Back to CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame® Directory
NSA Member
NSA Designations
Professional Bio
Lenora Billings-Harris is an internationally recognized authority on diversity, inclusion, and bias. Through her consulting firm, she helps organizations leverage diversity, increase inclusion, and disrupt biased decision-making to improve talent engagement and retention, strengthen customer relationships, build community, and enhance organizational performance. Her engaging, results-focused style inspires audiences worldwide to take actions that drive measurable outcomes.
Named one of the 100 Global Thought Leaders on Diversity and Inclusion by SHRM and one of the Top 20 Influential Diversity Leaders in the U.S. by Diversity Woman Magazine, Billings-Harris was also recognized by HIVE as one of North America’s Most Influential DEI Leaders. Her award-winning research has been published internationally, and she serves on the Advisory Council of the Nido Qubein School of Communication at High Point University, as an adjunct business faculty member, and as a university trustee.
Billings-Harris has presented in more than 40 countries across six continents. She is co-author of *TRAILBLAZERS: How Top Business Leaders Are Accelerating Results Through Inclusion and Diversity* and author of *The Diversity Advantage: A Guide to Making Diversity Work* (3rd Edition). She was recently featured as the cover story of *Inclusion Magazine*.
A former executive with two Fortune 100 companies and the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business, she has also held numerous nonprofit leadership roles. She served as President of both the National Speakers Association and the Global Speakers Federation.
Among her many honors, Billings-Harris received the Cavett Award, the highest honor in the U.S. speaking profession, was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame, and earned an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Averett University.
In 2026, she launched the Critical Voices Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to building skills for critical and difficult conversations.
Named one of the 100 Global Thought Leaders on Diversity and Inclusion by SHRM and one of the Top 20 Influential Diversity Leaders in the U.S. by Diversity Woman Magazine, Billings-Harris was also recognized by HIVE as one of North America’s Most Influential DEI Leaders. Her award-winning research has been published internationally, and she serves on the Advisory Council of the Nido Qubein School of Communication at High Point University, as an adjunct business faculty member, and as a university trustee.
Billings-Harris has presented in more than 40 countries across six continents. She is co-author of *TRAILBLAZERS: How Top Business Leaders Are Accelerating Results Through Inclusion and Diversity* and author of *The Diversity Advantage: A Guide to Making Diversity Work* (3rd Edition). She was recently featured as the cover story of *Inclusion Magazine*.
A former executive with two Fortune 100 companies and the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business, she has also held numerous nonprofit leadership roles. She served as President of both the National Speakers Association and the Global Speakers Federation.
Among her many honors, Billings-Harris received the Cavett Award, the highest honor in the U.S. speaking profession, was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame, and earned an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Averett University.
In 2026, she launched the Critical Voices Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to building skills for critical and difficult conversations.
Business
Critical Voices Initiative
Critical Voices Initiative
NSA Member
NSA Designations
CSP, CPAE, Cavett Award Recipient
CPAE Award Year
2016
Other Designations
Ph.D (honorary)
Expertise
Corporate Culture, Inclusion
YouTube