Two LPL Attorneys Picked as National Diversity Fellows
The news comes a month after the firm received a perfect score for its LGBTQ workplace-equality policies and practices.
LPL Financial says two of its female attorneys have been named 2020 Fellows of the nationwide Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) — Gina Gombar and Carla Sanderson.
The LCLD effort is a year-long program focused on in-person training, peer-group projects, networking and leadership development.
Started in 2009, it includes some 320 chief legal officers and law firm managing partners “committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive legal profession,” the group says.
“Gina and Carla are both respected attorneys and highly talented individuals who are committed to furthering the work we do each day to develop and maintain an inclusive culture at LPL,” said Peggy Ho, executive vice president and chief of staff for the independent broker-dealer’s Compliance, Legal and Risk department, in a statement.
“We look forward to the ideas and insights they gather as they take steps to advance their careers and our workplace,” Ho added.
The fellows program has trained some 1,600 mid-career attorneys since 2011.
“As a participant in the LCLD program, I’m excited to build on my leadership skills by having the opportunity to advocate and support our firm’s diversity and inclusion mission with employees and our financial professionals,” according to Gombar, an LPL vice president based in Boston.
“The opportunity to participate in the LCLD program will help to deepen my capacity to thoughtfully serve the individuals and communities within our firm through important initiatives,” Sanderson, an assistant vice president with the IBD in San Diego, said in a statement.
Last year, LPL attorneys Erin Dempsey and Ryder Hill were in the program, and the year before Andrea J. Ferranti and Autumn Crowell did.
Other Recognition
Last month, LPL received a score of 100% in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index, which measures corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workplace equality.
“We are honored and encouraged to once again receive a perfect score on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index … ,” said LPL Managing Director and Chief Human Capital Officer Sallie Larsen, in a statement. “Creating a culture where everyone feels they can contribute their best work allows us to better serve our advisors and their clients and each other.”
Shannon Peele, chair of LPL’s Pride Alliance Employee Resource Group in the Carolinas, explained, “I see myself in our HRC Corporate Equality 100%t score …. [and] am so grateful that I work for a company where I can bring my whole self to work.”