By Taylor Sanchez
NASHVILLE, TN — As expected from an increasingly conservative court, the US Supreme Court overturned the ability of universities to use race in admissions in a blow to affirmative action. Natalie E. Norfus is the Founder & Managing Owner at The Norfus Firm, specializing in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives (DEI).
Coming from a background where her father was Black and Christian and her mother Jewish, with some members of her mother’s family survivors of the Holocaust, she said “that upbringing and my identity is where my interest in diversity, equity and inclusion concepts began. This interest carried on throughout my undergraduate and law school careers to the point where I knew as I was finishing law school that I wanted to do people-centered work.”
The Norfus Firm works to solve “people problems” according to Norfus. They have connections with many firms nationally and internationally. They attempt to help workplaces retain talent, and part of talent is recruiting the best people, and looking where companies have traditionally not looked.
When affirmative action was still active, Norfus notes that colleges had improved in getting minority students in the door the graduation rate for Black student was less than 50 percent compared to 70 percent or white students. The importance of what The Norfus Firm does is try to bridge the divide between companies getting minorities in the door and keeping them, and supporting them while they are in the workplace.
This is not without controversy. Much like the challenges to university affirmative action programs, Norfus has noticed a small wave of groups challenging DEI programs in the workplace. She believes these challenges are misplaced. “When you look at the core of what we are trying to accomplish with DEI programming, it’s not discrimination or giving special advantages to certain groups. It’s ensuring that there are standards in place that give everyone in this country the fair opportunity to succeed.”
For college applicants navigating a post-affirmative action world she said, “Use your voice! When you’re doing your college applications, share everything you feel comfortable sharing about who you are and what makes you unique. When you get into these higher education institutions, find issues and topics that are important to you and speak on them. The more that we use our collective voice to further the goal of living in a society in which we are fully included, the quicker we can make it there.”
If you are interested in learning more about Norfus Firm and DEI you can check out their podcast “What’s the DEIL.” You can also find them on Instagram, facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok.
