Friday, June 21, 2019, the Civil Service Commission hosted its first Annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit at Mercer County Community College.

The first annual event had over 100 State government HR, EEO and Diversity and Inclusion professionals who came together to jointly explore the value and importance of diversifying our public workforce.

“Diversity has become a fundamental focus in the public sector as government agencies seek a workforce that better reflects the diversity of the communities they serve,” said Deirdre L. Webster Cobb, Esq., Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey State Civil Service Commission.

Denise Sharperson, Esq., Statewide Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Manager added, “The first CSC Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Summit is a very important step to increasing awareness and understanding the value of meaningful diversity and inclusion within the state workforce. This is just the beginning of an ongoing and necessary conversation for all departments and agencies. I believe the attendees enjoyed sharing and networking with their public employee colleagues; and look forward to attending next year.”

Denise is a Certified D & I professional with over 20 years of legal experience. She has a passion for increasing diversity in both the private and public sector. In her previous role as Assistant Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer for the New Jersey State Bar Association, she successfully increased diversity in its membership; and interacted regularly with specialty bar associations that represent diverse and under-represented groups.