WHAT IS DIECE?

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DaWon Baker serves as the Associate Athletic Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Buffs. He arrived to Boulder in May 2021. Baker oversees the Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan for athletics, while serving as a resource for student-athletes, coaches and staff for CU Athletics on all thing’s diversity, equity and inclusion. Prior to his arrival to CU, Baker served as the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Director at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. At Nebraska, he was responsible for diversity and inclusion initiatives for all staff, coaches and student-athletes. He provided oversight and direction on the annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit, Next Steps outreach, N-Vest Mentoring Program, direction of the campus-wide Husker Athletics Diversity & Inclusion Committee (HADIC) and Husker Inclusion Council (HIC). He also served as a Life Skills coach for three varsity programs (football, rifle and men's gymnastics), where he worked with almost 200 athletes on leadership, career and personal development. Though only at Nebraska for two-and-a-half years, he was heavily involved from practically the start in representing the athletic department in numerous campus partnerships, including the Diversity Engagement Team, comprised of a group of administrative professionals whose primary responsibilities are keenly focused on promoting diversity, equity, and/or inclusion across the UNL campus.
 
            A native of St. Louis, Baker is a graduate of the University of Missouri, and earned his Master's degree in Business Administration and a Master's in Sport Business Management from the University of Central Florida in 2016. After he earned his graduate degrees, he worked at the NCAA as a postgraduate intern in the Leadership Development department from June 2017 through June 2018.  Baker is a co-founder of the Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Council of Excellence (DIECE), a membership organization that provides support and resources for diversity officers who work in athletics. He is also an advisory board member for Return On Inclusion (ROI), a sport-specific diversity and inclusion education platform dedicated to developing inclusive leaders and fostering a culture of belonging across social and cultural differences. Baker also serves as an advisory committee member for the Winning Edge Leadership Academy, a nonprofit organization and social movement that alters the career paths and life trajectories of the next generation of women and minorities in the sports and entertainment industry.