Launching her career in 2010, Kendra C. Hunt steadily climbed the ranks in her industry starting as a dedicated trainer who is now a formidable and sought-after authority on achieving equality in the workplace. A recipient of the coveted Brandon Hall Award for professional excellence in human resources, Ms. Hunt’s proven areas of expertise and responsibilities include educating communities on ensuring diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B), influencing companies to change toward this end, and promoting cultural transformation.
Most recently as the DEI&B strategy manager at UKG Inc., Ms. Hunt led the Ambassador Program with a focus on creating global and internal advocates and equipping the software company with tools and resources to help them to communicate effectively. Her efforts supported UKG’s aim of providing solutions to help its corporate customers focus on their primary purpose: their people. Previously, for nearly a decade at Dell Technologies, Ms. Hunt held various key positions including, but not limited to, director of global diversity and inclusion for learning an development, global diversity and inclusion consultant, global employee resource group support lead, learning and development partner for talent management and diversity, and senior training advisor, all after starting as a senior training analyst.
Ms. Hunt holds the Foundations in Design Thinking Certificate among other career licenses and certifications along with a Master of Arts in marriage and family therapy and counseling from Southern Nazarene University and a Bachelor of Science in counseling psychology from the University of Central Oklahoma. Of all her accomplishments, she is the most proud of prioritizing giving back by mentoring young adult Black women. Believing in maximizing the impact and value of everything she does, Ms. Hunt relies on her cherished personal values of faith, family, and love. When advising emerging professionals, she tells them that the journey is not always easy and that there may be times when they might have to do more than someone else. Yet, she says, she encourages them to be themselves and to never get discouraged because their perseverance will open doors for themselves and give them the ability to reach back to help others.
A self-described “Okie from Muskogee” who grew up in a large family and is a Black, Indigenous woman with a disability, Ms. Hunt is passionate about her field because she fully appreciates “intersectionality and the importance of creating psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces.” She plans to continue to use her voice to influence, ally, and elevate others because she believes the deposits that people make today will have a ripple effect impacting future generations. Along with working, Ms. Hunt enjoys spending time with loved ones, traveling, and playing the flute.