Sondra Thiederman

Dr. Sondra Thiederman is one of the nation's leading experts on unconscious bias and workplace inclusion issues. As President of Cross-Cultural Communications, a San Diego based training firm, she has more than 25 years of experience as a speaker, trainer, and author helping professionals in Fortune 500 companies, public sector organizations, and dozens of associations find ways to successfully navigate our increasingly diverse workplaces.

Since receiving her Ph.D. in Cross-Cultural studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, Thiederman has helped hundreds of organizations develop solutions to their unconscious bias and diversity/inclusion challenges. Among her clients are leading organizations such as Sodexo, Xerox Corporation, The Boeing Company, FedEx Corporation, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Marriott Corporation, Century 21 Real Estate, American Express, The Federal Reserve Bank, Motorola, and AT&T. She has also functioned as a consultant to the University of California and the American Cancer Society and has served on the Diversity Council of the American Red Cross. She currently serves as an Expert Panelist for O’Mara and Richter’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks: Standards for Organizations Around the World.

Thiederman has extensive media experience including mentions in such national publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and U.S.A Today. She is published in professional journals ranging from T&D to Real Estate Today to Association Management, has written on diversity for the website Monster.com, and is the author of several books on diversity-related topics including:

• "Profiting in America’s Multicultural Marketplace: How to Do Business Across Cultural Lines"
• "Bridging Cultural Barriers for Corporate Success: How to Manage the Multicultural Workforce"
• "Getting ‘Culture Smart’: Ten Strategies for Making Diversity Work"
• "Making Diversity Work: Seven Steps for Defeating Bias in the Workplace"
• "The Diversity and Inclusion Handbook"
• "3 Keys to Defeating Unconscious Bias: Watch, Think, Act"

She continues to research and develop resources on unconscious bias and workplace diversity/inclusion, collaborating with companies and media outlets globally to further these initiatives. Her dedication to these issues is reflected in her recognition as a “Pioneer in Diversity” by Profiles in Diversity Journal.