Former Humana exec to lead DE&I at Louisville's largest law firm - Louisville Business First - Louisville Business First
For Chris Johnson, working to create more inclusive, diverse and equitable workplaces isn’t just a job, it’s who he is.
Johnson, who most recently worked as the director of inclusion and diversity for Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), is stepping into the chief diversity officer role at Frost Brown Todd LLC, which is Louisville's largest law firm.
Before joining Humana, Johnson served as the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s senior equal employment opportunity and diversity and inclusion official for nearly three years.
Johnson’s path from governmental work, to health care and now to legal services is something that seems natural to him, because the basis of what he’s doing is the same.
“Helping people to feel connected, helping people to feel as though they matter, as though they belong, and they have a part to play, something to contribute,” Johnson said in an interview with Business First. “That transcends the field in which we work.”
Johnson said FBT has been on the “leading edge” of DEI work. The CDO position was previously held by Kim Amrine for nearly 16 years. Johnson said it's invigorating for him to be able to step into a role where he isn’t starting from scratch.
“There's significant opportunity for us to continue to accelerate our work around belonging, around inclusion, around equity, around diverse representation,” Johnson said. “So that is what's driving this for me. It's a new opportunity, a new challenge, but a challenge in a place where you're not starting from scratch. They've done great work, and I'm just happy to be there to be a caretaker to sit in that seat, and to try to move the ball a little bit further.”
But Johnson noted that the efforts of creating a sense of belonging for everyone isn’t a one-man job. He said he was proud of the progress he was able to make at Humana which was done in partnership with other teams. He said one of the key goals is making sure everyone feels they have a place in the room – whether that’s the physical room or the virtual room.
One of Johnson’s goals is to listen and to learn – something he says he has to do before he can find any particular answers. His approach has always been to hear as many stories as he can before implementing strategies to address challenges. This will involve meeting with many people, both in and outside of Louisville — Johnson’s position is over all of FBT’s 15 markets.
He said that comes with a challenge as well: Figuring out what works in terms of diversity in each different market.
He said he wants to call attention to the many different shapes diversity takes – which extends beyond race: including diversity of thought, gender, sexual identity and culture.
“I think the challenge with Frost Brown, as it is in some ways with Humana, as is it is with many other industries now: Understanding what people demand of us in terms of diverse representation and ensuring that we look like the people that we're serving, and helping people to understand what that means,” he said. “We've got to think differently. We’ve got to think critically about how we get there. Those are our significant challenges, and I don't take those lightly.”
Ultimately, Johnson said he was attracted to the opportunity to work in the diversity space with a firm like Frost Brown Todd, a name which he said carries a lot of weight.
“I can influence and leverage the experience that I have in the public and the private sector to make a difference in an area that, candidly, needs some help,” Johnson said. “…Diversity in the legal field, there's a lot of work to do, particularly around racial diversity. Gender Diversity is a challenge too, but even more so racial diversity.”
Louisville's Largest Law Firms
Ranked by Local lawyers: 2022
| Rank | Name | Local lawyers: 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frost Brown Todd LLC | 153 |
| 2 | Stites & Harbison PLLC | 80 |
| 3 | Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP | 70 |
| View This List | ||
source: https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2022/02/14/chris-johnson-frost-brown-todd.html
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