Liji Thomas Cpa (Tx), Cia, Crma, Shrm-Cp is a Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. They possess expertise in risk management, process improvement, leadership, auditing, strategy and 19 more skills. They is proficient in Spanish. Colleagues describe them as "In my four decades of consulting in organizations, I have met so many outstanding leaders. I would put Liji Thomas at the very top of that list. She has that rare combination of experience, expertise and exuberance that makes her a stand-out. I met Liji when she was Diversity and Inclusion leader at Southwest Airlines. We had to put our heads together on a particular design and I was immediately “taken” with her smarts and deep knowledge of the diversity/inclusion area as well as her equally deep understanding of talent management and the employee experience. What was most exciting, (and still is) is her creativity and ability to think outside the box. She spots the connections between ideas and knows what can bend and what could break! We’ve talked a lot about the intersection between inclusion and engagement and she has been a wonderful advisor, consultant and thought partner as I worked to define that intersection more clearly. I love that she is able to pull from multiple disciplines to complement her future-thinking ideals and ideas. And, how wonderful to also note that she is a joy to partner with, she is warm, direct, and fun. I believe she will continue to make great contributions to our field and will enter the “thought-leader” stratosphere on her own. Glad to chat with anyone about Liji Thomas. Dr. Beverly Kaye - Author, Consultant, Speaker. " and "Liji Thomas is a discerning thinker who challenges others to think and stretch their perspectives on a given topic. Liji brings an open and fresh lens to questions of the day, and has the ability to appreciate and relate to various points of view. Strategic and collaborative, her words and actions define what it means to be holistically inclusive as she seeks to understand people and pertinent business challenges. Her personal mission goes beyond fostering improvement, or pushing an agenda, to driving transformational change with relevance to all. In a time of sound bites and sensationalism, Liji's objective approach stands out from the crowd."