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The African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ) and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce recently announced the nominees for the third annual DE&I Trailblazer Awards.

The two organizations co-host the annual event. The fete recognizes companies that demonstrate tangible and measurable progress in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Winners will be revealed at the Pines Manor in Edison Nov. 14 at 5 p.m.

The nominees represent a wide swath here in the great Garden State — from small to large businesses in a slew of different industries. Over the past two months, the two chambers have curated that list, based on areas such as:

• Access to capital
• Board diversity
• Corporate citizenship
• DE&I influencer
• Supplier diversity
• Workforce diversity

In a press release, the chambers stressed that all of the nominees have inspiring and uplifting stories. They said the candidates focus on DE&I as part of their business strategies, which has resulted in tangible benefits for each.

The DE&I Trailblazer Awards nominees:

• American Water
• AmeriHealth
• BND Consulting
• Center for Family Services
• CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc.
• Comcast
• Electra Lines LLC
• Elevate 360 LLC
• Emergency Pest Control
• Empower Construction LLC
• Hackensack Meridian Health
• Huntler LLC
• Langan
• LB Electric Co. LLC
• New Jersey Community Capital
• New Jersey Department of State
• Quality Dental School of Technology, Inc.
• Qunnections Management Group, LLC
• South Jersey Industries
• Virtua Health
• We Are Jersey

‘Walking the walk’

“Supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t the same as actively advocating for it or implementing measurable equity and inclusion goals across an entire organization,” said John Harmon Sr., founder, president and CEO of the AACCNJ. “The inequities in our marketplace were intentionally created, and it will take intentional actions to dismantle them. If we are serious about driving meaningful change, we must push for a corporate culture of inclusivity – here in New Jersey and beyond. That’s the path to mutual success.”

Dr. Denise Anderson, a health executive and a member of the AACCNJ board of directors will serve as keynote speaker at the event – delivering a speech titled “Framing the Importance of DE&I.”

New Jersey Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Tom Bracken said the event will honor the companies that are “walking the walk.”

“We are recognizing and celebrating the champions who are meeting the challenge and challenging the status quo,” said Bracken.

More information on the DE&I Trailblazer Awards Reception can be found here.

See also:

In April, Forbes named 19 New Jersey firms to Best Employers For Diversity list. See the list here >>