ALUMNI IN FOCUS
McCarthy ’81 Honored by
Society of Hispanic MBAs
As chief diversity officer for Citigroup, Ana Duarte McCarthy ’81 is responsible for shaping diversity policy and practices. Her position focuses on management accountability, attracting talent, workforce development, and the work environment.
The National Society of
Hispanic MBAs named McCarthy the 2007 Ultimate Hispanic Executive, an honor recognizing professional achievement and
strong commitment to service.
The biology graduate began
to work with aspects of diversity
in graduate school, where she majored in multicultural counseling and organizational psychology.
“Post graduate school, I worked in higher education for 10 years, running an opportunity program that focused on ensuring access and equity for academically and socioeconomically disadvantaged students who demonstrated potential to succeed,” she says.
“I saw how systemic barriers
can inhibit and prohibit the
most talented individuals from succeeding and how changes can help address these factors.”
McCarthy found her time at Lafayette the perfect primer for her job, which often deals with gender equality. She helped found what became the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
“Now, 25 years later, one of the major Citigroup diversity efforts is our women’s initiative, which has similar objectives—creating a network for women to support them, among other things, in professional advancement,” she says. “Twenty-five years ago, there were few people of minority background at Lafayette, and being ‘one of few’ had its challenges. It’s good to see that the current administration has made diversity a top priority to support the future growth and sustainability of the College.”
She served as her class’ Reunion chair last year.
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