Three leaders of diversity and inclusion, including son of founder, join Chicago Sinfonietta’s Board of Directors
Chicago, IL – Chicago Sinfonietta is pleased to announce the addition of three leaders specializing in the diversity, inclusion, and support fields to its Board of Directors: Douglas C. Freeman, President of Global Reflections and Inclusive Leadership Practice, UWG; T. Robertson Carter, longtime activist and philanthropist/champion of the arts; and Dr. Ebbie Parsons, III, Managing Partner, Yardstick Management. These new members make a total of five influential leaders this season that have joined one of the nation’s most diverse non-profit boards.
Scott Hoesman, Chair of the Board of Directors and CEO and Founder of inQUEST Consulting in Chicago made the announcement, welcoming the new members from his home.
Douglas C. Freeman is the President of the Global Reflections and Inclusive Leadership inclusion practice at UniWorld Group, Inc. a global, multicultural, communication and advertising firm which provides a deep portfolio of holistic diversity and inclusion best practices. UWG at 51 years old is the oldest Multicultural/DEI firm in the United States. Mr. Freeman and UWG have completed diversity and inclusion projects for some of the world’s leading organizations, from Disney and Major League Baseball to Morgan Stanley and the European Union Commission in Brussels.
Mr. Freeman has served as Vice Chairman of the United Nations Gender Equality Experts Panel, was named a 40Under40 business leader by the NYC Network Journal and is a former board trustee of Georgetown College (US educational partner of Regents Park College, Oxford University). He recently served on the Dean’s Alumni Leadership Council at the JFK School of Government, Harvard University.
The son of Chicago Sinfonietta’s founder, Emmy Award-winning conductor Maestro Paul Freeman, Mr. Freeman holds a Master in Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University, an MBA Essentials credential from the London School of Economics, along with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley. He attended Harvard University on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and completed his graduate degree focused on International Trade and Finance.
An active member of the arts community, T. Robertson Carter was founding director of the Leadership Circle at the Museum of Contemporary Art and has been supportive of art and social justice programs at Nova Southeastern University, Perez Art Museum Miami and Institution for Contemporary Art. Prior to her work in Miami, Ms. Robertson Carter worked in Brand Management for Levi Strauss & Co., and launched the clothing line OSO (sold at Barney’s New York, which was featured in Elle and Cosmopolitan magazines).
She is the Founding Board Chair of South Florida CARES, a group-mentoring initiative focused on the social and emotional wellness of challenged youth. As the local chapter of National CARES, its mission is to secure and transform the lives of Black children by inspiring, recruiting, training, and mobilizing masses of caring adults to mentor and nourish them. South Florida CARES has broken new ground by allying the program with Starbucks CARES, an initiative that establishes Starbucks stores in under-served neighborhoods and supports revitalization efforts through job training and engagement with students.
Dr. Ebbie Parsons, III, a seasoned business executive with a passion for intentional impact, has been applauded for his strategic thinking, engaging leadership, and results orientation throughout his successful career. After working at Fortune 500 companies including Intel, Medtronic and American Express, in 2007 Dr. Parsons, III transitioned from a promising business career to join the prestigious Broad Residency Program in Educational Leadership, where he served as the Chief Operating Officer of Hartford Public Schools. Additional posts include founding team member of the groundbreaking Relay Graduate School of Education, and Chief Operating Officer of the third-largest Charter Management Organization in the U.S., Mosaica Education, Inc. where he managed over 80 schools across eight states, Washington, D.C., the Middle East, and Asia.
Dr. Parsons, III, launched Yardstick Management in 2012. Less than a decade later, Yardstick is a world thought leader and powerhouse providing specialized Management, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Talent consulting services to renowned mission-driven brands and organizations across the globe.
Dr. Parsons, III holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Florida A&M University, an MBA from the University of Minnesota, and a Doctorate in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. He has also served as a Faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education. Amongst the boards on which he has served are the boards of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Lighthouse Academies, and the Atlanta Music Project (an El Sistema Program). Dr. Parsons, III, is a Fellow with the Pahara Institute, the Aspen Institute, and the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Chicago Sinfonietta’s progressive board is 54% female, 46% Black, 7% Latino, and 11% Asian and has a 15-member Associate Board that is equally diverse.
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