Marlia Fontaine-Weisse

Marlia Fontaine-Weisse currently serves as the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Care Design New York (CDNY) and Partners Health Plan (PHP). A Certified Diversity Professional (CDP) and learning leader, Marlia has over a decade of experience designing, delivering, and managing custom programs that support career development, professional growth, and employee engagement across all business units.

Prior to joining CDNY and PHP, Marlia oversaw the formation of multiple DEI committees where she provided guidance toward the execution of strategic action plans for DEI programs and community outreach. She served as the internal subject matter expert and represented those organizations in all matters related to diversity and inclusion. Marlia also has extensive experience launching and measuring key initiatives, such as unconscious bias training, small discussion forums, and workplace culture evaluation surveys.

A former Miss Ohio (2005), she represented her state at Miss America with the platform Diabetes: Educate to Alleviate. In 2005, Governor Ernie Fletcher conferred to her a lifetime membership into the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels for her advocacy of Ohioans with diabetes.

Marlia has a BA in Sociology/Law Enforcement and used the $31,000 in scholarships earned through the Miss America Organization to complete a MA in English Literature from The University of Akron. Marlia has traveled across the US and Europe for academic and industry-specific speaking engagements, and you can find her work in digital and trade magazines, journals, and corporate websites.