COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced the hiring of Nitra Rucker as its director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Rucker will be responsible for leading, developing and executing diversity and inclusion strategies for the USOPC and the broader U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movements.
In her role, Rucker will lead and implement the USOPC's workforce diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, focusing on identifying and addressing inhibitors that prevent progress in this space. She will collaborate with peers and stakeholders to develop leadership talent pipelines to benefit the larger Olympic and Paralympic family. Rucker will also manage the Educate, Engage and Enact series that provides education and sharing of ideas on topics such as unconscious bias, intersectionality and fostering belonging at the USOPC. She will also play a critical role in supporting the USOPC's community resource groups focused on driving change to make our community more equitable and inclusive for all.
"We are thrilled to welcome Nitra to the Team USA family, and we are grateful our search led us to her and her strong knowledge and background in this important field," said Bobbi McPherson, USOPC chief people officer. "It's imperative that we make impactful change at the USOPC, and in the Olympic and Paralympic movements, and we have the utmost confidence in Nitra’s ability to make us a stronger and more representative community."
Rucker brings a wealth of knowledge in diversity, equity and inclusion to the USOPC. With more than 20 years of work with KeyCorp, Rucker most recently held the role of vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion engagement manager, where she crafted a new DE&I operational structure to increase positive change across the organization and developed employee resource groups to fulfill to the organization's business and philanthropic ideals. Under Rucker's leadership, KeyCorp was named the 2020 National Diversity Council Top Company for Employee Resource Groups for her work in engaging over 55% of the entire KeyCorp population.
"It's a huge honor to join the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to lead its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, both internally and across the Olympic and Paralympic movements in the United States," said Rucker. "The Olympic and Paralympic community is incredibly diverse and has a great opportunity to be a leader in recognizing the power of that diversity to create better and stronger movements. I'm incredibly passionate about this area and am eager to learn how best to bring forth my background and experience to benefit Team USA athletes, and all who work to support them.”
Rucker earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Kent State University and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing from Cleveland State University.
Rucker will relocate to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and begins her role on Monday, Oct. 26.