Diversity, equity, inclusion—these are fundamental ideals. Everybody can agree that it’s good to be diverse, equitable and inclusive. But if you don’t have the right plan, they can fall short of expectations. Plenty of companies have made commitments to DE&I in the past two years, but without a full understanding of both the benefits and challenges of the work, you might find yourself right back where you started. So, what is diversity, equity and inclusion? Why is it needed? And what does it mean for your organization specifically?

Myra Caldwell and Tori Farmer have firsthand experience answering these questions. Myra is Cadence Bank’s Chief Diversity Officer, and along with Tori, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at KPMG, she’s furthered and championed Cadence’s DE&I strategy over the past 18 months. Myra and Tori are here to share how you can implement a plan specific to your business, no matter how big. Because your employees, suppliers, customers and partners are experiencing your culture every day, whether you have a plan or not. And when you work hard to intentionally change things for the better, those benefits can be felt across the board.

Together we’ll show you how to evaluate your business, set up measurable goals, and have the hard, necessary conversations that this work entails. Plus, we’ll share how Cadence has progressed and reassessed on its DE&I journey—how far we’ve come and how far there still is to go. One company isn’t going to solve the problem, but, together, we can move the needle towards a more just, accepting world. Read the full show transcript.

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Meet the Host

Patrick Pacheco, Executive Vice President, Trust Executive, has more than 25 years’ experience in wealth management, in addition to the designing and implementation of tax and related planning strategies.

Pacheco’s background includes years of legal practice and multiple degrees, including an LLM* Taxation from University of Houston, a JD from Southern Methodist University, and both an MBA and BS in Economics from University of Texas at Arlington.

He is also board certified in Estate Planning and Probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Meet the Speakers

Myra Caldwell is an Executive Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer at Cadence Bank. In her role, she champions diversity, equity and inclusion development and leads a program that will be used for positive momentum, education and change.

She joined Cadence Bank in 2011 and served as Director, Treasury Management Product Management & Strategy, Treasury Management Operations and Deposit Operations. Prior to joining Cadence Bank, she was a Director, Treasury Management Strategy at Amegy Bank. Based in Houston, Myra has over 35 years of bank experience and is a Certified Diversity Executive, which is a credential from IDC, Society for Diversity. She is also a Certified Treasury Professional and a received her Bank Operations Certification from The American Institute of Banking and her Six Sigma Green Belt training from Villanova University.

Myra serves her community through several volunteer opportunities such as the Houston Food Bank and United Way. She is a board member of the Houston Area Urban League.

Latoria J. Farmer is the Executive Director, Diversity, Equity & inclusion with over 20 years of experience leading enterprise strategies to attract, retain, develop and advance underrepresented talent. Tori is a strategic advisor to business leaders and other key stakeholders on identifying and addressing unique workforce opportunities, and currently supporting the business integration of the KPMG’s Accelerate 2025 strategic priorities. Partnering with HR business enablement teams, her work includes establishing firmwide goals and DEI key performance indicators, conducting root cause and needs analysis to inform strategies, and mitigating bias in talent processes. As a key contributor to the talent life cycle, Tori has been involved with persona development, needs assessments, sponsorship, leadership development and succession planning. She has developed programmatic solutions and integrated best practices to continually enhance the growth and progression across underrepresented groups. Tori also serves as a subject matter professional on client engagements.

Her previous roles as an HR business advisor has included workforce management, compensation planning, learning and development, total rewards, and employee relations. As a Workplace Solutions Leader, she supported work life effectiveness, employee engagement, mentorship, diversity and corporate responsibility. Tori is a national instructor for milestone leadership development as well as diversity and inclusion programs, including unconscious bias training.

She has been recognized as a national KPMG Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Volunteerism and the local KPMG Chairman’s Award for High Performance. She was also previously recognized by the Anti-Defamation League as a Rising Star.

*Cadence Bank does not provide legal, accounting or tax advice to any client who receives trust services from Cadence Bank.

This podcast is provided as a free service to you and is for general informational purposes only. Cadence Bank makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the content in the podcast. The podcast is not intended to provide legal, accounting or tax advice and should not be relied upon for such purposes. To the extent that this podcast includes predictions about the economy, these predictions are subject to a number of variables and you should confer with your legal, accounting and tax advisors for their input regarding the possible outcomes of any economic subject matter discussed herein.