Our Board of Directors is made up of California’s best and brightest diversity leaders. These individuals hail from a broad range of California’s industries from academia to technology, communications to entertainment. This core team governs the California Diversity Council and sets the strategy for key initiatives and goals for the Council and are poised to build a solid foundation for the CADC at this exciting time in our development. Read the message from our Chairman, Mary Campbell, on the significance of this time within the CADC.

Board of Directors Biographies:

Mary Campbell, Ph.D, Chairman of the Board

Mary is the Assistant Vice President of Career Services at the University of Southern California, overseeing two of the university’s talent functions: Recruitment Services (for approximately 10,000 staff) and the office of Professional Development which provides performance improvement support to both faculty and staff through a variety of development opportunities and performance improvement engagements. Mary has been with USC since December of 2000. Prior to USC, Mary served in a faculty role for ten years in the California State University system teaching undergraduate and graduate courses for the departments of psychology and business. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology as well as an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology. She is a regular presenter at national and local industry-related conferences and association events and has been published in Leadership Excellence magazine. Her organization is ultimately charged with supporting the success of the University of Southern California through the optimization of talent and performance throughout the institution. Read the welcome letter from Mary.

Dawn Martin: Secretary

Dawn M. Martin is the Director of Diversity Inclusion and Cultural Initiatives for Cricket Communications. She is responsible for providing operational and strategic leadership to the company’s inclusion model through development and execution of various diversity, inclusion and cultural initiatives.

Martin, having earned the designation of SPHR, has more than 20 years of experience in human resources in industries that include health care, financial services, manufacturing, and sports and entertainment.

She is a former board member of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources – Houston chapter, and is an advisory board member of the Gulf Coast Diversity Council. She also holds memberships in the Houston Area Urban League, Diversity Connecting Consortium, HR Houston and the Society for Human Resource Management. She is a mentor in the Houston chapter of Dress for Success Women to Women program and the University of Houston’s National Association of Women MBA Association. In the past, she has also served in Zonta International and The National Coalition of 100 Black Women organizations.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Martin earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Human and Organizational Development from Loyola University New Orleans. A member of New Light Christian Center Church, she is married to Brian J. Martin, Sr. and is the proud mother of daughter Ayan and son Brian, Jr.

Elana Hobson

Elana Hobson is Vice President of Operations, Division II, for Jack in the Box Inc. She oversees the operation of nearly 1,200 company and franchised Jack in the Box restaurants in California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.

Hobson, a 32-year Jack in the Box veteran, joined the company in 1977 as a team member at a restaurant in Hayward, Calif. After serving as team leader and assistant manager, she was promoted to manager of a Jack in the Box restaurant in San Lorenzo, Calif., in 1981. In the years that followed, Hobson took on positions of increasing responsibility, including district manager in 1986 and area manager in 1998. In 2003, she was promoted to vice president of the company’s North Coast region, which included more than 160 restaurants in Northern California and Hawaii. She relocated to the company’s corporate offices in San Diego in 2007 as division vice president of Guest Service Systems, and in 2009 she was promoted to division vice president, operations initiatives. Hobson was promoted to her current position in 2010.

Hobson is a graduate of California State University, East Bay in Hayward with an MBA and bachelor’s degree in finance.

Dennis Kennedy

Dennis Kennedy has an unwavering passion to ensure that all individuals receive equal opportunities in the workplace regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation. He is truly an advocate. He founded the National Diversity Council to champion diversity as a business imperative, with a primary goal to turn all communities into inclusive environments where individuals are valued for their talents and unique characteristics and have opportunities to reach their full potential.

Along with the state councils, Mr. Kennedy has launched several state wide conferences focused on both diversity and leadership. Currently there are conferences taking place in the following states: Ohio, Texas, California, Florida, Kansas, Virginia and Washington.

Mr. Kennedy graduated from the University of Houston Main Campus (UofH) with undergraduate degrees in economics, business management and political science; he also earned a MBA from University of Houston Main Campus.

Frank Nainoa

Frank Nainoa is the Senior Manager of Professional Development for the Center for Professional Development at the University of Phoenix and is also a faculty member. He is responsible for the delivery of professional development curriculum to public and private organizations and companies.

Prior to joining the University of Phoenix, Frank held various management positions at Verizon Communications including Senior Corporate Account Manager and Senior Marketing Manager. Frank also worked as a technology manager at the University of Southern California and with the USC Development Office for corporate fundraising.

Frank has a BA in Social Science and a MA in Communications from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California. He is a graduate of the USC Marshall School of Business Advanced Management Program and an alumnus of the Walt Disney Leadership Institute. Frank is completing his doctorate from Pepperdine University in Organizational Leadership. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on organizational leadership, communications, customer service and the social impact of technology and is a frequent guest lecturer regarding these subjects.

He is a member of the Society of Educators and Scholars, the USC Orange County Alumni Association, World Affairs Council of Orange County and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

Tom Wright, J.D.

For the first two years in law school, Tom worked as an Enrollment Counselor for the University of Phoenix. After five years of retirement Tom rejoined the University of Phoenix as A Corporate Education Liaison and in 2008 was promoted to Regional Director of Strategic & Academic Alliances for Southern California with the Apollo Group, parent company of the University of Phoenix.

Tom’s background includes 25 years in broadcast management and ownership of radio properties in Arizona. During his 20 years in the practice of law, Tom focused on employment law and business litigation. For many years, Tom performed a tremendous amount of trial work and and for eight years was a Judge Pro-Tem, first for the Municipal Court and later for the California Superior Court.

During his tenure as an attorney, Tom was a law school professor, teaching legal analysis.

Andrew C. Jones, Ed.D.

Jones has spent most of his academic career serving four-year colleges and universities; however, during the last 15 years, he has been an advocate for equal access and student success at the community college level, where students can earn an associate degree, professional certificate or similar credentials. He also has led several recent initiatives: addressing the declining role of minority males in higher education, increasing faculty diversity and promoting student success through the use of technology and process improvement.

Jones earned his doctorate in education and public policy from Temple University, holds a master’s degree in information sciences and had undergraduate preparation in economics at the University of Maryland. Married to Dr. Savannah Jones for 36 years, he is the father of Dana and Kyle and grandfather of Savannah, Quentin, Zora and Preston.