MILWAUKEE — HGA is pleased to welcome Terri Howard as Associate Vice President and inaugural Director of Equity.
In this newly created executive role, Howard will serve as a thought leader to drive equity initiatives, develop hands-on programming, organize firmwide resources, and build external partnerships that position HGA as an industry model in workplace equity, recruitment and retention, and client relations.
She will be based out of the Milwaukee office while reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and stakeholders across the firm’s 11 national offices.
“The Director of Equity position is an important opportunity to further champion our strategic plan focused on three pillars of research, equity, and collaboration,” said Tim Carl, FAIA, LEED AP, Chief Executive Officer of HGA. “Terri will be instrumental in initiating a proactive, firmwide view of equity where all are embraced, valued, and included.”
Howard has extensive experience implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) plans for nonprofit organizations, government entities, and Fortune 500 companies, including Dane County in Wisconsin, the City of New York, Hyatt Corporation, University of Wisconsin System, and Harris Health Systems in Harris County, Texas.
“HGA has done much of the foundational work to establish a creative workplace that supports curiosity, diverse thinking, and professional achievement,” Howard said. “Over the next several months, I will build on the firm’s existing equity work, introducing greater opportunities to listen and learn among colleagues and craft a workplace approach that benefits our teams, partners and clients. The real work comes when we weave equity into the fabric of the firm and design industry. HGA is poised to move forward as a thought leader. I’m excited to meet people where they are and help lead HGA forward.”
Before joining HGA, Howard was Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Herzing University in Milwaukee, where she furthered the university’s mission to serve students across nine campuses and online.
Previously, she was Senior Director for FEI Behavioral Health, a workplace consultancy in Milwaukee, where she led DEI, organizational resilience, and behavioral health programs serving organizations worldwide.
Howard is a Doctoral candidate in Emergency Management Leadership from Capella University. She has a Master of Public Service Leadership from Capella, a Bachelor of Human Services Administration/Education from Chatham University, and a Certificate in Workplace Diversity and Inclusion from Capella.
