The Team | Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Immediate Office of the Director

Kevin D. Williams, Esq.

Director

Kevin Williams is the Director of the NIH Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. He joins us from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where he was most recently Deputy Executive Director. In his previous role, Kevin oversaw the management and administration of the FTC, a federal agency with more than 1,200 staff. He also served as a member of the Pandemic Response Team, which assessed the effects of the coronavirus and its impact on FTC staff and operations. Before his role as FTC Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Workplace Inclusion, Kevin developed and implemented employee anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies while providing training across the agency.

He served as the subject matter expert for FTC on EEO and diversity and inclusion issues, representing the agency on internal and external committees tasked with addressing agency and broader EDI challenges, programs, and efforts. He initiated and led the FTC's Task Force on Racial Equity to address systemic workplace issues and develop agency goals to cultivate a high-performing, diverse, inclusive, equitable, and engaged workforce.

Kevin earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Morehouse College, Atlanta, and a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law, Washington, D.C.

Kay Johnson

Policy Advisor

Kay Johnson Graham has over 30 years of Human Resource Management experience working for the U.S. Federal government at the National Institutes of Health, NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. Kay Johnson Graham began her career serving as a Biologist for the U.S. Federal government for several years at the National Cancer Institute, NIH. Additionally, she became interested in bridging science, medicine and health related scientific employment opportunities to increase the diverse pool of applicants for Federal mission critical jobs. Later she acquired a position as an Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist working in fields of outreach/recruitment; Civil Rights law; and Equal Employment Opportunity erwhere she worked tirelessly to assist in connecting employment opportunities to diverse talent. Ms. Johnson Graham has extensive experience in talent acquisition and management, outreach, and Civil Rights law in employment. Ms. Johnson Graham has expanded her academic learning to acquire skills in strategic Human Resources Management, Diversity and Inclusion theory and application, as well as strategic workforce planning. Ms. Johnson Graham attained her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park. Also, she pursued a Master’s degree at Georgetown University in Human Resource Management with a focus on Diversity and Business. Ms. Johnson Graham is a native citizen of the U.S. She is working to establish new knowledge and expertise in the field of academic Human Resource Management to strategically meet the challenges and needs for the Federal Government. She is married and resides with her husband in Bethesda, Maryland.

Resolutions & Equity Division

Chinara Brown

Branch Director, Informal Complaints

Chinara A. Brown currently serves as the Branch Director of Informal Complaints. She started her federal career as a Clerk Typist in 1998 with the National Institutes of Health’s Student Temporary Employment Program in the Office of Research Services, Equal Employment Opportunity Office, and became a permanent NIH employee in 2001. With over 20 years of EEO experience, she’s held many positions within EDI; from Program Support Assistant, EEO Counselor, and Formal Complaints Specialist and now Branch Director. In her spare time, Chinara enjoys spending time with her family, friends, traveling and bingo.

Kenrick Small

Branch Director, Formal Complaints

Kenrick worked at the Food and Drug Administration since 2014 as a Formal Complaints Specialists and served as the Acting Director for Compliance and the Team Lead of the Compliance Team. He directed the coordination of assignments for all duties of the Compliance team including the preparation of accept/dismissal letters, issuance of reports of investigation, and transmittal of EEO complaint files, the processing of and the coordination of all appeals and remanded cases. From 2009-2013 Kenrick worked at the Department of Health and Human Services, as a Senior EEO Specialist. There he perform the full range of EEO services including, but not limited to complaint processing and adjudication functions, administering diversity management initiatives and administering affirmative employment and special emphasis programs. Kenrick’s EEO experience continues back to include Civil Rights Specialist, Attorney at Law, Probation Officer, Correctional Counselor, etc.

Kenrick earned his J.D., at Western New England College School of Law, Springfield, MA, and his Bachelors in Sociology at Springfield College in Springfield MA.

Jan Holland, Esq.

Branch Director, Investigations

Jan has over 20 years of professional experience in legal and managerial positions, serving her community in leadership roles in Federal, state, and local government, as well as private industry.

Jan currently serves as the Branch Director for Investigations within the Resolutions and Equity Division. She provides oversight and guidance to the staff of the Investigations Unit, ensuring that EEO investigations are timely, thorough, clear, concise, and legally sufficient.

