City of Hope hires Angela Talton as first Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer

City of Hope, an independent cancer and diabetes research and treatment centre, has announced that Angela Talton has joined its executive leadership team as Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and inclusion (DE&I) today on 11th January.

Talton will provide leadership for City of Hope’s holistic and integrated efforts to continue its focus on building a diverse and inclusive culture at all levels of the enterprise. She will also lead the development of a new vision and strategy to advance DE&I at the independent biomedical research and treatment centre.

 “At City of Hope, we are committed to deepening our culture of diversity, equity and inclusion both in the workplace and through our continued efforts to bridge gaps in cancer research, access, treatment and outcomes in diverse populations across our country. Angela is an accomplished, proven leader who will help further our vision,” stated Debra Fields, Executive Vice President and Chief transformation Officer of City of Hope. 

Commenting on the role, Talton stated: “Compassion can be seen through City of Hope’s long history of valuing every single person and is exemplified in their patient treatment, family care and research facilities. From its roots over a century ago, this medical and research centre has nurtured a tradition of warm-hearted, whole-person care before, during and after treatment. I am excited to join City of Hope and to advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the health care industry where impact matters for patients, employees and the community at large.”

‘POWERFUL’ WOMAN IN CORPORATE DIVERSITY

Talton’s expertise in DE&I encompasses leadership development, recruitment and retention of talent, communication strategy, philanthropic giving, supplier diversity and analytics. Most recently, Talton successfully advised national clients through her firm, ALTalton Consulting. Prior to that, she served in several senior executive roles at industry leader Nielsen for nearly 12 years, including Chief Diversity Officer, Senior Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion, and Senior Vice President of Global Call Center Operations. It was there that she crafted a five-pronged strategy focused on accountability, career development, talent retention, supplier diversity and education.

Under her leadership, Nielsen’s reputation as a recognised leader in corporate diversity climbed in the rankings of DiversityInc’s list of top 50 companies for six consecutive years. During those years, the company also received a rating of 100% on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and received various other awards both domestically and internationally.

Throughout her career, Talton has held a variety of senior executive roles, including serving as a divisional Vice President at Sears Holding Corporation and as a Vice President of Business Processes at ALLTEL Communications Inc.

Talton was named one of the most powerful women in corporate diversity in 2019 by Black Enterprise magazine. She also was inducted into the Radio & Television Society Foundation’s Hall of Mentorship that year. Savoy magazine named her one of the most influential women in corporate America in 2012, 2014 and 2016. She earned a master’s degree in business management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.