Work Without Limits: A Conversation with Upwork's Erin L. Thomas

Erin L. Thomas, PhD, is head of diversity, inclusion & belonging at Upwork. She brings a distinctive mix of research and practitioner expertise to this role, which includes leading diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DIBs) strategy, implementation, and coaching. Prior to Upwork, Erin was a managing director at Paradigm, a diversity and inclusion strategy firm, where she partnered with companies to embed DIBs into their organizations through culture transformation and people development. Prior to Paradigm, Erin held positions at Grant Thornton LLP and Argonne National Laboratory developing D&I strategies, programming, and metrics. She holds a PhD in social psychology; a Master of Philosophy in social psychology; a Master of Science in social psychology; and Bachelors of Arts in psychology and international studies from Yale University.

Naimeesha is the Founder at ProductsbyWomen.com – a skill-based platform that helps women identify gaps in their skills and recommends suitable training opportunities, mentorship and best fit jobs to accelerate their career in innovation and tech. Naimeesha also serves as an advisory board member at Pace University, New York and a Forbes council member. She also serves as a mentor at Barclays RISE and advises early to mid-stage start-ups. In addition, Naimeesha is also an angel investor in early stage companies in the Edtech, Wellness, HRtech and Femtech space – she is passionate about backing women led ventures and products that create a social impact.