Dina Cooper-Williams is the Sr. Supplier Diversity Program Lead for American Water. She works with the technology team to stay abreast of rapid changes in the supplier community, and leverages the innovative nature of diverse businesses to maintain an understanding of the business landscape. Diverse suppliers are instrumental in helping American Water remain knowledgeable about technology changes to ensure water systems stay safe. Dina is particularly proud of the company's relationship with the MBE and WBE Frontier Technologies, which offers cyber security services.
Dina maintains the alignment of the supplier diversity program to the business strategy and business objectives, demonstrating the impact on the bottom-line financial performance through cost savings and process improvements. She credits success in the DEI space to the support of the Executive Leadership team, the functional leaders, and the state leaders. Leadership regularly commits to attending events and engaging diverse suppliers. Dina developed the respect and support from all stakeholders across the business by building the business case, communicating across the business, and highlighting success stories, ensuring supplier diversity is viewed as value-adding.