Joey Aviles

About

About Joey Aviles - Former Chief of Diversity & Inclusion, Former Director of Recruitment & Retention, and Keynote Speaker:

Joey Aviles is recognized as a 2022 LinkedIn’s Racial Equity Top Voice, 2021 Top 15 Champion of Diversity by Diversity Global Magazine, as a Top 100 Executive Leader by Diversity MBA Magazine, and featured as an Inclusion Innovator by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM).

Joey is the Founder and Chief Belonging Officer of MJA & CO, LLC, a Minority-owned consulting firm helping leaders leverage Diversity, Equity & Inclusion as a catalyst to increase engagement, innovation, and retention.

Joey served as the first civilian Chief of Diversity and Inclusion in the history of the US Coast Guard. He is a DEI Thought Leader with over 15 years of experience serving clients like Dell Technologies, Ferrara, University of Phoenix, Highmark Health, Peace Corps, FDIC, FDA, NIH, Department of Defense, Department of Interior, Department of Homeland Security, and other organizations. Miguel is a TEDx speaker, and has been featured at the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Telemundo, the Change Management Conference, the Human Capital Institute, the SHRM Talent Management and D&I Conferences.

Graduate of the Yale School of Management Fostering Inclusion and Diversity Certificate, Joey is a certified Professional Diversity Coach by the Coach Diversity Institute. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez.

For over a decade he held several leadership positions in 3 major Federal Departments; DOI’s Division Chief of the Office of Recruitment and Retention Programs; DOD’s Deputy Program Manager of the Executive Leadership Development Program, the Defense Civilian Emerging Leaders Program, and the Managerial and Supervisory Training Program. He started his federal career as a Diversity Recruiter intern in Mayaguez, PR and served as an HR Specialist in the DOD’s Recruitment Assistance Division. Miguel is the former President of Young Government Leaders, a 12,000+ member national Affinity Group.

Topics

What Joey Aviles Talks About:

Reimagining Resilience – How to Boost Wellness, Psychological Safety, and Productivity at Work and Life
In an era where adaptability and collaboration are key, the essence of thriving organizations lies in the seamless integration of wellness, psychological safety, and productivity. Reimagining Resilience is designed for visionary brands eager to pioneer environments where every team member has the tools to perform at a world-class level.

This engaging session unfolds a dynamic 5-step framework grounded in the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It is packed with experiential exercises, actionable insights, and real-world examples that will help attendees navigate the day-to-day complexities in the workplace. The session is designed to harness and synchronize each individual’s unique strengths while propelling the organization forward.

The foundation of great teams is a true sense of deep care for each other, and people who care are resilient, and resilient people change the world.

Key Audience Takeaways

Uncover 5 simple, actionable steps to build genuine care.
Practice building psychological safety with proven tactics, featuring a storytelling exercise that empowers teams to speak up, learn, and embrace purposeful risk-taking.
Discover and implement practical techniques to reduce stress, increase energy, and build resilience by examining a case study where a company slashed burnout and turnover rates by 50% within a high-stress occupation.
Gain a step-by-step guide and diagnostic tool leaders, managers and individual contributors can use to unleash productivity amidst heavy workloads.

The ALIVE Organization – Building a Thriving Workplace in the Age of AI
Times have changed. This much we all know. With the world in a continuous state of crisis, where there is no such thing as “normal,” the very nature of work, and life have been forever redefined. From social isolation to constant disruption, it is harder to foster connection, joy, and belonging within our teams.

Now is the time to reequip our teams to achieve new heights. This keynote unveils the A.L.I.V.E framework: five pillars to achieving human connection, power up, and thriving through the power of belonging.

Joey takes an inspirational, yet deep approach to answering the following questions: How to use the power of productive conflict to increase human connection and performance? How sharing stories of recovery, success, and failures can help to strengthen a culture of belonging? What’s the superpower of top performers? What steps are necessary to embrace vulnerability in the workplace?

The Future of Inclusion – A Culture of Care
Polarization across communities and workplaces is at all-time high. Leaders are experiencing disengaged teams, the need for innovation, and the constant feeling something is missing in the workplace. What if the answer wasn’t more mandatory diversity training, but a fundamental shift in our approach?

The future of inclusion is beyond diversity. As a former Chief of D&I at a global organization, I’ve seen firsthand the limitations of diversity initiatives without a foundation of genuine care for each other. So, if we know diversity is essential but not enough, what truly unlocks the transformative power of your teams?

Recent Publications

This was the most inspiring conference session I've ever been to in my life. Joey was fun, entertaining, and just magnetizing. He kept my full attention without a moment out of focus.