New Castle County leads diversity change with Top 25 Change Leader Helen Foster

A New Castle County employee was recently recognized out in DiversityPlus magazine as a 2024 Top 25 Diversity Change Leader. Helen Foster, JD, and Small Business Enterprise Coordinator was named to this list as a leader in county government tasked with diversifying the County's contract spend with diverse SBEs to better reflect the County's population makeup.

"Congratulations to Helen on being recognized for her hard work and dedication to SBE businesses in New Castle County," said County Executive Matt Meyer. "Her focus and skillset which has led to immediate results in a short amount of time have earned her this well-deserved recognition."

According to the publication, the list "recognizes exceptional leaders who have made significant contributions to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within their organizations and communities. They work in different areas, including leading an organizational functional unit or department, enabling them to develop diverse supply chains and workforces and contribute to economic success in communities of operation. Their influence extends to organizational, community, and government leaders to advance DEI, and their broad reach reflects the varied industry segments represented."

The Top 25 Diversity Change Leaders were selected through a rigorous nomination process that began by distributing a survey to thousands of supplier diversity, DEI, HR, and ESG executives and organizational leaders. Helen was recognized for her work to date, including reaching out to over 1,200 diverse businesses, leading to a 95% increase in registered certified diverse suppliers. Her continued efforts will focus on creating and maintaining relationships with SBEs while challenging the County to effectively increase SBE business opportunities for diverse suppliers and build capacity within the SBE community. More information on the New Castle County Small Business Enterprise Office is available at https://www.newcastlede.gov/2684/Small-Business-Enterprise-Office.

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