June 2024 Hot Topic- The importance of DEIA during this critical election year

The importance of DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) during this critical election year

Barbara Cheives is the President and CEO of Converge & Associates Consulting, Inc.  Among her current DEIA clients are the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County and the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Barbara’s consulting expertise includes law enforcement and public safety; not-for-profit organizations; media; education; and corporations.  Barbara served as the first Executive Director of Toward a More Perfect Union in Palm Beach County, Florida, a non-profit initiative addressing the critical impact of race and ethnicity in a diverse community.

Barbara has planned and executed county-wide community engagement and community dialogue projects with difficult-to-reach communities for the YWCA, Children’s Home Society and Community Partners of Palm Beach County and statewide for the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services.  Barbara has presented at state and national conferences for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency; HR Florida; Florida Network of Youth and Family Services; YWCA; and the National Leukemia Lymphoma Society.  She has designed and delivered workshops around youth violence prevention; Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC), and the portrayal of minorities in the media. 

Additionally, Barbara is a certified Ethics Trainer providing training for the Palm Beach State College Center for Applied Ethics. 

Barbara’s community appointments include Past Chair of Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission.  She served on the West Palm Beach Mayor’s Transition Team where she chaired Neighborhood Improvement and Community Outreach.  She was also appointed as a Commissioner to the statewide 2007 Blueprint Commission for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. She serves on the National Board of the Institute of Community Peace in Washington, D.C.  She is Immediate Past President of National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.  West Palm Beach Chapter and the Co-Chair of the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church Social Justice Ministry.  Barbara is an active alumna of Leadership Palm Beach County, from the Class of 2002.

Among her personal and professional honors are The American Cancer Society Lifesaver Award; United Way of Palm Beach County Volunteer of the Year; March of Dimes Women of Distinction.  She was a 2013 Leadership Palm Beach County Excellence Award Finalist.  She was featured in the Summer 2013 issue of The Palm Beacher Magazine as one of the 25 Impact Players Defining Palm Beach County. Barbara is also a Fiber Artist who loves to share her excitement and life of cultural activism as well as her love of artistic creativity.