Carrie Lea Thomas is a people-centric leader with success in building inclusive, engaging environments centered around an authentic expression of identity that improves retention, elevates employee experiences, and positively impacts business results.She began her professional retail career with Gap Inc. in 2006, working in Banana Republic stores and learning the heartbeat of the business through service, merchandising, and talent development. Carrie’s career represents the epitome of what it means to spiderweb across an organization to help build practical leadership skills and gain access to key business leaders. From working as the voice of the field in Store Operations to serving as a critical business partner in marketing a new loyalty training program while leading an employee resource group (ERG), Carrie excels in understanding the importance of driving key business metrics while also developing an impactful team culture. In her current role, she combines her passion for diversity and inclusion to help imbed diversity and inclusion principles into the DNA of a brand from the employee to the customer. As part of Gap Inc.'s Equality and Belonging team, Carrie pulls on her wide ranges of experiences to help the company bridge gaps to create a better tomorrow.Carrie holds a B.A. in Journalism from Indiana University-Bloomington and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.  She is also the writer and creator of CarrieLea.com, a faith-based blog geared toward encouraging women.