VCU news

Carolina Espinal, founding principal of Mozaic Strategies, will give a talk at Virginia Commonwealth University titled “Opportunities at the Intersection: How Diversity and Inclusion are Transforming Business and Society.”

The event, which will take place during Hispanic Heritage Month, will be held Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. in the University Student Commons Theater, 907 Floyd Ave. The event is part of the speaker series organized by the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Espinal is a newly appointed member of the VCU Board of Visitors. She founded Mozaic Strategies, a consultancy advancing the creation of more inclusive culture in — and outside — the workplace. As a senior adviser to public and private sector leaders and organizations, she is an expert in diversity and inclusion, public affairs and reputation management.

Formerly a senior strategist with Brunswick Group, she led the Inclusion and Diversity practice and served as the lead adviser on the launch of CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion — the largest CEO-driven initiative focused on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She began her career as a civil rights advocate working on behalf of communities of color at UnidosUS and later led the NAACP’s national civic engagement policy platform. She also has led political engagement strategies and outreach for federal, state and local campaigns. A resident of Arlington County, Espinal is the daughter of immigrants and a graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard University.

Her talk at VCU, which is free and open to the public, will be moderated by Robertson School instructor Vivian Medina-Messner. Seating will be available on a first-come basis. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. In addition to street parking, nearby paid parking is available in VCU's Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks.

The Robertson School’s speaker series will continue on Nov. 21 with former Washington Post columnist Bob Levey and on Jan. 21 with CNN reporter and Robertson School alumna Chandelis Duster.