DOLORES WHARTON

FOUNDER, FUND FOR CORPORATE INITIATIVES

Wharton has promoted corporate diversity and inclusion at the highest level for more than a half-century. In fact, she realized a number of such milestones in her own right: Wharton was the first woman and first African American elected to the boards of three major corporations—Gannett, Phillips Petroleum, and Kellogg Co., initiating the first social responsibility committees at the latter two companies. And in 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed her to the National Council of the Arts. To ensure minorities and women gained access to opportunities, she established the Fund for Corporate Interns (later named the Fund for Corporate Initiatives) as a pathway for institutional training and leadership development.

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