PBN DIVERSITY & INCLUSIONS 2020 AWARDS
Overall Diversity Champion: Stephanie Huckel
Stephanie Huckel was always taught the deep value and importance of being an active member of the community. From a downtown Providence cleanup with her mom’s employer to being part of City Year’s Young Heroes program in middle school, Huckel spent a great deal of her youth volunteering with her family.
Huckel, the senior global program manager of diversity and inclusion for International Game Technology PLC, was also well-educated in committing to community service when she attended the Alan Shawn Feinstein High School for Public Service in Providence and then earned her master’s degree in nonprofit management and philanthropy at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Mass.
“I was never quite sure how I wanted to channel that mission and energy, but I knew that helping to improve the lives of others was part of my path,” Huckel said.
With a bit of good fortune and a boss who, Huckel said, was “looking for someone with complementary, rather than duplicative, skills,” Huckel accepted a diversity specialist role at Baystate Health in western Massachusetts in 2008. She started working in diversity-related roles long before many companies began thinking of investing in this area.
Huckel’s career in helping others proceeded to skyrocket.
After five-plus years at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, serving first as senior diversity and inclusion consultant and then manager of culture and diversity and inclusion, Huckel connected with Kim Barker Lee, IGT’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, in 2018. In addition to connecting as peers to discuss their work, Huckel and Lee also talked about the position of senior global program manager within the gaming tech company’s newly created diversity and inclusion office.
Huckel said the role was a natural fit.
“I was excited about what IGT was starting,” Huckel said. “The role also attracted me because it represented a shift from a local to a global scope of responsibilities. I’m proud to work for the global leader in gaming.”
Huckel has been very active since she joined the prominent gaming company in Providence. Her work there includes developing People Partner D&I Circles, which assist human resources professionals in learning more about diversity and inclusion, and practicing skills in small cohorts. She also established IGT’s Diversity and Inclusion Groups program, which supports employee networks structured around dimensions of diversity, and she supported the planning and execution of IGT’s global strategic plan for diversity and inclusion.
Huckel’s work with DIGs also includes education through “Let’s DIG In” sessions that tackle timely topics such as the company’s IGT Community “Talk” About Race series, she said.
“These were virtual meetings open to all employees that we facilitated in late summer following high-profile incidents of police violence against Black community members in the United States, and the discussions were attended by more than 1,000 employees. Related to that, we also developed e-mail signature blocks for employees that state IGT’s commitment to racial justice, equality and equity, and I’ve also supported customers on their own journeys.”
In partnership with her husband, Ethan, and consultant Ralph Tavares, Huckel also established Huckel Inclusive. The Providence-based organization provides clients with strategic diversity and inclusion consulting services with a specialization in LGBTQ+ topics, curriculum development for organizational change, workshop facilitation and executive coaching.
Lee said that diversity and inclusion is not just Huckel’s job, but in truth influences all aspects of her life, from her board memberships to how and with whom she spends her personal time.
“I was honored that she joined our team at the early stages of IGT’s [diversity-and-inclusion] journey,” Lee said. “For the two of us, this journey would never be about checking the box or focusing solely on external recognition. Authenticity and a desire to be part of a legacy of change motivated our partnership. Stephanie understands that the power of inclusion lies in everyday actions and interactions – those moments in your work life that say, ‘My employer sees and appreciates me.’ She also understands that sustainable impact happens through equitable and inclusive systems.”
