Keynote Speaker, Consultant & Racial Equity Strategist

Hi there, my name is Nikki Lanier. I am the CEO of Harper Slade, an advisory firm delivering thoughtful and strategic employee engagement and workforce pipeline support to create raving fans among your diverse employee base. With a background as a labor and employment my founding of Harper Slade was made possible by my broad and complementary professional experience:

• Senior Vice President—Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

• Personnel Cabinet Secretary—Commonwealth of Kentucky (youngest and first black female gubernatorial appointee to this post)

• Chief Human Resources Officer—Charter Schools USA (Florida)

• Vice Chancellor of Human Resources—Maricopa Community Colleges (Arizona)

• Senior HR Executive—Philip Morris USA (Virginia) 

• Senior HR Executive—Georgia-Pacific Corporation (Georgia) 

…and other positions in both the healthcare and legal fields.

After eighteen years as an HR executive and employment attorney, I have learned to drive accelerated cultural change in public and private sectors, creating and implementing innovative organizational development, and inspiring commitment to vision. I am experienced in OD, leadership design and delivery, EEO/AA, labor relations, employment law, employee relations, training and development, strategic planning, recruitment and retention, and labor negotiations.

I have worked in manufacturing, consulting, consumer goods, healthcare, media, law, government, higher education, and banking. Through my work and my contributions to local and national board memberships, I am recognized as an accomplished thought leader in progressive HR strategies, and for successfully advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in corporate and civic domains.