Prior to joining the Resolutions and Equity Division, Jan served with the Social Security Administration (SSA) as Acting Deputy Director and Supervisor for Operations with the Center for Accommodations and Disabilities (CADS) under the Office for Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity (OCREO). Prior to joining CADS, Jan served with the Center for Conflicts Resolution (CCR) as the Team Lead for the EEO complaints Compliance Team, a Final Agency Decision Analyst, second-level reviewer, and as a Mediator. Jan received several Director's Awards at SSA, including awards for her role in establishing an in-house mediation team and improving the agency's timeliness in releasing final agency decisions. Jan was also recognized for developing the EEO Academy Training Program to train newly hired EEO analysts who joined the office. Prior to joining SSA, Jan adjudicated EEO decisions for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Employment Adjudication Division of the Office of Adjudication.

Jan also served in leadership roles for the District of Columbia government, serving as Director of the Policy Research and Analysis Division of the DC State Education Office, and as Deputy Director of the Student Hearing Office in the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

Jan credits her passion for justice and her legal foundation to the training she received as an attorney for the Juvenile Services Program with DC's Public Defender Service, as well as her work as an attorney with the Family Division of the Office of the Attorney General.

Jan has also enjoyed success as an entrepreneur with two business franchises, serving families throughout the DC Metropolitan area.

Jan graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA and the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC. She currently resides in the DC Metropolitan area. Jan views her two young adult children as a source of pride and achievement. She enjoys creating art, biking, beaches, gardening, and nature walks with the family's pet.

Guidance, Education, & Marketing Division

Kimberly Kirkpatrick

Director

Kimberly Kirkpatrick is the Director of the Guidance, Education, and Marketing Division. Since her arrival in March 2011, she has invigorated internal and external partnerships that support and provide reasonable accommodations to the disability community. Prior to joining NIH, Kimberly served as the Senior Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to monitoring EEO complaints and processing reasonable accommodations, she executed the Management Directive 715 for the Office of the Director and the Administration for Children and Families.

An alumnus of the University of Maryland, University College, Kimberly started her federal career in 1992 at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Since then, she has served as an EEO Counselor and Investigative Contracts Manager, and Co-Chaired a highly successful Special Emphasis Program. She has over 20 years of government service, including 15 years in the PBGC, Office of the General Counsel, Appeals Division. There, she was influential in implementing the use of the Workforce Recruitment Program for Students with Disabilities and directed the Organization’s first Job Shadowing Day and Diversity Day Observance. She also served as the Disability Program Manager and the Federal Women’s Program Manager. Kimberly is known for her ability to quickly assess issues, her strength in creative resolutions, and her forte in adapting to challenges.

Tanya Chakraborty

Acting Branch Director, Technology, Marketing, & Communications

Tanya Chakraborty is Acting Branch Director for the Office of Technology, Marketing and Communications. She is an integrated marketing communications professional with roots in corporate communications as an account lead with Edelman Public Relations. There she led media engagement and media training efforts for executive level spokespersons with the corporate reputation group. As she evolved in the media relations space, she eventually sought an experiential education in marketing by way of a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. In Evanston, IL, Tanya gained exposure to cultural anthropology and its relation to customer loyalty and branding among other courses that served as a springboard for her career trajectory.

After the completion of her master’s, she navigated the world of UX and branding and worked toward improving the customer journey in the banking and credit space for Discover Card and Capital One. She moved to the world of health at AARP as a full funnel omnichannel marketing lead. While driving their health cooperative marketing program, Tanya partnered closely with UnitedHealthcare, New York Life and Delta Dental to refine branding and develop lead generation marketing campaigns. Tanya ensured AARP upheld its brand promise as a trusted health partner to its 38-million-member base as they navigated the world of health and wellness after the age of 50.

Tanya is a champion for workplace engagement and has long been an advocate for democratizing the employee experience. She believes company trust and transparency are not only integral components of the customer experience but also critical to maintaining employee satisfaction. She is thrilled to be a part of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion where she can bridge her expertise with a mission-led team rooted in improving the employee experience.

Glenda Laventure, Esq.

Branch Director, Access & Equity

Glenda Laventure serves as the Branch Director of the Access & Equity Branch in the Guidance, Education, and Marketing Division. Prior to her acting role, Glenda served as an Accessibility Consultant with the NIH Reasonable Accommodation program. As a consultant, Glenda has worked closely with the NIH community and is committed to providing thoughtful and effective guidance and consultation to her internal and external customers.

Glenda is a Georgetown University graduate, earning a Master's degree in Human Resources with a focus on Strategic Human Capital Management. Prior to earning her Master's degree, Glenda earned her law degree from the University of D.C. and is admitted to practice law in both Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Data Analytics & Customer Outreach Division

Zam Haque

Director, Data Analytics and Customer Outreach

Zamiul Haque brings a wealth of quantitative and qualitative experiences from his federal, county, private sector, academic and DEI consulting roles. His passion is looking at how equity, diversity and inclusion, intertwined in organizations (through its people, practices, procedures and processes) are pivotal areas for meaningful change.

