B. Maurice Ward

With over a decade of professional experience in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives, Maurice is an expert in establishing, building and growing concepts and programs in multiple sectors. He brings a multifaceted employee understanding of societal systems of bias that present themselves in government, nonprofit and private industry, and additionally, has consulted on these concepts for a wide variety of clients.

Maurice recently served as Diversity, Equity , Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Manager for PEMCO Mutual Insurance, where he created and was accountable for leading and driving diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging strategic initiatives specific to the business model. His accomplishment include establishing a framework for and carrying out a comprehensive vision for DEIB, aligning DEIB initiatives, delivery, and narrative to leadership intent, DEIB Best Practices, DEIB Strategic Planning, Employee Resource Groups (ERG) Roadmap, and organizational goals, increasing employee and community engagement, providing thought leadership, and developing diverse & inclusive partnerships, while leveraging mechanisms to regularly update the business leaders on progress and business impact. He was also the Chair of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Exchange for the Institute of Corporate Productivity (i4cp), leading a community of DEI leaders that explore innovative approaches to strengthening DEI strategies and practices. Earlier in his career, Maurice was a consultant to public and private sector clients with expertise in DEI strategy, implementation, and coaching.

Maurice is currently accountable for leading and driving diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic initiatives specific to our business model including establishing a framework for and carrying out a comprehensive vision for DEI, aligning DEI initiatives, delivery, and narrative to Avalara leadership intent, DEIB Best Practices, Employee Resource Groups (ERG) Platform, and organizational goals, developing and implementing innovative strategies that mitigate organizational risk, allowing us to celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating a safe,inspiring, and inclusive environment for all of our employees, increasing employee and community engagement, providing thought leadership, and developing diverse, equitable, and inclusive partnerships, while leveraging mechanisms to regularly update our business leaders on progress and business impact.

He’s accountable for providing diversity, equity, and inclusion, community engagement, social justice, unity leadership, organizational vision, and inspiration across multiple areas and functions through clear communication and a defined path of execution of strategy and goals.

He’s accountable for project delivery, facilitating the planning, execution, and evaluation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, initiatives and programs, while leading effectively across multiple collaborative teams to align so to help the Avalara DE&I team achieve its organizational goals.

A proud US Navy Veteran, Maurice arrived in Washington state serving on the USS Camden AOE-2 and has called the greater Seattle area home for many years, developing strong ties to community organizations and the services they provide.

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