Sandra Sims-Williams

Sandra Sims-Williams believes that diversity is a vital part of an organization’s competitive advantage and merits inclusion in the business goals and outcomes of an organization. As Publicis Groupe’s Chief Diversity Officer, Sandra is charged with developing and sustaining diversity and inclusion strategies, initiatives, tools and measurement for nearly 24,000 employees working in all brands and business units operating in the US. She also chairs the Publicis Groupe Talent Engagement & Inclusion Council which is made up of leaders from across Publicis Groupe’s agency network.

A 20+ year veteran, Sandra has worked tirelessly to champion talent engagement, diversity and inclusion efforts across Publicis Groupe’s agencies and the industry-at-large. Within Publicis Groupe, she is the lead for the Publicis Groupe launch of VivaWomen! USA and continues to develop opportunities to empower women through conference attendance (Black Enterprise Women of Power, ColorComm, Out & Equal etc.), professional development venues, e.g. Odyssey Network (for senior level women from all industries). Sandra has organized a weekly women’s group called “Journey to the Well,” which takes its inspiration from the popular book of the same name, written by Bishop Vashti McKenzie – the first female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) and first female president of the church’s Council of Bishops.

She is also an industry-recognized authority in diversity who has facilitated and authored a “go to” resource for the 4A’s Diversity Committee, “The Competitive Edge” which was launched in 2012. Sandra also organized and chaired the Roundtable for Advertising Diversity Executives (RADE) to address diversity and inclusion in the advertising/communication industry. She has worked with the NY Ad Club and New York Department of Education to increase the awareness of advertising as a career to high school students. Sandra has received numerous awards and recognition for her contributions including: President’s Award, NY Ad Club; Global Visionary Award, Howard University School of Communication; Rosoff “Mentoring” Award, Boston Ad Club; Academy of Women Achievers, 2010, Boston YWCA.

Sandra holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and a M.A. from Hunter College in New York. She is passionate about counseling and guiding young women and is an involved member of her community serving as a executive board member of the Advertising Club of New York and the boards of ColorComm and the New York Women in Communications group. Previously, she has served as a member of the Women’s Executive Committee of the Boston Chamber a member of the Diversity and Advisory Committees for the Boston Ad Club; as a member of the Executive Council for WGBH, Boston’s PBS station; and is an alumnus of The Partnership, an organization to help attract and retain people of color to Boston.