He has been involved with; workforce analysis, equity, diversity and inclusion analysis, and developing HR system tools with related reporting dashboards. Zam also developed and implemented; HR strategic plans, operating and academic policies, reward and recognition tools, recruiting programs, employee learning pathways, HR business processes workflows, all while managing people, teams and programs.

He received his BS from SUNY @ Albany, and his MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Zam has achieved the highest level of the Society of Human Resources senior level professional certification- SHRM-SCP. Zam had attained a Six Sigma, yellow belt from Florida's Sterling Council as well as recently completing his certification in Diversity and Inclusion from the University of South Florida. He has participated on equity, diversity and inclusion panels at non-profit conferences and served on program advisory board committees for the Lally School at Rensselaer.

Tamara Bruce, M.A.

Branch Director, Data Analytics

Tamara has been involved with various aspects of social science research and analysis for over twenty years. She started her research career at the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD, examining the sexual assault and harassment of military populations. Prior to joining the National Institutes of Health, Tamara worked as a federal contractor on the design, implementation, and analysis of large-scale government funded health outcome studies.

Tamara holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University with a focus on how diversity impacts psychological, behavioral, and organizational outcomes. Her primary interests among these areas have been the harassment and discrimination of individuals that possess multiple protected characteristics.

Nicole Ray

Branch Director, Customer Outreach & Employee Development

Nicole Ray serves as the Director for Customer Outreach and Employee Development Branch in the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Nicole began her Federal Career at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) where she served as the lead administrator in the Office of the Scientific Director. While in NIDDK, Nicole developed innovative programs focused on creating equity and opportunities for underserved communities both in and outside of the Federal Government.

Nicole started her career and work in public service as seventh grade math, science and social studies teacher in Prince George's County, Maryland. During her time as an educator, Nicole created a nonprofit organization for girls focused on mentoring, leadership and community service.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Maryland College Park and a Master of Business Administration from University of Maryland University College.

In addition to taking part in community service and advancing equity, Nicole enjoys investing in art, designing clothing, and most recently restoring furniture.

Diversity & Inclusion Division

Danny Dickerson

Director, Diversity and Inclusion

Mr. Danny Dickerson is the Director, Division of Inclusion and Diversity, for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is primarily responsible for overseeing the administration of the Affirmative Employment Programs and managing a robust Diversity and Inclusion Portfolio. Mr. Dickerson has also served as the EDI Senior Policy Advisor, as well as a Reasonable Accommodations consultant.

Mr. Dickerson is also a member of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) training cadre, where he is responsible for conducting training in the areas of Anti-Bullying, Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance, Civil Treatment, and LGBTI training (Safezone).

Previously Mr. Dickerson was a Senior Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist (EEO) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Mr. Dickerson retired from the United States Air Force after twenty years of service. He is married to his high school sweetheart and the father of two wonderful children.

David Rice

Branch Director, Special Emphasis Programs

David Rice graduated in 2009 from the Catholic University of America with a degree in Psychology, focusing on social stigmas of people with Intellectual Disabilities. He works at the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). During his first four years at EDI, he served as the Principal Strategist for People with Disabilities at NIH. He now serves as EDI's Branch Director for the Special Emphasis Portfolio branch.

Being Deaf since he was 4, he has a strong interest in Disability Community. His work within the disability community started as a sophomore in high school, where he worked summer camps for children with intellectual and physical disabilities. While in college, he was part of the first American Sign Language (ASL) program, where students lived in a dorm where hearing and Deaf students shared their desire to learn American Sign Langauge. He was also active in outreach efforts for people with disabilities at Catholic University Disability Center.

Additionally, David served as President of DIG (Deaf in Government) from 2014 to 2018. DIG empowers Deaf and Hard of Hearing Federal Employees to overcome communication barriers, resolve accessibility issues, and promote a fully inclusive work environment through networking and fostering professional growth. Some of David's accomplishments are initiating a workforce complaint program, developing a training program that promotes career development in the federal government, establishing partnerships with different organizations, and creating networking and mentoring opportunities.

David is passionate about changing the cultural stigma placed on people with disabilities. His proudest achievement in changing the culture was by changing the NIH mission statement. Additionally led the DeafNIH Employee Resource Group at NIH for those who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing by working. Lastly, David spearheads an accessibility project to make the NIH a fully accessible environment for all people at NIH. In his spare time, David enjoys golf and all things Pittsburgh.