Fisher’s Senior Diversity Officer Among Inaugural Colors of Success DEI Award Nominees

Rev. Dr. Marlowe V.N. Washington, senior diversity officer at St. John Fisher University, is among the 27 inaugural nominees of the Colors of Success DEI Award, given by the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

Newly created this year, the award celebrates individuals who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the greater Rochester community with clear positive impacts as a result of these efforts. This year’s nominees represent a diverse pool of changemakers in the Greater Rochester region working to better our community and increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in their broad array of industries and in the region as a whole.

Washington, an alumnus of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education’s Executive Leadership (Ed.D.) program, was appointed to the senior diversity officer position in June 2021, after a nationwide search.

In his role, he oversees the continuation of the University’s efforts supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Since joining the University, Washington has hosted events and dinners to foster inclusion and engagement, becoming a well-known face around campus. He has energized Fisher’s affinity student organizations, helping them host a yearlong series of dialogues with the campus community called Cardinal Conversations. In spring 2022, he formed an inclusion council that will focus on operationalizing goals of the Presidential Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the University’s strategic plan.

Under his leadership, Fisher will host the Diversity in the Workplace Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 12, bringing together community leaders from a host of sectors to explore how organizations create equitable diverse environments for their employees.

Greater Rochester Chamber will celebrate the nominees and present the award at an in-person celebration on Friday, Sept. 16, at the Hyatt Regency Rochester’s Grand Ballroom. A selection committee consisting of a diverse group of professional leaders from the Rochester and Finger Lakes business community will determine the recipient based upon submitted nominations.