UAB Health System Chief Diversity Officer André Lessears recently received the Most Inclusive Leader of the Year award for 2023 from Corporate Learning Network, a prominent research firm in the learning and development industry.
This award recognizes diversity and equity champions who have taken bold actions, achieved measurable impact in recruitment and development, and led with empathy as a role model for inclusive behavior.
“Our Chief Diversity Officer André Lessears exemplifies inclusive leadership,” said UAB Health System CEO Dawn Bulgarella, MSHA, CPA. “His unwavering dedication and transformative actions have not only earned him this prestigious award, they also have ignited a profound change across our organization. His accomplishments stand as a testament to the power of relentless commitment to equity and inclusivity in health care.”
Lessears was named chief diversity officer at UAB Medicine in early 2021 and currently leads a strategy of inclusive leadership. He has 15 years of experience in implementing diversity and inclusion policies at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, the city of Dubuque, Iowa, and Midwestern State University in Texas.