Dawn Harris has been appointed to the newly created position of director of diversity and inclusion at the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards’ Center for Financial Planning, the board announced Monday.
Harris will be responsible for advancing diversity and inclusion programs and growing the number of diverse CFP professionals within the financial planning profession, the board said. The number of women and minorities in the profession remains far below the number in the population as a whole.
“CFP Board and the center are committed to advancing a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the financial planning workforce,” CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller said in a statement. “Dawn brings experience and skills that will strengthen our D&I strategic objectives and programs that help drive a more diverse financial profession.”
Harris will report to the center's managing director, D.A. Abrams. As part of her new role, Harris will identify, develop and implement the center's key diversity and inclusion initiatives to increase the number of women and people from minority populations in the CFP certification pipeline. She will also be the lead subject matter expert on the center’s annual Diversity Summit, the board said in a statement.
Firms that don't develop diverse workforces are missing huge opportunities among women and minority populations, said Abrams in an interview Monday. Those seeking financial advice want to know the firms they work with are committed to having a diverse workforce, he said.
“Dawn possesses a strong record of leading and managing diversity programs and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders,” said Abrams. “Her key responsibility is to expand access to competent and ethical financial planning by increasing the number of diverse CFP professionals.”
Harris has more than 15 years of experience in program development and execution, in diversity and inclusion initiatives and in community engagement and marketing. Most recently, she served as managing director of diversity and inclusion at NASCAR. She previously worked as director of marketing for the Women’s Foodservice Forum in Chicago and as marketing consultant for the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance in Minneapolis.