We were lucky to catch up with Amy Hull recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I hope that my legacy is one of acceptance and love. Everything I do in my career and in my personal life is about ensuring that everyone is happy and feels a sense of inclusion and belonging in their lives. One thing I do know is: life on this earth is short. I have faced many close family deaths in my life as well as very close friends battling cancer and other health concerns at such early ages in our lives. So, I also hope that my legacy is one that teaches people to not wait for the things that will bring them joy. Follow your heart and your passions right now. We often put things off or prioritize others ahead of ourselves and sometimes things we do and decisions we make to not pursue the things that bring us happiness are made out of fear. I think people will definitely say I was a bright light; that I was compassionate and gave of myself so that others could be happy and successful. I think they’ll say that I had a love affair with music and incorporated it into everything I do.
I hope to be remembered for bringing peace and acceptance to people that didn’t believe they could and that I brought awareness and was able to change hearts and minds to infuse more diversity, equity, and inclusion in all circles.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Early on, Hull got her start as a “singing soccer player.” She played soccer for 15 years, and in summers swam on a competitive summer team for 10 years. She loves the water! She traveled to the UK, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland touring with a vocal ensemble and minored in vocal performance in her undergraduate degree. Despite this love of music, theatre and film, she became an educator and for nearly 20 years worked as a high school biology teacher (7 years) and high school administrator (10 years) seeing firsthand the effects that bureaucracy, government, socioeconomics, curriculum, power structures, and other societal pitfalls have had on various populations in America. Her work in the schools always infused elements of diversity, equity and inclusion as well as civil rights and responsibility into the work and the students or staff. She is featured in Oyler School: Dramatic Turnaround in A Poverty Stricken Community, an Amazon Prime Documentary that details the life of two high school seniors fighting the symptoms of generational poverty and a school with creative solutions. Hull’s work there led to her receiving the Next Generation Leadership Award in 2015.
Hull’s work is grounded and propelled by her own family’s journey with race in America as a black middle-class family as well as the raising of her own two children. Personally, their story became her fight for change. Hull was raised by parents 20 years apart in age. Her father, often found in the business world as the “only one in the room” went on to integrate several community and civic organizations as well as businesses from the 1950’s to 1980’s. Her mother, the youngest of three and nicknamed “Pinky” for her lighter melanin hue, was raised in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement, started and completed her studies after age 40 with three college degrees (2 advanced) and retired as a Montessori elementary school principal. Witnessing their experiences and others around her instilled a determination for Hull to work for those who are voiceless.

Amy E. Hull, M.Ed. is the First Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Paycor, Inc.
She brings authenticity to the forefront of leadership, action, and learning in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Hull is a corporate leader turning DE&I strategy into actionable results. Most recently, Paycor has been named a 2023 DE&I Top Workplace for three consecutive years, and under Amy’s leadership has been named in the Top Ten Companies for DE&I Practices by Top Workplace Energage. The DE&I work at Paycor has caught the attention of corporate entities across America and has been fully integrated into the company-wide strategy. Amy’s work is helping people learn how to internalize the work of DE&I to achieve systemic change. Additional awards and recognitions under her leadership include: the 2023 CLIMB Award from the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Cincinnati Business Courier and Minority Business Accelerator for Corporate Partner of the Year in Goal Setting for progress in minority business partnerships; 2022 North American HR Excellence Provider Award by HRO Today and the cover story of the July, 2022 issue of HR Future Magazine. Amy was a 2019 Top 100 Working Woman (Cincinnati Herald/MAO Brand). She is featured in Oyler School: Dramatic Turnaround in A Poverty Stricken Community, an Amazon Prime Documentary that details how the school’s vision combats symptoms of poverty. Hull’s work there led to her receiving the Next Generation Leadership Award in 2015.

Hull is an engaging, dynamic speaker and trainer interweaving vulnerability, relevance, educational research, corporate and educational experience, analogy and purpose into any engagement she encounters. Participants have shared publicly, “One of the best parts of the day! Interactive and informative!” and “Thank you for the thought provoking, authentic, and entertaining presentation! You did a fantastic job of helping us realize why DE&I matters!” An individual that she consulted from preschool teacher to Head of DE&I in a school district states, “there is no one like Amy, she has changed my life and she makes all of those around her better.”
Professionally, Hull designed and executed the DE&I strategic plan for Paycor, Inc and has been integrating this work into business goals and outcomes since October, 2020. The outcomes from this foundational strategy are listed above. She was personally trained and coached by a former Global Diversity Officer and received her official certification in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from the University of South Florida. In addition to her work in the educational environment, Hull is the founder and owner of Equity LDI, LLC, (Leadership Diversity and Inclusion – LDI), a consulting firm that provides guidance in leadership development, diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has worked with individuals, private companies, non-profits, school systems, local governments and communities to increase awareness, instill meaning and stimulate action for those environments.

Hull has a B.S. in Biology (Ohio University.) an M.Ed. in Education (Xavier University (Ohio), and another M.Ed. in Administration (University of Cincinnati). Hull is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a Board member for the non-profit eXclusive Services, LLC working to help the minority community with integrated health services like drug rehabilitation, prevention, and mental health for adults and youth in Ohio. She is a member of the National Association of African-American Human Resources (NAAAHR). She loves being a mom to her two sons. She enjoys traveling, music, watching football, tennis and reading to lead.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have had two major pivots in my life. The pivot from medicine to educator and from educator to corporate executive and business owner. The first came in college – I knew I didn’t want to be a doctor after I taught a supplemental biology class to non-major biology students at Ohio University. I caught the bug but doubted myself. I told myself that it was just fear because my classes were getting harder. I was young and didn’t trust my own gut. I let that fear hold me for 2 years until I told my parents that I wasn’t going to medical school just 3 days prior to having to take the MCAT medical school entrance exam. I pivoted. I went back to school and became an educator. Then it happened again. In 2018, I knew that this was not what my gift and purpose was – at least not in this form. It was bigger than that. Bigger than the walls of the school buildings could contain. There was a larger audience and a larger impact I knew I could make in the space of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This time, I didn’t let fear to grip me. Courageously, while my kids were 8 and 12, I started my consulting business as a full time Asst Principal. I knew to gain the experience needed I had to provide relevancy and professional services to my resume. And then I set a plan to leave. After Covid and the murder of George Floyd, it opened up an opportunity to step into the role before obtaining a degree in HR. The lesson is – trust your gut. As a woman we can so often be swayed by others opinions of what we should or shouldn’t do and the only person that can know that is you. Fear and progress can’t exist at the same time – physically the brain actually shuts down. Lead with courage.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think there are three main things that helped me build my reputation in the DE&I market: consistency of performance, power of voice, and being a trusted advisor. My senior quote was actually, “Character is made by what you stand for; reputation by what you fall for.” My professional reputation has been characterized (see what I did there?) by knowledgeable expertise. For a person to build a positive professional reputation you have to model what you expect to get back in return. It’s building relationships, understanding and using good interpersonal communication skills, being inclusive and accepting that people identify differently, relinquishing judgment of others, being honest and having integrity, leading by example, learning and using best practices, making decisions rooted in data, helping others understand the why BEFORE you act and listening to what people are saying they need. The most important however, is knowing that others helped you get to where you are and it is our duty as humans to collaborate and work with others. There is no way I would be where I am without the help of several other people. Lifting as we grow is essential.

Contact Info:

• Website: equityldi.com
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/amyehull6
• Other: APB Speakers Bureau: https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/amy-e-hull/

Image Credits
My headshot was taken by Wendy Magee Photography. All other photos were taken by me.