Tiffany Hudson is in the DEI business—and right now, business is booming. For the past three and a half years her company Nova Collective has been helping companies improve their diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, work that’s quickly gained momentum in recent weeks as a result of national attention being drawn even more to how systemic racism affects every industry. Hudson and her business partners work with all industries—they call themselves “industry agnostic”—and the companies range in size from two people to 40,000 employees. The reasoning behind that is simple: everyone can benefit from improving diversity, equity, and inclusion. I talked with Hudson about the Nova Collective’s approach to their work, her personal experiences she brings to the job, and the work we all still need to do.
What are some of those things you do differently at Nova Collective?
My dad has worked in diversity, equity, and inclusion at a bank here in Chicago for quite some time, right up until his passing. I think I’ve always been around the work and I’ve subconsciously probably been taking in so much growing up, and I think growing up in a diverse suburb right out of Chicago, I saw a lot. I think being a Black gay woman, I’ve had some positive experiences and I’ve had some negative experiences, so I’m able to relate to a lot of different people. For me, my personal experiences have certainly put me in a position where I have seen a lot, I’ve experienced a lot, and I’ve learned when and how to react.
