U.S. General Services Administration
Kiva Simmons-Lee earns DEI certificate from NYU
by Patrick Morgan
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — GSA’s Public Buildings Service Region 6 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Objective Project Manager Kiva Simmons-Lee completed New York University’s management certificate in diversity, equity, and inclusion in July.
Simmons-Lee has been with GSA for over 21 years. She started as an intern doing rotations within all of PBS’s divisions. She eventually landed in portfolio management where she’s spent the majority of her career. Currently, her primary role is branch chief for realty policy and analysis.
“In 2021, Region 6 determined that the DEI objective would be the main focus,” Simmons-Lee said. “I volunteered to lead the objective because as a member of several marginalized groups — two of which are African American and female — I have a passion for furthering social justice, diversity, equality, and inclusion."
Simmons-Lee started NYU’s certificate program after she concluded a detail with GSA’s Office of Civil Rights.
“My desire to bring academic reference to my role as DEI objective program manager caused me to seek out a certificate program,” Simmons-Lee said.
Through a conversation with a colleague that attended NYU, Simmons-Lee enrolled into the school’s DEI management certification program in February.
The NYU DEI certificate is awarded to students who successfully complete the four required courses within a prescribed timeframe.
Courses that Simmons-Lee completed to receive her DEI certification are:
- Drive Business Performance with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
- Inclusive Team Leadership: Coaching for Peak Performance.
- Data-Driven Analytics to Inform Your Organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
- Improve Diversity Hiring with Technology.
According to NYU’s School of Professional Studies, the certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion delivers the skills leaders need to build sustainable diverse teams, leverage analytics to inform an organization’s practices and performance indicators, and drive innovation and business success.
“I attended the training because I love to learn,” Simmons-Lee said. "I have been trusted to lead the DEI effort in Region 6 and I want to speak from a place of knowledge outside of my personal experience. I also wanted to network with others doing DEI work and gain best practices from them to bring back to the organization.”
Simmons-Lee says she’s excited for what she has learned from the certification training and is ready to get to work with the DEI Objective Assistant Program Manager Javonne Robinson and the rest of the DEI team. However, she fully acknowledges that DEI isn’t a sprint to the finish line and then it’s over.
Simmons-Lee hopes to implement some of the concepts she learned to draw more people into the conversation about DEI at work and in their personal lives.