ICARUS Board of Advisors
Meet our core group of professionals that are industry experts and thought leaders driving positive change in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Our Approach
Experience better. We are a veteran-owned consulting firm that specializes in helping organizations create inclusive cultures that leverage diversity and inclusion for a competitive advantage. We accomplish this by developing strategies that enable our clients to attract, develop, and retain highly skilled talents from an emerging, diverse workforce. At the same time, we help our clients enhance the engagement, knowledge, and skills of current employees.
Meet Our Advisors
Dr. Shelton Goode
Dr. Goode is a diversity and inclusion executive with more than 20 years of human resource, business, and university teaching experience. Goode has held executive human resource and diversity positions for companies ranging in size, from $300 million to more than $11 billion.
He has developed and implemented talent management programs, performance management systems, sales incentive plans, labor relations strategies, and large-scale culture change initiatives.
Charles Gibson III
Board of Advisors
Charles is a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professional with 15 years of experience devising DEI solutions centered on strategic planning, teaching practices, and leadership capacity building. He currently serves as the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) for Lees-McRae College, a private liberal arts college in North Carolina. He is one of the youngest CDOs of a college or university in the United States.
Danielle Gruppo
Board of Advisors
Danielle Gruppo is a senior consultant with broad and deep expertise in workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), organizational effectiveness, and talent acquisition. Gruppo is an accomplished human resources executive with more than 25 years of experience in developing and executing talent management and human capital strategies. She has held executive positions in several Fortune 250 companies in the energy, healthcare, service, and manufacturing industries.
JR Hipple
Board of Advisors
JR Hipple has devoted his career to management and communications consulting, providing advice to businesses, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations across the nation. He is the managing partner responsible for SIR’s organizational development and leadership strategy work, and he heads up our education and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) practice areas.
John Holly
Board of Advisors
Mr. Holly is a senior consultant and lifelong human resource professional with a passion for coaching for personal and professional growth and success. John has over 20 years of executive experience in human resources and talent management. Mr. Holly was born in South Carolina but spent his formative years growing up in South Florida. He attended Clark College (known now as Clark Atlanta University), where he attained his BBA. John is also a graduate of the 67th session of the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development.
Cathy Light
Board of Advisors
Cathy Light is a senior advisor to the CEO and principal consultant. Cathy is an accomplished diversity, equity, inclusion, and HR executive with more than 20 years of experience. She is a successful executive with experience working with global corporate clients across a wide range of markets and industries. Her passion for building businesses has led her to the launch of Assessment Leaders, Leadership Balance, Be Well Perform Well, and Business Builders. She is a dynamic speaker with an engaging personality who has a genuine passion for helping business leaders achieve their goals. Cathy’s style is results-oriented and she tailors programs to meet each client’s unique needs. Open, honest communications are at the heart of all her engagements.
Anita Nahal, Ph.D., CDP
Board of Advisors
Dr. Nahal is a senior consultant who is a nationally recognized diversity thought leader. Dr. Nahal is an accomplished diversity, equity, inclusion, and HR executive with more than 20 years of experience. Her global experience includes diversity and inclusion work in nine countries and six continents. Dr. Nahal has worked at several historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Julius Pryor III
Board of Advisors
Julius Pryor III is the senior advisor to the CEO. He has held executive roles at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), Russell Athletic, Abbott Laboratories, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Pryor was the vice president of Global Diversity at both J&J and Coke. Most recently, Julius served as the head of innovation (diversity and inclusion) at the biotech leader, Genentech. Pryor combines a unique vision for the future of D&I. He has a strong grounding in sales and management and has insights into what works across different industries and sectors.
