In a world where most people do not have the time or the desire to even think about helping others, it’s nice to see there are still some people out there who care. People taking time out of their busy lives to get involved in organizations and charities helping those who need it. It may include finding jobs, housing, food banks, training at learning centers,for those who are underprivileged or have disabilities. These people face continued discrimination at the workplace or when traveling or just everyday life. For some reason, people are either afraid or don’t know what or how to interact with them. This a problem that many people face, they need a voice to stand up to big companies and organizations and get they the help they desperately need.
Luke Visconti is one such individual who has devoted his life to helping those who are being discriminated against. He is the founder of DiversityInc a website in 1997, where today it has become the dominant leader for diversity, reaching more than 300,000 people monthly while being ranked number one globally to total web traffic and social media. It is an organization where their mission is to educate and provide clarity to the business benefits of diversity, something that there is a lack of in the corporate world.
Here’s a little background on Luke. He graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Biology where he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and he is also a veteran, on active duty serving as Naval Aviator for more than eight years and for another year and a half in the reserves. Today, he is still a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel and has briefed three Chiefs of Naval of the issues concerning diversity and inclusion, all very important issues for him.
He has received many awards for his work and effort such as, an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from New Jersey City University, received a Champion of Diversity Award from the American Association of Affirmative Action, the Bridge Builders Award from Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Wall Street Project conference, and the Legacy of Leadership award from Dr. Beverly Tatum, at Spelman College, to name a few.
Luke Visconti had a vision that people from all backgrounds and ethnicities will have the same opportunities as everyone else, there should not be any exclusions whatsoever. He is the CEO and owner, he is involved with all editorial and business operations of the publication as well as all the events that take place. There are three events which they do every year, a healthcare event which they do in the fall, a special-awards in October and the DiversityInc Top 50 announcement in April which is their bread and butter event so to speak.
The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity competition began back in 2001 where companies were starting to understand the value of diversity-management initiatives. The competition has become very popular and continues to improve each year with companies adapting to the recommended strategies. The list has grown to over 1,000 companies which is selected from corporate survey submissions where they are evaluated within their own industries and the list is totally unbiased meaning companies that havea relationship with DiversityInc receive no preferential treatment.
He also created the DiversityInc Foundation a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization launched in 2006, which donates more than 4 percent of their gross revenue to the foundation. The foundation itself has no administrative overhead as well as no one draws a salary from it, all services are donated. It raises money by the speaking fees that Luke gets as well as direct donations from DiversityInc Media.
The foundation focuses on providing funds for endowed scholarships such as New Jersey City University primarily serving Hispanics, Rutgers University and Bennett College which is historically black. Luke is on the board of all of these three colleges.
Through his efforts, DiversityInc contributes generously and has allied itself with many diversity-related charities and nonprofits such as PRIMER, ALPFA, and The Ph.D. project, WWOM, NBDC, along with many others.In addition, he is a board member of the National Organization on Disability, NOD, a great organization that helps the rights of the disabled who truly need a voice to protect their interests
They are a leading resource for companies and businesses that seekthe talents of the disabled which 80 percent of them are not employed, a great organization doing great things. Once again,Luke is involved in an organization such as NOD that is helping those who are a disadvantage.
Among his many talents, Luke does many speaking engagements which can be found on You Tube and is a prolific writer and an interviewer. He has over 300 articles on the company site including one called Ask The White Guy which has become popular. Now more than ever the world needs more people like Luke Visconti.
