Interview: Renae Strozier, Associate Director of Resource Management at Havas Health & You

By Angela Tai

How did you get into the industry?

I’ve been in this industry for 12 years. Initially, I started with internships and eventually landed at a healthcare advertising agency. After a year, I made the switch to digital marketing at an agency as a Project Management Coordinator. I realized I was interested in the closed door conversations between the head of Operations and the ECD, allocating assignments to the creatives, and realized there was power in those conversations that made a person's career. That’s when I realized that resource management was for me. When I landed at R/GA, the role allowed me to formally work in resource management and though it was a short stint - I learned a ton. It wasn’t until I got to Heartbeat that my relationship with the executive team really changed me. I became more vocal and had more freedom to truly problem solve and really start questioning what more I can do to contribute to the industry. 

Advertising isn’t the most diverse field. How do you bring change?

There are two things to consider. (1) People who have a direct path. They will make it in somehow. Even starting with an internship and working their way up. (2) Once they’ve landed in the industry, regardless their path in, they now face other obstacles. They are in the building but it’s not inclusive, which will eventually result in a retention problem. They say hire “younger” but that just adds numbers to D&I and doesn't solve retention. How do you retain and grow  and promote this group of talent into future leadership roles? I’m at the point where I no longer ask about D&I - I just do it. I make the culture of my team an example of an inclusive environment. When an opportunity presents itself, I refer and hire diverse talent, and connect talent to decision makers. That's how you ultimately effect change.

Do you feel that, as a woman of color, when you speak to your caucasian coworkers about D&I they clam up?

I try to be tactful in how I address D&I because I want to have an honest conversation with people vs. being given an automated response, or what’s "socially acceptable.” I want all of my colleagues to feel comfortable speak with me; and most do.

How do you balance D&I when you rely on internal employee referrals for hiring?

Usually when it’s hire hire hire! - we get a lot of referrals. People will refer who they know and certainly we don’t exclude good talent. But I find I’m most likely to get diverse talent either through me sourcing directly or reaching out to other peers of color for referrals. Yet, I have never worked at an agency with 1 black person on the talent recruitment team and only a couple that were resource managers (one I hired) being black (and we’re the gatekeepers!), so I think more importantly it’s critical to start from there in order to truly reflect diversity.

What would you tell a person of color who’s interested in getting into the industry?

I have your back, and will take you under my wing and guide you through the ropes, and clear any obstacles (when possible) because we’ve also started off navigating this blindly. And for those of us in positions of power, or have established careers in this industry - advocate for other POC. Give recognition, nominate for awards, recommend for tony assignments; use your space and power to help those coming up or in.