Racing Toward Diversity magazine showcases the best diversity efforts and initiatives being made today.
Racing Toward Diversity Magazine elevates the leaders, organizations, and institutions redefining what meaningful inclusion looks like in today’s business and educational environments. Our focus is clear: to showcase the strategies, stories, and voices driving measurable progress and expanding opportunity across workplaces, campuses, and communities.
Each issue highlights executives, educators, and emerging change-makers who understand that diversity is more than a value—it is a catalyst for innovation, competitiveness, and long‑term success. Their insights reveal how intentional leadership, equitable talent development, and culturally aware decision‑making strengthen organizations from the inside out.
We remain deeply connected to students and early‑career professionals, especially across HBCUs and institutions committed to preparing the next generation of diverse talent. Their aspirations and achievements remind us that representation must be paired with access, mentorship, and preparation.
Our partnerships with leading organizations across gender equity and board diversity broaden the perspectives we amplify and ensure our content reflects the full spectrum of today’s workforce.
With a strong global presence across social media platforms, Racing Toward Diversity delivers timely, relevant content that sparks dialogue and inspires action. We are committed to showcasing the best diversity efforts happening today—and accelerating the momentum toward a future where inclusion is the standard.
About Fields Jackson, Jr.
Fields Jackson, Jr. is a nationally recognized leader in diversity, education, and entrepreneurship — and the Founder, CEO, and Chief Cheerleader of Racing Toward Diversity Magazine, a Cary, North Carolina–based publication dedicated to showcasing the power of inclusive leadership in business and higher education.
Fields also serves as President of the College Diversity Network, connecting students and alumni with employers committed to building diverse, high‑performing teams.
Educator, Mentor & Academic Leader
Fields is deeply committed to developing the next generation of business leaders. He currently serves as:
Distinguished Professor in Residence, South Carolina State University
Adjunct Professor, Chicago State University — Entrepreneurial Sales & Marketing
Adjunct Professor, Southern University and A&M College (MBA Program)
The Survey of Management and Marketing Concepts
Introduction to Principles of Marketing Management (MBAP)
He is also the former Executive Director of the HBCU Business Deans Roundtable, where he helped strengthen collaboration and visibility among business schools at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Author & Thought Leader
Fields is the author of four books focused on marketing, career strategy, and educational access:
Introduction to Marketing Management
How to Leverage Technology to Land a Job
The Digital Job Search Playbook
The HBCU Tour
His work blends practical insight with a passion for helping students, job seekers, and professionals navigate an evolving digital and economic landscape.
A Pioneer in Motorsports Diversity
From 1997 to 2000, Fields made history as a Founding Partner of Washington Erving Motorsports, alongside NBA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving and former NFL star Joe Washington. The team broke through NASCAR’s color barrier in the Busch Grand National Series with sponsorship from Dr Pepper.
As President of Corporate Operations, Fields helped lead one of the most significant diversity milestones in modern motorsports.
Honors & Recognition
Fields has been recognized globally for his influence in diversity and inclusion:
Named a Top Diversity Thought Leader on Twitter by Diversity Best Practices
Ranked #13 Global Influencer for Gender Equality & Diversity by Onalytica
Listed among Hive Learning’s Most Influential D&I Leaders
In 2025, he received one of his highest honors: induction into the East Orange, New Jersey Hall of Fame for Enterprise/Business, the city’s highest civilian recognition.
Advocacy & Impact
Fields is a tireless advocate for workplace diversity and inclusive hiring. Through his magazine, academic roles, and national speaking engagements, he encourages job seekers to research employers deeply, ask meaningful questions, and pursue opportunities where they can thrive.
His mission is simple: to inspire individuals and organizations to embrace diversity as a catalyst for innovation, performance, and long‑term success.
Personal Life
Fields lives in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife, Cheryl D. Jackson. He is the proud father of three adult children — Chelsea Jackson Cross, Fields Jackson III, and Austin Jackson — and the proud father‑in‑law to Matt Cross and grandfather to Aurora.
Austin Jackson Vice President
College Diversity Network / HBCU Division
Austin Jackson is a Vice President at JLL, where he brings a competitive edge shaped by his experience as a two‑time national champion and Clemson University student‑athlete. Known for his entrepreneurial mindset and collaborative leadership style, Austin partners with senior brokers, research teams, and capital markets professionals to deliver innovative, client‑focused solutions across the commercial real estate landscape.
In addition to his role at JLL, Austin serves as Vice President of Racing Toward Diversity magazine, helping expand opportunities for diverse talent and strengthening employer pipelines through the College Diversity Network.
Austin also serves as President of A. P. Planners, LLC, a startup specializing in meeting planning, off‑site logistics, and social media support. In this role, he oversees daily operations, marketing, accounting, and sales while helping organizations execute high‑impact events and engagement strategies.
Austin is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Administrative Leadership (MAAL) at the University of Oklahoma. The program enhances his ability to lead teams, strengthen organizational performance, and build leadership capacity in others.
