Lawrence Otis Graham

Lawrence Otis Graham is a nationally known business author and advisor to companies, business associations, and other organizations on diversity and progressive strategies for managing the changing workplace. He is the author of twelve books including the new business book, Proversity: Getting Past Face Value (John Wiley and Sons), a guide to improving the diverse workplace. He is also the author of Member of the Club (Harper Collins) and The Best Companies for Minorities (Penguin Books), which is the result of his 22-month survey of more than six hundred Fortune 1000 companies and professional service firms. With an introduction by Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Graham’s book examines how organizations are successfully addressing diversity in the workplace.

A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Graham is on the faculty of Fordham University where he teaches the course Minorities and Women in Corporate America: Case Studies, Profiles, and Issues Facing the Changing Workplace. In addition to his prior books, Professor Graham has authored numerous business articles for such publications as The New York Times, Business and Society Review, New York Magazine, and Executive Citizen. He is well-known for appearing on the cover of New York Magazine twice, after writing the story “Invisible Man: A $105,000-a-year Harvard-trained Lawyer Goes Undercover as a Busboy at Greenwich Country Club.” The article, which examines the attitudes of America’s corporate elite, is being made into a Warner Brothers film, starring Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington.

A leading expert on diversity issues, Professor Graham has been profiled by Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, Time magazine, and many other publications. Newsweek Japan sponsored a series of his lectures in Tokyo for Japanese business leaders. He has also appeared on the Today show, CNN’s Inside Business, CNNfn, Oprah, and many other programs. His work appears in The Wall Street Journal, The Journal of Workforce Diversity, Business & Society Review, Black Enterprise, Hispanic Business, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe. His “Passive Bias” self-analysis quiz was published by Fortune.

Also a well-respected corporate attorney who has appeared as an on-air commentator for WNBC-TV, CNBC and CNN. Graham has worked at the White House and the Ford Foundation, and sits on the Boards of the Council on Economic Priorities and the Princeton Center for Leadership Training. Graham practiced at the New York firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and is now of counsel to the firm of Smith, McDaniel & Donahue. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a contributor to U.S. News and World Report.

Graham is the President of Progressive Management Associates, Inc, a diversity consulting firm that offers workshops, seminars, lecture programs, and consulting services to corporate clients and other organizations in the U.S. and Japan.