Speaker
Eric Polite joined Toyota Motor North America in 2016 after working in and consulting with schools and non-profits to welcome and leverage the benefits of diversity for more than 15 years. As a skilled facilitator and instructional designer, Eric is adept at building learning experiences that advance dialogue across lines of difference and enhance cultural competence.
As an experienced diversity strategist, he develops and implements processes of organizational change for improving the climate for diversity and unleashing all of the human potential that exist in every human system. Eric employs his passion for individual and organizational transformation through strategic learning and leadership development in his current role as manager of Toyota’s Diversity & Inclusion Academy.
Eric is a native of North Carolina and recently moved to Texas after spending his adult years in cooler Northeast locales including Washington D.C., New York, and Rhode Island. He currently resides in McKinney with his wife Kaycee and daughter Hayven. Eric received his undergraduate degree from Bucknell University (Sociology and History) and pursued graduate studies at the University of Maryland (in Higher Education Administration) and Case Western Reserve University (in Positive Organizational Development). When he is not working to transform individuals, organizations, and communities, Eric enjoys reading, playing basketball, traveling, and anything that involves good food, friends, and music.