A graduate of Clemson University, Austin earned a Bachelor of Business in Management with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship and was named to the President’s List in Fall 2018. As a walk‑on who earned a football scholarship, he contributed to Clemson’s two National Championship teams. Prior to Clemson, he was an honor graduate at Green Hope High School and a 2015 High School All‑American in Indoor Track & Field.
FIELDS JACKSON, III ("F.Lee 3") VICE PRESIDENT OPERATIONS
COLLEGE DIVERSITY NETWORK / HBCU DIVISION
Fields Jackson, III — known professionally as F. Lee III — is a scientific professional and industry trainer with more than seven years of experience spanning biotechnology, product testing, data analysis, method development, and workforce training. His career reflects a strong commitment to educating others, improving operational systems, and strengthening organizational performance.
Fields currently serves as an Industry Trainer at Wake Technical Community College, where he delivers hands‑on workforce development courses as a Subject Matter Expert in aseptic processing and aseptic technique. In this role, he designs laboratory activities, collaborates with industry partners, and supports North Carolina’s growing life sciences talent pipeline.
Before entering higher education, Fields built a strong foundation in biotechnology through roles at bioMérieux, AstraZeneca, and AVUTOX. His work included microbial product testing, BSL‑2 organism handling, data review, method optimization, onboarding and training new analysts, and contributing to quality improvement initiatives. His experience spans HPLC, FACS analysis, fluorescent microscopy, cGMP environments, and laboratory information management systems (LIMS).
Fields earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from East Carolina University before spending two years in Israel to pursue a Master’s degree in Nutritional Science at the world‑renowned Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His graduate research focused on pancreatic endocrine cell signaling, diabetes, and nutrient‑regulated mTORC1 activity. Working alongside an international cohort of scientists strengthened his analytical thinking, cultural awareness, and leadership abilities.
Now back in the United States, Fields brings his scientific expertise, global perspective, and operational mindset to Racing Toward Diversity, where he serves as Vice President of Operations. In this role, he contributes to company branding, marketing, production workflows, and day‑to‑day organizational management. A natural “big‑picture” thinker, Fields helps guide strategic decisions while ensuring smooth execution across the organization.
Writers
Gene Stowe: Author, Journalist, Educator
Gene Stowe - I grew up in the Carolinas and graduated from high school in Monroe, N.C., where the trial in Blest Be The Tie That Binds takes place. I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a bachelor of arts in religion in 1975 and earned a Master of Theological Studies from Trinity Seminary in Columbus, Ohio.
From 1981 to 1993, I was a reporter for The Charlotte Observer assigned to the Monroe Bureau, covering government, politics, business, religion, and human interest stories. I had a weekly column covering agriculture in the Carolinas and twice received the N.C. Farm Bureau’s writing award. I lived in Union County, married, and had six children during those years, becoming familiar with the county’s history, culture, and rhythms of life. Among other things, my articles led to the changing of a creek’s official name from Niggerhead to Salem. When the 1886 County Courthouse (the site of the trial) was restored in 1986, I wrote a self-guided tour of the building for the historical society.
From August 1993 to December 2007, I taught at Trinity School at Greenlawn in South Bend, Ind., a private, nonsectarian school that has three times received the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon for Excellence in Education. I was director of the writing program for the school, grades seven through twelve, and taught, among other things, British and American literature (including Twain, Sinclair, Dickens, Tolkien, Cather, Hemingway, and Harper Lee). I regularly led senior colloquia on topics such as mythic imagination and historiography. I continued to write extensively, freelancing 300 to 400 stories a year for the South Bend Tribune. In January 2008, I returned to full-time writing as a freelance and a principal in Write Smack Dab LLC, a group I formed with my son and a former teaching colleague. I have written books, including the history of the LOGAN Center for the people with developmental disabilities in South Bend and privately published family legacy books, as well as journalistic articles, book chapters, websites, and press releases.
Natalie Davis Miller has been a freelance writer for the past 12 years. Born in Indianapolis, Ind., she is a resident of South Bend, Ind. She is involved in a number of volunteer efforts and organizations in the area, including St. Margaret’s House (shelter for women), Rebuilding Together, and the South Bend Community School Corporation’s Young Authors’ Conference. She is actively involved with the South Bend Civic Theatre as a board member and as an actress in a number of productions, including the nationally recognized, award-winning production of Intimate Apparel in 2009. She is currently directing Or Does It Explode? at the Center for History in South Bend.
In addition to writing for Racing Toward Diversity, Miller is a monthly columnist for IN Michiana magazine. She has had articles published in the Indianapolis Star, NUVO Newsweekly, the South Bend Tribune, Literally (Writers’ Center of Indiana), POWER, The Bend, Home and Style, Total Body, Northern Indiana Wedding Day, Southwest Michigan Wedding Day, Prom Night, IN Michiana, Inside Granger, and Courier (Saint Mary’s College). Additionally, she has written trivia questions for Mattel, articles for the Web, and numerous marketing pieces. In 2003, she was the recipient of an Individual Artist Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission.
