more at https://laurelrutledge.com
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.
Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!
Subscribe to the podcast
If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. You can also subscribe from the podcast app on your mobile device.
Leave us an iTunes review
Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on iTunes, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on iTunes.
Here are some great episodes to start with.
