Diversity reboot

Laura Birk is the Vice President of Human Resources for Barilla America, Inc. where she has been for over 15 years. Laura is responsible for all the talent management and people processes supporting the Americas business which includes Canada, U.S., Mexico and Brazil. She is a Board Member for the company and has the pleasure to serve almost 1,000 employees across the Americas.

Laura’s recently been recognized by OnCon as a 2020 Top 50 Human Resources Professional and Chicago Business Crain’s 2021 Notable Leaders in HR. She also leads a great team who has won several industry awards for diversity, wellness, employee benefits, and talent management and development activities including:

• Catalyst-Workplaces that Work for Woman Winner
• Human Rights Campaign:
  • 100% Corporate Equality Index, Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality
  • Corporate Equality Award
• Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (H.A.C.E.) Corporate Champion
• Disability Matters: Steps to Success Award
• Corporate University Best in Class (C.U.B.I.C.) Award Winner: Best Job Aligning Learning and Development with Corporate Goals
• Talent Management Best In Class (TAMBIC) Award Recipient
• American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) B.E.S.T. Award Recipient
• Organizational Development Network (ODN)-Chicago Award Recipient
• Dave Thomas Foundation and The Cradle for Best in Class Adoption benefits

Laura serves on the Board for Missouri State University Advisory Board, and former Board Member for the Tyler Clementi Foundation. She supports and volunteers at the Cradle Adoption agency, Special Olympic, Walter & Connie Payton Foundation, Hispanic Alliance Career Enhancement (H.A.C.E.), and several other Diversity and Inclusion organizations.