LaDavia Drane is the global head of inclusion, diversity, and equity at Amazon Web Services. She is dedicated to promoting ID&E, aiming to empower underrepresented talent in the tech industry and provide equitable opportunities.
She leads a team of professionals who strive to make AWS the best employer for all talent, especially those from marginalized communities.
LaDavia and her team mentor and sponsor women, while also building partnerships with community organizations like GTA Black Women in Tech, Black Girls Who Code, Global Women in Tech, and Disability: IN, among others.
Through these partnerships, they offer financial support, volunteer time, and provide access to AWS technology and skills training.
In 2022, LaDavia's team launched the Global Strategic Events Team (GSET), which organizes experiential activations for AWS employees, customers, and partners.
They have created three key activations with partners: Black Girls Rock, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and Women in Tech summits globally.
Through targeted events, the team engaged over 25,000 customers, partners, builders, and community members.
LaDavia also partners with Brothers And Sisters In Christ Serving (B.A.S.I.C.S International), a community-based non-profit organization promoting education, digital literacy, social enterprise, economic empowerment, health, and social inclusion in Ghana.
AWS ID&E supported their three-week Annual Summer STEAM Camp for students in grades 1 to 12 in 2022 in Chorkor, Ghana. This partnership inspired AWS employees, leaders, and customers to continue driving progress for marginalized communities.
LaDavia and her team are also working on an initiative with AWS Marketplace and Social Impact Health teams to support BASICS' existing social enterprise.
LaDavia supports Foundervine, a non-profit that allows aspiring Black female technologists to accelerate their careers in tech as founders and leaders.
The program provides technical and soft skills, mentorship, technical project support, and workshops focused on personal branding and leadership development.
Furthermore, LaDavia's team funded the Pad project in India, which reached 547 menstruators through in-person awareness sessions. They also created a working capital loan fund of $1,000 for 30 newly trained female entrepreneurs selling menstrual products in their communities.
The project invested in a fully automatic pad-making machine and trained ten community-based women to operate this technology, empowering women through social mobility, education, and sustainable financial freedom.
