Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick and Freada Kapor Klein, Ph.D. Elected to Joint Center Board of Governors

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, one of the nation’s leading research and public policy institutions focusing primarily on African-American issues, has announced former Michigan Congresswoman Carolyn C. Kilpatrick and Freada Kapor Klein, Ph.D., a philanthropist and an expert on issues of discrimination and diversity, have been elected to three-year terms on its board of governors.

Congresswoman Kilpatrick served on the House Appropriations Committee and as chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and is the owner and Managing Partner of J&A Global Partners, LLC, a consulting company that specializes in management and administration issues for businesses and government agencies.

Dr. Klein is a trailblazer on discrimination and diversity issues having worked in the field since the early 1970s. She co-founded the first U.S. organization to offer comprehensive services, training and consultation on sexual harassment to both the private and public sectors. She was also the first Director of Employee Relations for Lotus Development Corporation. More recently, as President of Klein Associates, Inc., she has designed, conducted and analyzed employee surveys and provided intervention in training, consultation and policy development.

In addition, Dr. Klein has contributed to closing the divide for minorities in STEM related related field. She founded the Level Playing Field Institute to help eliminate barriers faced by people of color in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“I’m honored to be elected to the Joint Center Board of Governors,” Dr. Klein says. “Nothing would make me happier than to help bring together the worlds represented by the Joint Center and those who are working hard to create access and success for people of color in STEM education and careers.”

Dr. Klien tells Black Web 2.0, “not only do we need to expand the pipeline of people of color in tech (which we have been doing at the Level Playing Field Institute through our Summer Math and Science Honors Academy for low income high school students of color, but we also need to work to make tech organizations more welcoming of diverse talent.  Our country needs to nurture all of its talent if we’re going to have a thriving economy.”

The Joint Center believes with the direction and encouragement of Congresswoman Kilpatrick and Dr. Klein the organization will be better positioned to meet challenges for all Americans.

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