In an exciting victory for diversity and inclusion efforts in the legal field, the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity and Inclusion Coalition (PLDIC) made waves at Diversity Lab’s prestigious “2024 Moments to Movements Hackathon.” Held in New York City, the event saw over 100 leaders from top law firms and corporate legal departments compete in a high-energy, Shark Tank-style pitch competition, focused on creating actionable diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) solutions for the legal industry.
The PLDIC team, led by Executive Director Ena Lebel, collaborated with an impressive group of legal and corporate heavyweights to pitch a transformative new program—the BUILD Certification. The winning team included PLDIC member employees Yoowhi Cho of K&L Gates and James Keller of Saul Ewing, alongside notable teammates Pablo Castro (Cisco), Tom Chen (Haynes Boone), Jeremy Creelan (Jenner & Block), Judy Mercier (Holland & Knight), Stephanie Niehaus (Peloton), and Amanda Rosania (American Express). Together, they clinched the top prize in the Community Challenge category.
The BUILD Certification is a visionary new approach to DEI, focusing not just on “who” is involved but on “how” individuals can make a tangible impact. This innovative program is designed as a “bottom-up” solution, putting DEI efforts directly in the hands of individual employees through a personalized desktop tracking app. The app enables users to actively track and contribute to DEI initiatives, creating measurable results at both the individual and organizational levels. It also rewards participants with valuable networking and partnership opportunities, further fostering a more inclusive and equitable profession.
As part of the competition, Diversity Lab will invest capital into developing and implementing the BUILD Certification program, a clear signal of the game-changing potential behind the team’s concept. The hackathon generated a host of actionable ideas aimed at advancing inclusivity and strengthening DEI efforts across the legal profession, with BUILD emerging as a standout example of how the industry can evolve.
“We’re thrilled to see such innovative DEI solutions gaining traction,” said Ena Lebel. “Our team’s pitch represents a real shift in how we approach inclusion in the workplace, and we’re excited to watch BUILD take shape with the support of Diversity Lab.”
With this win, PLDIC and their collaborators have taken an important step toward reimagining diversity in the legal world. Stay tuned for more updates as Diversity Lab and the PLDIC move forward in putting this transformative idea into action!