Prior to her writing career, Miller spent 15 years in law enforcement, as a police officer, and as a law enforcement coordinator and victim witness specialist for the Department of Justice. She was also a writer and reviewer of Federal grants.
Miller has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Indiana University. In addition to freelance writing and her volunteer activities, she is also an adjunct instructor of English and psychology courses at a local community college.
Miller says, “I believe that writing is my gift from God. I also believe it is my responsibility to hone these skills as a writer, and I want to be the best writer that I can be.”
Natalie Davis Miller
Jae Bryson
Jae Bryson is a serial entrepreneur and author with experience in a variety of writing styles. His career includes stints as a journalist for the Quad-City Times, the Star Tribune, the River Cities Reader, Minnesota Public Radio, and Colors Magazine. His extensive freelance credits include Word Up!, Essence, and REQUEST magazines.
He is the co-author of the book, "Playing for Paterno," and a contributor to the anthology "Teenagers from the Future."
He has written a screenplay version of "Playing for Paterno" and is currently working on another based on the life of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Garry Shider of Parliament-Funkadelic fame.
Bryson owns a regional sports/media company, Black Heart Inc., which publishes One Nation News, Business Nation magazine, the electronic job blast, JobHeart, and is establishing an internet sports league. In March 2010, he was awarded a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant to promote arts in his region.
Cheryl Jackson
Cheryl Jackson is a freelance correspondent who has worked for CNN, PBS, and Racing Towards Diversity magazine.
Highlights of her work for CNN include coverage of the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal, where the bodies of many African Americans were ripped from their graves, left in piles, and their graves resold. Also, for CNN, the hour-by-hour live coverage of the Christmas Day “underwear bomber.” She is very proud of the project, “For Colored Girls,” she produced for PBS.
Cheryl interviewed both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as they campaigned in 2008.
Cheryl is a contributing writer for Racing Towards Diversity magazine and has written numerous profiles and features, including a story analyzing the role of race and poverty in collecting data for the U.S. Census.
She is also a visiting professor at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and has taught newspaper writing and broadcast classes at Indiana University and DePaul University.
Cheryl Jackson started her journalism career as a features reporter and newspaper diversity columnist. She wrote her column, "It Takes All Kinds," for the Columbus Republic for more than a decade. The content of the column was designed to promote understanding through diversity writing on race and culture in a positive way.
Her first job in television was as a convergence reporter, working for both WSBT/TV and the newspaper, the South Bend Tribune. She did a live report for WSBT five days a week and then flipped many of those stories into print for the Tribune. She often shot the photos that accompanied the print piece. She continued her broadcast career at WRTV in Indianapolis before moving to Chicago to freelance for CNN.
Jodi Brockington
Jodi Brockington, as founder of NIARA Consulting, a full-service marketing and business development company, utilizes her more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit, corporate, and government sectors to consult for individuals, nonprofits, small businesses, and corporations, as well as offer career and college coaching for youth and professionals.
Her work runs the gamut because of her years of experience and her ability to connect with people from various walks of life. Some of her most recent work includes her partnership with Women in the Boardroom, an executive leadership event designed to assist women in the preparation of board service, and 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit that finances, teaches, and mentors entrepreneurs who would otherwise not have access to startup capital, first-class knowledge, or a professional network.
With a passion for diversity and educating young women, Jodi has been featured in books that showcase her myriad skills in networking and branding. She is a featured author for “Sister to Sister: A Guide for African American Girls,” where she penned a chapter titled The Power of Your Social Network and Brand. She has also been featured in “Leading from the Middle—Conversations with Successful Middle Managers,” and “CRAVE NYC—The Urban Girl’s Manifesto.”
She is not only a leader and a master connector, Jodi is a well-sought-after speaker, who has given networking and social media presentations to the New York State Bar Association, presented on Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility to a business class at Baruch College, and talked to the Junior League of Westchester-on-Hudson about networking, to name a few.
Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, as the Vice President of the Center of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management, Jodi was the Director of Alumni Affairs at the National Urban Fellows, Inc., where she was responsible for social media, fundraising, strategic planning, and executing special events. She is a Class of 2000 graduate of the National Urban Fellows. Jodi was Director of Corporate Relations at the New York Urban League Inc., and served as a senior consultant to California State Senator Kevin Murray.
Recently recognized by NV Magazine as a 2011 Mover & Shaker, Jodi has also been featured on the cover of The Network Journal, as one of the magazine’s 2004 “40 Under Forty.” She has also been recognized by the National Urban League as an Urban Influencer, is a 2010 Young Gifted & Black Entrepreneur honoree, and a 2010-2011 America’s Leader of Change fellow, a National Urban Fellows program in partnership with Wal-Mart. She was also featured in the online magazine, People You Need to Know (PYNTK), as a woman who excels in business.
Additionally, Jodi is a blogger for the BOSS Network, AwakenYourCareerpreneur.com, and NVmagazine.com, where she talks about various topics pertaining to social networking, branding, and the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
Jodi earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Social Work; from Baruch College in Public Affairs; and from the Hunter College School of Education. She completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA.
Jodi Brockington