Evoke appoints DE&I expert Karla Anderson to executive leadership team

NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Evoke, a leading global health and wellness agency, announced today that Karla Turner Anderson, JD, CDP, has joined the company as Senior Vice President Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In this role, Anderson will lead Evoke's DE&I capability across the organization globally and join the group's executive leadership team. The role reflects Evoke's ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion within the company and the healthcare marketing and communications industry.

"Diversity, equity and inclusion play a critical role in any organization, and not only in creating a stronger culture and more welcoming environment for our people to thrive, but we firmly believe that fully embracing DE&I and ensuring its fundamentals are ingrained in the fabric of Evoke will generate better work for our clients, create a greater competitive advantage for the agency, and, most importantly, help us to lead the change that is so needed in the health space overall," said CEO Reid Connolly. "I could not be more excited to have Karla join the agency and our leadership team—I am confident that the background and experience she brings to the role will help us set the pace for the industry in this critical area."

Anderson brings a wealth of experience conducting organizational diversity assessments and developing, implementing, and leading large-scale diversity and inclusion programs for multiple corporate brands. She has developed cross-cultural employee resource networks, mentoring programs, educational sessions, and professional development trainings as they relate to DE&I. Additionally, Anderson has proven to consistently provide strategic direction and change management for executives, coaching and collaborating with human resources and key enterprise stakeholders to embed diversity and inclusion within teams and their annual planning.

"I am so excited to join Evoke and build on the momentum of Evoke's ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. I am eager to build out a global DE&I team to amplify diversity and inclusion across the agency to better serve our clients, our current workforce, and future talent," said Anderson. "It is such a critical time for health and wellness brands to step up and take action toward closing the gaps in healthcare disparities and improving healthcare outcomes for all people, addressing the unique needs of communities who have been historically medically disenfranchised as a result of their race/ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, disability, socioeconomic, or veteran status. I look forward to partnering with the entire leadership team to deliver truly inclusive and impactful programs for clients and our employees."

Beyond the workplace, Anderson frequently trains and coaches organizations and diversity professionals on topics relating to diversity and inclusion, unconscious bias, and navigating multi-generational tensions in the workplace. Anderson has served as a DE&I speaker for the National Diversity Council's 15^th Annual Diversity & Leadership Conference, Campbell University Law School DEI in the Legal Profession Class, the Ole Miss Insurance Symposium, and with various Society of Human Resources Management affiliate chapters. She remains active in the community, having served as the Diversity Program co-chair and Awards Committee chair for Minorities in the Professions (MIP), as well as the chair of the National Employment Law Council Academy Fellows Committee and recently joining the Disability: IN North Carolina.

Prior to earning her CDP, Anderson earned her bachelor's degree from Fisk University as well as her law degree and a law and business certificate from Vanderbilt University Law School. She practiced law in regional and national law firms and as in-house seconded counsel representing global companies in mergers and acquisitions, human resources, affirmative action policies, and employment discrimination matters involving race, color, sex, and disability.

It remains an exciting time at Evoke. The agency has made a number of executive additions as it continues its upward trajectory and momentum. The agency was also recently named to Crain's Best Places to Work 2021 and their specialty comms agency, Evoke KYNE, was named PRovoke Media's Healthcare Agency of the Year 2021.

About Evoke
Evoke (www.evokegroup.com) is a leading marketing, media, and communications agency bound by a common purpose: Health more human™. With offices in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Princeton, Chicago, Singapore, and Dubai, more than 700 employees proudly work with 18 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Evoke is part of Huntsworth plc (www.huntsworth.com), an international healthcare and communications group. Huntsworth's principal areas of focus are marketing, medical, and immersive communication services for healthcare clients, which are primarily large and mid-sized pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice acquired Huntsworth plc on May 1, 2020.

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SOURCE Evoke