Kai Deveraux Lawson is a powerhouse voice for change in advertising’s DE&I efforts

Kai Deveraux Lawson has long been one of the most insightful, relevant and demanding voices in diversity, equity and inclusion in the advertising business. Her two and a half years at Dentsu Creative showed her skill in not just building policy around DE&I but executing it for real results—internally and externally. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here As senior VP of diversity, equity and inclusion at the agency, Lawson showed remarkable efficacy in enacting the kind of change for which she’s advocated for years on her celebrated “Mixed Company” podcast. Within a year, Lawson embedded DE&I across all areas of Dentsu Creative’s U.S. business by rewiring talent acquisition processes with new screening policies, engaging new community partners and co-creating a billable Cultural Fluency practice to center inclusion inside the organization and outside with work and client engagements. Lawson’s accomplishments included: For her impactful and always pioneering efforts in the space, Lawson has been named Creativity Awards Diversity & Inclusion Champion of the Year. “She not only understands how to operationalize a DEI strategy but execute it for results,” said Simeon Coker, co-host of the Mixed Company podcast. “Hiring, inclusion, developing diverse people within these spaces isn’t about charity. It’s about optimizing the impact for the agency and for the work that we’re doing for our clients. Kai understands that. ... I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that she’s been in the work versus having coming from an HR perspective.” “She has deserved this honor for quite some time,” said Shannon Washington, chief creative officer at Gotham. “She knows the culture of creative agencies. ... She’s able to get to the root of problems very quickly and to the root of opportunities and tap into trends, tap into talent that need a spotlight shone on them.” Saedra Bracy, director of equity, diversity and inclusion, North America, at Wieden+Kennedy, and Josh Loebner, global head of inclusive design at VML, were also among the top finalists in this category. But the Creativity Awards jury elevated Lawson for pushing through her efforts at a large and traditionally conservative agency, for her broad views on diversity (including advocating for LGBTQIA+ groups and people with disabilities) and for her unwavering commitment. “She approaches it holistically and thoughtfully and intentionally, not because it’s the thing everyone’s talking about today, but because it’s the thing that matters all the time,” said one juror. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here

Kai Deveraux Lawson is a powerhouse voice for change in advertising’s DE&I efforts

Featured Stories