Presented by Symba, #OpenUpTheWorkforce interviews feature executives advancing inclusion, diversity, and equity for the future of work. In these short audio-only episodes, we talk with the top about what it takes to develop and implement inclusive processes.

In this episode of #OpenUpTheWorkforce, Bridget Hurd, Vice President of Inclusion & Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, emphasizes how communication is key in inclusion and diversity work, and shares how BCBS embeds cultural competency in their efforts to mitigate bias and address disparities.

Are you an executive leader increasing access to jobs and wealth creation? Request to be featured and show us how you #OpenUpTheWorkforce: https://symba.io/executive-interview-...
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About Bridget Hurd
Ms. Hurd is the vice president, Inclusion and Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan where she is responsible for leading and executing the corporate inclusion and diversity strategy for Blue Cross and its subsidiaries and shaping a culture of inclusion where all perspectives are valued. She also leads the Office of Health and Health Care Disparities with a vision of Better Health for All where she developed a framework for advancing health equity and focuses on achieving health equity in the delivery of, quality and access to care. Ms. Hurd leads the enterprise’s Diversity Leadership Councils, Physician Diversity Council and oversees cultural competency learning opportunities for employees where employees learn about different cultures, communities, generations, workstyles and perspectives; coaching programs through its Employee Resource Networks, 14 employee resource networks and the integration of an inclusion lens in providing service to members and customers.

She represented Blue Cross on the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in April 2020. She serves on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s Health Equity Champions Committee and is a co-chair for the national Health Care Transformation Task Force Health Equity Advisory Group. Hurd is a recipient of the national DentaQuest 2020 Health Equity Heroes award which recognizes individuals working to achieve equity during the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, she was also recognized as a Top 100 Diversity Officer by the National Diversity Council.

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About Ahva
Ahva Sadeghi is a passionate social entrepreneur and co-founder of Symba, an award-winning, venture-backed, and women-founded internship platform that combines program management and data analytics tools to facilitate equitable access to jobs and wealth creation. Ahva is an economist and researcher focused on remote work and workforce development, and regularly contributes articles as a member of the Forbes HR Council. Prior to launching Symba, Ahva worked at the US Department of State in the Human Rights Bureau and completed a civil rights fellowship with Congressman John Lewis in Atlanta. She was recently named Forbes 30 Under 30 and a Global Entrepreneur Scholar by the US Department of State. Ahva completed her graduate studies at the London School of Economics and received her BA from the University of Arizona Honors College. In her spare time, Ahva enjoys playing the cello.
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About Symba
Symba is an award-winning platform that combines program management and data analytics tools to help organizations measure and improve their internship programs and make smarter hiring decisions. With Symba's software, employers have improved administrative efficiencies by up to 99.7% and have scaled critical early-in-career job opportunities by over 500%. Symba facilitates impactful internships and drives business value by increasing intern-to-hire conversion rates by up to 20%, helping corporations future-proof their employee pipelines while giving interns the positive, educational experiences they seek. Named among “The Next Generation of Industry Changers” by Entrepreneur, women-founded Symba is building a platform with a purpose - seeking to open up the workforce and facilitate equitable access to wealth creation by powering more than one million job opportunities in the next five years. For more information, please visit https://symba.io.