{"id":15307,"date":"2024-12-01T01:00:24","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T09:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=15307"},"modified":"2026-02-17T13:16:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T21:16:44","slug":"carol-perez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2024\/12\/01\/carol-perez\/","title":{"rendered":"Carol P\u00e9rez Credits MBA for Ability to Lead Workplace DEI Initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Hand<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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\"Headshot<\/a>
Carol P\u00e9rez<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Carol P\u00e9rez<\/a> (\u201924 MBA) is a go-getter. As the HR manager for the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES) within the College of the Environment at the University of Washington, she also serves on several committees. This includes participation in CICOES DEI, Professional Development, and REU Application Review, the College of the Environment DEI and DEI Fellows Program, and the UW Community of Practice HR Mentorship committees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, P\u00e9rez began WSU\u2019s online MBA program<\/a>, actively participating in networking events and joining the Alumni Association. On top of work and school, she makes time for her social life and her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online MBA program offers convenience and career support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When searching for the right MBA program, WSU stood out to P\u00e9rez for its flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything about the program seemed ideal and very reasonable,\u201d she says. \u201cFrom the class structure to the ability to only take one class at a time, to the price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For P\u00e9rez, the most valuable part of the MBA program was the connections she made with both students and staff. P\u00e9rez participated in numerous in-person marketing events, webinars, and personalized career sessions with Holly Connley, WSU\u2019s career and personal brand consultant for MBA students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHolly\u2019s services were invaluable,\u201d she says. \u201cWith Holly, everything was so personalized; she really cares about her students, and that was a great perk to the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A commitment to public education and DEI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a proud product of public education, P\u00e9rez chose to pursue her MBA at a public institution, believing in the critical role institutions play in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She views public universities as essential in representing the full spectrum of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u00e9rez found WSU\u2019s online MBA program to be particularly inclusive, enabling participation from individuals worldwide with diverse backgrounds and circumstances, including veterans, active military members, and expectant parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis MBA program has been very holistic in that you learn about businesses from all different angles,\u201d she says. \u201cDEI is part of that because you are looking at how to implement these positive changes at work while looking at the bigger picture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing DEI into the workplace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As an HR manager, she works to implement DEI initiatives into hiring practices, facilitates a DEI group, and strives to create community for people of different backgrounds in the workplace. This work is especially important, as her unit conducts scientific research, which benefits from a diverse team to address the wide-ranging needs of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe work we do is focused on climate and ecosystems, and that affects everyone,\u201d she says. \u201cThat makes it important to have a diverse way to approach the work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she first started her current role, P\u00e9rez participated in a mentorship program. Mentees filled out a questionnaire about what they are looking for in a mentor. There was an extra spot at the bottom for additional notes, where P\u00e9rez requested someone who is black, indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC) to be her mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, there was only one BIPOC mentor. She was paired with P\u00e9rez, and it turned out to be a great match, resulting in a relationship that is still strong today. Now, P\u00e9rez gives back to the same mentorship program by serving as a mentor. She also collaborates with her former mentor, who leads the program, specifically looking at ways to increase BIPOC participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow I am a mentor in that same program,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t think I would\u2019ve been as involved if I hadn\u2019t been paired with that specific person. All it took was a space for that mentor request to be made and me having the initiative to ask for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u00e9rez plans to use her MBA training to lead organizational change and be a strategic partner to leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did not have a business background prior to the program and this MBA has helped me understand holistically how a business functions,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carol P\u00e9rez Carrera (\u201924 MBA) is a go-getter. As the HR manager for the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES) at the University of Washington College of the Environment, she also serves on four committees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[635],"featured_media":16480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[429,620,425,625],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/635"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15307"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18483,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15307\/revisions\/18483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15307"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=15307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}