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Valerie Irick Rainford ‘82, founder of Elloree Talent Strategies, which advises C-suite executives on best strategies for advancing diverse talent, was recently inducted into the Inclusion Magazine’s 2023 Hall of Fame. She was one of eight inductees.
According to Inclusion, the honorees are “a group of influential women leaders who have built a legacy of lasting, impactful change in DEI [diversity equity and inclusion] within the workplace. While they no longer walk the corridors of Corporate America, each of these changemakers leveraged about 30 years of executive expertise to lead a large-scale approach to hiring, engaging, and retaining diverse talent across global Fortune 500 corporations.”
Valerie, who rose to become the most senior black woman and the first to achieve a senior vice president title at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York during her more than two-decade tenure, says one of the most special things about this honor was that she was included with truly legendary women in the field. “This is a book full of legends,” she says while flipping through the pages and talking about each of the honorees. “I am pinching myself to be a part of it.”
For example, Rosalyn Taylor O’Neale, who has been a thought leader, advisor and coach to global executives around the world for over 40 years, shares a page with Valerie in Inclusion story. Valerie says O’Neale, who she considers a trailblazer and mentor, was the first to teach her the principles of diversity over 20 years ago.
Looking at the changes she has made since founding Elloree, which works across organizations in many different industries and in companies of all sizes, Valerie says, “The impact has been encouraging. I hope that the article memorializes that impact.”
Reflecting on how much more there is to do, Valerie says, “The barriers for access and advancement are universal. Barriers are evident in every client we engage with. Barriers particularly to Black and Latino talent are subtle, embedded in long-standing policies and practices across the business landscape. Elloree’s competitive advantage is “we know what to look for in scouring people data.”
Valerie’s personal impact beyond Elloree extends to St, Catharine’s where she created the Valerie Irick Rainford '82 scholarship awarded to juniors and seniors who compete in a writing competition telling their stories of courage and resilience based on Valerie’s memoir, global best-selling book, Until the Brighter Tomorrow, One Woman's Courageous Climb from the Projects to the Podium. She also created the Trustee Diversity Scholarship Fund at Fordham University, her alma mater.
In Inclusion, Valerie concludes, “I want my legacy—from struggle to success—to challenge long-standing assumptions and expectations for what talent from underserved communities can achieve when provided with access and opportunity with Elloree Talent Strategies.”
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