Coastal Bend Healthcare Diversity Summit

Lisa Rosser started The Value Of a Veteran in 2006, after recognizing an unmet need. At the time, veteran unemployment rates were skyrocketing and there was an erroneous perception that the reason for that high unemployment rate was because veterans lacked skills that were valued in the civilian workplace. Lisa believed that at least half the problem was that civilian recruiters and hiring managers had no exposure to the military, and were therefore not seeing the real value those veterans could bring to their organizations. Lisa combined her 22 years of military experience (both active Army and Army Reserve) with her 16 years of human resources / recruiting / diversity programs and training development experience and created training content specifically for recruiters, hiring managers and supervisors who wanted to improve recruitment and retention of veterans. The content was first deployed as a simple hiring guide in 2007 and quickly grew to include workshops, web seminars and consulting services.Lisa graduated from George Mason University (Fairfax, VA) with a BA in Communications and a commission as a Signal (telecommunications) officer through the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. She later graduated from the University of Central Texas (now Texas A&M University – Central Texas / Killeen, TX) with a MS in Human Resource Management.

Kimel Hodges is the Assistant Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion and Equal Opportunity at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She joined UT Southwestern in September 2012 and oversees several divisions including Diversity & Inclusion, Equal Opportunity, and Supplier Diversity. Kimel leads the strategic development of the organization’s diversity and inclusion strategy. She oversees investigations of discrimination, harassment or retaliation. She’s responsible for Affirmative Action Planning, and ensures compliance with laws, regulations, organizational policies and contracts. Kimel also provides strategic direction in the development of initiatives for the Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) program, and enterprise-wide Minority, Women, Service Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise (MWSDVBE). Prior to joining UT Southwestern, Kimel served as Director of Diversity & Inclusion at CHRISTUS Health; and has held leadership positions at Kellogg Company including Diversity Business Partner, EEO/AA Manager, and Human Resources Manager. Kimel is a member of several executive committees at UT Southwestern executive committees, and represents the Institution at various community events. Kimel is involved with the Youth Motivational Task Force (YMTF) at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, where she serves on the planning committee. Kimel earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, and master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Central Michigan University. Kimel also holds Certified Diversity Executive (CDE) credentials from the Society for Diversity. Kimel is the proud mother of four and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.