Tempe welcomes Chief Diversity Officer
Dr. Velicia Humes begins her work in Tempe in October

Tempe, AZ - The City of Tempe will welcome its first Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Velicia Humes, beginning Oct. 17.

Tempe was among the first Arizona cities to hire a diversity director. A recent reorganization elevated the position so that it now reports directly to the City Manager. This is a critically important role for Tempe. It reflects our city’s values of people, respect, diversity, integrity, quality, and openness.   

“I am excited to be part of the Tempe community,” Dr. Humes said. “My goal is to support Tempe’s equity goals and help create spaces where people can reach their fullest potential. We can find joy in connecting with each other and success in working with each other.”

Dr. Humes currently is the Climate and Culture Consultant for the Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency, which provides a broad range of services to 33 school districts within Wayne County, including the Detroit Public School Community District. She was Director of the Scottsdale Office of Diversity and Inclusion as well as Assistant Executive Director of Human Resources and Director of Workforce Development there.
She also helped create the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and established its Student Ethnic Council.

“Dr. Humes has a long, impressive background in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. The City of Tempe has a long record of successful leadership in this area. We believe that Dr. Humes will guide our efforts to ensure Tempe is a welcoming and inclusive city and spread the principles of DEI throughout the community,” said City Manager Andrew Ching.

Tempe was the first Arizona city to pass an anti-discrimination ordinance. The city has earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaigns Municipal Equality Index for the last eight years.

Dr. Humes earned a B.A. in International Relations Foreign Affairs from Michigan State University, a M.Ed. in Curriculum Instruction from Lesley College in Boston, Massachusetts and an Ed. D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

She is a past board member of the Arizona National Forum for Black Public Administrators. 

She is married and has four adult children.

About the City of Tempe
Tempe makes waves as a technology and business magnet, an inclusive, caring community and a hub for recreation and adventure. Visit us.

Tempe City Council has set five priorities to ensure our city thrives. We track our progress on those priorities by collecting data on more than 100 performance measures and showing it on a public dashboard. See the goals and data: tempe.gov/StrategicManagement.