Celeste Warren spent 28 years at Merck, where she rose to become Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Since retiring from Merck, she founded Celeste Warren Consulting, where she continues to advise organizations on leadership, culture, and inclusion. Together with her two children, she also co-founded Destination STEM, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Celeste has been widely recognized for her work in diversity and inclusion, and she is the author of a new book titled The Truth About Equity: What It Really Is, What It Isn’t, and Why Everybody Wins When They Get It Right.

In our conversation, Celeste shares the personal story that first shaped her perspective on equity and leadership, growing up as the daughter of the first Black teacher, principal, and superintendent in his school district. We also explore her unexpected path into human resources, the lessons she learned about leadership early in her career, and why servant leadership and situational leadership are so critical for building successful teams.

Finally, we spend time breaking down what diversity, equity, and inclusion actually mean in practice, why the concepts are often misunderstood, and how leaders can approach them in a thoughtful and practical way inside their organizations.

Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.com

Websites:

CRWDiversity.com

al4ep.com

Additional Guest Links:

Contact at:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/celestewarrenllc

Instagram: @crwdiversity

YouTube: youtube.com/@celestewarren-equity

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Truth About Equity Book on Amazon: mybook.to/TruthAboutEquity

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com