The City of Norman is proud to announce and welcome Cinthya Allen as the City’s first Chief Diversity and Equity Officer. Allen will be responsible for advising the City on affirmative actions and creating and implementing programs designed to ensure fair and equitable opportunities for citizens, staff and council as she shapes the newly created role.
“We are thrilled to welcome Cinthya to the Norman team. We were hopeful we would find someone qualified to help us develop a brand new function of city government from scratch and she comes to us with an extensive resume. We are eager to have her expertise as we continue to grow our diversity and inclusion efforts,” said City Manager Darrel Pyle.
Allen joins the City from the University of Oklahoma where she served as the Director of Corporate Relations. Prior to her role at the University, Allen worked for AT&T for nearly 20 years. While at AT&T, she served as Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador for the Global AT&T Brand at national conferences, participated in panelist groups, and served as an advisor for diverse Employee Resource Groups through partnerships with business units. She also led AT&T’s Latino-focused Employee Resource Group as Executive Vice President Membership, Executive Vice President Operations, and ultimately National President for a total of 10 years of service. During her tenure, the group grew from 900 members to over 11,000.
“I am so proud the city I call home is as committed as it is to make Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion a standing operation within their organization. That is certainly something to be proud of, since we all win when we have stronger communities and infrastructures. I am honored and excited to enhance the great opportunities the City of Norman has to offer for its workforce, citizens, economic development, and beyond,” Allen said.
Her first objective as she works towards Norman’s goal of building an inclusive community is to establish partnerships and build collaborative community relationships.
“My goal is to serve. I have led Diversity & Inclusion at a global level and understand we will yield best outcomes when we work together,” said Allen. “To do this, I look forward to getting to know our City of Norman workforce, leadership, City Council, and community partners, including business and nonprofit. I’ve come into this role, excited, humbled, and energized to leverage my experience earned for elevating the City of Norman’s internal and external impact through a collaborative approach.”
In addition to her impressive work history, Allen has received the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility’s Young Hispanic Corporate Achievers™ award in 2014 and graduated from the HITEC Emerging Executive Program in November 2015. She completed the OKConnect Leadership Cohort program in 2015, was recognized as a 50 Making a Difference Honoree by The Journal Record in 2016, received an Official Commendation for Social Activator by Oklahoma Senator Anastasia Pittman in 2017, and a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma Class 31. Most recently, she was awarded the Achievers Under 40 award by The Journal Record. Allen extends her leadership by serving on meaningful local boards, including YWCA of OKC, Junior Achievement of OKC, and the Latino Community Development Agency.
Allen is a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, a proud mother of three daughters and an alumna of the University of Oklahoma.