Advocate for Inclusivity

Ramsay brought that awareness to college at Puget Sound, where she studied cultural anthropology and grew into a skilled advocate for people traditionally marginalized because of their race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, or other identities. When she returned to campus a few years later as director of intercultural engagement, she was supporting students who reminded her of her younger self. She later worked as an advocate for inclusiveness at Seattle University, Loyola Marymount University, and Starbucks, then this past January accepted a position as director of executive leadership development at Walgreens.

Moving from higher education to global retailers with hundreds of thousands of employees has challenged her to be effective in different environments, but she sees it as an extension of her earlier work. She’s particularly excited about fostering learning among employees and senior leaders to increase their awareness, knowledge, and skills on topics related to inclusion, diversity, equity, and culture. While she has helped create change at multiple institutions, she is proudest of what she accomplished at her alma mater. “The things that made a difference for me—the diversity center, intercultural engagement, the social justice center—I was involved with helping get us to where we are today. It was an honor to be a part of that.”