Mary-Frances Winters
Mary-Frances Winters, founder and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc., a global organization development and diversity and inclusion consulting firm with over 36 years of experience, truly believes that diversity and inclusion work is her “passion and calling.” Dubbed a thought leader in the field, for the past three decades she has impacted over hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals with her thought-provoking message, and her approach to diversity and inclusion. Ms. Winters is a master strategist with experience in strategic planning, change management, diversity, organization development, training and facilitation, systems thinking and qualitative and quantitative research methods. She has extensive experience in working with senior leadership teams to drive organizational change.
Ms. Winters is the author of six books: We Can’t Talk about That at Work!: How to Talk about Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics (2017); Only Wet Babies Like Change: Workplace Wisdom for Baby Boomers; Inclusion Starts With “I”; and CEO’s Who Get It: Diversity Leadership from the Heart and Soul. Her upcoming books include Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy, and Belonging across Differences (August 11, 2020, release); and Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit (September 15, 2020, release). Ms. Winters also authored a chapter in the book Diversity at Work: The Practice of Inclusion (2013) and numerous articles.
She is a graduate of the University of Rochester with undergraduate degrees in English and Psychology, and a master’s degree in business administration from the William E. Simon Executive Development Program. She received an honorary doctorate from Roberts Wesleyan College.