The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accountability (IDEA) Office is part of the Laboratory Directorate, reporting to Director Witherell. Its mission is to promote, advance, integrate, and operationalize inclusion, diversity, equity, and accountability (IDEA) approaches and best practices within all levels of the organization.
In partnership with senior leaders, the IDEA Office is responsible for guiding Berkeley Lab to develop, execute, and lead an IDEA strategy and program that is embedded in Berkeley Lab’s culture and aligns with the Lab’s research mission. These efforts are organized under three IDEA pillars: workforce (employee experience and talent life cycle); workplace (policies, practices, and procedures); and community (external partnerships).
The IDEA Office manages and supports and IDEA Senior Leadership Council, IDEA Chairs Council, Employee Resource Groups, and IDEA Working Groups. It also provides consultation to local Areas and Divisions on their IDEA-related goals and activities. The IDEA Office supports institutional efforts to prevent harassment, discrimination, and retaliation; and partners closely with Human Resources to foster the recruitment, retention, and development of exceptional and diverse scientific, engineering, and operational talent.
We can be reached at: IDEA@lbl.gov
Lady Idos, MPA
Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Berkeley Lab
Lady Idos, MPA (pronouns: she/they) serves as the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL or Berkeley Lab), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory managed by the University of California (UC). She is responsible for the development and implementation of an organization-wide strategy and program to advance inclusion, diversity, equity, and accountability (IDEA), and ensure integration within its research mission, stewardship values, and organizational culture.
Some of Lady’s accomplishments include: establishing and implementing LBNL’s first IDEA strategic plan; launching the Lab’s first Employee Resource Groups (ERGs); creating the first set of Workplace Gender Identity and Transition Guidelines within the national laboratory and UC system; spearheading an internship program for individuals with disabilities and veterans; and chairing the Lab’s first IDEA councils for senior leadership and employees.
Lady served on a two-year detail assignment at DOE Headquarters during the Biden-Harris Administration, reporting to Senate-confirmed appointee and Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity (ED), Hon. Shalanda Baker. Lady served as ED’s Deputy Director and head of the Office of DEIA (ODEIA), encompassing three Divisions focused on DEIA-related strategic planning, learning and organizational development, and workforce engagement. Lady provided leadership on DEIA strategy for the DOE Federal workforce, in accordance with Presidential and Government-wide priorities. She was the DOE lead for six federal Executive Orders (EOs), including: DEIA (EO 14035); gender equity (EO 14020); LGBTQI+ equality (EO 14075 on SOGI data); and White House Initiatives on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (EO 14031); Black Americans (EO 14050); and Hispanic Americans (EO 14045).
Lady is also experienced in HR-related federal and state compliance, e.g., equal employment opportunity (EEO) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s regulations under the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). She was a former investigator at LBNL for Title IX and sexual harassment cases; as well as discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Lady is the co-chair for Bay Area Council’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee and Chief Diversity Officers group, and advisor for UC Berkeley’s startup accelerator SkyDeck. She was a former Board member for East Bay Innovations, providing social services for adults with developmental disabilities; and former member of the UC Systemwide Advisory Committee on the Status of Women. She was the 2016 recipient of the Kevin McCauley Memorial Award for Outstanding Staff (UC-wide) and received the 2022 U.S. Secretary of Energy Achievement Award for her role in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Standup Team, nominated by the Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure.
Lady holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco; B.A. degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz; and a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladyidos
Janie Pinterits
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program Manager
E. Janie Pinterits, Ph.D., Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Program Manager: Dr. Pinterits promotes solutions for inclusive leadership and belonging in organizations. As the former Diversity Officer, former Assistant Provost, and Associate Professor at Alliant University’s California School of Professional Psychology, she oversaw all DEI committees across six campuses. She supported 80+ events and projects per year for affinity groups related to: Accessibility, African-American, Allies, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indigenous Peoples, Latinx, Pride/LGBTQ, Veterans, Women, and more.
Dr. Pinterits has conducted 100+ engaging workshops and presentations related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including implicit bias and microaggressions. She has been awarded grants to support pipeline programs for underrepresented students in behavioral science careers. Her publications related to DEI have appeared in The Journal of Counseling Psychology, Counselor Education and Supervision, PsycCRITIQUES, and The Oxford Handbook of Social Class in Counseling. She earned the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society of Counseling Psychology Section on Ethnic and Racial Diversity’s 2013 Outstanding Service to Diverse/Underserved Communities award. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from UC Santa Barbara. An avid bicyclist, she is a recipient of East Bay Bike Coalition’s Bicycle Commuter of the Year award.
Kevin Nichols
Senior IDEA Integration Partner
Kevin has over 20 years of experience managing the overall analysis, development, and implementation of DEI strategies for diverse organizations, including Fortune 500 companies such as Visa and FitBit, and nonprofit organizations. His expertise in DEI consultation and integration within organizational processes and approaches include: building diverse talent pipelines and pathways, attracting and retaining underrepresented talent, change management, career development, recruitment and hiring, mentoring, workplace climate assessments, DEI trainings and learning, diversity councils, employee resource groups, community outreach and engagement with students, and more. Kevin’s experience includes process improvement initiatives, conducting programmatic gap analyses and evaluations, and building organizational capacity and sustainability through data insights and industry best practices.
His interest in diversity and technology began at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), where he was an intern in mechanical engineering and the Equal Employment Opportunity office. He later became the Regional Public Relations Chairperson for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and Executive Director of the California Diversity Council and the African American Wellness Project.
Kevin studied Political Science and African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed an Executive Program for Social Entrepreneurship at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. He recently received the Alliance for Inclusive Artificial Intelligence (AIAI) certificate for Inclusive Data Science from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Kelly Perce
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program Manager
Kelly comes to the DEI office with seven years of experience working as an administrator with the Energy Analysis & Environmental Impacts Division in the Energy Technologies Area. She has extensive experience managing programs, projects, operations and events at the group, division and area levels.
Prior to LBL, Kelly worked at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and College of Natural Resources as well as the non-profit Trust for Public Land in San Francisco. She also spent 15 years working in the outdoor travel industry with Backroads, a Berkeley-based company that offers bicycling and hiking vacations around the world. Among her many roles at Backroads, she was a professional trip leader managing regional operations and trip logistics throughout Europe as well as acting as an interpreter, naturalist and guide for groups of up to 26 people.
She earned her undergraduate degree in French Literature from Colgate University in New York and has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Her favorite place to be is outside hiking, biking, kayaking, cross-country skiing and occasionally snowshoeing.
Kings Ogbeni
IDEA Coordinator
Kings Ogbeni has experience in assisting with operational efficiency with a focus on targeted strategies combined with implementation to maximize output in base operations, streamlining administrative workflow processes, and providing comprehensive executive administrative support for international organizations and nonprofits.
Kings has been credited with success in multilevel strategies focused on organizational development that incorporate project management, office management, understanding emotional intelligence, and facilitation. Kings has his BS in Business Management from San Francisco State University
